Urban Decay Crank, Firebird, Big Bang Vice Liquid Lipsticks

Crank

Urban Decay Crank Vice Liquid Lipstick ($18.00 for 0.17 fl. oz.) is medium-dark purple with warm, pink undertones and a matte finish. It had medium color coverage–not even remotely close to opaque!–in a single layer. This one needed three layers to yield full coverage, and then it took an obscene (15 minutes) time to dry down. One layer took closer to two minutes to dry down, and it did dry down fully. The texture was thinner and on the watery side, which resulted in the sheerer coverage along with poorer, uneven application. The color lasted for five hours before there was more noticeable fading, and the formula felt non-drying.

The Vice Liquid Lipstick formula is supposed to be “intensely pigmented” with “complete coverage in one coat” and “nondrying wear” that is “comfortable” and “waterproof.” The majority of the Metallized shades are not even close to one-coat coverage–maybe three or four or coats!–and did not layer evenly, plus they had a tendency to lose sparkle/glitter through wear. Whenever a shade wasn’t opaque in one coat, it often looked streaky or uneven. There were some shades that had fantastic, one-coat coverage, while others featured more medium, buildable coverage but several applied uneven, patchy, and didn’t level or improve after drying down even with a second layer.

The consistency of the formula was smooth, lightweight, and comfortable to apply, but the dry down was lengthy and some shades never fully felt dry (instead, lightly tacky). There was a learning curve to applying and wearing these, too, as they were unforgiving if you accidentally press your lips together before the formula has dried down–the formula is quite tacky as it dries down and pressed lips together results in color lifting away. The wear varied from shade to shade (and between finishes) from four to eight hours, and so far, most were true to the nondrying claim, at least. I didn’t notice any scent or taste with them. They were difficult to remove compared to most products; I had the best luck saturating a cotton pad with eye or lip makeup remover (Neutrogena, Lancome, Shiseido, etc.), yet curiously were not that long-wearing on me (relative to liquid lipsticks)–they seemed to develop a little tackiness with any meal or drink (even just water) and degraded from there. Overall, the formula was extremely disappointing after the successful Vice lipstick launch last year.

Top Dupes

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Anastasia Vintage (P, $20.00) is darker (95% similar).
Maybelline Vibrant Violet (P, $7.99) is glossier, more muted, lighter (90% similar).
Kat Von D Susperia (P, $20.00) is more muted, lighter (90% similar).
Colour Pop Lychee (P, $6.00) is brighter, lighter (90% similar).
Makeup Geek Party Girl (P, $12.00) is brighter, lighter (90% similar).
Urban Decay Crank (P, $17.00) is glossier, brighter, lighter (90% similar).
Colour Pop Privacy Please (P, $6.00) is more muted, lighter (85% similar).
Estee Lauder Stronger (P, $30.00) is glossier, warmer, lighter (85% similar).
Too Faced Unicorn (P, $21.00) is cooler, darker (85% similar).
Kat Von D L.U.V. (P, $20.00) is brighter (85% similar).

Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick Crank

Crank

Temptalia

D+

Permanent

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

69%

Total

Firebird

Urban Decay Firebird Vice Liquid Lipstick ($18.00 for 0.17 fl. oz.) is a deep berry with cool, fuchsia micro-pearl. There was a very faint, iridescent sheen (just like the Vice Lipstick version). The color applied unevenly with areas that appeared darker and redder and then other areas that appeared lighter and cooler. The consistency was thin, watery, and hard to control along the edges of the lips. It dried down a lot faster (less than a minute) compared to most shades in the range. The color wore well for six hours, left a stain behind, but felt a touch drying over time.

Top Dupes

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Illamasqua Atomic (P, $24.00) is glossier (90% similar).
MAC Show Orchid (P, $17.00) is brighter, lighter (85% similar).
Kat Von D Sexer (P, $21.00) is brighter, lighter (85% similar).
Urban Decay Jilted (DC, $22.00) is glossier, brighter (85% similar).
Milani Dramattic Diva (05) (LE, $8.99) is brighter, lighter (85% similar).

Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick Firebird

Firebird

Temptalia

Permanent

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

8.5

Longevity

Application

74%

Total

Big Bang

Urban Decay Big Bang Vice Liquid Lipstick ($18.00 for 0.17 fl. oz.) is a bright, medium-dark pink with warmer undertones and cooler, fuchsia sparkle. It had medium coverage that went on unevenly and felt clump in places after it had dried down. The glitter sat more on top of the color, which made the metallic/glittery effect more prominent, but it seemed more prone to flaking away over time so the color became less and less sparkly after a couple of hours of wear. It took two to three minutes to dry down to a mostly dry finish, but it remained a little tacky (but did not lift away color) for the rest of its wear. This shade lasted for four and a half hours on me before flaking away, though it was non-drying and comfortable to wear overall.

Top Dupes

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Milani Violet Volt (P, $5.49) is cooler (85% similar).
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Yaoi (P, $18.00) is cooler, brighter, lighter (85% similar).
Too Faced Lollipop (P, $22.00) is cooler, brighter, lighter (85% similar).
MAC Show Orchid (P, $17.00) is cooler, brighter, lighter (80% similar).
Milani Dramattic Diva (05) (LE, $8.99) is cooler, brighter, lighter (80% similar).
Kat Von D Sexer (P, $21.00) is brighter, darker, less shimmery (80% similar).

Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick Big Bang