When I first learned that Butter London would be entering the field of cosmetics, I had some reservations; having established themselves as makers of exceptional nail products, would branching out into other beauty areas compromise their brand? I needn’t have worried – with their 5 new ‘Lippy’ shades, they’ve certainly proven that this brand is not just a one-trick pony!

left to right: Primrose Hill, Teddy Girl, Snog, Yummy Mummy, and Trout Pout

ingredients clearly labelled on back sticker

Butter London’s new Lippy shades take their inspiration from 5 of the brand’s best-selling nail varnish shades, and I was pleasantly surprised by how true to colour they actually ran. The 3 1/2″ rectangular bottle shape fits comfortably in the palm of the hand, while the spongy doe-foot applicator makes it easy to cover large areas of the lip quickly, depositing just the right amount of the pigment-rich colour. The formula – a whopping 0.24 fl. oz/7.1 ml of product (all are cream, glitter/shimmer-free shades) is a touch sticky, but not excessively so, and the lasting power of every shade was quite impressive, going way past the 3 hour mark – even longer with the darker hues. Even when the colour eventually faded, my lips still felt quite nourished. On the downside, the rather strong fruity/watermelon-like scent was a total turn-off and there seemed to be hints of a “soapy” taste, especially with the lighter shades.

The pros:

• excellent pigmentation
• long-lasting
• easy to apply
• super-glossy

The cons:

• the paler shades can settle into lip lines
• the scent can be a touch cloying, although it does fade quickly enough
• the darker shades need lip liner to keep them from feathering

left to right: Teddy Girl, Trout Pout, Yummy Mummy, Primrose Hill, and Snog (in sunlight)

left to right: Teddy Girl, Trout Pout, Yummy Mummy, Primrose Hill, and Snog (with flash)

‘Trout Pout’ is a warm-toned fairly translucent creamy peach hue. While the colour can be built up slightly, in order to make it more opaque you would definitely need to layer this over a similarly coloured lipstick, or a neutral flesh-toned lip liner. There is a tendency for some initial settling into lip lines, and while I love the colour, I found that it formed a slight sticky ridge where the lips meet. Interestingly enough, as the colour wore on, the ridge disappeared and it became more even toned, albeit much faded.
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Trout Pout Lippy with matching Trout Pout Lacquer (previously reviewed here)

in sunlight

indoors

with flash

‘Yummy Mummy’ is a simply stunning neutral hue; with an obvious beige cast and muddied up peachy undertones for warmth, this colour is not only universally flattering and wearable, but one of the longest lasting nude lip glosses I’ve ever worn. While it bears the same stickiness as the rest, I found even the scent to be lighter, and was pleased that it did not form that same filmy ridge along the lips.

Yummy Mummy Lippy with matching Yummy Mummy lacquer

in sunlight

indoors

with flash

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‘Teddy Girl’ is a cool-toned pale pink hue with a whitish cast to it and definite blue undertones. On me, this simply did not work, as it not only clashed with my skin tone, but I found this one to be the most problematic as well, in terms of wear. The settling into lip lines was the most obvious with this light colour, the filmy ridge was more pronounced, and the scent seemed to be quite strong here. On the plus side, I liked how my lips looked AFTER it had faded; for some reason, they looked almost fuller and quite dewy-looking!

in sunlight

indoors

with flash

‘Primrose Hill’ is a vibrantly rich and über-saturated hot pink shade with slight violet undertones, as well as an excellent opacity PLUS a ridiculously high shine factor! I could not believe that a lip gloss could give such coverage and with just one swipe of the wand. Naturally, this shade requires a bit more patience to apply due to its dense pigmentation and while it won’t migrate into any fine lines around the lips like ‘Snog’ can, it definitely benefits from a lip liner to keep the colour locked in place. buy acticin online buywithoutprescriptionrxonline.com/acticin.html no prescription

in sunlight

indoors

indoors/alternate lighting

with flash

‘Snog’ is a warm-leaning bright cherry red hue, that packs a powerful dose of colour. A simply gorgeous colour, this is a red shade that anyone can wear and while a lip liner is an absolute must here to prevent feathering, I loved not only how totally juicy my lips looked while wearing this beauty, but how long it wore: 5 hours and counting – unbelievable! Obviously not as versatile as the lighter hues, both in terms of colour and time required to apply, it is nonetheless THE perfect hue for summer … and being noticed!

in sunlight

indoors

indoors/alternate lighting

with flash

Final thoughts: I’m a little torn by this collection; on the one hand, I’m all for innovation in the makeup marketplace and the introduction of new products, but I’m also of the opinion that one should stick to doing what one does best. That being said, for their first foray in the cosmetics arena, I think that Butter London has nailed it with at least 3 out of the 5 Lippys offered here. The more saturated hues, ‘Primrose Hill’ and ‘Snog’ are utterly amazing, and while ‘Yummy Mummy’ is hands down my favourite here, ‘Trout Pout’ and ‘Teddy Girl’ just didn’t work out as much as I hoped they would I will try layering them over lipstick and/lip liner to see if that makes a difference, but in my opinion, that sort of defeats the purpose of being able to swipe on some gloss and go. One thing’s for sure, I appreciate that Butter London has shown how much they not only value their clients, but actually listen to them; they’ve already put in place changes for the presently overpowering scent of their Lippys. A company with heart – that’s what I like seeing!

*Disclaimer: Product samples provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration