Since circa the age of five, when I first saw Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit,I’ve aspired to wear red lipstick.
Yeah, I know she’s a cartoon representation of an unattainable beauty standard intended to make women feel inferior, but what can I say; I obviously wasn’t a very woke toddler. Also, she’s really pretty.
Anyway, bold red lip. Classic. Love it. Always have. Just not on me. I’ve never actually been able to bring myself to wear red lipstick—or lipstick in general, for that matter.
Every time I put on a full mouth of the colored stuff, I feel like a cartoon character—which, now that I think about it, probably has something to do with Jessica Rabbit—and catching my reflection in the mirror with a super dramatic lip inevitably makes me laugh.
Without fail, I end up running out the door with a square of toilet paper and wiping it off furtively before I get to wherever I’m going. I’m a clear-lip-balm kinda gal through and through.
Or at least I thought I was, until I came across Stila’s Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick recently. It was pure happenstance (a.k.a. the Birchbox fairy dropped it on my doorstep.) It arrived in a really neutral shade, so I gave it a whirl in the hopes that the color would make me look a little more animated without being all, “HELLO, I AM VAUDEVILLE.”
And whaddya know: It did. Not only was the color lovely (“Patina” is just a few shades pinker than my natural lip) but the texture is some kind of miracle. Smooth, yet unbudging. Not sticky in the slightest, but also not drying.
Its lightweight, matte texture doesn’t invite you to rub your lips together in the same way a classic lipstick does, but it also doesn’t make you miss it.
The product description attributes the hydration factor to vitamin E and avocado oil, and it alleges that the color will last for six hours without transferring to other objects your smackers come in contact with.
While I can vouch for its staying power, the non-transferability claim doesn’t hold up quite as well; I’m staring at a coffee mug with a lipstick imprint on it as I write this. But hey, nobody’s perfect. Aside from maybe Jessica Rabbit.
Pick up Stila’s Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick for $22 in 27 different shades.
