Indie Spotlight: B'ellegant Cosmetics

I've got a ton of liquid lipsticks to review and I'm getting behind on them but in this post and in this week's YouTube video, I did a review of B'ellegant Cosmetics' matte liquid lipsticks and a single eyeshadow that I got. I picked these up a few months ago when they were having a birthday sale and everything was 40% off. I believe this is a black owned company and since they are such a small brand, there aren't a lot of swatches available on the Internet so I just eyeballed it and picked up 3 matte colors and 3 metallic matte colors for the liquid lipsticks. 

Both the solid colored and metallic ones are under the "Liquid Matte" section of the website and they are $14.50 each. There is no weight or capacity indication on the tube or website but since the packaging is very basic and similar to other indie brands, I managed to find out that the fat tubes for the solid colors are 7ml and the skinny tubes for the metallic colors are 8ml. The fat tubes have a paddle foot applicator and the tip of the tube doesn't really strain any product from the wand. The skinny tube has a doe foot applicator and the opening is quite small so there isn't a strainer.

The color range is amazing in terms of uniqueness. I don't have dupes for any of the colors that I picked out and I have a ton of liquid lipsticks so that says something about the colors. They just released 4 new liquid mattes and I really really want to get them - Pretty Natural, Mauvelous, Stargaze and Black Cherry - but I'm broke af so they will have to wait. They have nudes and pinks for everyday wear and they have fun colors like pastels, blue, green and purple for those special occasions. 

The solid matte colors have one swipe pigmentation. They have a creamy texture and they do take 1-2 minutes to dry completely. They are relatively transfer proof but they are not smudge proof. They come off quite easily especially if you are eating or even drinking from a cup. However, they are very comfortable and hardly drying. The metallic colors are a liquidy/watery formula and apply sheer so they will require a couple of layers to achieve full opacity. They are more transfer proof and quite smudge proof. I haven't put them to a longer wear test yet but they seem relatively comfortable to wear. 

One improvement I would like to see from this brand would be more swatch photos on different skin tones and more accurate representations of the colors on their lip swatches. If you compare my lip swatches to the ones on their website, you can clearly see how different they look. I actually got quite mad that a couple of them turned out so different from what I thought I would be getting. 

My score and ranking for the solid matte colors are as such:

Overall: 4.375/5

Pigmentation: 5/5

Application: 4.5/5

Comfort: 4.5/5

Longevity: 3.5/5 (I put 4 in the video but I have since decided to reduce it because it does come off when I drink water from a cup)

For reference, I am a fair skinned Asian Chinese with neutral undertones. I am approximately NC15-20/Kat Von D Light 45 Neutral. Side note: I've been working on my lip swatches and I think I'm improving! Everything is taken under natural light. It started raining and got gloomy so I had to change my photo spot for the metallics. 

Rose Petal - Dusty Rose

This is my absolute favorite dusty rose shade out of all the rose and mauve shades that I own. I have yet to find an exact dupe for it. They are either more pink or more purple, lighter or darker in shade. Rose Petal has been my number 1 pink shade ever since I wore it in my ColourPop Highlighter Trio video. I just find it so flattering on me and it makes my lips look fuller. It really complements my skin tone.

Berry Chilly - Deep Berry

I was expecting this to look a lot more purple since it looked very purple on their website. I think it's discontinued at the moment.You can see that this shade is slightly patchy but it won't be too bad from afar. A second layer will definitely fix it but since they take so long to dry, I just settled for one layer.

Brambleberry - Plum Deep Red

Again, I was expecting this to look a lot redder like the swatch on their website but the color leans more brown on me and even in the tube itself. I searched other customer photos for this and their swatches look similar to mine even on dark skin, so I'm pretty sure they're not representing their colors correctly on their website. This color looked the most different and I really wanted that shade of red so I was very pissed that it looked so brown. The owner wasn't very helpful too because she just said that the colors will appear different depending on your skin tone and natural lip color. From what I can see, it looks the same in the tube and on my lips so that reasoning is invalid.

Ablaze - Metallic Red

This shade seems to be discontinued at the moment too. It's just a metallic red and it appeared much richer on their swatch photos. I'm using two coats here and it's still very sheer. It seems to have hot pink reflects though.

Sugar Plum - Metallic Plum Purple

This is the most pigmented metallic shade of the trio that I got. This swatch is only one layer but I could have used a second because the sides of my lips are still sheer. It's a really nice shade of purple though and it looks very juicy and shiny. It's a flattering kind of purple so I wouldn't hesitate on this one too.

