Review: Heartful Moisture Lipstick (Holika Holika)

Did anyone else used to dot their i’s and j’s love hearts? I don’t know what it is about people that are so obsessed with love and little hearts – they’re cute, yes, but I guess this is just an example of how ingrained a childhood of fairytales and princesses in towers can be. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with living in our fantasy lands, as I’m still extremely attached to my Disney stories as well, and there is a subtle way we can keep instilling that youthful dreaminess in our lives.

Today, let’s look at the loveliest lipstick I’ve ever seen! This is the Heartful Moisture Lipstick with the cute, witchy kbeauty brand Holika Holika. This product caught my eye right away with it’s cute packaging and design, so let’s take a closer look at this.

This was kindly sent to me for review by My Korean Makeup. I chose all of the products that I wanted to review and I am giving my 100% honest thoughts about the product. For my thoughts on their service and online store, check out my previous review.

The lip sticks come in a metallic pink box, which is pretty much covered in the heart motif. It sort of borders on the line of cute and over-the-top for me, but I don’t mind it so much because of the overall concept (I’m usually partial to more simple and modern designs). It is definitely very on brand and carries on the concept of the Heartful lipstick. It’s quite ornate so I think that this would be good as a present too because it doesn’t look too plain.

You have to be a little careful that the box might look tacky though but.. we’re here for heart shaped lipsticks! Who cares? Overall, it’s an average and sufficiently sturdy box. No damage during shipment at all.

For these lipsticks, I decided to try out two colours – the sweet coral (CR301) which is a soft, almost nude coral colour and the vibrant candy red (RD607) which is a vibrant, youthful warm red colour.

The lipsticks are sealed so you know that they are completely new and there is some information on the side in English, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary. Instead, let’s look at the actual tube.

The tube is made of metal and has a similar metallic pink finish to the box with white printed text. It’s also a little smaller than I expected it to be, to be honest, but it’s cute and will fit into almost any make up bag easily. I would recommend being a bit careful with it though, as this sort of material would scratch easily and the print also looks like it might scratch.

It is quite sturdy but I don’t think it’s as firm as the normal lipstick tube design. This one clips on sort of like a suction (?) but pulls off fairly easily. I don’t think it would be too big of an issue though. It might just be me but I’m also really worried about the metal scratching itself… both parts of the tube is made of metal and makes a sort of sound when they’re pulled open.

Drumroll for the cutest heart shaped lipsticks! I don’t think I’ve ever seen this sort of shape for a lipstick before so I was so drawn to it. In fact, the shape of the tube is definitely the selling point of this product – as if the abundance of love hearts weren’t enough.

The shape is definitely eye catching and everyone that I’ve shown has been really interested in it. I thought that the heart shape would make it really easy to apply for the cupid’s bow (which it is) but my main issue is that the round shape makes it harder to control the lipstick for the rest of your lips. It’s rather hard to get sharp corners, so I would recommend using this in conjunction with a brush – at least for your first application.

Unfortunately, I did have a rather big disappointment with this lipstick – which I am certain wasn’t the fault of My Korean Makeup because the packaging wasn’t damaged at all. If you look at the below photos, the lipstick had smeared on the inside of the tube, which ruined the shape a little.

I think that this was because the formula is pretty soft, so there might have been some minor damage during manufacturing. If I had bought this in store, I would have returned it but I actually haven’t told the people at My Korean Makeup – they are super nice, so I’m not not telling them because of that, but because I am completely convinced that it isn’t their fault. The packaging was flawless, the product was perfectly sealed and postage was beyond secure. This is definitely Holika Holika’s fault… sorry.

Holika Holika! Please up your manufacturing standards!

Anyway, the flaws on the lipstick tube hasn’t affected the formula or application of the product, so I continued to use and test it. The lipstick was super hydrating and actually had better pigmentation than I originally anticipated (because I saw some review swatches online that were too soft to me). It’s smooth and applies easily on the lip, though the shape of the tube does make it darker.

The pigmentation on the lighter colour will definitely accentuate dry parts on your lips though, so make sure that you’ve properly scrubbed and balmed your lips too. The lasting power for this lipstick is average and definitely will not last a meal because it is such a balmy, slightly glossy finish. It’s easy to carry the tube around for touch ups though, as it tends only to fade on the inside of your lips.

Definitely don’t let this fade away throughout the day though because the pigmentation will cling to your lips and leave a rather unattractive halo. It is better to retouch with the lipstick or a matching lip balm.

So that’s my review for these super cute lipsticks. I definitely liked the concept of these and the pigmentation was better than I expected (which is great). The formula is nice but hasn’t blown me away though and, unfortunately, the issue with the lipstick tubes rubbing against the edges during manufacturing is definitely a big issue.

Here’s my verdict!

SO WHAT IS IT?

A heart shaped, moisturising lipstick

THE GOOD

• Super cute concept
• Pretty and considered packaging
• Very good pigmentation
• Highly moisturising
• Easy to carry around

THE BAD

• Packaging might be excessive for some
• Tube easily scratched
• Poor manufacturing
• Not long lasting

WOULD I REPURCHASE?

I do think it’s a nice formula, but the manufacturing was a deal breaker for me and I wouldn’t be repurchasing this. I will, however, keep looking to new products that Holika Holika brings out. I would like this lipstick in a more traditional lipstick form (and with better production), perhaps will improved longevity.

If the possibility of a smeared side doesn’t bother you too much though, it is a nice lipstick.

HELPFUL TIP

If you feel like your lips are unbalanced or off-centre (like mine), just take a brush and first line your lips with the lipstick. Over line slightly to enhance the shape of your lips and hide any unbalanced points. A lip liner used in the same way also works!

WHERE TO GET IT FROM

You can get this at My Korean Makeup for the sale price of USD$6.14. Click the banner below to check them out:

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