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Saturday, July 14, 2018

Urban Decay Backtalk Vice Lipstick Comparisons (plus a quick review of NYX Slip Tease Full Color Lip Oil in Lowkey)

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Urban Decay Backtalk Vice Lipstick and NYX Slip Tease Full Color Lip Oil in Lowkey

Urban Decay's Vice Lipstick in Backtalk, in their Comfort Matte finish, is one of the most popular shades in that huge line. They even made a whole eye and face palette based on it. It's in that dusty pink/mauve/MLBB (my-lips-but-better) family, which is the largest category of lip products in my hoard. Despite its popularity and my personal preference for this type of shade, there's something about Backtalk that's just a little off when I wear it. It's not that it looks bad, exactly, but it also doesn't make my face look better than it did without any lipstick.

I decided to swatch all my lipsticks that are even remotely similar to see if I can pick out any patterns and discern why Backtalk doesn't work for me. And since I was doing that, I figured I might as well post them here for you, in case you want to find/avoid dupes--or in case you can help me answer my question.

Here are the swatches, in no particular order. The first swatch in every photo is always Urban Decay Backtalk.

Swatches of Urban Decay Backtalk, Bite Beauty Pepper, Bite Beauty Matte Crème Lip Crayon in Glacé, BareMinerals GEN NUDE Liquid Lipstick in Swag,  Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lovesick, Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipstick in Rosewood, Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Fig

1. Urban Decay Backtalk

2. Bite Beauty Pepper (Luminous Creme formula)

3. Bite Beauty Matte Crème Lip Crayon in Glacé

4. BareMinerals GEN NUDE Liquid Lipstick in Swag

5. Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lovesick

6. Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipstick in Rosewood

7. Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Fig

So of the lipsticks in this selection, besides Backtalk, the only two I don't really like on myself are the KVD Lovesick and Bite Fig. Lovesick is a little cooler, with more pink/purple, than Backtalk, and Fig is much warmer and peachier. (Fortunately Lovesick is also a sample, because since it does that dried-up butthole thing to my lips, I wouldn't want to be stuck with a whole tube. Also, I don't buy Kat Von D products.) I'm not sure I'm seeing a pattern here yet.

Swatches of Urban Decay Backtalk, Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Rhubarb, Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick in Touch of Spice, NYX Slip Tease Full Color Lip Oil in Lowkey, Colourpop Lux Lipstick in Angel City, Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien, Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Rose-bud

1. Urban Decay Backtalk (It's interesting how Backtalk will look different depending on what other swatches you put it next to. The lighting is the same!)

2. Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Rhubarb

3. Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick in Touch of Spice (reviewed here)

4. NYX Slip Tease Full Color Lip Oil in Lowkey (which is very, very similar to Touch of Spice--more on this lipstick below!)

5. Colourpop Lux Lipstick in Angel City

6. Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien

7. Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Rose-bud

Everything here is much warmer than Backtalk, and it all works well for me, so maybe that's something. Rhubarb is slightly blah on me, but I'm guessing it would look great on people who like Revlon Sultry, which is similar to Maybelline Touch of Spice but slightly less flattering on me (review/comparison here).

Side note: has anyone ever come across a dupe for Wet N Wild Rose-bud? I love the color, but the Megalast formula always dries out my lips.

Swatches of Urban Decay Backtalk, L'Oréal Colour Riche La Lacque Lip Pen in Choco-lacque, Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Rapture, Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipstick in Sheer Rapture, Revlon Balm Stain in Honey, Tom Ford Lip Color Matte in Pussycat

1. Urban Decay Backtalk 

2. L'Oréal Colour Riche La Lacque Lip Pen in Choco-lacque (reviewed here)

3. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Rapture (discontinued, but available in Vice format)

4. Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipstick in Sheer Rapture (discontinued)

5. Revlon Balm Stain in Honey (reviewed here)

6. Tom Ford Lip Color Matte in Pussycat

Pussycat looks closest to Backtalk here, and it's also the one I like least on my face, though slightly better than Backtalk. These two lipsticks are both pretty muted (i.e. they have grey added), so that could be a clue. Rapture looks muted when you consider it alone, but next to Backtalk, it's a bit more saturated.

Swatches of Urban Decay Backtalk, Tarte Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paint in Birthday Suit, LA Girl Matte Lipstick in Snuggle, Burt's Bees Lip Crayon in Sedona Sands, Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Thistle

1. Urban Decay Backtalk 

2. Tarte Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paint in Birthday Suit (i.e. last year's Sephora birthday gift)

3. LA Girl Matte Lipstick in Snuggle (reviewed here)

4. Burt's Bees Lip Crayon in Sedona Sands

5. Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Thistle

None of the above is particularly similar to Backtalk, so the fact that most of them work for me isn't especially informative. The exception is Birthday Suit, which is an unflattering beige--I think it's the yellow undertones that set it apart from the superficially similar Snuggle. Come to think of it, though, Thistle is both very muted and pretty cool, and I like it a lot on me. Maybe that's because it's more of a statement corpse-lip, rather than just looking accidentally blah. (I'm wearing it in this Instagram pic, though the lighting isn't great.)

