Makeup Revolution 'I Heart Makeup' The WOW Sticks

It has been Makeup Revolution galore on my blog, lately. Since its launch, the brand has taken the global (and local) makeup arena by a storm. The hype is justified in some products that I have tried. Their new launches are frequent, so expect something to keep you on your toes.

The 'I Heart Makeup' WOW Sticks are a recent launch at Reforma.PK and Daraz.PK by Makeup Revolution Pakistan. As we move on to have a closer look at the 4 shades that I tried, let me ask you all - What do you look for in a PERFECT lip product?
For me, it's the comfort of wearing a lip color without worrying about smudging & reapplication. By these standards, I look for pigmented non-drying colors with longevity. It's a tricky balance to achieve. Especially when you're looking for options within budget. Makeup Revolution WOW Sticks wow-ed me, for sure. Let's see how that happened:

Makeup Revolution "I Heart Makeup" The WOW Sticks are described as 'super intense creamy matte waterproof' shades. The WOW Sticks retail in Pakistan for PKR 550 at Daraz.PK and Reforma.PK. Available in 4 bold shades, these pack a punch for statement lips this Spring/Summer. The packaging of WOW Sticks is super cute with shiny black plastic twist-up pencils packaged in cardboard boxes of the same color as the product itself. It does help differentiate what colors you'd like from the outer boxes. Sadly, the pencil itself has no tag/print of their shade names (or numbers). Once I lost the boxes, I had to open the pencil's cap each time to look at the bullet before deciding on a color. For frequent and on-the-go application, this increases chances of damaging the pencil. The weight and feel of the pencil isn't luxe, but not cheap either - not too long or heavy, but gives you good grip for application. The size and shape of WOW Sticks are similar to those of NARS Lip Pencils - since Revlon and Clinique ones are chubby & larger. I reported issues with the caps of Makeup Revolution Amazing Lipsticks not being able to fix securely. I am happy to report that these caps cause no trouble in travelling. I have put them in my office bag without any makeup pouch, these do stay intact. I would still recommend taking due care as Summers in our part of the world usually make the lip products (regardless of their price or packaging) prone to melting in the purse.

Onto the good stuff now - The shades I tried were:

CALL ME - A bright matte red

HANGING ON THE TELEPHONE - A warm-toned matte bold pink with micro-shimmer

SUNDAY GIRL - A blue-toned matte glitter pink

ATOMIC - A bright matte medium orange

These were the love-at-first-swatch! You'd instantly fall head over heels for these when you will swatch them randomly on your arm and after 5 minutes, you will rub smudge and FIGHT to take these off! Don't worry, a little oil or makeup remover does the job painlessly, so no complaints on this clinging to me for its dear life :-) The brand claims of these being super intense, matte, and waterproof hold true <3 I have been using it for over a month on a regular basis - which is a feat in itself since I love to change my lippies and not stick to a particular kind :-) These kept me hooked onto them - which is a significant achievement for the product.

Let me collect my thoughts and mention the goods and the bads systematically. I am going overboard with the excitement :-) The twist-up crayon WOW Sticks have defined soft color tips which bend/change after each use easily. Thankfully, there is no need for a sharpener and the thickness of the stick is just enough that even with a blunt or rough tip, you can apply it precisely on your lips. That is great because who would want to deal with the horror of applying the long-lasting lip product not too precisely on her lips :-D

A single swipe gives rich and almost opaque coverage. It can be layered up, but I would not recommend it if you are planning to wear it for an extended period of time. For example, my  lips have natural fine lines on which the mattes are usually unforgiving. I do not like the crinkled look, so pick only a few mattes in my lip products. The feel of these matte crayons range from velvety to a little tendency to be crumbly - difference in color formulation perhaps? A little goes a long way, if you overdo the layers of these, it will be prone to chipping off and drying your lips out too much. That would also lead to your fine lines being accentuated by its texture. However, for a swipe or two, you will be amazed on how velvety smooth it feels on your lips. No tug and even application for most part. These stay on my lips till I remove them myself. They turn a little drying after 4-5 hours, but nothing that would make you uncomfortable. A word of advice, do not reapply on the top of it because that would disturb the texture and the layer underneath.

