Kat von D Studded Kiss Lipsticks

Kat von D's Studded Kiss lipsticks have been reviewed so many times by so many different people, and the consensus seems to be that either people absolutely love them, or they hate them. Most of the negative reviews have to do with the inconsistency of the quality of formula between the different colors, and the positive reviews typically praise the unique colors, excellent pigmentation and longevity. In my experience with the colors that I have (not all of them are presented in this review), all of those things seem to be true. The lipsticks are availabe in many unique colors that you cannot find elsewhere, and the quality of them is very different between colors.

I, personally, am not normally a fan of glitter, but it just so happens that all of the colors that I have that work well are those colors with glitter or shimmer. The glitter is quite gritty, but since these lipsticks are matte, it is generally not a good idea to press your lips together too much anyway. By avoiding the lip-pressing, you can avoid feeling the grittiness of the glitter, in case that bothers you as much as it bothers me.

Another minor plus point for the lipsticks is the scent. It is described as a creme brulee, and although it doesn't remind me of my favorite dessert, it is a pleasant smell, nonetheless.

Arm Swatches (sunlight)



Arm Swatches (indoor light)



My Naked Lips (for reference)


Wolvesmouth

This is a beautiful, shimmery berry red color that applies fairly evenly, compared to other colors in this line. It is quite drying, as many of the others in the Studded Kiss line are, but this one is less drying than some of the others. In addition, it tends to apply fairly smoothly, as it is less stiff than others.

Nayeon
 
Nayeon is a beautiful, black with silver glitter that gives it a gunmetal color. It is fairly creamy in consistency, but it applies rather unevenly. However, it can be built up to full opacity. Because your lip color may tend to show through, it is probably a good idea to apply a liner underneath.

Gold Blooded
 
Gold Blooded is one of the stiffer colors that I have, and although it is a bit difficult to apply because of the stiffness, it is buildable to fully opaque, even coverage. It is a beautiful cherry red that is unique because of the gold glitter in it. Again, the glitter is quite gritty, but this one is nonetheless a fairly wearable color for any occasion, since the glitter is relatively subtle.

Piaf
 
 Piaf is the most unique color of the whole collection because it is a dark bown with purple glitter. It applies somewhat sheer but can built up to opacity. However, it tends to settle into lip lines, and its coverage is not especially even so it should be accompanied by a lip liner.

Overall, the lipsticks in this collection are nice because they have such unique, sometimes very beautiful, colors, but they are also rather disappointing because the formula is not very good, even in the case of these lipsticks, which were better than the others. For example, I also have Agatha and Coven, and those are horribly stiff and chalky, and Homegirl is extremely stiff and patchy.

I am honestly a bit torn about these lipsticks because some of them are simply nice colors that you would not find anywhere else, and I truly wanted to love them. However, because the formula is not as good as I would expect for this pricepoint (they cost $21 USD for 0.10 oz), I would not recommend these, nor would I re-purchase any full-sized lipsticks from this line, but at least I can enjoy the colors until they are used up. Due to the fact that I do not wear these very often, since I don't really wear a lot of things that go well with glitter, these will likely last a long time.

Disclaimer:
I did not receive any financial or material incentives for this review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Related Links:
Sephora: http://www.sephora.com/studded-kiss-lipstick-P387435?skuId=1621762&icid2=D=c6:products%20grid:p387435
Kat von D: http://www.katvondbeauty.com/lip/lipstick