I’m unhappy to admit that I actually like Kylie Cosmetics. I wanted to be against it, I wanted to hate what I bought, and I didn’t. I didn’t want to try Kylie’s makeup, because I was a little hesitant to support someone who I didn’t think worked hard for what she has. My other problem with it was that I would have to pay for shipping from Kylie’s website, because it wasn’t sold in stores.
Recently, Kylie Cosmetics hit Ulta, and the products became much more accessible to me. I had heard amazing things about her lip products, and as someone who loves a matte lip, I wanted the chance to try Kylie’s. When I heard that Kylie’s sold for $17, I decided to suck it up and try them out, with the purpose of writing an angry review about how much I hated them and that they weren’t worth it.
Obviously, that didn’t happen, as I’m sitting here about to write a glowing review of the Kylie Cosmetics “Sorta Sweet” collection. My collection of Kylie’s products has accumulated faster than I’d like to admit. I got a lot of them for Christmas, including the entire “Sorta Sweet” bundle. The bundle came with an eyeshadow palette, and three lip products.
The colors in the palette were beautiful. It’s a nine pan palette with a mix of warm and cool toned mattes and shimmers. The colors are all very wearable, which is good coming from a brand that’s newer to the game. With brands like Too Faced, who have been around forever, it’s good to go for a colorful pattern because they’ve been in the industry for forever. Colored shadows are much harder to create, especially when they are cruelty free or vegan. With a brand that’s only been around for four years, and creating eyeshadow for two, it’s smart to do more neutral palettes because they will almost definitely have better quality.
While the colors are stunning in the palette, the packaging itself is poorly made. This might just be the specific palette that I own, but three of the nine pans in the palette aren’t completely glued down into the cardboard packaging. They spin around when you swirl your brush in. It’s fine, and it’s not a dealbreaker for me, but it’s annoying. When a palette costs $42, which is about average for a high end palette, it should not be poorly made.
Besides my rant about the packaging that no one but me cares about, the formula of the palette is really nice. It’s described as “velvety” on Ms. Jenner’s website, and I would vouch for that description. It’s very powdery, which doesn’t bother me, because once they are placed on the eyes the shadows feel really nice and soft. The shadows blend really nicely. The darkest shade in the palette, Spiced Plum, is the only one that doesn’t blend great, which is a little upsetting because it is the only shade that can really deepen up a look in the entire palette.
The downside that I noticed with the palette is that it isn’t super pigmented, which isn’t ideal because it is so neutral. That being said, the palette is great for a beginner who is just learning how to do eyeshadow because the shadows are so buildable. The lip bundle came with three lip products. There’s a matte liquid lip called Maliboo, a velvet liquid lip called Boy Bye, and a Super Glitter Gloss called Glitz. Maliboo is a brown/mauve, Boy Bye is a purply nude, and Glitz is full of champagne and bronze glitter.
I love Kylie’s matte formula. I think I have twelve of her matte lipsticks, and the formula of them is really thin while still being opaque, which I love. It isn’t super drying either, so I can wear them in the winter without my lips completely peeling.
I love the color of Boy Bye, and while it is a little extreme to wear to school (for me), I’d wear it when I go out. That being said, I don’t, because it is one of Kylie’s velvet lips. I hate her velvet lipsticks. They don’t dry down completely, which makes sense because velvet lips aren’t supposed to, but it gets everywhere. It doesn’t stay on your lips at all, which is a huge downside for me. I have bullet lipsticks that last longer on my lips than the velvet ones do, so I am not a fan of Boy Bye.
And lastly, Glitz. I do like the color of Glitz. Kylie’s lip glosses as a whole are not sticky, which is super nice. The problem with the Super Glitter Glosses is that they are exactly what the name suggests. They are so glittery. I don’t love glittery lip glosses. I like more opaque finishes and shimmer finishes, but I don’t like glitter sitting on my lips. So for me, this gloss isn’t ideal. It is a nice topper and I probably will wear it occasionally, but it is far from my favorite. If you are someone who does like those types of glosses, however, I would totally go for it because it is gorgeous.
The Sorta Sweet bundle is really great, honestly. There are some downsides, but for the average makeup consumer who doesn’t do artistry or things like that, I would highly suggest it. The nice part about the bundle is that you can buy all of it, for $80, or you can purchase what you want from it for various prices. If I could suggest anything, I would recommend either the Maliboo liquid lip or the palette.
I didn’t expect to like Kylie Cosmetics, and while I’m still a little bitter that I did, almost everything I got from them is fantastic, and I have to give Ms. Jenner credit.
