If I could suggest anything to help you get the most out of your first experience with the Models Own makeup brand, which recently crossed the pond from Britain and is available now at Ulta, it would be to stick to the powder products (like the eyeshadows and highlighters), but to think twice about the creams.
IMO, the cream products — the creamy eye palette, the lipsticks, lip pencil, liquid lipstick and lip sealer — could use a little refinement.
They’re affordable, which is one thing they have going for them. The cream products all range from $6.99 to $8.99 each, which means more money for CATS!!! But for me, the biggest hurdle with some of the lip products has been their flavor and scent. Most of the Models Own lip products I’ve tried have a cloying faux brown sugar/plastic scent that turns my tummy and brings back memories of old-school NYX lippies.
Anyway, I don’t usually get worked up about how products taste and smell, but if something smells like plastic or fake sugar, I just can’t hang (also, the Lip Finale Lip Sealer doesn’t have a flavor or scent, but the liquid lipstick smells like strong peppermint toothpaste to me).
Even beyond that, though, all of the cream products I’ve tried have left me wanting more. Like the Jumbo Stick Matte Lipstick in Titan Teaberry ($6.99 and available in five other shades). It’s smooth, pigmented, and I think it’s beautiful in pics, but the formula is SO drying and uncomfortable.
And then there’s the Lix Matte Liquid Lipstick in Eucalyptus Pink ($7.99 and available in five other shades). The lightweight mousse-y texture is cool and unusual, but for the life of me I can’t get it to apply evenly on me. It always looks patchy!
As for the Luxestick Lipstick Velvets ($8.99 and available in six shades), the pink shade, Whisper, catches every single lip flake. Oddly, the dark berry shade, Deep Berry, doesn’t, but it wanders outside my natural lip line.
Oh, and girl, the lip sealant? I really wanted the Lip Finale Lip Sealer ($8.99) to work well for me because I don’t have anything like it in my collection. It’s a thin liquid that you brush directly on top of lipstick to lock it down for hours.
Cool in theory, right?
Well, I barely had it on for 30 seconds before I had to take it off, because it stung my lips! — and I’m not talking about the pleasant kind of tingle you get from lip-plumping products. No, it felt like hot pins and needles.
So, yeah. I think I’ll steer clear of the Models Own lip products for now and stick to the bodacious Barely There Palette and the highlighters.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Ouch, that sounds very uncomfortable… it’s so hard to make a matte lipstick right but brands like NYX have some great matte options. I live in London and never seen that brand around, so dig a bit more. Thanks for the tips here.
You’re welcome!
Totally agree about their lip products but you should def check out the Models Own nail polishes if you can. They sell for £5 each in the UK (about $6.50) and have some amazing colours/finishes including great neons and chromes in all sorts of colours. They also do A LOT of glitter ???
Thanks, Sadie. I’m not sure if they sell the polishes here in the US but if they do I’ll definitely grab a couple bottles! What else do you like from the line?
I haven’t had chance to use it yet but I have recently got their holochrome eye palette which I am very excited about… https://www.modelsownit.com/product/8241