You've probably noticed that liquid matte lipsticks are having a BIG moment in the beauty world right now. Lots of brands are releasing their own formulations and Life's Entropy is one of them. They already have Lip Theory liquid lipsticks that are satin-finish (we've swatched lots of them before) but they released a matte-finish liquid lipstick as well, called Matte Theory. I ordered a couple to test them out, and today, I'd like to talk about my favorite of the two, Variable.
The Matte Theories come in a standard minimalist doefoot tube with a silver cap, a black sticker on the bottom with the name of the color and its size (4 mL/.14 oz, sold for $8.50), and a clear sticker on the side with "Life's Entropy" on it.
The formula is extremely liquid--not just "sort of runny" or "kind of thin"--it's thinner than any other liquid lip product I've ever tried, pretty much the consistency of water. You have to shake it well before applying to remix the pigment--you can see it starting to separate through the side of the tube if you let it sit for too long. It's so liquidy that you can spill the contents out of the tube if you tip it sideways, and if I put the doefoot back in too vigorously, it pushes lipstick out of the tube and makes a mess. I have seldom been able to use this without splashing a little bit of lipstick onto my hands at some point.
It has the horrible synthetic solvent/paint smell I've noticed in many isododecane-based liquid lip products, but that goes away as soon as it dries. After that, it has a very light, thin feeling on the lips, and feels quite comfortable to wear; very slightly drying over time, but only after hours of wear. It dries to an extremely matte, shine-free finish that looks velvety and soft rather than cakey and thick like some liquid lipsticks can look. It's more sheer than most liquid lipsticks, I think, which makes it more forgiving to apply. I had problems applying Fyrinnae's nearly-as-liquid Naughty and Nice liquid lipstick and getting clean edges, but no problems with getting Variable to look nice. I usually apply this in two thin coats--apply, let dry, apply one more coat for even color.
It has minimal transfer after it dries, and rubs off pretty easily/doesn't leave a stain. I haven't had problems with reapplication, though, unlike some liquid lipsticks that have to be completely removed and reapplied from scratch for touchups. If you are looking for the longest-wearing, wears-like-iron type of liquid lipsticks, though, you might be disappointed with this.
I'm in love with the color. Described as a "beige rose," I find it to be a kind of muted, My Lips But Better-type reddish coral shade, definitely more orangey/coral on me than the photo on their website. You can see in the picture below that it's quite similar to my natural lip color, but warmer and more coral, and of course more even-toned. The photo isn't quite as true-to-life as the arm swatches I'll post below--all my lip swatch photos came out looking more pale and pink than it looks in real life.
I have the limited edition Milani Amore Matte Lip Creme in Beloved that has been a fan favorite and I think they are similar colors, though definitely not exact dupes; I swatched them side by side for reference. Beloved is darker and more mauve in comparison to Variable.
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| Sorry I look so damn shiny and sweaty. Sunscreen + late summer heat. |
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