Here is the gorgeousness in its full glory! Believe it or not, the image has not been modified at all to make the colors appear brighter or so. The swipes are one-two for each swatch. I did describe my overall experience above. Now, for each shade, I'd add something that you need to know from how it has been for me.

CALL ME (A+) has been a beautiful velvet finish red. Since we're all thinking it already, let me show you a comparison with MAC Ruby Woo :-P And Revlon Matte Balm Standout. There might be closer reds in my collection, but picked Ruby Woo because, let's be honest, we're all in search of that perfect RW dupe. Standout primarily because that's only a matte-red crayon product I have in my stash:

The texture of Call Me is similar to Ruby Woo, however the latter appears less pigmented - needed more swipes to build up the same intensity as Call Me. Ruby Woo layers up better though and lasts a fairly long time itself - weightless coverage. In comparison, Ruby Woo has stronger cool/pink undertones while Call Me is more neutral. They are fairly close to each other though. Standout, however, is more creamy-matte and deeper red that makes you appear sophisticated & mature.

SUNDAY GIRL (A) reminded me of Revlon Lacquer Balm Whimsical and Revlon Lip Butter Lollipop the moment I swatched it. Oddly enough, I could not find the Lollipop in my stash, so could only show Whimsical. All three have cool-toned pink with micro-shimmers. The Sunday Girl is matte while other two are glossy. Moreover, Sunday Girl is more pigmented and lasts really long. Lollipop and Whimsical appear to lack lustre in comparison. They are more suited for those looking for less bold color payoff. Sunday Girl, however, was one of the less pigmented in the WOW Sticks bunch. It still lasted pretty well on me for over 4-5 hours, so no complaints there.

ATOMIC (B+) is the most interesting color among the ones I used. It is lighter than Wet n' Wild Purty Persimmon and warmer than 24 Carrot Gold. Medora Jazz Orange is a less pigmented version of the Atomic color. In theory, such bold color would make you do a full face of makeup, so I didn't expect it to flatter me. The first time I wore it, I concealed dark circles and made my skin even with just a bit of light coverage foundation. I lined lips with a nude liner and wore this with a plain red-brown dress. I can't emphasize enough on how awesome it looked! My husband likes me to wear bright pink and red lipsticks only and even he commented how flattering this looks on me. It is not milky or overly coral that would make you uncomfortable. Wear it if you wish to stand out in a crowd. This one was different in texture than the rest, I had to be careful for an even coverage with a single swipe and it had tendency to be towards the crumbly end. It is best worn for shorter period of time.

HANGING ON THE TELEPHONE (A-) - I do not have comparison swatches for this one yet, but this gorgeous color has been my most frequent one. The shimmer in it is not obvious when applied on the lips, but the texture of this is the most-drying when compared to the rest. All were transfer proof, but I did find this one to have its tiny patches fall off after 4-5 hours. Less layering is the key!

I personally feel the colors are appropriate for Winters and Summers - round the year... but I sweat a lot in Summers and want something to stay on me during the windy night-time meals outdoors in Karachi. I have been negligent in taking care of my lips, but with proper exfoliation and prep, these products will be my best friend.

This would have been a resounding A+, if it were not for the texture variation and slight dryness after the 4-5 hour mark. For PKR 550, this is still a top-notch product that I'd pick with my eyes closed!

Makeup Revolution "I Heart Makeup" The WOW Sticks are available at Reforma.PK and Daraz.PK for PKR 550. Hopefully, MUR will launch in-stores real soon <3

Which color from these you liked the best? Any other matte crayon lip product(s) you have had good/bad experiences with?

Cheers,

Bia

Disclaimer: This post may contain PR Samples shared for review. The opinions expressed are, however, unbiased and honest as per my personal experience.