I walked past Primark on my way to work this morning. In the window was a big poster, telling me about the Primark must have 90p lipstick. I didn’t have to be at work until 10.56am (I had one of those stupid ‘your parcel will arrive between 10.56am and 11.56am’ things), so I thought I’d do a bit of research on your behalf.
What I wanted to know is, how good really is a 90p lipstick from Primark?
First up, I should say that I am the least well qualified person in the world to write this post. I hardly ever wear make-up, and never wear lipstick. I did once buy a dark purple Mac lipstick, but when I put it on fiancé nearly cried. Belle said I looked sassy, but I think in reality it just drew attention to my teeth.
Wearing lisptick generally has always made me feel very self-conscious. It’s a kind of weird thing to do when you think about it – painting one part of yourself a different colour. Very odd.
As I get older though, I’m wondering if it might be a good chance to experiment. I care far less nowadays about what people think of me, plus I’ve always fancied being one of those woman who wears bright red lipstick all the time. There was an older woman who used to come to my netball group in Bristol. She’d rock up to every training session in her full kit, no make-up, except this slash of dark red on her lips. She always looked terribly glamorous to me.
So, the Primark 90p lipstick.
I stood for quite a long time wondering which colour to choose and then I remembered that it’s a 90p lipstick and I am a 38 year old woman. I could have bought two of each if I’d wanted to. I didn’t though, I just went for three, to give them a fair test.
I chose toffee, candy pink, and scarlett. I don’t know if they deliberately misspelt the colour scarlet or actually named it after Scarlett Johansson – perhaps you can’t afford proofreaders at 90p a tube.
Here they are:
As you can see, the finish isn’t totally smooth, but then it’s 90p, so what do you expect?
Let’s have a look then shall we at how the 90p Primark lipstick looks on my actual face. Remember how lipstick makes me feel mind, so don’t judge if I look a prat.
First, here’s the candy pink:
I was expecting this colour to be the easiest to wear, as it’s lighter than the others, but I think this was actually my least favourite. It when on nicely, but it looked a little bit odd around the edges. I noticed in Primark that they also did matching lip liners for £1, so perhaps these would be something to invest in if you wanted a sharper line.
I’m not sure what it was exactly, it just felt a bit like it didn’t cover my own lips properly? Yeah, I’ve done a crap job at describing that.
Let’s move on.
I tried the toffee next:
I quite liked this one, and the coverage was good, but I wonder if it’s a bit dark for me personally? I have quite fair skin, with a bit of a rosy tint to it, and I think the brown made me look a little washed out?
And then finally, the colour I was most scared of – the bright red:
Now I know this is a bit in your face, (or on my face), but I actually think that this one is my favourite. It’s not a deep, dark red, it’s a little more on the orangey side, and I think this shade works well with fairer skin.
It definitely made me feel glamorous, although I did feel a bit weird when the postman arrived with a parcel – like he might be starring at me and wondering what was wrong with my mouth.
I stuck with it though, and kept it on.
It felt nice. Often I find that lipsticks can be quite drying, but this one wasn’t. On the downside, it didn’t feel like it would stay in place for hours and there were a couple of times when I touched my mouth, forgetting it was there, and ended up with red stained hands. When I realised this, I was a bit worried about smudging it and not realising, but I think a lot of it for me is just getting used to the whole concept of wearing lipstick.
I do think you would have to reapply fairly regularly, but then for 90p, I don’t think you can really complain about that can you? The Primark 90p lipstick is what it is – an easy way to add a bit of colour and have some fun with your make-up without breaking the bank.
What do you think then? Should I become a regular wearer of the Primark 90p lipstick and if so, which is your favourite shade? Do you have a lipstick that you swear by, or do you shy away from it?
Leave a comment and let me know!
Excellent and informative as usual jo. As for your lip colour, go with the red, you are rocking it and hey if we can’t wear red lipstick at 38, then when can we ?
I love the red! And with your glasses you look really quirky. It’s a good look. I don’t really wear lipstick very often. I have been known to draw on a line of red on occasion when I’m feeling a bit drab and down. It really chears me up. Pen x
I’m a lot older, and I too rarely wear lipstick, but when I do, I feel odd and glam at the same time. Weird. Personally, I liked the coffee tone on you, for this time of year, and if you were wearing darker clothes. The pink would be good for sporty clothes, and you did rock the red. Have fun with it, I say..
I think the toffee one looks gorgeous on you – they all look good but that one gets my vote
The red looks fab on you. The pink, no no. I personally won’t learn my lesson with the pink lipstick, and I have several in my make up bag. Remember the lead singer of Transvision Vamp? It looks like that on me. Acceptable in the 80’s…
The browny one is ok… But the red, huge thumbs up. Primark’s perfumes are actually quite good too for a day perfume that doesn’t break the bank if you have to reapply it two, three times. Doesn’t matter for £3, does it?
I think they all suit you .. but then I’m the least qualified person to be judging ! Now I’ve read this I will be purchasing some myself , for the exact same reasons you did . I’m 34 , stopped bothering with make up three years ago (have a toddler now) and feel to start experimenting and rediscovering myself !
Thankyou for testing and making me aware of these lipsticks . Although my 15 year old daughter and I were discussing primary make up just this afternoon after I purchased some bits on sale from boots (NYx) and she mentioned primary is quite good !
Looking forward to buying a few bits from there now including the lipsticks :)
(Have confidence when you wear it -like it’s the ‘norm’ and eventually it becomes the ‘norm’ )
Primark!!***
Well Jo, the first one (can’t remember the name and am too lazy to scroll up, I know I know) was the worst of the bunch, the toffee was ok but the Scarlett was definitely the best. And so what if you have to keep reapplying, it’s cheap as chips and apart from being a pain in the butt it’s no biggie. I wonder if people are that bothered they could apply some lipcote. But then that defeats the object of cheap lipstick. Plus it sometimes used to sting when I put it on, plus you have to remember to keep your lips apart until it had dried. I used to forget! So, in short, I reckon they are worth a punt, at that price can you really go wrong?
The scarlett looks really good on you, I’d definitely say that one suits you the best out of the three of them x
I’m just the same as you. Lipstick just feels weird. Like I’m a 5 year old wearing her mum’s lippy. But as I’ve got older, I’ve also decided I’d quite like to look glam (at least on a night out) and wear some brighter lipstick rather than my usual lip gloss. But it’s so hard finding the right shade when you don’t want to test them all in store (it can get expensive buying to try). I have found one – but it still feels n your face, and makes me look totally different to normal. I might have to check these ones out if only to find the right shade and then find an equivalent better quality one
I actually like the toffee, it suits you! The red looks nice too. Yes, go on – wear lippy more often!
They sell lip coat to seal you’re lipstick its very good
I think the red really suits you! I don’t think the postman would be staring at your mouth, you look nice.
I haven’t got a favourite lipstick brand but I like maybelline and my current usual is avon. Liz Earle did amazing lipsticks that stayed on and felt like a balm but they’ve stopped doing them. Maybe it is worth paying a bit more but if you’re just experimenting then these are a bargain.
The mug.. I need the mug…
The red lippy definitely…
But the MUG with the custard cream, I must have.
Thanks
:)
The red looks fab!!! Try lipcote on the top to keep it in place all day! The red reminds me of you in your old bio photo with the telephone
red will do
I’ve missed this entirely! Thinking of heading to Primark to check them out :) I liked the brown colour on you. I’m not brave enough to do red