I Declare This The Most Moisturizing Lipstick Of All Time

In our series Trial Run, TZR editors and writers put the buzziest new beauty products to the test and share their honest reviews.

Just in time for the fall and season, which is typically full of chapped and lackluster lips, KVD Beauty recently launched its new Epic Kiss Nourishing Vegan Butter Lipstick. You may be wondering, OK, a brand launched a new line of lipsticks. What's so special about that? Well, as consumer demand leads the rise of multi-purpose color cosmetics that also boast a slew of skin care benefits, KVD is at full attention with its latest launch. The Epic Kiss promises to provide intense color that lasts throughout the day while simultaneously nourishing the lips, keeping them soft and hydrated.

As someone who enjoys the life-enhancing effects of a good lippie but also suffers from dryness and even flaking on the regular, I was excited to see how this formula held up to its lip balm-esque claims. Well, I put it to the test, and here's what I uncovered.

The Nature of My Bare Lips

As far as my lips are concerned, I have *always* struggled with chapped lips. This is evident through the vivid memories I have of carrying classic Chapstick in my book-bag as early as grade school. But that always seemed to be the length to which my lip woes went — growing up, my lips have always erred on the side of pouty, and they had a natural rosy flush to them that made me feel as if wearing lipstick day-to-day wasn’t much of a necessity.

However, as with anything pertaining to the human body, I find that things are changing as I grow older. My lips no longer have that surge of color the way they did in high school, nor do they rock a plump natural shape as they did before. These days, I often wake up to lips that have a greyish tint to them, begging for a moisturizing balm through the screams of a chapped and thinning surface.

What The Epic Kiss Lipstick Promises

Anyone who suffers from chronically dry lips has likely embarked on a similarly long road of finding a lip balm that suits their needs. Yet, rest assured, you won’t have to do that with KVD Beauty’s Epic Kiss. This formula contains vegan cupuaçu butter, which is an up-and-coming skin care ingredient similar to shea butter. Like shea butter, cupuaçu butter is moisturizing in its nature yet has a creamy consistency that glides onto the lips like silk, giving it a smooth, balm-like feel.

But don’t let the skin care-esque component of this pretty little number fool you — this lipstick’s opacity is far from the sheer nature of a balm. The Epic Kiss lipsticks contain high-octane pigments that deliver intense color with just one swipe and offer a gloss-like finish that adds a head-turning component to your everyday makeup routine. (Although this formula provides an intensely opaque and shiny finish, you can blot it down to a satin-like texture that looks like a stain.)

And the options are endless — the Epic Kiss lipstick comes in 18 shades, including a midnight blue, ‘90s brown, fiery red, and a hot pink reminiscent of the mid-2000s.

How The Lipstick Feels On The Lips

To put it simply, my initial reaction to the Epic Kiss can boil down to one word: cool. Well, I actually said cooooool as I unboxed this white studded tube from its packaging. I enjoy the Goldilocks-like weight of this product in my hand as it is heavy yet not too heavy, giving me a perfect amount of control as I line my lips. Also, since the lipstick comes in a pencil shape, I find that this tube provides me with a fair amount of grip, resulting in a more precise application than other tubes that I tend to hold between the tips of my fingers.

As for how it settles on the lips, I can honestly say the Epic Kiss offers nourishment that I did not know existed in a lipstick formula. It’s what I’d imagine softened whipped butter would feel like if the fridge staple were ever used in cosmetics. Moreover, it creates a surge of moisture that makes using a lip balm along with lipstick unnecessary, even for someone like me, who endures perpetually dry lips.

One thing that I did not love about this lipstick was the size of the formula tube itself. I have naturally medium-sized lips, and I found that due to the smaller diameter of this lipstick, one swipe did not cover the entirety of my top or bottom lip. I used a few swipes to cover my lips in pigment completely, which makes me wonder how many times people with larger lips than mine would have to go over their mouth to achieve full coverage.

But, the size of the lipstick itself is just a minor setback — the color payoff that the Epic Kiss Lipstick provides is outstanding. With just one swipe of color, I created such an intensely opaque finish that I actually felt the need to blot it down, given that I’m more of a natural makeup type of person.

Do You Need This Lipstick?

Now, let's cut to the chase. Do you need KVD Beauty's Epic Kiss Nourishing Vegan Butter Lipstick? I'd say yes, and here's why: Sitting at $22, this lipstick is on the less-expensive side of high-end formulations while still providing the same color payoff of lipstick bullets more than double its price. Plus, since this formula is a balm-lipstick hybrid, it costs just about the same as if you were to buy a drugstore-brand lipstick and lip balm separately. And I've found that since the lipstick is so nourishing, I don't need to apply lip balm as often throughout the day. I'd say that a formulation that lessens the number of steps in a person's routine while providing a surge of color and moisture belongs in everyone's collection.

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