Deep and matte.

Back in September, I was already planning my lippies for the holidays. Yes, I know, I'm THAT girl haha! That time, I was in the mood for a dark lip so I purchased a lippie that I've been wanting to try for a while. So here's my dark lip purchase!

Bubbly Skin has a few lippie lines in their roster but their Melted Matte Tints caught my attention. They are ultra matte tints that are smudge-proof, have intense color payoff and lightweight formula. They also have Vitamin E that makes them non-drying on the lips.

The Melted Matte Tint comes in a frosted serum-like dropper bottle. It's actually quite cute! Applicator is a new one to me: it's a flat paddle-type applicator! I though that this kind of applicator would be hard to use but thankfully, its rounded edge really gets into the curves of the lips, though it does present a challenge when it comes to the lines of the lips.

The Melted Matte Tints come in 7 shades and here I have Piper, a plum red. Piper is a deep red shade when applied fully but when blotted, it's more of a strawberry red.

Okay, let's talk texture and formula. The Melted Matte Tints are described to have "the weightless feel of a lip stain with the incredibly creamy pigment of a lipstick" and the formula really feels like it! Imagine your usual water-based lip tints but creamier, goopier, stickier, and more intense in pigment. It does feel more fluid and thin as compared to a liquid lipstick so it glides on the lips very quickly- a little application control is required to avoid getting over the lip lines.

 So applied this tint two ways: first as an ombre/inner lip shade. I'm not the best at creating an ombre lip so please excuse my swatch here haha! I do like a dark red for an ombre shade, mainly because it reminds me of something gory, like a creature of the night that just bit someone haha!

Not gonna lie, this tint is pigmented AF. It's like applying a gel-type liquid lipstick! When it comes to pigment, this tint doesn't disappoint. Also, it is super matte. No shine whatsover, plus it dries down so quickly- too quickly that you have to work twice as fast to blend it out because when it sets, it's not going anywhere.

And here's Piper on its own. As you can see, it's giving rich immortal countess vibes- I absolutely love it!! Although you might be thinking: "I thought it's matte?". Well, it is, technically. However, I had to apply two to three coats of the tint so that it looks even in all areas of my lips. I should've waited for each layer to dry first before piling up the next one. So of course, this led to the tint drying twice as long. I personally don't mind the shine though!

When applied all over the lips, it does have that dry feel on the lips but it's not too uncomfortable and cement-like. In terms of comfort though, this tint still feels drier than bullet lipsticks.

One thing you should know about this tint is that it stains like no other. Like, it's alarmingly hard to take it off! I remember the first time I tested this tint, I had a bit of a panic because the tint just won't come off! I've used micellar water, cleansing oils, makeup wipes- nada. It stained my lips, my fingers- honestly, it was a mess. I eventually found out what makes the stains go away easily: soap and water. Yep, that's it, which makes sense, I guess, since this tint is water-based haha!

Not gonna lie, I'm a bit conflicted with this product. Positives include: intense pigment, longevity, shade range, and affordability. Negatives (for me, at least) include: hard to remove stain, scent (has a weird one, honestly), drying/setting time (sometimes too quick, sometimes takes time), and feel on the lips. This all comes from a person who's not at all used to water-based tints so take my thoughts with a grain of salt, I guess. If I were to rate this product, I'd give it a 7.5 out of ten. It's good but it's something I'm not used to so I'm just a bit weirded out by some aspects of it. I don't think I'll get another Melted Matte shade but I don't regret getting Piper at all. Maybe I'll rock this tint sometime this holiday season, who knows? It's always a good time to rock a deep lip, don't you think?