Review: Hema's Long Lasting Colour

Time for another beauty review. I'm starting to love these posts more and more, maybe even preferring them over outfits because a review gives me the chance to ramble on. Which is sort of my thing.

I'm reviewing Hema's Long Lasting Colour today, which is basically a lipgloss which dries into a long lasting matte lipstick if you use it sans the caring topcoat (which you buy separately), or a long lasting glossy lipstick if you do swipe on some topcoat.

I bought this product in shade 110, which is a gorgeous coppery colour: a brown-red with a very subtle gold sheen. I also brought home the accompanying topcoat, which is colourless, and the true red 106. The lip colour costs 4€, the top coat is available at 3€. I would not advise you to forego the top coat, as this product is very drying without it.

The lip colour is applied with a doe foot applicator, which I found easy enough to work with. If you want a super neat result, you might want to break out your brush, though. Let's check out the formula. From left to right, you see one layer of lip colour sans topcoat, two layers of lip colour sans topcoat, and two layers of lip colour with topcoat. First picture is just after application, second picture is a little while later, and after some vigorous rubbing including water and soap.

This stuff means business, yo. The two pictures were taken in different, light, and the first one shows the colours more truly, but the second really illustrates that the name is not a lie: this is definitely long lasting colour. You'll need proper make up remover and some work to get it all off, especially if you don't use the top coat. The top coat does weaken the formula somewhat. Swatches are only that useful, though, let's check out what this stuff looks like on the lips.

Answer: amazing. Super pigmented, gorgeous colour. I actually like the matte look without topcoat the best, but I could not wear that look for more than an hour because it was so incredibly drying and uncomfortable. Adding a topcoat after letting the base colour dry remedies that dryness somewhat, and leaves your lips slightly sticky. You can see what the bright red 106 shade looks like in this post. Spoilers: also amazing.

I absolutely adore this colour. Style guides always tell you not to wear warm lip colours when you are cool toned and vice versa, but I think that's a load of bollocks. Wearing a warm lip colour on cool toned skin can really make the colour pop and lend vibrancy to your face.

Incredible colour, super cheap, durable: sounds pretty marvelous, right? HOWEVER, as destined towards a happy ending this story might sound, I am not 100% in love with this product. The 110 shade of hema's Long Lasting Colour starts disappearing from your lips pretty randomly, as if the layer of colour just can't handle too much motion from your lips, cracking along the movement and crumbling off instead of gradually fading. Remember temporary tattoos? The crumbling of temporary tattoos, that's what this product reminds me of. Not pleasant on the lips, let me assure you.

Voila. And this is not after eating or drinking, just from, well, existing, after about 45 minutes. I wouldn't even mind the crumbling that much on its own, but when you reapply over the bare spots, it exacerbates the problem and your lip colour becomes a thick, weird, gooey mix of even more dried crumbs, and new, sticky product. It doesn't necessarily look that bad, but the feeling is very unpleasant. The colour starts deteriorating way too quickly, and you simply cannot reapply this product without getting a really off-putting feeling on your lips. All of this makes the product pretty much useless, unless you're using it for a photoshoot or something.

I'm really disappointed, actually, because when the product looks good, it looks SO good. I am in love with this wearable brown colour and have not found anything similar from other brands. My only hope is begging Hema to either keep experimenting with the formula so that it becomes a bit more user-friendly, or to exactly copy this shade in one of their other lipstick ranges. I'll keep buying it forever and ever!

HOWEVER, Like I said, I also picked up the same product in 106 - a stunning, in-your-face bright red. The formula of this one is vastly superior: still not super comfortable after reapplying, but not gross and crumbly like the 110. The 106 is not metallic, which might explain the difference in lip-feel.

Stunning colour, amazing pigmentation, but this one does not deteriorate as quickly (unless you eat a meal), and you can actually reapply without feeling like you're walking around with tar on your lips. I would recommend Hema's long lasting colour in the 106 shade, in other words! I hope the non metallic shades are all of this quality. I'd advise you to steer clear of the sheen/metallic long lasting colours. I'm pretty sure the 106 will become my go-to shade for Christmas parties.

If you have recommendations for opaque products in the rusty/red colour, or for great long lasting lip products, shoot! I'm all ears.