BANG Cosmetics Lipstick - Lolly and Uptown Swatches & Review

Purchased by me

Hey lovelies,

I'm really excited to share swatches and a review of a new to me kiwi indie brand today! These lippies are handmade in New Zealand, not repackaged, so have no fear of accidentally purchasing the same shades from different brands. Does anyone else worry about that? I don't really have a problem with people selling private label products (especially if they are up front about it) but it does put me off purchasing a bit as I fear I'll accidentally buy dupes. Plus there's just something lovely about buying handmade :)

Enough rambling, time to show you some gorgeous lippies!

Each lipstick was packaged in its own baggie and labelled, and my order was wrapped in this gorgeous turquoise tissue paper.

BANG Cosmetics are packaged in glossy white lipbalm style tubes with very professional printed labels. The ingredients are clear and easy to read. The name is handwritten in the white heart. Yasmine, the talented lady behind BANG, has mentioned concerns about the handwritten label rubbing off; I haven't had these long enough to experience any issues with this but I think it's great that Yasmine is constantly looking to improve her product. I was asked for my honest feedback on these lippies and mentioned that I'd like to see a name sticker on the top or bottom of the tube as I store my lipsticks upright and being able to identify a shade quickly without having to pull the tube right out is always handy.

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Lolly is a sweet candy pink that leans a little more yellow than the blue based neon pinks we've seen a lot of recently (MAC Candy Yum Yum et al). It's surprisingly unique in my collection and I really like it. I was surprised at how creamy the texture is when you apply it, particularly for a matte. I don't think I've come across a matte with such a lovely texture before. I did find that Lolly clungs to imperfections a little, you can see where my lips are a bit drier on the inner part of my mouth. These lipsticks have a sweet coconut and vanilla cookie scent, the vanilla notes are more prevalent in Lolly. It's a really yummy scent.

When I tested Lolly for wear, it lasted perfectly for 3 hours before partially wearing away with food. It left a light stain so the lipstick effect actually appeared to be mostly intact. If you're not keen on a stain BANG Cosmetics recommends using a primer to prevent this. Lolly was neither hyrating nor drying.

You may notice that Lolly is a little sunken in the tube, Yasmine let me know that this was something that happens during cooling and is something they are working on. In any case, I didn't feel it hindered application, the lip swatch below was applied neat from the tube, using the edges of the lipstick to create the shape first.

A FOTD with Lolly - details on Sunday :)

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Uptown is described as a semi-matte deep red. It goes on somewhat glossy and has a little translucency - both things that usually herald a feathering mess when it comes to me and red lippies. Whereas Lolly feels creamy, Uptown has more slip, so when I tested this without lipliner I wasn't expecting it to perform perfectly.

But it did. This lipstick is bloody brilliant. It goes on evenly and does not feather or bleed. It lasted for 4-5 hours before partially wearing away with food and leaving a faint even pink stain. The glossy finish lasts for around 2.5 hours before becoming matte. Uptown wasn't drying, but I did notice a small amount of migration to the inner parts of my lips. The scent of Uptown is stronger than with Lolly, with the coconut scent coming out to play more.

A FOTD with Uptown - full details on Sunday :)

What I liked:

• NZ made!
• Great colour pay off
• Wonderful texture - Lolly felt creamy, while Uptown had a similar amount of slip to YSL Rouge Voluptes (minus the price tag!)
• Not drying
• Did not feather or bleed
• Yummy coconut and vanilla cookie scent

What I didn't like:

• Uptown had a very small amount of migration to the inner parts of my lips.
• Lolly emphasised dryness a little.

Where to buy:

• BANG Cosmetics on Etsy (with international shipping)
• Check the BANG Cosmetics Facebook page for information on local markets.

Want to try BANG Cosmetics? Check out my current giveaway for three tubes of pure awesomeness!

X
Lani