Potent Paints

I was recently lucky enough to win an Instagram giveaway held by Ulta 3, the prize featured the full range of their Lip Paints plus matching nail polishes. Now, I'm a big fan of Ulta 3, out of my nail polish collection I own the most Ulta 3 polishes and I've also reviewed a couple of their lipsticks which are really good! I was very excited by this release but was scared they were going to be similar to the Rimmel Apocalips (ie. a wet, sloppy mess), but have no fear because they're much better!

The Lip Paints are packaged similarly to the Australis Pout Pastes; a squeezy tube with a doe-foot applicator, making the product very easy to apply. The tubes are colour co-ordinated making them very easy to spot in your collection. I really like the typography on the tubes, I think it's super cute and not tacky at all!

Basically these are another liquid lipstick type product - colour and longevity of a lipstick, with the ease of application and shine of a gloss. So, as you can see, these babies are incredibly pigmented in one swipe, one layer is generally all you need. You can also sheer them out by applying a dab and blending over the lips. The texture is not thick, gloopy or sticky at all, but not uber thin or wet either. It's somewhere in the middle that allows it to be applied and spread easily over the lips, yet not be wet or transfer that easily (they still do a little though). They have a slight sheen but not very glossy, it just gives a comfortable feel on the lips. 

I was actually quite surprised by the staying power of these lippies! It still looked perfect after 3 or so hours, and it survived through lunch! I always have my friend do a lip check (after all, what are friends for) and she was like "It actually still looks really good! Good job whatever lipstick you're wearing!", so there ya go, good job Ulta 3! I didn't need to reapply for a while after, but I did get a bit of wear through the centre of the lips after another couple of hours, but it's not that noticeable as they do stain the lips slightly. They're very easy to reapply though!

They also claim to be enriched with Vitamin E making them moisturising. I wouldn't particularly say they're moisturising, while they did leave my lips a tad drier, it wasn't anything considerable. They are still extremely comfortable to wear. They also have a peppermint scent which I quite enjoy - it smells like Arnotts Mint Slice!

L-R: Eclectic Orange, Radical Red, Expressive Fuchsia, Extreme Pink, Manic Mauve, Loud Purple

Eclectic Orange is a bright, true orange. It's not very red-leaning making it a little less wearable. On my very yellow skintone, it can tend to look a little pumpkin-y, but still nice!

Radical Red is a nice, true red, if anything a tad blue-toned.

Expressive Fuchsia is a hot pink that is slightly fuchsia-leaning.

Extreme Pink is an incredibly pale, cool-toned bubblegum pink. Probably my least favourite shade because it doesn't sit very well on my skintone.

Manic Mauve is the perfect mauve for the cooler seasons. It's a very wearable, slightly berry-toned mauve.

Loud Purple is PURPLE, but dang I love it! It's definitely eye-catching and quite a grape-y purple/violet shade.

What I also love about these is how easy they are to mix and blend colours. I've found this is my favourite way to use them - there is an abundance of colours you can create! Makes some of the less wearable colours a bit more wearable. These are a few of my favourite combos:

L-R: Orange + Pink, Mauve + Purple, Fuchsia + Red

Overall I've thoroughly been enjoying the Ulta 3 Lip Paints. They definitely surpassed whatever expectations I had of them, and I think I'll definitely be reaching for them whenever I get the tingles for a bold lip. They are absolutely amazing for the low price of AUD$5.95 and I fo sho recommend them over the Apocalips.