You probably want to see what Backtalk actually looks like on me at this point. (Apologies for the grainy photo.)


Like I said, it's not awful, but a great lipstick will light up your face, and a good lipstick will at least be better than nothing.

I'm not sure what I've learned through this process. I need my MLBB lipsticks to be muted, but not too muted, and more brown than grey, maybe. Or more brown than pink? Thoughts? I have definitely learned that I have way too many similar lipsticks (ok, I already knew that), and that weirdly enough I have never reviewed most of these. Any you'd like to know more about?

I'll tell you more right now about one of them. I recently used Ulta points to pick up a lipstick from one of NYX's 700 or so liquid lipstick lines, a newer one called Slip Tease Full Color Lip Oil. It's full color, sure, but having oil in the name is a bit of a red herring. It's not like YSL Tint-In-Oil or most other products called lip oils. It's less drying than most matte liquid lipsticks, sure, but there's nothing that looks or feels oily about it. (There are a few oils halfway down the ingredients list, but a lot of other things come before them.)

Here is Lowkey on my face:


More flattering, wouldn't you agree, than Backtalk? The rest of my makeup is the same, as is the lighting. Here's a lip swatch:


When you see it all alone, it looks like a rosy pink, but in the swatches above (second set), you can see that it definitely has some brown in it when compared to other lipsticks in the same family. The formula is really lovely. It's slightly moussey and thick enough that you can easily and neatly apply it using just the doe foot (not as thick as the Tarte liquid lipstick, though). It's opaque in one coat, but not so pigmented that it risks getting really messy. The finish is demi-matte. It dries down a bit but not completely, so it retains slip and moisture and feels pretty much like a bullet lipstick--yet it doesn't transfer easily. Wear time is about the same as a decent bullet, so you'll probably have to reapply after a meal. Best of all, it doesn't dry my lips out.

This is one of the nicest lipsticks I've tried recently, and probably the nicest liquid lipstick I've ever used. I'd recommend giving it a try if you see a color you like. That's my one complaint: while I love Lowkey (way to be hip to the new slang, kids), none of the other colors really interests me. There's variety, but something about the selection bores me. Bang Bang and Entice might be ok? I think a terracotta orange would be really great in this formula.

I kind of ordered Lowkey blind (you can never trust Ulta's photos for color accuracy), but it ended up working great. It would be nice if I could work out some kind of rules to predict which lipsticks will work best on me. Do you know what works for you when you see it, or do you have to try everything on like I do?

4 comments:

  1. Wow, I had no idea the NYX lip oils were basically opaque! I never looked up reviews for them because I assumed they were just, well, oils with a hint of color. What a misleading name.

    As for your Backtalk quandary, I think it's the purple-gray tone that's clashing a bit with your warm undertones. You mention that KVD Lovesick and Tom Ford Pussycat are also not great on you, and those are the same kind of dusty cool purplish pink. Backtalk is one of my most-worn lipsticks precisely *because* the purplish gray harmonizes with my coloring, but it's always confused me that it's one of the most popular UD lipsticks, because more people are warm-toned than cool-toned. I agree that warm, reddish MLBBs look much better on you.

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    1. Yes, they put "full color" in there, I guess to try to make it more clear, but I think it would be better if they called it "oil-infused liquid lipstick" or something like that. I think your theory must be right. I'm close to neutral in tone, but definitely on the warm side (I'll always choose yellow undertones over pink for a base product, if I have to). I don't know how to explain Thistle, which I really think does look good on me in person, but maybe it's just in a category of its own. Thanks for weighing in!

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  2. I have the same issue with those greyish undertones. NARS Anna has a similar effect on me - it's not terrible, but it's not quite right. I definitely prefer a bit of warmth in my MLBB shades. Charlotte Tilbury Secret Salma has been my go-to for about a year now - it's a pinky-browny neutral that works really well with my colouring. Lowkey is pretty similar, actually, and it looks great on you.

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    1. Yeah. I think I'm neutral enough that I can wear a lot of things and it's fine, but stuff like Backtalk are just fine, not flattering. And thank you--I finally gambled and won with Lowkey. (Meanwhile I bought a metallic violet Revlon lipstick in the same order, and it was not such a victory.) I still haven't tried anything from Charlotte Tilbury. Somehow the brand and the products just don't really speak to me.

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