Budget Beauty: MUA Luxe Inked Lip Stains - Review & Swatches (Full Collection)

Happy National Lipstick Day! Oh yes, such a thing does appear to exist so to celebrate NLD, I'm bringing you a special feature on MUA Luxe's brand new Inked Lip Stains, which really are 110% kissproof.

MUA Luxe is the ever so slightly more 'premium' line from MUA (aka Makeup Academy). I say ever so slightly because everything is still cheap as chips; e.g most normal MUA products are around £1-2 each, whereas the MUA Luxe ones come in at around £4-6 each (though a couple of things are more expensive like palettes etc). 

The Luxe range showcases more on-trend items like liquid lipsticks and highlighters, and one of the newest additions are these Inked Lip Stains. They come in chunky plastic packaging with a metallic lid, and they have an easy to use doe foot sponge applicator. There's a somewhat artificial fruity fragrance about them, but it wasn't particularly strong to my nose, and they don't have a noticeable taste or scent when they're actually on the lips.

Now then, about the formula. They're highly pigmented, completely non-sticky and they feel like water on the lips. They're described as a 'lightweight matte lip stain' and I didn't find them particularly drying. These apply easily and give a great full coverage, but some shades do perform better than others which I'll discuss more about below. With regards to them being 'matte', I found they gave off a lot of shine initially and gradually dried down to matte base (again, some shades dried down quicker than others). 

Serious staining power guys!

MUA Luxe were seriously NOT kidding when they called these lip products 'stains', because they literally do stain your lips and they are a bitch to remove! When I first applied them, I was blown away by their staying power - I could eat, drink, kiss, and do anything, without these bad boys budging. Zero transfer onto coffee cups, clothes, nada. At the end of the day, they had left a vibrant stain that still covered my lips evenly (no issues with patchiness etc). 

I went to remove them before bed with my Vichy waterproof eye makeup remover solution and it took off a coat of the stain, but my lips were still coloured. I applied another cotton round soaked in solution and again, it took off a bit of the colour, but not everything. I went over with an oil-based cleanser, a balm, even Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish, and it WAS STILL THERE!

The positive thing was that I woke up in the morning and only needed a slick of clear lip balm on my lips, and I was good to go. The downside is obviously if you don't want a stain for day 2, you're going to need to apply a nude lipstick over the top to take the colour down a notch. Just a heads up! These may be best suited for a 'weekend lip' or a holiday, but hey, at least they live up to their staining name.

Onto the shades, there are five colours in the collection - all of them vibrant, fun and very much in your face. Not for the faint hearted!

MUA Luxe Inked Lip Stain in Maraschino*

Maraschino is a juicy classic red that I feel will suit a lot of different skintones. It was the one that kept the most shine for the longest amount of time before becoming matte so I wanted to show this in the swatch above.

MUA Luxe Inked Lip Stain in Tropicana*

Hello Summer! Tropicana is a bright, playful, full on orange. Not the easiest shade to pull off, but definitely an interesting fun one to try if you want to get out of your comfort zone.

MUA Luxe Inked Lip Stain in Dewberry*

Whilst this dark vampy purple shade looked stunning in the tube, it didn't perform so well when applied. It went on a little patchy and I had some serious bleeding issues with it (definitely needs to be paired with a strong lipliner!). 

MUA Luxe Inked Lip Stain in Watermelon*

My personal favourite from the collection is Watermelon, an amazing bright red with pink undertones. Perfect for summer on the beach, it really brightens up your whole face - what a beaut!

MUA Luxe Inked Lip Stain in Sangria*

My second favourite is Sangria (and not just because I love the drink so much!). This bright pink has enough purple in it to make it look more chic rather than Barbie. Very wearable and gorgeous. 

For fun, I wanted to show you the staining power of these - I applied the swatches to my arm and guess what? The above photo shows the stains THREE DAYS LATER! This is after two showers and numerous soap scrubbing attempts. They eventually faded completely after day 4. Crazy!

MUA Luxe Inked Lip Stains* (£4 each) are available from Superdrug stores and online at superdrug.com

Have you tried anything from the MUA Luxe range?

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