REVIEW: GOSH Velvet Touch Matt Lipstick

As everyone who knows me in real life can confirm, I have painfully little money currently, which has led to me bitterly making an enormous wishlist of makeup I desperately want to purchase when I do have funds available. I’m generally quite good at restraining myself, but when I saw the new line of GOSH lipsticks, I couldn’t help myself.

The first thing that caught my eye was the fact that they were matte – I’m not really a fan of glossy or sheeny lip products – and the second was the inclusion of my favourite shade in the range, that ubiquitous mauve-nude-brown-depending-on-who-wears-it. You know. The Kylie.

Though I now possess a great number of similarly-toned lip products, I still haven’t hit upon my Holy Grail, so my interest was naturally piqued. On Monday, therefore, I headed straight to Superdrug to check out the range in person, finally settling upon the shade 003 Antique. As each lipstick was £6.99, I decided I would try one before splurging on several at once, and this was the shade I knew I’d die if I neglected to get it and it subsquently sold out.

Above you can see the packaging – simple and understated. Below is a swatch of the product on my hand (in natural light) and on my lips (with camera flash). Click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

While a few people have speculated that Antique could be a dupe for MAC’s Velvet Teddy, I compared the two and have to say that Antique is more of a sister than a twin to the famous lipstick, as it is similar but darker and more purple.

The lipstick swatched beautifully but was difficult to apply to the lips initially, and I needed a few coats to build up the colour. If you’re nervous about bold colour, this would be ideal, as you can go from a soft sheen to a stronger look depending on how many layers you apply. I personally prefer lip products that are highly pigmented from the get-go, but that admittedly tends to come with a higher price tag.

This range is marketed as “matt” (why not “matte”, I’m not sure, but I’m sure there’s some logic behind it at the GOSH HQ), but I believe the products would be perfect for anyone who normally gives matte products a wide berth, or is apprehensive about switching from glossy to matte. The lipstick does not feel drying on the lips at all – in fact, it feels more like a glossy, moisturising product – even with several coats on. It neither cracks nor collects in the fine lines in my lips, and feels extremely comfortable on, despite being a matte product on usually dry skin. This crucial factor makes this product a real contender for anyone wanting to wear a matte product for an extended period of time, as reapplication isn’t uncomfortable in the slightest.

The staying power is average to good, considering the low price of this lipstick, and even when it rubs off or fades, it still looks fine (as we all know, some lipsticks smear or disappear with hideous results), but it would certainly require reapplication over the course of a day. Transfer onto skin or objects like coffee mugs is again average, so I would recommend caution if wearing with white clothing.

Overall, this lipstick was a good buy. I would have liked it to be more pigmented and to apply more easily, but the non-drying feel is a significant plus point here. I will definitely be creating more looks with this product and combining it with different lip liners to experiment with the colour (it’s still more purple than I would like, but that’s hardly the fault of the product itself!), and would recommend this to anyone initially nervous about trying a matte lipstick. The colour range is fairly extensive, so I don’t doubt that there’s something for everyone in there. In the future I’d love to see more brown and neutral shades in this formulation.

Have you tried this new range, or anything else from the GOSH A/W 15 collection? What’s your favourite nude lip product? Would you wear this colour? Let me know in the comments below!