Maybelline Superstay Ink Crayon in Own Your Empire

I’ll warn you all up front that this is going to be a quick review that lacks some of the images or details I would usually like to include in a new product review because these lipsticks aren’t just new, they’re NEW new. To the extent that when I was in Superdrug this morning and noticed these Maybelline Superstay Ink Crayons, it was something that surprised me–not only had I not heard any pre-release hype about them online but once I did a quick google, I couldn’t find anything about them.

I haven’t been able to find any swatches or reviews, and Maybelline’s own website and social media don’t even have information on them. I’ve been a fan of every Superstay lip product I’ve tried from them in the past so I was excited to give these a go and I wanted to get my thoughts and the full swatches up for you ASAP to help fill that confusing void.

Let’s start with the swatches. They’re not perfect because I swatched them all in Superdrug from brand new Testers purely so I could give you guys as much of the range as possible, but from what I can tell there is 12 shades and I could only get 11 of them. The brightest pink, Treat Yourself, was missing from my local display.

Natural light outside. L to R: 40 Laugh Louder, 60 Accept A Dare, 20 Enjoy The View, 25 Stay Exceptional, 15 Lead the Way, 10 Trust Your Gut, 65 Settle For More, 55 Make It Happen, 50 Own Your Empire, 45 Hustle in Heels, 30 Seek Adventure

The above natural lighting shot is the most accurate representation of the colours. Below will give you an idea of how the colours look in dimmer lighting conditions.

Natural light indoors. L to R: 40 Laugh Louder, 60 Accept A Dare, 20 Enjoy The View, 25 Stay Exceptional, 15 Lead the Way, 10 Trust Your Gut, 65 Settle For More, 55 Make It Happen, 50 Own Your Empire, 45 Hustle in Heels, 30 Seek Adventure

With flash indoors. L to R: 40 Laugh Louder, 60 Accept A Dare, 20 Enjoy The View, 25 Stay Exceptional, 15 Lead the Way, 10 Trust Your Gut, 65 Settle For More, 55 Make It Happen, 50 Own Your Empire, 45 Hustle in Heels, 30 Seek Adventure

As you can see, there’s a range of colours, with several soft pinks as well as wine colours, two reds, and a bright orange. I’ve ordered Hustle in Heels and the missing Treat Yourself from Boots online, as they seem to currently be offering the full range while Superdrug online only has 4 shades currently. (They are £9.99 each, Boots has them on buy 1 get the 2nd 1/5 price compared to Superdrug’s superior 2 for £12 though.) When those shades arrive I’ll take additional photos wearing them to add to the individual while-wearing shots below.

Wearing Make It Happen, a rich burgundy wine.

Wearing Own Your Empire, a rich blue red. The only other red, Hustle in Heels, is more of a bright true red, as shown in swatches above.

Off the bat I had contradictory expectations for these lipsticks; as I said above, I’m a fan of Superstay lip products, but I’m almost obsessively dedicated to liquid lipsticks as a rule. This is because I love the staying power and transfer-proof elements that a good liquid lipstick formula provides. Lip crayons are generally creamy formulas similar to that of a typical bullet lipstick; that means that while they’re soft and comfortable to wear, they’re usually quick to wear off through eating and drinking, and will definitely transfer, whether that means onto a glass or a loved one when kissing. I expected that these crayons would live up to that standard, but as it turns out, I was very pleasantly surprised by their feel, staying power, and wear.

The tube itself promises 8 hours of wear, although honestly, how often does a product truly live up to their sticker promise? Because I wanted to get the above swatches up for you quickly I haven’t had time to test the lipstick for a full 8 hours, but this is what I can tell you:

• The feel is lightweight and comfortable. The formula is somewhere between a typical creamy lipstick and a dry matte lipstick. It leans more towards the dry side, but retains a softness that doesn’t leave your lips feeling parched.
• Dries down matte.
• The pointed end of the crayon allows for precision in application, and the bottom of the tube pulls out to reveal a sharpener so you can keep the end sharp.
• Once dry, it has a mostly transfer-proof finish. I could pat my fingers against my lips without getting any lipstick on my fingers, but I imagine if you tried kissing someone repeatedly you’d probably begin to get transfer.
• It does wear away from eating (I lost the predictable center part of my lips to a burger) but doesn’t soften or become gummy. I dabbed my mouth with a tissue after the burger and only a small outline of product came off on the tissue.
• Didn’t leave any residue on my straw when drinking, even after eating.
• Reapplies beautifully after eating/drinking, layering up without clumping or becoming rubbery. Feels exactly the same as it did upon the first application.

Top – the extent to which the lipstick transferred onto my veggie burger. Middle – how much the lipstick had worn off after finishing the burger. Bottom – how the lipstick looked after re-applying.

The precision point of the Crayon

As I’m sure you must be able to guess from the fact that I ordered 2 additional shades after just a couple of hours wearing this product, I’m a definite fan of it. I bought it thinking it might be useful for more casual or short-term wear when I don’t need my lipstick to last through hours and hours, nor a big meal, but I would very happily wear these at any time I would usually reach for my favourite liquid lipsticks. I’ll probably still wear Maybelline’s Superstay Matte Ink liquid lipstick if I need to be assured of totally budge-proof lip colour, but these Crayons are actually more Matte than the liquid lipstick, more comfortable, and reapply better.

I’d give them 4 out of 5 stars, the only thing holding them back from a full 5 stars is how much they do wear off during eating.