Product Review: the Rimmel London Apocalips Lip Lacquers

If you are a beauty fanatic like me, I am sure that you by now have heard of the Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers. These were launched in Europe ages ago, and have now finally also been released in Australia. Here are my thoughts on the *Rimmel London Apocalips Lip Lacquers;

What They Say:

"Combining the intense colour of lipstick with a lacquer like shine, Apocalips Lip Lacquer is the explosive new make-up phenomenon hitting our shores. Packed with pure colour pigments, its lusciously creamy, conditioning formula promises a never-before combination of colour, shine and comfort that lasts and lasts. Available in 8 shades, from subtly sexy to spectacular."

 

RRP: $15.95 – Available from Priceline, Target, Kmart, BIG W, selected pharmacies and selected Coles and Woolworths.

What I Say:

Rimmel claims that the Apocalips Lip Lacquer "combines the best of both worlds, with its ground-breaking formula – a luscious liquid packed with pure colour pigments for rich colour, phenomenal shine and supreme comfort that lasts all day. The lip lacquer formula gives your lips colour so strong and bold that your pout is bound to make an impact! Forget the dryness of many long-wear lipsticks, forget the stickiness of gloss."

Sounds pretty impressive, so I couldn’t wait to try these out, and thanks to very generous Rimmel London, I was sent the full selection of colours to play with.

The Rimmel Apocalips come in a tube with a black lid which 'fades' and turns transparent so that you can see the colour of the actual lacquer at the end. It comes with a slightly pointed doe-foot applicator making them easy to apply.

 

The Apocalips have a strange slightly chemical scent, however in saying that, it is a very faint scent, so it doesn’t really bother me too much.

The Apocalips applies smoothly onto the lips, and as Rimmel claims they are as pigmented as a lipstick, yet with the gloss of a lipgloss, yet without being sticky, so they fee nice and comfortable to wear. And as Rimmel also promises, they do have a good staying power – although I would go as far as to say that they last on the lips all day. All colours instantly transfer onto glasses and mugs (and my baby boy, I really need to stop kissing him so much when I’m wearing lippies!), and the lighter colours seem to wear off quicker, while the darker shades are more pigmented and last longer, though I have to reapply after my lunch. Yet, the darker colours still leave my lips with a stain. Unfortunately the darker colours also seem to bleed a little, but I did find that I could minimise this by wearing a lip liner (I used InnoxaInvisible Lip Shaper, which works brilliantly with all colours).

Phenomenon (100) is a peachy nude, which as you may be able to see on the picture, does look a bit streaky as well as it settles into the lines on my lips, .

Nude Eclipse (600), is more of a beige nude, and is also a little streaky and settles into the lines of my lips, although not as much as Phenomenon.

 

 

Stargazer (701) is in my opinion the nicest of the nude colours, although it does settle into the lines of my lips, but you can overcome this by only wearing very thin layer. 
 

 

 

Solstice (201), is my favourite colour of the lot. It is a warm mauve colour, and perfect for everyday use! The majority of my lipsticks are in this tone, but I keep going back to this colour again and again.

Nova (102) is a quite bright pink colour. It is very lovely, and looks lovely on the lips – but for some reason I just cannot get used to wearing pink that bright pink lipstick!

 

Stellar (501), is a very bright red colour, almost with a bit of a neon effect. It looks fantastic on the lips, and would certainly liven up your face on a dull day, or be perfect for a night out on the town!! Being so pigmented it does bleed a little, and that’s where the lipliner needed (which as you can see I clearly didn’t wear in the picture!)

 

Apocaliptic (303) is a bright fuchsia pink colour with a purple/blue undertone, and again, bleeds a little due being so pigmented so I highly recommend using a lipliner with this colour (which again obviously didn’t do myself in the picture!!)

 

While the Apocalips look so nice and glossy on the lips without being sticky, on the whole I am in two minds about these, and a lot of people are probably going to hate me for saying this! I find that some of the colours, mainly the lighter nude colours (Phenomenon, Nude Eclipse and Stargazer) don’t apply very nicely, but rather looks very streaky on the lips, in much the same way as a cheap thin nail polish. And of course it doesn’t help that I am not particularly keen on these colours feel that some of these colours don’t look nice with my skintone either (but of course these will be perfect for others!)

The darker colours (Apocaliptic, Solstice, Stellar and Nova), look so much nicer on the lips, and do not look streaky at all – and I feel that these also suit my skintone (and personal preference) much better too. Unfortunately they do tend to bleed a little, but is pretty general for a lipgloss, and even more so, when it as pigmented as these are, and regardless this can be minimised by using a lipliner first.

So if you like nude lips, I suggest that you skip these, but if you on the other hand are into brightly coloured lips, then these will no doubt be right up your alley!

*These products were kindly provided for consideration, and have been reviewed in accordance with my Disclosure Policy.

 

What do you think of these lip lacquers from Rimmel? Keen to try them? Or have you already got some? Which colours do you prefer?