Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick Review & Swatches
Oh lord where does one start with Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick ($2.99)? Jordana introduced Modern Matte Lipstick to their permanent color cosmetics collection for Spring 2015 in 12 shade selections. They market these as a “kiss your dry matte lipstick goodbye and say hello to modern matte” which implies to me they are hydrating. They also call them an all day wear formula without the typical dry lip finish that feathers and cracks.
Something got terribly lost in translation here!
I should start by saying that I’ve never met a Jordana lip product I didn’t like. They have a cheap, affordable collection of products that end up being surprisingly good. I dunno, sometimes when you pay two bucks for a lipgloss you automatically assume it’ll stink! Not the case with Jordana! They have a lot of sleeper hit products that I enjoy using.
I think Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick is one of the first product I’ve been truly disappointed in.
These in an array of gorgeous shades! Many of the shades are ones I’d personally pick out for myself and likely wear often. There are a good deal of MLBB (my lips but better) colors which I absolutely adore. The colors are quite pigmented as well.
Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick Swatches (Matte Adorable, Matte Pretty, Matte Caliente, Matte Style)
Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick Swatches (Matte Bare, Matte Blush, Matte Frappuccino, Matte Tease)
Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick Swatches (Matte It Girl, Matte Classy, Matte Dare, Mate Popular)
But…
I feel like I should hum the imperial march now.
These are SO DENSE! I expected a creamy matte lipstick but what I got was a dense, HARD lipstick formula that was literally painful as I applied them. They drag horribly! I think it would be more comfortable dragging a razor blade across my lips than this lipstick. After testing and swatching 12 shades my lips felt so raw, abused, and chapped. Ugh. Funny they swatch ok…not great, not fantastic but nothing led me to believe while swatching them on my arm that they texture would be so dense during application. Initially I thought this was an isolated issue but all twelve shades prove to have the same formula. I tried warming them up by swatching back and fourth across my arm as I thought maybe it was just the first layer that was hard but nope! Seems the density runs right through the lipstick.
Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick (Matte Caliente)
Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick (Matte Adorable)
Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick (Modern Matte)
Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick (Matte Blush)
Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick (Matte Classy)
Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick (Matte Dare)
Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick (Matte Frappuccino)
Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick (Matte It Girl)
Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick (Matte Popular)
Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick (Matte Pretty)
Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick (Matte Style)
Jordana Modern Matte Lipstick (Matte Tease)
Once I have them on, which is a chore, they actually look really nice. They provide nice color, a smooth, soft matte finish that isn’t patchy or dry looking in the least. They wear for a good five hours but I find at around hour three they do tend to crack a good deal however, in this time frame I don’t feel like they are sucking TOO much moisture from my lips. This isn’t to say they are hydrating but they aren’t nearly as dry as I thought they’d be either.
However, I have to say I’d avoid these. At $2.99 they are a steal yes but the application process is one holy mess! I was kind of hoping that my initial press samples might not have the formula that they will market to stores so if anyone tried these and had a better experience please share as I’m curious to hear your thoughts.
As of now they get a big thumbs down from me.
Love you Jordana but these new Modern Matte Lipsticks just aren’t doing it for me.