Catrice Lip Liners

I may have a substantial lipstick collection, though as far as I'm concerned that is still up for a debate, but when it comes to lip liners, up until recently I only owned a couple of Essence ones that I dislike, a Rimmel one, which I also dislike and a Bourjois one, which is great. I few weeks ago, I had a sudden urge to upgrade my lip liner collection and since Catrice was by far the most recommended brand when I asked on Instagram, I grabbed four in the shop, two of each versions that Catrice sells and later grabbed another one at the Cosnova event. Queue a very picture heavy post featuring a lot of swatches, pictures of my lips and my boring mug. I promise you will get so tired of my face at the end of this post, I sure am after preparing for this post (I hate taking selfies). 

Longlasting Lip Pencils

Longlasting Lip Pencils are classic liners that need to be sharpened. These are much harder pencils than Essence's and are closer to Bourjois' formula, but not quite as dry. Personally, I prefer harder liners as they allow a very defined line, and don't wipe off so easy, but a more dry texture is, of course, not as comfortable to wear. These are still creamy enough to transfer easily on the lips and can easily be used all over as a lip colour, however, it also means that they need to sharpened very regularly. Since the formula is between soft and hard, it means that though they don't smear or at least wipe off as easily as Essences, they still don't last amazingly well on its own on the lips, especially the light colours, but in combination with a good lip colour they should. These cost 2.29 €, which is a bargain and I do recommend these.

040 ...And The Cherry On The Top

This is the best one in terms of quality in the bunch. The formula is smooth and applies nicely without dragging on the lips, but it's not so creamy that it would smear everywhere like Essence liners. ...And The Cherry On The Top is s deep red with a touch of a pink hue and it's the most useful colour I picked up because it goes well with a lot of lip colours I own. 

070 I Got You Babel

This is the one I grabbed at the Cosnova event. I cannot believe I missed this the first time I went to pick up liners. It is so pretty. My absolute favourite one to wear on its own. In fact, I have been wearing it for the past couple of weeks as a simple, everyday lip colour. It's a nude-pink-peachy colour that is close to my natural lip colour, but a touch darker, warmer and peachier. Truly such a flattering colour because it gives my lips definition as well as a natural hint of a warm colour. The texture is on the hard side, but I still wear it on its own, despite that it is dry. 

Love this.

  150 Vintage Rose

Vintage rose is an almost exactly the same colour as my natural lips making it perfect especially for defining my natural lips or cheating the lip line, which I have none as my lip colour just slowly transitions into my the skin tone (I literally have no idea where my lips "end"). It's a soft natural nude-pink and the same shade as the discontinued Soft Rose lip liner by Essence. The texture is hard, especially compared to the Essence lip liners, so I wouldn't wear this as a stand alone product on the lips because it will emphasize imperfections.

Ultimate Stay Lip Liners 

These are twist-up pencils meaning they needn't be sharpened, however, this also means that the tip will always be more on the blunt side than of those that can be sharpened. The twist-up mechanism works fine on my two liners and it gets the product out as well as back in the tube. But there is an issue with these liners - they are ridiculously fragile. I have to be very careful that I don't twist up too much before applying it on the lips as the product just breaks off in that case. In terms of staying power, I must admit I haven't paid much attention whether these are any better than Longlasting Pencils. To me these seem quite similar, perhaps a bit thicker when it comes to texture. Again as the Longlasting Pencils these are more on the hard side, but they still transfer well.  These cost 2.49 €, which is again very inexpensive.
Edit: I just discovered these have a pencil sharpener on the other side. You just have to pull it out. Unfortunately, I find it useless because due to the fragile nature of the product, the tip just breaks off and lodges in the sharpener. 

040 Love The Way You Plum

Love The Way You Plum is a deep plum shade and I love how this shade looks on me, though I thought it looked more burgundy in the shop, but no matter. I saw this shade in a post Taya made and I got it despite the warnings that it's very fragile. It's a very good match for Rimmel's 107 lipstick, which leans more to purple on me than on most, so I'm very happy I finally found a matching lip liner. While it can be worn on it's on as a lip colour, I wouldn't because it doesn't look completely even when applied all over and it's sticky when it's on the lips.

 080 Mauve Me, Tender 

I openly admit, it was a mistake for me to buy it. I bought this shade purely for the 90's trend and it's not working for me at all. It's a mauve-medium purple shade that is just too cool and grey toned for my skin tone, I'm just not pulling it off. There is a high possibility that this should look a lot more wearable on someone darker than me. 

 ESSENCE Lipliner 

14 Femme Fatale

I got this shade at the Cosnova event and I'm just sticking it here with the rest of the liners because it's convenient. I've said before that I'm not a fan of Essence liners because I find them too creamy, smudgy and lacking staying power. However, I am aware that most people love a creamier formula instead of a hard pencil as me, so to each their own. Femme Fatale is a warm bright red and to me the super smooth and creamy formula resembles much more to a lipstick than a lip liner. My problem with it is than I can't get such a crisp line than with a Catrice liner, but you get a very pigmented, non-drying  lip colour for 1.19 €.

Any recommendations for nice lip liners? I'll probably get a few new ones from Bourjois.

Have a great day!