Gone are the days of having makeup testers attached to each display unit at the store, so this year I’m even more committed to sharing high-quality swatches.
And for the first post of 2021, we’re reviewing the Mini Lipsticks from Quo Beauty.
You may have seen these lipsticks in my Quo Beauty 2020 post, so today we’re taking a closer look at the Mini Lipsticks, which retail for $10 CAD.
There is an array of lipstick shades available in this collection, so there are tons of options, but today I have 3.
It comes in a square matte tube, which is a dream for storage, and the lipstick shade is reflected by the outer packaging. The bullet is embossed with a “Q”.
The first thing that caught my eye is that these are not full-sized lipsticks. While a standard-sized lipstick contains approx. 3.5g of product, the Quo Beauty Mini Lipstick contains 1.6g of product. Now let’s break this down by the dollar. This lipstick is $10 CAD, meaning it costs $6.25/g. A MAC lipstick costs about $8.00/g, a Smashbox lipstick costs about $9.33/g, a Maybelline lipstick costs about $2.49/g and an e.l.f. lipstick costs about $0.88/g. So Quo Beauty’s Mini Lipstick is not the most expensive lipstick out there, but definitely one of the priciest drugstore brand lipsticks.
Buttered Up is a warm pale pink. It was creamy and had a matte finish.
All In is a radiant orchid with a shiny finish. This one applies sheer at first, so it needs to be built up to achieve a full-colour payoff.
Cherry Soda is a burgundy red. It may look like a standard red from far away, but it has that punch of pink that elevates it to the next level. This shade is my favourite of the 3.
The comfort-level of these lipsticks was okay, but nothing groundbreaking. They were nice and wearable colours (meaning they weren’t *so* pigmented that it was “too much”), but there was a big issue I ran into. You know when lipstick is about to expire and it has that saltwater-y smell when you apply it that indicates that “the end is near”? That smell was present after the lipstick had been open for only 4 months. This is the quickest I have seen a standard lipstick (as in not a liquid formula) go bad. The quick expiry combined with the high price for a mini lipstick means that I wouldn’t recommend it. If you’re looking for a great drugstore lipstick, you can get a fantastic Maybelline lipstick for less than $10 that will last much longer and feel very moisturizing.
