Matte Lip Champs: Armani Lip Magnets

I can practically hear my sister rubbing her hands together when I mention new lipstick launches on the phone; she’s become all too used to benefitting from my edits as most collections contain a couple of flat colours that are duds or, as she refers to them, ‘lovely dead shades.’

She was sorely disappointed this time round: Armani’s 18 new Lip Magnet Second-Skin Intense Matte Colors only come in life-infusing colours, so I couldn’t bear to part with a single one of the six I got my hands on.

But it wasn’t just the colour that produced this unprecedented stinginess on my part – it was also the formula. Unlike most other matte lipsticks, I can barely feel this when it’s on my lips – it doesn’t shrink and leave a dryer-than-dry film, not does it bobble up, leaving my lips looking like an old wooly jumper. Instead, it’s lightweight and pigment-dense, binding to the lip like a stain that stays put, even throughout dinner in my case (though the matte nature of the finish prompted a couple of applications of lip balm throughout the evening to hydrate).

The final feather in this one’s cap: the applicator. Matte lipstick doesn’t allow for messy edges and this diamond-shaped nib allows for the necessary precision. I’d advise applying it before you leave the house – once on, the ‘magnet’/stain element holds fast, and mistakes made have to be removed with a cotton bud dipped in make-up remover.