Coming In Hot

After watching a few lip swatch videos of the Fenty Beauty Mattemoiselle Plush Matte Lipsticks on YouTube, I was set on getting my hands on the standout colour in my eyes, Saw-C. It appealed to me on a fundamental level: the super bright, obnoxiously yellow-based orange was a little out there and crazy, but on every single person, it just popped against their skin and looked good. When I finally paid a visit to Sephora, a lot of the more "wearable" shades in the Mattemoiselle collection were sold out, but there was plenty of Saw-C around. I coughed up $28 and was set to live out my vivid tangerine dreams.

The first thing I noticed about the Mattemoiselle lipsticks was just how teeny tiny they are. I don't recall the surprisingly small physical size and amount of product being mentioned in the many lip swatch videos I watched. Most lipsticks are around 4g, but the Fenty is less than half the amount at only 1.7g. However, the price doesn't appear to have been adjusted accordingly. I can imagine Fenty Beauty is raking it in, because on a cost per gram basis, these lipsticks are insanely overpriced. For me, because the main appeal is the colour, and I've rarely finished half a lipstick let alone a whole one, I can begrudgingly overlook the tiny tube and lipstick amount. But still, something about the whole thing doesn't sit right with me. It's not as bad as the Maybelline x Gigi Hadid lip liners which contained a laughable 0.3 grams, but the amount of product in the Mattemoiselle lipsticks is truthfully more suited to a mini than full size.

Fenty Beauty Mattemoiselle Plush Matte Lipstick in Saw-C

l-r: Fenty Beauty Saw-C, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous, Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti

In indirect light

In direct sunlight

I had previously gone through my entire lipstick collection looking for a potential dupe for Saw-C, and the two closest were Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous and Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti. Looking at the two next to Saw-C, Tutti Frutti is closer in colour than Rendezvous (though glossy as opposed to matte), but both have a touch more red than yellow. As you'd expect, Saw-C makes your teeth look super yellow in the same way that yellow-based pinks do, but that's the price you pay. I also imagine it would be more flattering on warmer/yellow skin tones than pink-toned/cooler complexions, as auxiliary_beauty pointed out. It's a bit of a challenge to coordinate Saw-C with outfits as well, unless you don't mind clashing colours like salmon pink with fiery orange.

Texture-wise, these are fairly creamy and lightweight and don't tug on the lips. They're highly pigmented and only require a single swipe for full colour, which might be a tradeoff for the lower amount of product you get. There is a bit of sinking into lip lines, especially if you apply multiple layers, but nothing that can't be fixed with a bit of blotting and smoothing over with the fingers. In terms of wear and staying power, I don't find them staining and they wear off gently after eating.