Kat Von D Painted Love Lipstick Set Volume 1 Review, Swatches, Photos
I haven’t tried the Kat Von D Painted Love Lipstick as of yet. I’m more a shadow, palette kinda girl and that’s the first thing I hit up from a brand with lip products coming at last place after I’ve explored everything else. Although the packaging was instantly deemed wicked by me after seeing the lipstick, I never bothered swatching or playing with it for some reason.
However, when the new Kat Von D Holiday Gift Sets launched at Sephora I was instantly attracted to the get more, pay less vibe going on with the Painted Love Lipstick Set. Awesome packaging plus six shades of Painted Love Lipstick for me to try out for $28 bucks.
Yup, I needed it.
Let’s check it out.
Kat Von D Painted Love Lipstick Set Volume 1 contains six 0.042 oz mini Painted Love Lipsticks in various shades packaged in a keepsake flip book!
First off props to the packaging department. I love the packaging and think it’s well worth the price of admission. If nothing else the packaging will grab and hold your attention particularly if you’re a book lover. This is a hard shelled compact that’s shaped like an older classic library book. It’s really fun packaging and easy for storage too as it props up just like a real book so you can tuck it onto a shelf out of site. It states Volume 1 which leads me to believe they’ll be future releases which of course kick starts my collect ’em all disease.
Flip it open and gold lame lettering and tattoo art are bordered around the lipstick wells. Each lipstick is tucked into its own well for safe keeping.
You get a total of six mini lipstick so it’s a great way to try various shades if you love the product or if you’re new to them, like me, you get a variety to enjoy.
Lipsticks include: Lolita (nude rose), Celebutard (nude beige), Underage Red (true red), Hellbent (brick red maroon), Cathedral (nude-ish beige rose), and Rosary (vamp-y blackened purple red). Two shades are exclusive to the set which are Rosary and Celebutard.
The formula on these are all creamy with a creamy finish. No glitter, no shimmer. They apply well however….
They do feel a tad dry on. Not sure if the formula has changed from these smaller versions to the regular size (it’s been known to happen with smaller sizes) as I’ve never tried the product prior to this but the lipstick feels quite dry on my lips. I do not favor cream finishes and sadly these are all cream formulas. Sadly, the formula isn’t hydrating or moisturizing. They glide on lips very well thankfully and are nicely pigmented but those with dry lips should be ware since they won’t look as lovely on if your lips are cracked or dry.
Formula feels very long wearing to me and I can get through hours without problems of fading, bleeding, or migrating however the dryness does kinda make my lips feel a tad stiff but nothing too bad. The plus side of the lipstick is, if they do wear away they leave behind a nice stain of color that can get you through an extra hour or two prior to touch up.
These are tiny and the overall gift set becomes a tad expensive due to the extra small size. You can easily use one a week if you don’t have a large stash of lipstick and use a shade daily. I felt like they were even smaller than many mini lipsticks I’ve tried in other gift sets. It’s about $4.60 per a lipstick when divided by the $28 price tag which isn’t too bad thanks to the pigmented formula however you can get a hydrating, moisturizing full size lipstick at the drugstore for possibly $5 or less in some cases so you might need to take that into consideration when purchasing and deciding if this is a fan girl moment or a purchase you’ll make proper use of.
I was disappointed in both the lack of finishes and lack of shades. I wish they had included a few shimmery finishes along with the creams plus I feel like I’m making use of merely three of the shades since Underage Red, Rosary, and Celebutard do not work for me. Maybe I’m completely nuts here but I wish they had included shades that were more universally flattering. Underage Red is not something most people can pull off or at least I think so. I will say that Lolita and Cathedral are two gems as they give a nice MLBB (my lips but better) look.
I wish the box, book, packaging would be reusable. This is a nice sturdy compact however the inside is cardboard. The cardboard isn’t an issue but I was thinking once I use the lipstick it would be cool if I could remove the compartment wells that the lipsticks are held in and maybe place jewelry or other small items inside. Sadly if you try to rip through these compartments you’ll just ruin the entire “book”.
- Anyone who loves Kat Von D (fan girls will flock towards this which is understandable).
- Anyone who likes Painted Love Lipstick (you get six to try here which is nice if not for the smaller size).
- Anyone looking for a goth-y chic gift for the rocker chick in your life.
- Anyone wanting more for less (the size prevents me from saying you’ll get alot more here for alot less).
- Anyone who can’t pull off true red, vampy, or nude shades of lipstick (these three shades make up 50% of the palette so you might wish to skip if these shades do not suit you).
- Anyone with dry lips (although a creamy finish and formula, the lipstick still comes across on the dry side).
Although my review for the most part comes across bad, I will say the set is very cute but it needs a little work. I might be worth a haul during friends and family plus the collectibility factors in if you collect makeup. I like it overall but I’ve considered returning it since I’m utilizing only 50% of the shades included but than my obsessive makeup side kicks in and tells me, “keep it, you’ll regret returning it if another one is released…”
If they slapped this together with better colors and made the box user friendly after the product was gone I’d probably give it a Muse Approval but as is, well, it needs a little work. But it is understandable if you want to haul it for yourself because the package rocks it even though what’s inside doesn’t.
Ahh the strange life of a makeup junkie! This set proves a personal choice for makeup lovers. You might wish to indulge just because you’re a collector but if you’re more level headed you might have the will to just say no and purchase something else you’ll make use of!