With the mandatory use of face mask almost everywhere, we are desperately looking for mask-proof makeup. Lipstick is the one product that suffers more the effects of masks – most of the lipstick gets transferred to the masks and you finish up with no lipstick on your lips and a red face mask.

I recently tried a matte lipstick by Essence, the Stay 8 H Matte Liquid Lipstick, which is supposed to be mask-proof. Is it true?

What the brand says

You can rely on the Essence Stay 8H Matte Liquid Lipstick as its ultra-long durability of up to eight hours has been proven in independent tests. Easily applied with the ergonomic applicator, the nine seductive and wearable colours provide the lips with an extremely matte finish. And the texture is so light that you almost can’t feel it. Quick-drying and non-transfer.

 

How to use it

Using the applicator, apply evenly to clean hydrated lips and let dry down to matte.

Ingredients

Isododecane, Dimethicone, Mica, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Isohexadecane, Kaolin, Cyclopentasiloxane, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Synthetic Beeswax, Cera Microcristallina (Microcrystalline Wax), Disteardimonium Hectorite, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Propylene Carbonate, Bht, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum (Fragrance), Ci 15850 (Red 6), Ci 15850 (Red 7 Lake), Ci 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake), Ci 77491 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77492 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77499 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77891 (Titanium Dioxide).

Shades available

01 Hello Sunrise – a light nude.

02 Duck Face – a striking nude.

03 Down To Earth – a delicious fuchsia.

04 Mad About You – a striking red.

05 Date Proof – a cute pinky purple.

06 To Be Fair – a true fuchsia.

07 Let’s Chill – a reddy brown.

08 I Dare You – a deep red.

09 Bite Me If You Can – a reddy purple.

Shades available. From Left to right, 01 to 09

Price and Availability

It is widely available. You can buy it from most of the drugstores and the price is £3 for 3 mL.

My experience using Essence Stay 8 H Matte Liquid Lipstick

The Essence Stay 8H Matte Liquid Lipstick is a liquid lipstick that comes in a typical cylindrical plastic tube. This tube colour is different for the different shades, as it tries to match the lipstick shade. It comes with a wand-type applicator. It is spongy, quite flat and a bit bent to make application easier.

Shade 02 Duck Face

I have two of the shades, 02 Duck Face and 09 Bit Me If You Can, though I was pretty sure I had three, I think I should have lost one in any of my bags……. The shade Duck Face is a brown nude while the shade Bit Me If You Can is a bright pink-reddish tone.

Shade 09 Bit me If You Can

I don’t like to apply this type of lipsticks with the applicator, I think it is not very hygienic to introduce the applicator in the tube after touching your lips. Normally I apply all the liquid lipsticks with a lip brush that I can wash after each use. 

For the purpose of this review, I made an effort and used the applicator. Maybe because I am not used to them, I felt it does not apply the lipstick precisely enough and leaves a lot of product on your lips.

Wand detail

I applied it most of the time with my lip brush and it is so much better. The texture is velvety and soft, it is highly pigmented and dries very quickly. You need a very small layer of product to get the full colour. It is matte, really matte, as claimed by the brand and in the name, but it does not leave a dry feeling on my lips, which are already very dry. The feeling of this lipstick is very comfortable during the day.

The most important question and the reason for this review are: do these lipsticks transfer to the face mask?

Images are always better than words, look at the video and decide:

They don’t transfer  ✌✌✌✌✌✌✌✌  Obviously if you wear the face mask all day they will transfer a bit, but, at this moment, there is nothing in the market that does not transfer at all during a day wearing the face mask.

They are long-lasting. I wear them all working days, which means I drink coffee, tea, water, and take my lunch and I do not need to re-apply as the lipstick is in place. There is a bit of fading in the inside part of the lips, which is normal for all the lipsticks I have tried.

In the evening, when I remove my makeup, I need to use an oil-based cleanser to remove the lipstick because I cannot remove it with water-based cleansers.

There is a small con for these lipsticks as you cannot apply gloss on top of them. If you don’t like the matte finish lipsticks and you prefer to apply some lip gloss, you will end up transferring the lipstick to the face mask and it will not stay for eight hours. I don’t have this problem as I don’t like lip gloss at all. I think I should have only a couple on my stash. Most of my lipsticks are matte.

In summary, if you are looking for a mask compatible lipstick you should try this. It does not transfer and lasts all day. If you like glossy lips, you can always apply lip gloss when you remove your face mask.

✅ Pros

• Nice texture

• Do not transfer

• Last all-day

• Highly pigmented

• Affordable

❎ Cons

• Few colours available

• Cannot apply lip gloss on top

❔ Will you buy them again?

I bought one to try and after that, I bought two more (however, I lost the first one and I have only two at the moment). I am planning to buy the whole collection, as they are not expensive, and I am crossing my fingers to see if they decide to expand the collection and include some more shades.

If you are looking for a fixed lipstick that you can use safely with a face mask, let me know in the comments. I have another option that allows you to transform any lipstick into fixed lipstick and it is affordable, and I can review this product in the next post.

 

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