hard candy matte-a-holic velvet mousse lip color (review + swatches)

Ahh, Hard Candy. What a long and beautiful relationship we have had. In fact, my very first Hard Candy related post dates back to September 2011. It was a drugstore haul that included one of their fabulous baked blushes. My latest was from just last month, where I reviewed the Body Luminizers. Throughout the years, there have been many many posts related to this brand. And many YouTube videos as well! There are several reasons for this: the brand is affordable, they are always releasing new products, and have a ton of fabulous items. More recently, I noticed a line of matte lip colours at the drugstore and was immediately intrigued. Mainly because I adore the Velvet Mousse line from Hard Candy and have had a lot of success with their lip products in the past. So...how does the matte-aholic Velvet Mousse Lip Color hold up?

Matte-aholic Velvet Mousse Lip Color + Lip Liner

I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but there they were: dozens of lip sets in a wide array of colours. There were neutral shades, red, purples, navy, and even a dazzling emerald. How could I possibly resist? Though new lip products are low on my list of needs (my collection is already way too overloaded), it was difficult to walk away. So, I opted for a colour that was wearable, luxurious, and slightly different than anything I had in my existing collection. The shade Truffle came with a square tube of the matte velvet lip product and the corresponding lip liner. I was eager to discover whether this set would be a win or just another item to add to my very full makeup room. 

To start, the packaging is nothing special. The products come in a clear plastic container, which is fairly standard for this drugstore brand. The liquid lipstick comes in a plastic square container with a matte black cap and the lip liner is again, quite standard, with a clear cap on top of the pencil. In terms of packaging...there is nothing out of the ordinary happening. But what about the actual products? In the past, I have been wowed by the Velvet Mousse line and have dozens (yes, dozens) of lip colours from the collection. They are creamy, comfortable, and have incredible staying power. 

Let's begin this review by talking about the lip liner. Sadly, this was a miss for me. The product felt dry and dragged along the lips in a way that was uncomfortable and bordered on painful. It took a lot of pressure and applications in order to get any sort of colour payoff. Though the packaging boasts about the bonus lip liner...this is a complete and total miss for me. As for the matte lipstick, this was another letdown. Sigh! The formula dries down in a way that is pretty uncomfortable (though to be fair, I'm not sure how much of that was caused by the lip liner and how much is the dry lip product). And oddly enough, those this is meant to be a matte colour, this is most definitely metallic. It reminds me of a drier version of their metallic velvet mousse line, so quite frankly, I am perplexed. I've never heard of a matte lipstick having a bold metallic shine. It isn't that the colour looks bad. It's that this is not a matte colour whatsoever. 

Here is a makeup look I created using both the lip liner and matte lipstick. As you can see...this is anything but matte. It is a full blown metallic.

Rating: 1 / 5

It's such a shame that a brand that has brought me so much  joy over the years could disappoint me so much! This set is just an all around miss. The quality isn't there and it doesn't do what it claims to do. That in itself is reason to pass on this collection. If the other shades perform the same way (and I can't imagine this is the only one that happens to be metallic), the line needs to be re-named and re-branded...stat. 

Have you tried the matte-aholic lip sets? What did you think of them?