Makeup Geek Arabesque, Grapevine, Charleston Showstopper Crème Stains

Arabesque

Makeup Geek Arabesque Showstopper Creme Stain ($12.00 for 0.19 fl. oz.) is light-medium, pinky lavender with warm undertones and a matte finish. The consistency was thin, almost watery, but this one actually spread better across the lips compared to many shades. It had more even, semi-opaque coverage, though it dried down with some streakiness and looked “cracked” when I smiled as the color separated at my lip lines. This shade lasted for four hours and was slightly drying.

The Showstopper Creme Stain formula is supposed to be “long-lasting” and “highly pigmented and offers effortless, buildable coverage.” Highly pigmented and buildable make it confusing what the coverage actually is, since something that is buildable means that it is less pigmented but can be layered for greater coverage. The majority of shades were medium to semi-opaque in coverage, hard to build as they often pulled up the first layer and shifted color around. The formula rarely applied well; it was streaky, dried so fast that there was no time for corrections (and attempts to correct just made it worse), and clingy. I found the applicator rougher, and the packaging made it seem that sometimes it was more like I wasn’t getting enough product on the wand to even coverage half of a lip (it seemed like the opening was wiping away too much product from the doefoot applicator). For every single swatch, I had to dip and pull the wand two to three times just to get enough product to cover my lips (it was impossible to stretch out the product very far as it dried as I was spreading it). It did dry to a transfer-resistant finish, but it did not survive eating well (most liquid lipstick formulas have survived better for me). Though transfer-resistant, it remained slightly tacky for one to two hours–and if you use more than one to one and a half layers, it often lifted and separated the color.

The brand’s swatches and lip swatches showcase a seemingly opaque product, but I could not achieve opaque coverage with several shades, even trying four or five layers, and the result after five layers of product was uneven, patchy, and cakey. The wear was average–four to six hours with significant fading from the center, which is more what I’d experience with a typical lipstick and a liquid lipstick–and surprisingly, little staining, even with deeper shades. So far, they have been slightly drying to somewhat drying. There are so many high-performing liquid lipsticks on the marketplace already, so I was caught off guard by the poor application and performance of this formula.

Top Dupes

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Colour Pop Boa (P, $5.00) is lighter (90% similar).
Colour Pop Pepper (DC, $5.00) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
MAC Strutting Fabulous (LE, $19.00) is cooler (85% similar).
MAC Men Love Mystery (P, $17.00) is darker, glossier (85% similar).
Colour Pop Seesaw (P, $6.00) is lighter, warmer (80% similar).

Makeup Geek Showstopper Crème Stain Arabesque

Arabesque

Temptalia

B-

Limited Edition

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

8.5

Longevity

3.5

Application

80%

Total

Grapevine

Makeup Geek Grapevine Showstopper Creme Stain ($12.00 for 0.19 fl. oz.) is a brighter, medium purple with warm, pink undertones and a matte finish. It had medium pigmentation that took four pulls of product to get a single layer of product for my lips, as there appeared to be very little product that stayed on the applicator at a given moment. The consistency was prone to sheering out and went on very unevenly with color that gathered in my lip lines and appeared “cracked” when I smiled. This shade lasted for four and a half hours before there was significant fading at the center of the mouth, and it was slightly drying.

Top Dupes

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Too Faced Unicorn (P, $21.00) is more pigmented (95% similar).
Maybelline Vibrant Violet (P, $7.99) is lighter, glossier (90% similar).
Anastasia Vintage (P, $20.00) is warmer (90% similar).
Kat Von D L.U.V. (P, $20.00) is brighter (90% similar).
Kat Von D Susperia (P, $20.00) is lighter, warmer (85% similar).
Urban Decay Crank (P, $18.00) is darker, warmer (85% similar).
Kat Von D L.U.V. (P, $21.00) is lighter, glossier (85% similar).
Colour Pop Lychee (P, $6.00) is lighter, brighter, warmer (85% similar).
Makeup Geek Party Girl (P, $12.00) is lighter (80% similar).
Kat Von D K-Dub (P, $20.00) is lighter, brighter (80% similar).

Makeup Geek Showstopper Crème Stain Grapevine

Grapevine

Temptalia

D+

Limited Edition

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

69%

Total

Charleston

Makeup Geek Charleston Showstopper Creme Stain ($12.00 for 0.19 fl. oz.) is a medium-dark purple with warm, pink undertones and a matte finish. It had semi-sheer to medium coverage, which did not build well, as it caused the initial layer to pull up and resulted in more uneven coverage than with just one layer applied. The texture was thin, almost watery, and it was difficult to spread out before it started to dry down. The formula lasted for four and a half hours and was slightly drying.