Under The Spotlight: Maybelline Superstay Lipstick

My friend, Kat, and I talk about many things when we get together or when we message each other over the years.  We both like the same sort of music, we like the same style of clothing, we share the same tastes in footwear, but one thing we adore (and talk about a lot!) is make up by Maybelline. Mainly their mascaras and lipsticks. Especially Maybelline’s Superstay Lipstick.

Maybelline Superstay Lipsticks have been a feature in our make up bags for a while – I think it was Kat who first told me about its virtues.  For those who don’t know, the lipstick has fantastic staying power and the range of colours suit everybody’s tastes.   I prefer the pinks and nudes of the colour spectrum; whereas Kat is a big fan of the reds and burgundies.

Me, at Gatwick Airport at 4am, wearing my Superstay lipstick ….

In September/October, Maybelline had a range change and had repackaged and reformulated some of its make up items – including our favourite lippy! Being a  Superstay Lipstick guru, Kat had concerns about whether the lipstick is still as good as it used to be – so she decided to give the new look Superstay Lipstick a try and here’s her review …..

I’ve been a big fan of Maybelline Superstay lipstick for some time now, as its the only one I’ve found that actually does what it says on the tin. I have three shades that I use regularly and since moving to a Scottish island earlier in the year, have been stockpiling these so that I don’t run out. Especially as, much to my horror, I was advised a year or two ago that there were plans to discontinue the range and replace it with something else.

Earlier in the year, I found a range that was labelled Superstay and tried them, but without success, and had therefore stepped-up my stockpiling efforts. In the meantime, I have also found what I believe to be new shades in what I have come to think of as the ‘traditional’ Superstay 24 range (see photo), and have now added a fourth shade to my favourites. So maybe there is hope that this traditional range is not for imminent demise.

Whatever the truth of that assumption may be, you may also have seen the recent TV advertising campaign showing us a new Maybelline Superstay Matte Ink lipstick range: as you may imagine, I’ve been quite excited to try it out. Earlier in the week, I found a range of these lipsticks in the Orpington Boots Maybelline concession. How could I possibly resist!

I bought their shade No.45 Escapist (a very dark purple – again, see photo) and yesterday, I wore it all day.

 

I first applied it at around 8am. Out of the tube, the applicator seemed quite clogged, but it was easy to wipe off the excess on the top of the tube, and very easy to apply. At first, without the lip balm that came with the traditional Superstay lipstick, it felt quite cloying and dry on my lips, much like the traditional one does when it’s almost ready to apply the balm – not quite as bad, but bad enough to persuade me to open my traditional lipstick and apply the balm section. After that, fine and comfy.

I took the first photo immediately after eating breakfast. There was no residue on the spoon or my tea mug. My lips still felt perfectly comfortable. So far, so promising.

Without taking either the lipstick or the stick of balm (or indeed, any balm), out with me, I then left the house for the day.

The second photo was taken shortly after lunch – at around 1.30pm (or 5-6 hours after application). Again, there was no staining on my cutlery or my wine glass. However, I was beginning to be conscious of the lipstick on my lips, and I believe you can see a very small amount of colour fade, at the inner edge of my bottom lip.

The third photograph was taken around 7pm (11 hours after application). At this stage, I had drunk a further cup of tea (still no staining) and had not applied any further balm since first application that morning. As you can see, the colour fade has intensified slightly – and I was slightly more conscious of wearing the lipstick.

The fourth photograph was take around 9pm, after having eaten dinner, and drunk a further glass of wine (purely in the interests of research you understand). Again, no staining on my cutlery, but a very slight smudge and a speck of lipstick on my glass. I feel this is reflected in a further fade visible in the photograph.

By this time, my lips were feeling dry enough that I bit off the merest flake from the surface, so I applied more lip balm, this time Nivea Pearly Shine (which is supposed to give a slight sheen to naked lips. It does, but I find the ‘slight’ is further towards the ‘vague’ end of the spectrum). Normally, the traditional lipstick does not fare well when used with a different balm – and as I so rarely find I need to use one, I try not to.

The last photograph of the day was then taken, after also having drunk a cup of hot chocolate (oh how I have suffered in the interests of being thorough). No staining on the cup and only a little further colour fade, which did surprise me slightly, given my comments above.

Before I took to my bed for the night, I again applied the balm from the traditional Superstay lipstick, instead of wiping the lipstick off, so that I could take a final photograph when I woke up. I won’t tell you what time I took the photo this morning, but it had definitely been on for over 24 hours at this point! As I think is clear, it’s not perfect, but it’s definitely still there.

I used to find that the traditional lipstick did not always last as applied for the whole 24 hours, but easily lasted all day out and about, and more than easily coped with a night out, without fading at all. It did occasionally require an extra application of balm, but this did not always help with the staying power of the colour however (especially, as noted, if I used a different one than supplied with the lipstick). My husband also has a full beard and moustache, which can be a bit of a wire brush on lipstick, so am quite happy that it does last overnight, if only in the style of old-fashioned lip liner by the time I wake up! People have stopped me in the street, or over lunch and/or drinks and complimented me on my lipstick and its staying power, and I’ve been happy to recommend the traditional Superstay range.

This new range seems on this evidence to be very close. There was slight colour fade during the day, but this was not obvious until after 11 hours after first application, and though I was conscious of it after 6 hours, it was not noticed by my companions sitting across the table from me. I would also note that the shade I was wearing was very dark, so any fade would be much more noticeable. On any normal day this would be perfectly acceptable, and more than acceptable for a night out. I would prefer however that the lip balm had not been dispensed with.

I will not be ditching my stockpile yet, and very much hope that this is not a replacement for the traditional Superstay range, but merely an addition to the Maybelline offering (they do, after all, offer an almost bewildering range of mascara too, all of which are also great). On the other hand, if this were their only Superstay offering, I would definitely stick with it. But perhaps I would also be keeping the unused balm sections from the traditional range, to use in conjunction”.

Thanks for the review Kat!  It’s a pity about the balm not being incorporated anymore …but I am looking forward to checking out the new range for myself very soon.

Do you use Maybelline’s Superstay range?  Do you have a particular favourite? Do share your thoughts, I’d love to know!

Linda x

Photo Credits:

Review photos – Kat Sparshott;  Pin & other photo – Linda Hobden

 

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