And another belated review for one of my fave lip products from my Korea trip… last year. I told you I’m running on an immense backlog, you guys. Anyway, here be the 3CE Lip Lacquer in Desert Flower. It’s essentially a liquid lipstick that semi-sets to a somewhat velvety texture. It packs a lot of punch! I’ve tried another color prior to Desert Flower, a loud neon pink called Pink Boom.*

Desert Flower is a gorgeous deep magenta that I mistook for a more eggplant-y shade. It lacked that little bit of purple that I’d been expecting from it, but I love it nonetheless. The formula is quite nice and you can sort of adjust the intensity of the shade as it’s buildable. It’s perfect for that quick pop of color if you don’t want to do a full face of makeup but want to look like you tried, haha. I don’t know why you’d want to look like a try-hard, but I think you guys know what I mean!

This is about two thin layers. At full opacity, it is gorgeously deeper with a hint more purple.

Rest of my face:

MAKE Soft Focus Foundation (Cool 4), K-Palette Real Lasting 2Way Eyebrow Liner (G101)*, MAC Paint Pot (Stormy Pink), Marc Jacobs High Liner ((Plum)age), Le Metiér de Beauté Blushing Bronze Duet (Romeo & Juliet)

The applicator is really nice and easy to use, too. The slanted tip helps!

Unfortunately, I did experience a little bit of fading with this, and it highlights some dry patches as well when it fades. The good news is that it reapplies really well, which is a little hard to come by with liquid lip products. Most glosses gum up (gross, I know) and you need to wipe away all of it before you can reapply.

I love how this is totally a departure from the usual Korean cosmetics lip colors—not bright or nude or pink.

I’ve been reading how these are comparable to the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams, and I honestly prefer 3CE’s formula. Perhaps it’s also because of the shades I chose (my NYX selections were on the pinky, wearable side), but I disliked the finish of those. I don’t find that these set to a true matte, so it probably helps with the dryness. They do feel similar on the lips once they’ve set, though.

* Items marked with an asterisk are PR Samples.

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