First off, let me just say that I’m really excited about this post! This is a brand that I discovered on Instagram (@timelosangeles), and have been wanting to try out FOREVER! I just recently bought both of their liquid lipstick bundles, the brush set, a few pairs of lashes, and some other goodies, all of which I will review soon. I love supporting smaller, independent brands because they honestly put their heart and soul into their work, so it’s always awesome when I find a new one that has really high quality products, which TIME Los Angeles most certainly does!
I feel like everyone who loves makeup is into liquid lipsticks these days and especially with the holidays coming up, these bundles make the perfect gift (even if it’s for yourself, which I fully support)! The Cool Spectrum Bundle that I’m reviewing in this post contains more neutral and cool toned nudes, mauves, and even a few deeper shades that are great for fall and winter. I also reviewed the Festive bundle, which has more reds and warm toned shades that are ideal holiday colors… If you want to check that out, you can go here:
TIME Los Angeles – Luxe Matte Liquid Lipstick – Festive Bundle
As usual with products and formulas that are new, or new to me, I’m going to go pretty in depth with this post, so if you just want to see the rundowns and photos for each shade, keep scrolling down!
I hope you all enjoy this post and as always, thanks for reading! If you’d like to keep up with me and check out everything I’m testing or playing around with, you can follow me on Instagram @lesley_makeup , twitter @lesley_makeup or add me on Snapchat, which is also lesley_makeup. I love staying in touch with my readers, so don’t be afraid to hit me up on there if you have a product question or just want to say hi!
You can purchase these Luxe Matte Liquid Lipsticks individually for $16 or you can buy the whole Cool Spectrum Bundle for $60, which is a really good value. If you bought them all individually, you’d spend $96, so getting them all at once in the bundle will save you $36! Mine came in a cute little bag with pink TIME Los Angeles tissue paper which I tossed and forgot to photograph (oops). If you want to pick up any of these, you can head over to www.shoptimela.com. Also, miss CEO herself, Ashley Wagner (aka @ashleyswagnerxo on Twitter and Instagram or missashwag on YouTube), has a discount code for 10% off which is ILOVEASHLEY, so that helps if you want to save a little money.
Each one of these Luxe Matte Liquid Lipsticks contains 6.3g / 0.22 fl oz of product. When compared to a great deal of other brands that use nearly the same size of component/tube, these actually contain half again to twice as much product. When purchased as a bundle, they also cost about half the price as a lot of liquid lipsticks from very popular brands, but the quality of these is equal to, if not better than SO many higher end lippies! Another thing to consider is that these liquid lipsticks are cruelty free and vegan, which is always a major plus!
According to the TIME Los Angeles website, “This whipped, creamy, and lightweight formula applies to the lips and sets to a matte finish that lasts for hours!” In my opinion, this formula really is fantastic! It’s SUPER comfortable and lightweight and didn’t dry out my lips, even after wearing it all day, all week long while I’ve been testing them. While it may be thinner and more liquidy than some liquid lipsticks out there, it’s not runny at all… It’s also not goopy or sticky, so it’s VERY easy to apply. It sets and dries down to a matte finish quickly but still gives you enough time to play around and blend it out if needed. Because this formula isn’t thick, you can also layer it even after it’s set, without it doing that weird thing where it balls up and turns into a clumpy disaster on your lips.
Only one shade in this bundle was very slightly patchy but overall, the coverage and quality was consistent between all six liquid lipsticks. They all applied with the same texture, color payoff, and opacity and wore ALL FREAKING DAY (aka 8-12 hours) with minimal touchups required. I also noticed that I never got any lipstick on my teeth when wearing any of these. I think the lightweight formula just magically clings to the lip somehow, because that’s usually an issue for me when I were liquid lipsticks! I’ll go into more detail about all of this stuff below in the rundown for each individual color.
I pulled this from the brand’s website, and it’s a nice little tip to have!
“Directions: Using the applicator wand, apply liquid lipstick to top and bottom lips, one at a time. Do not press lips together! Let dry & slay for the rest of the day!”
The applicator is your pretty typical doe foot seen with most liquid lipsticks and glosses, but it’s very precise and easy to use, even if you have smaller lips. As usual with liquid and matte lipsticks, if you have any chapped or dry areas, exfoliate first with a gentle lip scrub, pop on some lip balm, then blot the excess off before applying your liquid lipstick. You can also use a primer like MAC’s Prep + Prime Lip, which is silicone based and made to be worn under products like this.
PS: One more tip to having your lips look full and healthy… Drink plenty of water! I know that’s something I’m SO bad about doing, but it’s SUPER important to stay hydrated, especially this time of year when the air is drier. Trust me, you skin will glow and your lips will look amazing just by keeping up with a healthy intake of H2O!
