Honest Beauty Liquid Lipsticks Review & Swatches

The demand for cleaner beauty products has brought more options to the drugstore, making them more accessible and affordable than ever. One brand that’s been at the forefront of the movement is Honest Beauty, created by Jessica Alba. Now, I’ll admit: I haven’t had the best luck with clean and natural beauty products in the past— Honest products have been hit or miss for me as well. After my last exploration into the brand, and subsequent disappointment, I decided to try again and test out their new Honest Beauty Liquid Lipsticks.

The Honest Liquid Lipsticks are supposed to offer full coverage color, all day wear, and a “shine-to-matte” finish that feels flexible and hydrating for up to 8 hours. The formula features coconut alkanes, avocado oil and hyaluronic acid for a comfortable wear. How did it actually hold up? Keep reading for my thoughts and wear test.

First, let’s take a look at the four shades I have from the collection.

Off Duty

Off Duty is a light neutral pink. It’s surprisingly flattering, as light pinks normally look bizarre on my skin tone.

BFF

I can’t get over this shade! BFF is a brownish mauve that will match any look.

Forever

Forever is more of a true pink mauve, a great choice for fall.

Fearless

Fearless is probably my favorite out of the four I own. It’s a gorgeous rich berry color that makes a statement while still being wearable.

Upon first swipe, I was pleasantly surprised with how much pigment I got with one layer. The only shade I needed to build up was Off Duty, and not by much. The formula is a thin creamy consistency that spreads over the lips easily. I like the smaller-sized doe foot applicator, as it helps me get precise when I want to overdraw my lips as I typically do with liquid lipsticks.

Now, the “shine-to-matte” formula is an interesting one. These do appear to have a matte finish after drying down, but they never feel that way. They don’t feel drying or crackly, and actually retain a bit of tackiness. With that said, they never quite set all the way. Despite their long lasting, all day claims, these aren’t smudge-proof or transfer-proof. A considerable amount of color did transfer onto my drinking glass with each sip.

Weirdly enough though, the transferring color didn’t seem to affect the appearance on the lips all that much. Above you can see a before and after eating and drinking, and while overall the color isn’t as strong as it was freshly applied, I wouldn’t need rush to fix this ASAP after a meal. Only the innermost part of the lips showed obvious wear.

The color lasted and looked great through one more meal about 4 hours later before I felt like it was done for the day, and time to either remove or touch up.

I’m really liking this liquid lipstick, honestly… no pun intended! It’s super comfortable and the shades are gorgeous. I’m not a big fan of how it transfers onto anything my lips touch, but since that doesn’t mess with the integrity of the look, I can deal with it. Especially since they feel so comfortable and even nourishing on the lips, I’ll take it. They remind me a bit of my absolute favorite, the Physicians Formula Health Lip, but feel more noticeable on the lips due to the slight tackiness they retain.

You can find the Honest Beauty Liquid Lipsticks on Amazon for $15.

Have you tried anything from Honest Beauty that you love?