Australis Velour Lips - RIO-D, MAL-I-BOO and TOK-I-O Swatches & Review

Gift with purchase

Hey lovelies,

Today I have a popular product I so wanted to love, but just couldn't get into: Australis Velourlips. I got my hands on RIO-D, MAL-I-BOO and TOK-I-O when they were freebies with copies of Girlfriend magazine late last year and I was super excited about them. Matte lippies, cute packaging, heart stopping colours?! Sign me up! Read on to find out why they didn't work for me.

The Velourlips all come in clear 10ml tubes so you can see the colour and how much you have left readily. My inner girly girl really loves the lace trim print and the heart over the 'i'! It's cute packaging and it feels reasonably sturdy. The applicator is your standard doefoot sponge, pointed enough for precise application and just the right amount of firmness.

***

RIO-D

RIO-D is a neon coral with strong orange leanings. The colour pay off is great, but it's not particularly even. It takes a bit of effort to even out the colour and if you over apply in your efforts to even it out, it rapidly begins to look cakey and gunky. The super matte finish emphasises every flaw in your lips. While I enjoy the colour of RIO-D, I find it appears stark and chalky, which makes me feel like my lips are jumping off my face. 

***

TOK-I-O is a vibrant purple. Again, my camera freaked out a little! TOK-I-O suffers similar formula issues to the other two, but is more even overall so there was less cakiness trying to apply evenly. TOK-I-O wore well for 3 1/2 hours w normal snacking & drinking, but began to wear away around the inner part of my lips after 3 1/2 mark. By 5 1/2 hour mark the wear in the same part was significant & spreading. It is possible to touch up, but I find that much like touching up chips in polish, the reapplied areas do show up a bit. However because of how stubborn intentional removal of this product is, it's not practical to remove it all and start again while on the go. It felt moderately drying.

***

MA-LI-BOO

MA-LI-BOO is an intense cool neon pink. It's so bright that when I wore it, Mike interrupted a conversation we were having to say 'I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the brightness of your lips.' Like RIO-D, it was difficult to apply evenly and became cakey when I tried to build the colour. It also appeared chalky. This is the one I most wanted to love, and I've seen it look great on other people but we just weren't meant to be.

With how popular the Velourlips have been, I felt like I must be doing something wrong to have so many formula issues, so I asked around for tips. Nothing worked though. I don't claim to be an expert but I do apply a LOT of lipstick and I feel like I gave these a fair chance, reswatching them several times and wearing them. Here are all of the ways I tried applying them:

Straight from the tube

Partially with a lip brush, then filled in straight from the tube

Entirely with a lip brush

Mostly straight from the tube, with a lip brush to define the edges

Thinner coats

Thicker coats

Thin coat, then a thicker coat

Smooshing my lips together after application

Holding my lips apart after application until dry

About the only thing I didn't try was holding my tongue the right way while hopping on one leg in the light of the full moon... so I guess that's on me. 

I think the formula on these is too thick, it's thicker than the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams, and Lime Crime Velvetines are positively watery (in a good way!) in comparison. The formula on these was closer to the Missha M Everlasting Lacquer Rouges, which I had similar issues with. Diluting it with something may help, but I'm no chemist so I'm not sure what you would use. The colours of these are very unique (MA-LI-BOO out-neons MAC's Candy Yum Yum!), so I can't make any dupe suggestions, but if you're looking to try a liquid matte lipstick, I'd recommend stumping up the extra cash for a Lime Crime Velvetine, or picking up several NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams. Of the three I tried, TOK-I-O was the least problematic so that's the one I'm keeping. I've heard great things about the red and nude shades, though I haven't tried them.

A wee note - you will need an oil based make up remover, or just oil to remove these. I used a bit of rice bran oil while I was swatching just because it was handy and it worked great for removal!

What I liked:

• Sweet candy scent
• Great pigmentation
• Cute packaging

What I didn't like:

• RIO-D and MA-LI-BOO were both very difficult to get even. As you can see in my lip swatch for RIO-D, I didn't quite manage it - the more I tried to even it out, the more caked on it began to look.
• MA-LI-BOO and RIO-D look quite chalky
• Touch ups don't look great, as you can see where the layers of product begin and end.

Where to buy:

• Farmers (NZ)
• Kmart (NZ)
• Selected pharmacies (NZ)
• Australis website (Australia)

X

Lani