fyrinnae liquid mattes: graffiti and sinister

Fyrinnae Liquid Mattes in Sinister and Graffiti

Please note the photos in this post have been adjusted for lighting tint using photoshop to make the colors of the product appear to true life. However, the product has not been enhanced, saturated or otherwise improved in any way.

I just blue myself.

Ok, I really couldn't resist that one. Sorry. It's worth it, right? Anyway, I've had these liquid mattes in my possession for about two months now and finally after wearing them a few times I've gotten around to actually posting these lovely little tubes of joy.

Swatches of Sinister and Graffiti on my arm, in natural light.

Initially I'd ordered only Graffiti, the deeper and less green blue of these two, but was sent Sinister by mistake. Sinister is more of a metallic teal, and Graffiti a metallic cobalt. I shot Fyrinnae an email and they quickly replied to let me know they'd send out the right shade. They had it out to me within a day or so, and it even came with another free eyeshadow sample!

These are liquid lipsticks, but they're quite thin and watery, more so than others I've tried like Stila's. They're not anything like a thin gloss, much thinner and they have no slip. They dry pretty fast, they're pretty set by a minute in but Fyrinnae's website says 90 seconds to be sure. (I also want to note Fyrinnae's page for these says that as of 3/21 they're reworking these to be a bit thicker, so my review may be a tiny bit obsolete. )

That said, these are not set for good. They do tend to transfer, though not as much as a traditional cream lipstick or gloss due to their dry texture. I find the texture and finish similar to that of the MAC Retro Matte lipsticks. They're not overly drying but the finish is still very dry and some may find it uncomfortable. They also feel very lightweight once on, if it weren't for the slight dryness it'd be easy to forget you were wearing anything at all.

Graffiti, one thicker coat, still wet. Shot with an artifical daylight lamp.

Onto application: I find these easy to apply with the doefoot applicator (I'm a doefoot enthusiast though) but I usually clean up the edges a little with a q-tip. 

Due to the thin formula they can be a bit patchy. Sinister goes on fairly opaque without any obvious patches. Graffiti is the evil twin here, it can be patchy when applied too thinly, and going back over it while still wet will usually just cause uneveness elsewhere. The best way to combat this is to go for two thin coats--better staying power and more pigment! 

Graffiti, dry. You can see the slight patchiness in the center of the upper lip.

Graffiti on top lip; Sinister on bottom.

Sinister, one thick layer applied.

And since I mentioned they do tend to wear off fairly easy, I prepared an incredibly scientific test for you where I left Sinister on and took some time to drink some coffee and water. The above swatch is before. And here's after:

Sinister after indulging in some normal coffee drinking. 

As you can see, it doesn't look the worst a lipstick has ever looked after eating, but it's obviously lost some patches and has worn a bit thin on the edges, especially the outer inside of the lip. That said, I really do find the color gorgeous, and it's not that much more maintenance-intensive to reapply than a lipgloss, so wearing it out during the day and stopping to reapply is not some labor-intensive task out of the question.

 Fyrinnae does not advertise these as long-wear products at all, and the swatches done for them even show patchiness in some of the shades, like Graffiti. So while these are not an ideal product, I can forgive the issue somewhat because they are not being advertised and sold as something they're not. For me, honesty about the product's issues can be the difference between hating it and being okay with doing a bit of work for it. That is my own personal feeling however, and I'm sure there are some out there who hate touching up lipstick, and for those people I wouldn't recommend these. (Also would not recommend for a day out to eat fried food at the county fair, your face will look like you made out with a one of those dudes from Avatar with all the grease and oil.)

Overall though? Not a perfect product, but I really like the color and find them comfortable, so I'm happy with them. After shooting the first photo in this post I also accidentally left them on the table, where my girlfriend found them. Let me just say, she was eager to try them out and the results were fantastic:

Reapplying after a tuplajuusto hampurilaisen (double cheeseburger) at McD's.

This is Graffiti and Sinister layered for a sweet slightly bluer green color.

Instagram pic of me in Graffiti, it's a bit more opaque and blue here then it is irl sadly.

Another instagram picture of me in Graffiti, enjoying the wonderful country of Sweden.
(No filter on this, I even double checked with filter faker because I couldn't remember!)

So finally, the great Peachynoon Blog Drought of 2015 is over. I'm sure when you're an old grandperson with children you can tell them all about it. Or not. I'm just so happy the sun has returned. Hyvää Kevät! 

Where to buy: Fyrinnae's shop, they range from $12.50 USD to $14.00 USD.