Liz:

I picked out the shade Devotion, which I would describe as a rosy pink with hints of coral. The shade itself is incredibly wearable and a really nice every day lip color. It’s like a healthy natural lip color but dialed up.

This product has a flat, paddle shaped applicator wand and a slim, rectangular shaped package. According to Revlon, the scent is “creamy mango and whipped vanilla,” and that sounds about right to me. It’s fruity and sweet at the same time.

I wore this with a nude lip liner and without, and would say a lip liner is a big help if you have time for the extra step. Either way, however, I didn’t love that this sunk into the lip lines at the center of my mouth after about 20 minutes. And forget about this lasting through a meal! I had lipstick on my straw after only one sip and lip marks on any cup or bottle I drank from while wearing this. Because it transferred so easily, I always blotted it off with a napkin before I ate anything. This formula loses a lot of points because it just refuses to stay on my lips.

Although this is marketed as a matte lipcolor, I wouldn’t count on a truly matte finish. In my opinion, this performs more like a cream for the first hour (or until you drink anything, at which point it’s mostly gone anyway) and, thereafter, a semi-matte. For some people, the less-than-matte formula might actually be preferred, but I love a truly matte lip and was left disappointed here.

I also found that it never really dried down fully on me, which most matte formulas do. In fact, after over five minutes, the swatch I did on my arm was still quite shiny and looked the same as when it was freshly applied.

In addition, if there was any part of the lip where a thicker layer of product gathered, like along the lip lines, it stayed glossier than other areas, which was strange and annoying. Patchy color with shiny lip liner is never the look I’m going for.

So while I really enjoy the actual color of Devotion, I can’t recommend this product because it doesn’t live up to its matte claim and transfers all over the place.

Liz’s Verdict: Not very matte, and not my favorite.

Lea:

I chose the Revlon Ultra HD Matte in shade Addiction during a last minute drugstore stop, after my husband sprung a dinner date on me. I wanted something fun and easy that I could apply in the rear view mirror and not worry about. I’d say this color is on the fuchsia side of berry, very wearable. Straight out of the tube this smells like an orange creamcicle or maybe a little like funfetti cake batter but the scent doesn’t last.

While I wish the applicator was more pointed, it’s small enough that I was able to get crisp edges and it didn’t feather. The formula doesn’t dry down quickly so I had no problem taking my time to get even opaque color (though uniformity did take several swipes to ensure). In fact I checked back 10 minutes after application and it hadn’t really dried down at all. I pressed my lips together and that made the look matte, but only where my lips touched (so not the outer edges). I ended up lightly pressing a tissue against my lips to get an even matte finish- some color did transfer to the tissue.

I double checked the tube and it doesn’t claim to be a liquid lipstick so I didn’t expect hours of wear. surprisingly it only wore off the very inside of my lips after eating. I’ve had much worse results from stains that stuck to dry patches and creases.

The texture of this formula is what impresses me the most. I didn’t have any balm to layer under but it still swiped on smoothly. I almost never have time to exfoliate my lips but this didn’t emphasize that at all. Rubbing my lips together is a bad habit I can’t seem to break, unfortunately it means I usually rub away lipstick in less than an hour and get really annoyed by anything sticky or glittery. This lasted through my dinner date and felt smooth, almost like a cream. When it did wear off, it did so pretty evenly.

All in all I think this is one of the best drugstore, impulse purchases I’ve made in a while. I love the shade and the way it feels. While it’s true that this doesn’t have much lasting power, neither would a gloss and this is less sticky and more pigmented. It’s a good in between product in my opinion. Just make sure to blot it right after application, before you head out.