I really didn’t know what to think when I first swiped on URBAN DECAY COSMETICS Vice Lip Chemistry Lasting Glassy Tint ($22 @ urbandecay.com, ulta.com). I think I was most expecting a gloss and I got a gloss, but then a delightful stain. Here are the deets…  

What It Is: Get comfy—Vice Lip Chemistry is our vegan, high-gloss lip tint that reacts to your pH and creates a custom shade unique to your tone. Its lightweight, balm-like texture gives your lips a hit of hydration, so they feel moisturized. The lasting glassy tint adjusts to you; the color fully develops and reveals itself after just a few minutes and lasts up to 5 hours. Vice Lip Chemistry’s vegan formula goes on smooth and glossy (never sticky!) and does not transfer. Part of the Stay Naked collection, this Vice Lip Chemistry lineup is designed to flatter all skin tones. From laid-back neutrals with Low Key (pink-nude) and Heavy (pale nude) to bright hues like Streak (coral-pink) and 21 (cool red), there’s a shade to match every mood.

 

Pic by Dani

My take: These start off as a gloss and when that wears off, it leaves behind a stain. It claims to stain uniquely to your own shade, which they say is due to your pH but I bet it’s also based on your lip’s natural shade too. So everyone’s final color will be slightly different from their friends.  Pros - uber comfortable! Cons - doesn't last a long time. 

For example, here are my nude lips.

And here are my lips wearing Sideways after the gloss has worn off.

Out of the 13 shades, about half of them are on the really lightly-tinted side.

Pic by Dani

Pic by Dani

There’s a new ‘Try It On” feature on the UD website to try on the shade range in real time. I hit Upload Photo a few times and it wouldn’t work. Maybe you’ll have better luck.

So back to this lippie - it’s a slight gloss that’s non-sticky. It starts off on lips as a colored gloss and then fades away to a tint, which I really like! While the lighter shades really didn’t do it for me (they looked like I was just wearing a slightly tinted lip balm), I liked the darker colors like 21 and Overload, I'm not much of a subtle lippie wearer, so with that said, I don't think these are really for me. And at $22 each, that just doesn’t seem worth it as I only got about 2 to 3 hours of wear if I don’t eat or drink anything.

And while I usually do a color description for each, what you see in the tube and immediately on the skin isn’t necessarily what you’re going to get in the final stain stage.

L to R: Streak, Overload, 21, Heavy, Saucey, Third Base, Low Key, Physique, Lovechild, Stacked

L to R bottom pic: Pink Slip, Sideways

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.