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Mambo
Makeup Geek Mambo Showstopper Creme Stain ($12.00 for 0.19 fl. oz.) is a rich, raspberry pink with cooler undertones and a matte finish. It was one of the more pigmented and easier-to-apply shades with minimal streaking, just “cracking” when I smiled where it was clear the color was pulling away at my lip lines. It had semi-opaque coverage, though it required three pulls of product just to get enough product on the lips for one layer. The consistency was thin, quick-drying, and lightly tacky after it dried down. It lasted for four hours before there was noticeable fading along the center of the lips, and it was drying after three hours of wear. (Surprisingly, it did not leave behind stain.)
The Showstopper Creme Stain formula is supposed to be “long-lasting” and “highly pigmented and offer 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 than 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
- NARS Let's Go Crazy (P, $27.00) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- Urban Decay Menace (P, $18.00) is lighter, brighter (90% similar).
- Colour Pop Date Mate (LE, $5.00) is lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- Colour Pop Poppin' (P, $5.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- NARS Carthage (P, $26.00) is brighter, glossier (90% similar).
- Make Up For Ever M203 (P, $22.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- MAC Flat Out Fabulous (P, $17.00) is lighter, cooler (85% similar).
- Maybelline Rebel Pink (P, $7.49) is lighter, brighter, glossier (85% similar).
- Too Faced Troublemaker (P, $22.00) is lighter, brighter (85% similar).
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Limited Edition
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Electric Slide
Makeup Geek Electric Slide Showstopper Creme Stain ($12.00 for 0.19 fl. oz.) is a deep, cool-toned violet purple with a matte finish. It had medium coverage, which I was not able to build well at all; every attempt led to parts of the initial layer lifting and moving. Sometimes it seemed to just erase what I had done in the first place–and I did wait for it to dry down fully! The consistency was thin, almost emollient like there was more oil in it, but it dried pretty quickly on my lips. I felt like it had already started to dry down before I could spread the product across my bottom lip more than half-way. I had to get three pulls of product to complete a single layer of coverage (not trying to build it up at all, just to lay down some color everywhere), as there seemed to be so little product on the wand. The result was patchy, uneven color that pulled into lip lines, looked “cracked” when I smiled, and lasted four hours before there was significant fading from the center of the mouth. I tried to eat with this shade on, and I had almost no product left by the end of the meal. It was slightly drying while worn.
Top Dupes
- Urban Decay Pandemonium (P, $18.00) is lighter, brighter (90% similar).
- Colour Pop Chaps (LE, $6.00) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
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Limited Edition
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Twerk
Makeup Geek Twerk Showstopper Creme Stain ($12.00 for 0.19 fl. oz.) is a deep, forest green with cool undertones and a matte finish. It had semi-sheer coverage in one layer, and it was buildable to a patchy, streaky mess of “medium” coverage (in places). The consistency was thin and was difficult to spread across the lips, as parts of it started to dry down almost immediately and I could only cover half of my bottom lip with all the product on the wand, so I had to get three pulls of product just to do about one layer on my lips. It emphasized the texture of my lips and looked “cracked” when I smiled, despite being thinner. It was transfer-resistant but was slightly tacky throughout the wear. This shade started to wear away from the center with three hours and was somewhat drying after four hours of wear.
Top Dupes
- MAC Deep with Envy (LE, $17.00) is lighter, glossier (85% similar).
- Anastasia Requiem (P, $20.00) is more shimmery, lighter, brighter (80% similar).
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Limited Edition
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Makeup Geek Mambo Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Mambo Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Mambo Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Mambo Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Mambo Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Mambo Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Electric Slide Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Electric Slide Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Electric Slide Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Electric Slide Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Electric Slide Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Electric Slide Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Twerk Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Twerk Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Twerk Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Twerk Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Twerk Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Twerk Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Mambo Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Mambo Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Mambo Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Mambo Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Mambo Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Mambo Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Electric Slide Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Electric Slide Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Electric Slide Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Electric Slide Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Electric Slide Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Electric Slide Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Twerk Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Twerk Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Twerk Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Twerk Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Twerk Showstopper Crème Stain
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Makeup Geek Twerk Showstopper Crème Stain