Photos by Lauren Kelly
This Dollarama-bought liquid lipstick is way better than it should be
By Lauren Kelly, Graphics Manager
Whenever I used to go into a Dollarama, I would check the makeup section for drugstore products that aren’t selling. Usually there wasn’t much, but you could still score something fun for two or three bucks if you were lucky. However, over the last while those random, unwanted finds have been steadily replaced by the brand Mariposa. I’ve always had an aversion to dollar store make up, but “it’s so cheap it can’t be good” feels like it goes against this whole column, so I finally took a chance on it. I grabbed four Mariposa liquid lipsticks at $1.50 each, and took them home—fully expecting to be disappointed.
The lip stain claims to have a matte finish and be 24-hour long wear with all day comfort, so I decided to really put them to work and do a full day test wearing a bright coral. I put it on at nine in the morning with no trouble—it was incredibly pigmented like most other liquid lipsticks, and very easy to apply. The formula also quickly dried to the promised matte finish.
To start the day, I ate a bagel for breakfast, with no residue coming off on it or on my face. I had multiple drinks throughout the day, including a hot chocolate from Tim Horton’s, with, again, perfect lips by the end of it. I’m sure I drove a couple people crazy going “I just ate something how do my lips look” but they always looked great. For dinner, I had hot tea and a bunch of sushi and again, it was fine. I got home at ten with my lips looking mostly good with just the smallest signs of wear, which is the first time I haven’t had to reapply throughout the day in a long time, even with high-end products. I tried this again the next day with a bright red colour, but ate a hot dog for lunch and teriyaki for dinner, so by the end of the night the inner ring of my lips had started to wear off. I can’t expect it to be magic, I guess, but it still overperformed (and I got some compliments on this shade!).
There are only two downsides to this product. First, if you want something that you can’t feel on your lips, this isn’t it. I’ve gotten used to it after spending the week wearing various colours, but during my first application I definitely noticed the product, and for the first bit your lips feel a little sticky. They never get dry or very uncomfortable, though, even with it on all day. Second, the colours are really confusing. I bought it in four colours, and I’ll describe them how the box shows: Angel, a light brown nude; Miss Paris, a bright blue-toned purple; Lollipop, a deep coral; and a dark but vivid red. The tube for Angel doesn’t even match the box art for it, and the tubes for the other three do match the box but vary from the final product. Miss Paris, especially, looks like a bright pink instead of the purple I wanted. So the colours are a complete crap shoot, but the price is so low that if you do get unlucky and dislike the actual colour, you can just get another one.
If you like liquid lipsticks, you are doing yourself a disservice if you don’t run out and grab some, even as gifts. At $1.50, these cost less than a value menu burger at McDonalds.
