Review: Lipstick Queen Velvet Rope in Entourage

When not to long ago Christian Louboutin announced the release of an ‘ultra luxe’ lipstick line, with a $90 price tag (US dollars) for each lipstick, I laughed in their face (ha!) and declared I would never pay that much for a lipstick (fools!) – especially, since they are depending on their luxury brand name to reel customers in. Now I feel a little silly, in that I just splurged $74 on a lipstick 0_O I know, I know. However…. there is a difference I do believe, because niche cosmetic brands need to rely on the quality of their products much more than just their brand name and that’s why I was willing to try a Lipstick Queen Velvet Rope lipstick. I’m not suggesting that the Louboutin lipsticks aren’t high quality (you would like to hope they would be!) but the hype around certain products just bugs me after a while and I’m really not a fan of splashing brand names in peoples faces (I find that quite crude and tacky). As Lipstick Queen is a brand I’m very familiar with and love the passion Poppy King puts into every product, I really, really wanted this to be the best lipstick on Earth. Plus, the fully metal, heavy packaging, just made my eyes glaze over with lust… they didn’t hold anything back when it came to the formula or packaging, so I really do think it is one of the best lipstick formulas you will ever find (yep, I said it!). I picked up the colour Entourage, a deep wine shade, for a wedding in Melbourne (such a Melbourne shade if I say so myself) and it’s beeeeautiful <3

I was inspired by the golden years of Hollywood when glamour was in every detail. This is the lipstick of the red carpet, the people, the place and the personalities that glide past the Velvet Rope and into the night. Poppy King~

The packaging really does look like it is straight out of the 40s or 50s. It is heavy, weighty and just elegant. A lot of higher end cosmetic brands don’t do full metal packaging anymore (be it Chanel, Dior or Guerlain) so this lipstick will stand out from all the others in your collection! What about the formula?

This is pure glamour and luxury for your lips! A pigment-rich yet feather-light lipstick that delivers the drama and intensity of matte without compromising on comfort. The way this lipstick glides weightlessly onto your lips needs to be experienced to be believed! 

1. Glides weightlessly imparting rich, intense color in a single application with an ultra-soft, velvety texture

2. Vitamin E and Apricot Oil ensure lips remain moisturized and supple

3. The final addition of Peppermint Oil adds a clean and subtle scent

It’s most definitely matte, but it’s a comfortable matte formula (so it’s not as dry like MAC’s retro matte formula or the liquid lipsticks we are now seeing). When first applied, it has a slight sheen to it, but it mattifies as you wear it. It is super pigmented and glides on smoothly onto the lips. I actually find this formula so much easier to work with compared to say, Tom Ford lipsticks. At first I hesitated in picking up the shade Entourage as I thought it would be similar to Tom Ford’s Black Orchid (#18) but I am sooo glad I did. Black Orchid can be such a pain in the ass to work with. The pigment can apply unevenly and with a dark lipstick, you can see this quite obviously on the lips. Entourage is easier to work with because the lipstick feels a little ‘thicker’, so you can coat your lips much more quickly and you ‘play’ with it less (so your less likely to go overboard and make it move around to much!).

Is the lipstick long lasting? Hell yes! I wore it to a wedding and reception, which were 5 hours apart and I didn’t need to touch up my lipstick once (I also ate lunch in-between the events!). As it is a matte lipstick, it will ‘dry down’ on your lips and if parts of your lips are drier than others, then pigment will cling to dry skin. This just means that you need to prep your lips very well (lip scrub+hydrating lip balm, left on as long as possible) if you want the lipstick to last 8 hours plus, without touch ups. The lipstick does fade evenly eventually.

All the Velvet Rope lipsticks smell like peppermint, which I personally really like. It’s just a ‘classic’ scent, I think it fits the design of the lipsticks. The closure on the lipstick cap, makes a great ‘clicking’ noise to let you know it’s firmly closed.

The wine shade is most definitely red based and a little cool. In comparison, TF Black Orchid is more purple and a touch darker. Perhaps it’s those purple pigments which makes it more difficult to work with.

Above: On the left, Lipstick Queen’s Velvet Rope Lipstick in Entourage while on the Right, Tom Ford’s Black Orchid.

After doing a little research, I have found that vintage lipstick bullets were smaller than most lipsticks sold today (to fit easily in a ladies handbag!), so when you have a close look at the Velvet Rope lipsticks, you will find that the bullets look smaller because they are thinner, but in fact, a lot of lipsticks today contain only 3 grams of product like Tom Ford lippies as opposed to the Velvet Rope lipsticks which contain 3.5 grams of product, so it’s not to bad of a deal! Also, I always asked for a Tom Ford lipstick when my bf went abroad to the States and only now do I realise that they cost $75 here in Aus! Lipstick Queen’s Velvet Rope Lipsticks win in that case, both in size, quality and packaging in my eyes. Yes, Tom Ford offers a much wider colour range, but I think that’s maybe why there are some more ‘difficult’ colours in the line, while there’s only 5 colours in the Velvet Rope line.

Above: Wearing Lipstick Queen’s Velvet Rope Lipstick in Entourage (this photo was taken about 5 hours after application).

Entourage will be a staple in my Winter makeup wardrobe 🙂 I loooove it so much, I am tempted to try another shade! But for that to happen, we will have to wait *sigh… You can find this special range of lipsticks at Mecca Cosmetica and Mecca Maxima in Aus. Would you beauties spend $74 on a lipstick??? Let me know in the comments below! 🙂

Catch ya next time,

Beauty Bee~

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