Kat Von D Lipstick in Homegirl

Hello!

Sorry for the hiatus; I've just moved and started the new semester, and things are in flux for me, but I should be back with more regular posts in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I'll try to do what I can, with all of my things in boxes and no great place set up yet for pictures. Thankfully, I photographed Homegirl for you all before I moved, so that you could get a fuller idea of the spectrum of quality within Kat Von D's lipstick line. I've already reviewed Hellbent and Lolita; as I've mentioned in those posts, the formula seemed inconsistent, getting worse as the shades got darker. I had no problems with Lolita, even if it isn't my favorite lipstick formula, and Hellbent was a little tricky to work with, but worth the trouble if you absolutely love the lipstick. Homegirl is another story altogether. Dark, cool-based purples like this can be hard to come by, so I can't blame you for being intrigued if this is the type of lipstick color you've been keeping your eyes peeled for. However, I really can't see the application issues being worth the trouble.

When I first got this lipstick, I thought I'd be able to make it work by blotting it and wearing it sheer. Now that I've tried to wear it like this, I realize it doesn't really work. I still think this is a more flattering color on me than wearing the lipstick opaque (or as close to as I can get it), and the issues with application aren't as apparent, but the wear time is still just awful, and because of the weird texture of the lipstick, it's incredibly hard to get it to blot evenly and to keep tissue from sticking to your lips, so I wouldn't recommend buying this color with that intention; you'd do better to get a lip stain like Urban Decay's. Now, I found this lipstick to be incredibly streaky and a touch grainy(!?). I don't know if this will be the case for everyone, since from what I've seen of reviews at Sephora's website, people seem to love this lipstick, but I could not get it to apply evenly; I found this to be a thin formula bordering on oily or greasy, and somewhat drying. It also emphasized all of my lip lines, settling into creases and looking significantly darker in those places. The product will run  you $18 for .11 ounces, and is only available at Sephora, the sole retailer for Kat Von D's line, which is incidentally manufactured by Sephora. However, I'm not sure if this is the same lipstick formulation as the Sephora brand lipsticks- it seems to at least have been tweaked a little. Like most everything in Kat Von D's makeup line, the case is incredibly cute, and the lipstick shade is unexpected, but that's where my praise ends for this particular color.

Here are some photographs showing the case and the product:

And here is the product swatched on my arm; you can already see that "pilled" texture I mentioned earlier, the graininess, as well as a bit of streaking around the edges rather than a nice clean, creamy finish.

And here it is on my lips without flash: notice the irregular line, which could possibly be cleaned up with a lip pencil. Also notice that you can see lip without lipstick in the center of my mouth; I tried to apply color there, but could not get it to stay. If I ever wanted to wear this color out, that would just be something I'd have to put up with.

Homegirl, no flash

Homegirl on my lips, no flash

And here it is with flash. You can see all of the terrible application flaws so much more clearly in this shot. Please, if you're contemplating buying this without having tried it on, blow this picture up to its full size by clicking on it, and be warned! This was as opaque as I could get it; it's not just settled into lines because I tried to apply it too lightly and failed. It's streaky, and you can see lines from where my lips meet and press together.

Homegirl, flash

Wearing Homegirl on my lips, flash

Rating: 2 out of 10

Please, please don't buy this. Aside from the application issues (of which there are many), this feels greasy on the lips. I did not notice any odor or taste, but that doesn't much matter if the formula is awful. Wear time is also the pits; I got maybe half an hour of this looking "normal" (see above) until it deteriorated even further. While I don't think this is a universal issue with these lipsticks, I would be wary of this one in general, and would definitely test these colors before buying if you get the chance to. If I hadn't bought this in a set, I would have returned this lipstick. As it stands, I'm not quite ready to throw it out since I like the idea of having a nice dark color like this, and I may be able to use it by mixing it with a gloss or another lipstick, but I would never ever consider buying it again, or recommending it to a friend who was looking for something in this color. I think there are some cosmetic formulas that are tricky to work with, but whose effect is worth the extra time, effort, or preparatory steps, and there are some formulas that just downright do not work. This is the latter.