Completely ungloopy and blissfully matte. Photograph by Franz Walderdorff.

Kiss, Then Tell!

Liquid lipsticks can be too sticky, too matte, too drying, too moist, and too much like shrink-wrap. Ah, but there’s one that’s just right

By India Knight

I don’t always like lipstick that makes me feel aware that I’m wearing lipstick. In fact, 99 percent of the time I actively dislike it, the exception being those fairly rare occasions when you’re wearing a lot of makeup and like the feel of it. (Does that even make sense? I mean when you’re glammed up and don’t mind being reminded of the fact.)

I tend to avoid liquid lipsticks for this reason—my assumption is always that they’re never going to let me forget they’re on, either because they’re glossy and therefore off-puttingly slippery and/or lightly sticky, or because they’re of the indelible-stain variety, which I don’t really like either because no matter what they promise, they usually end up feeling drying after a few hours. I think on an older person they can make your mouth look quite caved in by the end of the night, which is really not at all the idea.