Glory - Metallic Deep Blue

This looks more blackened on the webiste but it's still a really nice metallic dark blue. I did have to go over it 2-3 times to fix any uneven spots. It didn't get too uncomfortable but I did notice it flaking a bit as I wore it for longer. I've been searching for a good metallic blue so I guess it is hard to nail these sort of colors. It's still gorgeous to look at and definitely a statement lip.

Tidal Wave - Teal Blue with a Green Shift

This is the single eyeshadow that I picked up. It came in a 29mm pan which is larger than the average 26mm pan you get with most other brands. They cost $5 each so that is quite a good price for a 29mm pan. The shadow that I received was filled to the brim so I'm quite impressed with that. It picks up really  nice on the finger but it doesn't apply as pigmented as I thought it would. This is one swipe on my hand. It is also not as blinding and the shift isn't as strong. I applied it with my fingers on my eyelids and it really didn't translate very well (I'm wearing it throughout my video). A primer will definitely help to bring out the colors or a black base will also allow the colors to pop.

Below is my personal ranking for all the liquid lipsticks that I have tried so far. They are weighed against the price, some pros and cons. Those marked with * indicates that they are not necessarily transfer proof / satin liquid lipsticks (they will naturally be more comfortable).

Personal Overall Ranking

1. Wet N Wild Liquid Catsuit $4.99 - $0.83/g, comfortable, pigmented, long lasting | dark colors are patchy
2. ColourPop Ultra Matte $6 - $1.875/g, pigmented, long lasting, wide color range | some shades are drying, accentuates lip lines
3. *ColourPop Ultra Satin $6 - $1.875/g, comfortable, pigmented, long lasting, wide color range
4. *Atomic Makeup (Lonely Planet) $15 - $1.875/ml, comfortable, pigmented, long lasting, wearable everyday colors
5. Give Me Glow Matte $13.25 - $2.03/ml, comfortable, pigmented, long lasting, wide color range | some colors transfer slightly, accentuates lip lines
6. JCat Lipfinity $4.99 - $0.41/g, comfortable, wide color range, long lasting | a handful are slightly streaky and tacky
7. Bellegant Liquid Matte $14.50 - $2.07/ml, comfortable, pigmented, unique colors | not very transfer proof
8. *Julep It’s Whipped $20 - comfortable, pigmented, flattering shades | $4.87/ml
9. Stila Stay All Day $24 - comfortable, pigmented, long lasting, wide color range | $8/ml, flakes, accentuates lip lines
10. *NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream $6 - $0.75/ml, comfortable, wide color range  | some streaky shades
11. The Beauty Crop GrlPwr  $14.95 - comfortable, pigmented | $3.73/ml, limited shade range
12. RealHer Matte $15 - long lasting | $3.33/ml, dark colors do not layer well, tacky, drying, accentuates lip lines
13. *NYX Liquid Suede $7 - $1.75/ml, comfortable, unique colors | some streaky colors
14. Kylie Cosmetics $17 - comfortable, pigmented, long lasting, wide color range | $5.23/ml
15. Jordana Sweet Cream $4.99 - $1.66/g, pigmented, wide color range | drying, flakes
16. NYX Lip Lingerie $7 - $1.75/ml, nudes for everyone | drying, accentuates lip lines, tacky, slightly streaky
17. *Palladio Velvet Matte $7 - $1.68/g, comfortable, pigmented | feathers and bleeds
18. LA Girl Flat Finish Pigment Gloss $6 - $1.20/g | sheer and streaky, very drying, tacky

Comfort Ranking (* = not transfer proof)

1. Atomic Makeup (Lonely Planet)*
2. Julep It’s Whipped*
3. Wet N Wild Liquid Catsuit
4. ColourPop Ultra Satin*
5. Bellegant Liquid Matte
6. JCat Lipfinity
7. Give Me Glow Matte
8. Palladio Velvet Matte*
9. The Beauty Crop GrlPwr
10. Stila Stay All Day
11. NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream*
12. NYX Liquid Suede*
13. Kylie Cosmetics
14. ColourPop Ultra Matte
15. RealHer Matte
16. NYX Lip Lingerie
17. Jordana Sweet Cream
18. LA Girl Flat Finish Pigment Gloss