Darling Girl Pucker Paints - Teddy Bare, Tea Time, Kismet, I'd Do Time For You, Drop Dead Red and Evil Queen Swatches & Review

Purchased by me/Contains affiliate links

Hey guys!

I've been so excited to share these lipsticks with you. Liquid matte lipsticks are everywhere you turn these days, often with hiked up prices and the same rehashed colour range but Darling Girl Cosmetics has been breaking the mold with an eclectic colour selection and the reasonable price tag of $11.50USD. It's true I opted for some of the more 'wearable' shades to show you today but if you browse the Pucker Paint offerings on the Darling Girl website you'll find grey and sage options peppered among the more conventional shades. There's even a pale periwinkle in the sister formula, Sparkle Matte-ic (same liquid matte finish with a dose of sparkle)! Susan, the owner, keeps bringing out more amazing shades and my wishlist is ever fluctuating (and my shopping cart ever growing). Merlotte's and The Spice are currently top of the list. I'd love to hear what shades you like the look of!

Swatched on bare skin under daylight bulbs: Teddy Bare, Tea Time, Kismet, I'd Do Time For You, Drop Dead Red, Evil Queen

I really loved my first Darling Girl Pucker Paint, Enchanted Orchid (click for review), so I gradually accrued more from across the colour range. One thing I really like about Susan is that she takes on feedback really well and is constantly perfecting her products, so a couple of shades have been reformulated over time to ensure they perform well. Drop Dead Red, for instance, was recently altered so that the shimmer would be more prominent and another was tweaked to improve colour pay off. 

Meanwhile the scent for all the Pucker Paints is being phased from peppermint to buttercream cupcake based on customer feedback (peppermint essential oil can be an irritant for some and just a general deal breaker for others). Most of the Pucker Paints I'm reviewing here have the peppermint scent (Evil Queen, I'd Do Time For You, Tea Time, and Teddy Bare) while Drop Dead Red and Kismet, being new or newly reformulated shades, have the new buttercream cupcake fragrance (which is amazing, BTW). 

The packaging for the Pucker Paints has changed a bit since I ordered Enchanted Orchid. Instead of the old double walled tube, they're now in a slimmer tube without the sloping cap. The doefoot applicator has changed, it's now a few millimetres shorter and slimmer with a less pronounced angle.

The changes are much of a muchness, the applicator performs pretty much the same and the tubes hold the same amount of product (5ml). I did notice that the cap was more fragile on my tube of Evil Queen, popping right off the applicator wand but I was able to put it back very easily and it hasn't affected application at all, so I think it's fair to call it a one off incident.

Formula overview:

Darling Girl Pucker Paints have lovely colour pay off, with a thin, creamy texture - definitely not as watery as Lime Crime Velvetines, nor as viscous and mousse-like as NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams or Australis Velourlips. It's a very easy to control formula which dries down to a matte finish quickly, while still giving you enough time to outline and fill in your lips without it bunching up on itself. 

With most shades, I applied two thin layers, concentrating on creating the lip shape and lightly filling in on the first, before completely filling in and evening out on the second. Be sure to leave a couple of minutes between layers - I like to keep my lips parted until the lipstick has fully set because until then, it retains a slight tackiness that will cause it to grab at itself and pull patches of pigment away if allowed to touch (this is pretty common for these types of formulas). If you're not keen on waiting to layer, this formula also works wonderfully with my friend Teigan's application method - dip into the tube, apply to left half of lower lip, dip again, apply to right half of lower lip, etc (check out her blog, Miss T's Makeup).

The Pucker Paints do not cling to the lips or highlight every crevice the way some liquid matte formulas do and they're only minimally drying towards the end of wear. Some can appear chalky upon first application, in which case lightly rubbing a finger or cotton bud over your lips can remedy that. There's no tackiness at all once dry, just a smooth, powder-soft finish.

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Teddy Bare

Teddy Bare is a grey-taupe with purple undertones. I bought it thinking it might be similar to Lime Crime Cashmere but they're completely different - Teddy Bare is much greyer. It applied best when I used Teigan's application method (detailed above), otherwise it is a bit sheer and takes longer to build up to an opaque finish. I suspect Teddy Bare is too cool toned to really flatter me, but it's such a cool colour! It wore for seven hours on me and wasn't drying.

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Tea Time

Tea Time is described as a pinky-beige nude. It's nicely opaque and applies easily. I've already worn this one a couple of times! Tea Time lasts six hours on me, including a meal and isn't drying. 

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Kismet

Kismet is a bit of a mean one to include - it was a very generous gift with purchase offer a few months back. It's a muted coral with subtle blue pearl - I definitely needed to rub this one a little to bring the shimmer out. It wore for seven hours on me without being drying. 

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I'd Do Time For You

I'd Do Time For You is described as a 'bright reddish orange'. It's a dusty dark vermilion with incredible colour pay off. I'm pretty in love with it (as evidenced by the extra selfie) although it's not quite what I expected it would be from the website pictures, where it looks considerably brighter. I'd Do Time For You stuck around for six hours, was slightly drying and and a bit faded by the end of wear.

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Drop Dead Red

Drop Dead Red is a 'blue toned red with red pearl finish'. This is so beautiful and vivid, with the shimmer giving it a lit from within quality instead of a frosty effect. Another love here. Drop Dead Red lasted five hours on me, was minimally drying and a little worn at the edges by the end of its wear time.

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Evil Queen

Evil Queen is described as a 'wicked blood red'. It's more like the colour of dried blood, a blackened oxblood with sparse, subtle shimmer. I debated over ordering this for a long time because on the website, it looks lighter and redder and I wondered if it would be too similar to Lime Crime Wicked and Jeffree Star Unicorn Blood, both of which I own already. My addiction to Darling Girl Pucker Paints obviously won out, but I needn't have worried - Evil Queen is far darker than both of those shades. It wore for five and a half hours and was slightly drying.

What I liked:

• Several shades aren't drying (Tea Time, Kismet, Teddy Bear)
• Long lasting (all between 5 and 7 hours)
• Great colour pay off
• Easy to apply

What I didn't like:

• Some shades are somewhat drying (Evil Queen, Drop Dead Red, I'd Do Time For You)
• Kismet needs a little fussing to bring the shimmer out

Where to buy:

• Darling Girl products can be found on their website, don't forget that you can use my code LANILOVES to save 10% on your order. 

What do you think of these shades? Have you tried Darling Girl's Pucker Paints?

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Lani

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