Left: Cranberry

Right: Berry Sorbet

The ELF Matte Lip Colors caught my attention when @kittenqueen tweeted about how the bottom of ELF lipsticks pop right off to reveal a pot of color. Much like everyone else, I completely freaked out.

THE BOTTOMS OF ELF LIPSTICKS POP OFF AND ARE LIP BALMS??? pic.twitter.com/vbEIcwJiAW

— zofie (@kitttenqueen) October 23, 2016

So, for the novelty of it (and also because I wanted a new lipstick and wanted to write a review), I headed off to Target (I’ve mentioned my dislike of Ulta, right?) to pick up a lipstick.

And it turned out that I was not the only one excited about these ELF lipsticks, because they were completely sold out. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw these ELF Matte Lip Colors casually sitting on display. I reached over, picked up Cranberry, and decided to test it out.

As I sat on the Blue Line L Train, I pulled out my compact (I always use my empty L’oreal Lumi foundation container case thing), and applied a layer. It went on my lips perfectly, not too mushy like it was made of softened butter, but not hard as if I was rubbing a crayon on my lips. The lipstick glided on perfectly, and did not leave my lips feeling heavy or cakey.

They’re pigmented, inexpensive (less than a latte!), and there’s a decent color selection!

The wear time on these is good, and it’s one of the few matte lipsticks that doesn’t make my lips feel tremendously dry or gross after a while of wear time. It’s honestly my favorite lipstick of the moment, and I happen to like these much more than the Colourpop variation (these come with MUCH more product!), the Nars inspiration (these are twist up!), and pretty much any other lipstick pencil.

I love these, lowkey.

I have two so far, and I’m looking forward to adding more to my collection. My next one to snag is Praline–I think it’s such a pretty color!