Review: Tarte Lipsurgence matte lip tint

Envy, Exposed, Lively, Fiery

The name's a bit of a mouthful, but don't let that stop you from inquiring!

I picked up my first one of these around Christmas, and the other three recently joined my collection.  If you can see, Lively is weirdly proportioned.  Its cap is also different -- I'm not sure what happened there.

Fiery, Lively, Envy, Exposed

Fiery: Red.  Just red.  Not tomato, not brick, not vermillion, not blood-red, not blue-red, not fire-engine-red.  Pure red and only red.  I'm wearing it in my foundation roundup and a recent haul.

Lively: Bright fuschia that's not too blue-based.  And it doesn't oxidize red like NARS Schiap does.  This was the first one I purchased.  Looks GREAT with a brown smokey eye.

Envy: Is it brown?  Is it berry?  Is it plum?  All three, depending how much you put on.  First layer:  It's a coloured-in version of my lip colour.  Second layer I get a berry stain.  Third layer and I've got that 2012 SS runway lip. This is a dark that I think would work on anyone because it's so perfectly neutral.

Exposed:  A mauvey-nude, leans a little cool but settles into something suitable for warm skintones.  Reminiscent of Revlon's Mauve it Over but much less blue.

I have no idea why I didn't keep these in order as I was shooting

Texture: Colour-wise, it's beautifully matte.  Product wise, it feels like you have nothing on.  However, these can emphasize dryness or encourage any existing flaking, so make sure your lips are smooth beforehand.  There's a slight mint flavour upon application, but disappears fairly quickly -- I think it's supposed to be part of the plumping action?  I can't tell because my lips are already huge.  I think the plumping action has more to do with the colour you choose rather than the formula itself.

Wear Time:  Not amazing.  Contrary to the product claim, this doesn't so much act as a stain as a fantastically-textured lipstick.  If you're looking for something with insanely wear longtime, you're better off with something more liquidy like those new Maybelline 24-Hour liquid lipsticks or a high-pigment lipstick patted on. This has slightly better wear time if you push it into your lips in really thin layers.

Price: $31 CAD for 0.1 oz, so it's pretty pricey. It's slightly more reasonable in the States.

Indirect sunlight

Flash

Like the Tarte blushes, this colour range is fantastically edited.  I mentioned in this post how much I love a brand that edits itself well, and Tarte has done an amazing job of it.  There are also two more ranges of lipsurgence, one that's  glossy and one that's less tinted, but for such a pricey product, I'd get the matte version just because you can add gloss and sheer out colour if you like.  In terms of colour and texture, these are hands-down HG.  The staying power could be a little better, but otherwise these are well worth the money.