The very first lip pencils (I mean lip pencils of the lipstick variety, not those meant to be used as liners!) I tried were from Tarte - from the Lipsurgence range. I quite liked the minty scent, and they felt really good during application. However, I never found a color I liked and kind of dropped the whole idea of lip pencils in general. Last year, Sephora had a perk where you could get a mini Clinique Chubby Stick...and while I didn't care for the color so much I was somewhat on a mission to find a lip pencil I could love!
Enter Vivianna Does Makeup. If you aren't familiar with VDM I highly recommend her blog and videos - you can find her YouTube channel HERE. She mentioned in several of her videos how much she loves the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils - actually she mentioned a specific color but I can't remember which one now?? Anyway, since she loved them so much I figured NARS was a good place to start.
***All items purchased by me. Affiliate links included.***
I started with the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Train Bleu, but returned it because it was dry and emphasized all the bad bits of my lips - flakes, lines and every nook and cranny I didn't even know I had! I wrote about it in my Return to Sender III post, HERE.
The next 3 lip pencils I tried are the ones I'm sharing today and are pictured above...
Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist #4
NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Luxembourg
NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Bettina
Let's start with NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Bettina since it's the color I'm loving the most! While I expected Bettina to be rather dry since Train Bleu was horribly dry and they are both from the Velvet Matte range, it's not so dry that it's a deal breaker. Bettina definitely has a drier formula, but I wouldn't say it actually dries my lips out...buuuut it also isn't moisturizing either. All that said, I love the color so much - a really great neutral that doesn't make me look completely dead or like I have Barbie lips - that I remedy the lack of moisture by applying my Bite Beauty Line and Define Lip Primer first (review HERE). The Bite provides just enough slip and moisture to make Bettina a very comfortable lip to wear all day.
Onto NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Luxembourg. This lip pencil feels soooo smooth and glides onto my lips with ease. It's got more moisture than Bettina, but don't expect a balmy feel. It's like a nice little slip of moisture...just enough to feel comfortable wearing without a primer or balm underneath. And Luxembourg feels like nothing on my lips...sometimes I forget I have it on until I look in a mirror. The color is really vibrant and bright - not for the faint of heart!! It also even looks brighter depending what the light situation is. This also makes a really pretty stain. My only negative is that this color seems to bleed really badly...like within an hour I can see it starting to seep past my lip line. I love the color and how it feels on, so I simply use a clear liner or use it as a stain.
Lastly...Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist #4 Pinky. This is my latest acquisition in the lip pencil line up, and also my first Sisley product to try!!! I purchased it when Barneys extended their Love Yourself Beauty Bag and also had a really nice Sisley GWP...'cuz you know how I hate GWP's!! LOL!! I've been lemming this lip pencil ever since seeing it on a British Beauty Blogger post (HERE), and couldn't stop thinking about it. This is marketed as a tinted lip balm - I also found that interesting, since it is pencil form!! Given this is a Sisley product, it should be no surprise that it's $50. Oooof. For a lip pencil. Would I pay $50 again to get another one??? No. Here's why...
Love the color...it's a nice bright, but not too bright pink that'll be great for the Spring and Summer. The formula is a little more than slightly moisturizing and oh-so-slightly-balmy in feel. I find it needs to be reapplied more frequently than both of the NARS pencils. I do love that it's a twist up vs. needing to physically sharpen it. IDK...it's a really nice product but not outstanding nor amazing. And for $50 I wanted it to knock my socks off!!!
Also to note, the package says this color is #4. But all the sites refer to this color as Pinky. Pictures are labeled as the package is labeled.
Sunlight.
I think this picture illustrates the finishes the best - Sisley is the most dewy, slightly glossy...Luxembourg definitely has a satin finish...Bettina is definitely matte, but not completely flat. Here, Bettina also appears warmer than it does on my lips.
Sunlight.
Shade.
This illustrates how Luxembourg can change depending on the light. This picture is also a better representation of the slight pink tones in Bettina and is closer to how it appears on my lips. Overall, I'd like to investigate the NARS pencils more, but will probably pass on another Sisley pencil.
NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Bettina, $25 @ Sephora, Net-A-Porter, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks
NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Luxembourg, $25 @ Sephora, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus,
Sisley Phyto-Lip Twist #4 Pinky, $50 @ Nordstrom, Saks, Barneys, Neiman Marcus (As of this date, Barneys still has their Love Yourself bags with $250 beauty purchase, as well as a lot of other line specific GWP's)