It’s not very often that I have heard absolutely nothing about a brand, and when I do I’m all the more curious to try them. Meet ‘Shien‘ a brand which I discovered through Love Me Beauty’s August box, the brand has quite a small selection of lipsticks and I decided to pick up two to try with my LMB box.
Firstly the packaging, I don’t know what it is about a lipstick in a metal packaging but I love it. I think it makes it feel more expensive in the hand and I love the cool feeling they have. Don’t worry I know I’m odd! These lipsticks like most of it’s experienced predecessors have a vanilla scent too.
Opting for Wild Peony a beautiful bright cool toned pink and Red Lantern is a bright classic red lipstick both these choices were ‘safe’ for me. Being a big bright pink lip wearer and whilst I don’t wear red very often, that’s normally for lack of finding a red which I completely love. These lipsticks are described as ‘Silk Matte’ what exactly that means they’re not really matte at all. They’re just not super shiny.
Both shades perform the same as one another, how they apply, how the last are all identical, so I’ll tell you about that before showing you the swatches. As I said whilst they have matte in the title, they’re not a matte finish in appearance, they don’t feel like a matte finish and nor do they lock into place as a matte would. They do last well on the lips but nothing that’s more outstanding than a MAC lipstick for example. I don’t think you can purchase these in the UK (why do brands put themselves in beauty boxes and you can’t fall in love with the brand properly!) but they retail for $18 – for my homegirls MAC are $17 in the US – so they’re comparable in terms of price. With MAC I feel you do pay for the name, the store presence etc – with the Shien line I’m unsure what it is you’re really paying for.
Red Lantern
Wild Peony
Have you heard of Shien or tried anything from the line?
Instagram: @helplesswhilstdrying | Twitter: @helplessdrying
Email: helplesswhilstdrying@gmail.com
Lovely shades but not really matte (I hate when descriptions don’t add up). Not quite sure I would pay this for an unknown brand, might be safer to get a nice mac lippy.
My thoughts exactly – especially when there’s nothing obvious as to why it might cost more like all natural or cruelty free! Feel like a brand has to earn it to charge that much xx
Very true, it is neither a big name or an exceptional formula/idea…
I love the shades, that red lipstick looks beautiful on you! This will probably sound weird but you have really nice lips so I love seeing your lip swatches!! 🙈 xx
Haha thank you! I don’t know why but my friends seem to have a fascination with my lips so I’m used to comments about them hahah! Xx
I’m glad you don’t find it weird then!! You just have really nice, shapely lips! xx
😘
Hey Gorgeous girl! As I love your blog, I’ve nominated you for the Liebster Award!!!! Yay – Congrats!! Keep up the blogging and fab work chick
Thank you Priya I’ll check it out when I’m back from holiday! C
I’m with you – metal packaging just seems SO high class.
But weird they’re not matte at all even though the names say they are!
Pigmentation looks great though.