The Maybelline Super Stay Ink Matte lipsticks have a cult following. Yes, they do!
I mean everyone knows how well they stay put.
If you haven't heard about them you're lucky as I tested two colours just for this review.
I got to try two shades - Heroine (25) and Dancer (118) which are both in the red family.
They were kindly sent to me by Notino.
Let's see how it went.
Maybelline SUPER STAY Matte Ink Lipsticks
Give your lips a truly intense colour for 16 hours! The Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink™ liquid matte lipstick will cover your lips in a strong shade with a velvety matte finish.
The Maybelline Matte bright and long-lasting lipstick is part of the City Edition and was inspired by New York with its style that never gets old. You can't help but love this lipstick!
I remember getting one of these back when they came out. I didn't like them as the colour I picked at the time looked nothing like it should look. It turned to a purple nude. I was shocked! I think I had it in dreamer? I am not sure.
After a couple of years, I wanted to see what changed with these lipsticks and if age really gave me a bigger tolerance for such formulas.
The packaging is still the same. A robust tube that seems to be smaller than what I remember. These tubes hold 5ml of lipstick. That isn't a lot but the packaging makes it look like it is. A gloss usually holds about 4ml of product, while The Body Shop's liquid lipstick holds 8ml of product. So I guess it's somewhere in the middle?
- 16-hour lasting power and extra pigmentation for intense colour
- the ultra-matte effect in a matter of seconds
- special arrow-shaped applicator for precise use
- trendy bright colours
I swatched both colours - Heroine and Dancer.
These do take about 5 minutes to fully dry (and lose the shine) but once they are dry the won't budge. On the lower picture I had them on for about 15 minutes (and pressed my fingers in them before the drying time was up, whoops!). I also washed my hands with lots of soap and warm water and they didn't smudge. Or get off or crumble. Nothing really.
It takes a bit of oil (cleansing or regular oil if you don't have the makeup version) to get these off. They just won't budge! It's incredible really.
25 HEROINE
This is an orange-red colour that looks a tad pink in the pictures. It's because the colour is really hard to take photos of. It's more orange in person but it's also less red than it's pink if that makes sense?
So I'd say it's an orange deep pink lipstick. Huh, what a weird thing to write.
It does look like it has a bit of a neon hue in it and on my lips, it looks way less horrible than it does on the swatch.
I feel that of the two colours I got, this one has a lighter formula. It's still thick and a bit sticky but it's a tad lighter.
That doesn't mean it won't stay on, but only that it's easier to apply. But only for a tiny bit.
I thought I'd love the colour when I was looking at it online. But sadly it's really not my favourite and I find myself picking the other one more - Dancer.
I prefer bold reds. And this is a bold orange that maybe will be used more during Autumn months. I'll see. But for this transition period, I'm all about reds.
118 DANCER
What to say. This one is one of those classy red lipsticks. To me, it looks more on the neutral side - not cool and nor warm-toned. Somewhere in between.
I have nothing bad to say about the colour as I love it. I am a fan of red lipsticks and if they stay on for the whole day, I'm all in!
The application was similar to the Heroine colour - but this shade is a bit thicker. That means that you have to be careful with the application as once you apply it, it stays on.
But even without a pencil (I don't own any), it's doable. Just with the doe-foot applicator. Maybe instead of 30 seconds, you'll need a full minute but it's manageable.
These lipsticks have a light scent; they smell very faintly of butter vanilla. I couldn't put my finger on the scent until a couple of days ago when I was baking. Then I had that "aha" moment! It's not a bad scent, and I like that it's not "in your face" scent. Once applied on the lips it vanishes.
I wore them for a couple of days, once during a workday.
I ate, I drank, I went on a date.
The date included light kissing as my dear is now afraid of my bright coloured lipsticks. :D
I think I broke him!
He went from being the guy who said "oh, it's just lipstick, don't worry" to the guy who is afraid of the lipstick transferring. And that's simply because one day he went to his training with bright pink lips. :D
MY DAILY LIFE WITH IT
Anyway, the lipstick I wore mostly was of course Dancer. I applied it in the morning; did a light scrub beforehand and I used a thick lip balm during my morning routine.
I went to work and about my day. When I went to lunch I had something pretty oily to eat and I noticed that the inner 1 mm of the lipstick was gone. It wasn't bad or really noticeable but I did see it.
I re-applied the lipstick only on that inner part.
After a couple of hours, I got a feeling that I have something stuck on that part where I re-applied the lipstick. Do you know the feeling when your lipstick kind of crumbles and accumulates at the inner part of your lips? Well, that feeling.
When I went to check at the mirror, the lipstick was in fact intact. Nothing to see there.
But I remover it either way (lots of oil!), did a light scrub and reapplied it. That was after 8 or 9 hours. I don't remember exactly how long.
After the reapplication, the feeling was gone and all was good and dandy for another couple of hours (until I went to sleep). You can find more make up tips on thecopcart.
So I think that these are really day-proof.
Pros:
+ these are seriously some long-lasting lipsticks
+ lots of colours to choose from
+ these are some of the less expensive liquid lipstick considering how well they stick to the lips
+ butter vanilla scent
+ can be found in most drugstores
+ doesn't crumble!
Cons:
- even when they completely dry, you can feel it being sticky when you press your lips together
- hard to remove if you don't have an oil remover
- need a bit of preparation before application
- not the most comfortable formula
Overall:
These are seriously impressive considering the amount of time they stayed on my lips.
The formulation isn't as impressive as the L'Oreal Signature was, but it wasn't as bad as I remembered. It's not air-light on the lips and it feels a bit sticky even after the drying time, but the longevity makes up for it. I'd wear them for when I knew I wouldn't have the time to reapply my lipstick and for when I'd still want that super bright matte colour on my lips.
I am actually pretty impressed by how long these stayed on my lips considering these are matte. But as with all longlasting lipstick - the removal can be a pain. Without some oil, these won't get off. If you're stuck with such a lipstick on your lips and you don't have anything to get it off - try some cooking oil. It should do the trick.
I think my wishlist is getting bigger. And even if I got rid of most of my lipstick collection, now I have at least 3 different Ink shades that I want (Pioneer, Founder and Artist).