The packaging and boxes for these is super cute but not overdone or too flashy. The TIME Los Angeles logo is also really unique and classy and can be found on the boxes as well as the products themselves. Ingredients are listed on each box and they’re all the same… The only difference between each shade will be the actual pigments used in them, which is where the “may contain” part comes in. One thing I noticed is that these contain coconut oil rather than palm oil which makes me VERY happy, since palm oil contributes to major deforestation where a lot of endangered species, like orangutans, live.
Baby Ghoul: On the website, this is described as “a pale ‘ghouly’ cool-toned nude best suited for fair-light skin tones”… It’s a pale, mostly cool toned true nude, although it pulled a bit more neutral toned on me. I do feel like in person, this looked cooler toned. Anyway, this dries down to a completely matte finish and because it’s so pale and nude, PLEASE be sure to exfoliate and moisturize those lips before wearing a color like this! Also, drink water and stay hydrated because if you don’t, your lips can show lines a lot more, like mine do here lol.
The texture was creamy and not too thick, just like all of the Luxe Matte Liquid Lipsticks in this bundle. It applied evenly and had wonderful color payoff and nearly fully opaque coverage with one quick layer. Wear time with Baby Ghoul was just over 5 hours before it began to fade in the center, and about 6-7 hours before I noticed it fading around the edges. As for the rest of my lips, it didn’t budge for about 9 hours. I only had to touch up after eating. Using a lip liner will extend the wear time and give you a more defined look.
Dupes: NYX’s Lip Lingerie Liquid Lipstick in Corset is the closest dupe I found but it’s still a tad bit warmer and more mauve. Delicate Lust is also similar in color, only it’s cooler and darker. Baby Ghoul is honestly pretty unique and I couldn’t find another liquid lip that I have that comes very close to it.
Liners: You can really use any nude or cool toned nude liner with Baby Ghoul… A few of my favorites are Stripdown, Stone, and Whirl Lip Pencils from MAC… Stripdown is a little darker more brown, Stone is darker, cooler, and more of a greige, while Whirl is close to my natural lip color and is more of a cool toned mauve. A few other liners that works will with this liquid lipstick and are similar in color are NYX’s Nude Beige Lip Liner, or Melt Cosmetics’ AllDay/Everyday Lip Liner in Nudist.
Overall Rating: 4.8 / 5
Application: 5
Coverage: 4
Color Payoff: 5
Texture: 5
Wear Time: 5
Packaging: 5
Luxe Life: This is referred to as a “neutral peachy nude best suited for fair to medium skin tones”, and it’s a light, mostly neutral peachy nude with a perfectly matte finish. On me, it look a little more on the peachy side of the spectrum but I think depending on your own undertone and the color of your lips, this shade could pull either warmer or cooler on you. While I agree that this is best for fair to medium skin tones, I think that skin tones a little darker than that could pull this off with the right liner!
Like the other Luxe Matte Liquid Lipsticks, the texture was lightweight and applied very easily, giving great color payoff and full coverage with one layer on both the top and bottom lip (as in I dipped the wand into the tube once for each). I got about 5 to 6 hours of wear before I had any issues with fading, which was mostly in the center at first. On the rest of the lip, this shade hung on for a solid 7 to 8 hours.
Dupes: Jeffree Star has two permanent Velour Liquid Lipsticks that are close, but aren’t quite perfect dupes… Celebrity Skin is more mauve, while I’m Nude is a little lighter and more neutral. That formula also feels heavier and more dry, to me anyway. ABH’s Stripped Liquid Lipstick has a slightly warmer, more peachy undertone. There are also a few of NYX’s Lip Lingerie Liquid Lipsticks that are close… Corset is darker and cooler toned, Baby Doll is lighter and more pink, and Satin Ribbon is pretty close but is still a little more mauve.
Liners: Nudist from Melt Cosmetics is one of my favorites to wear with this liquid lip. NYX’s Beige and Natural are also really nice, with Beige being nearly the same color and Nautal being a bit darker. MAC’s Lip Pencils in Stripdown, which is a cooler type of beige, and Whirl, which is a cool type of mauve, are great too. I imagine for medium to dark skin tones, you could try wearing Luxe Life with something like Chestnut Lip Pencil from MAC to blend it out to a nude ombre type of look.
Overall Rating: 5 / 5
Application: 5
Coverage: 5
Color Payoff: 5
Texture: 5
Wear Time: 5
Packaging: 5
Pink Buttercream: Pink Buttercream is described as a “warm peachy-pink nude best suited for fair to medium skin tones”. It’s definitely a light, warm toned peachy-pink and is one of the best nudes I’ve found for myself when I’m NC10-NC20 in MAC terms. So many colors like this can turn into a chalky looking, washed out mess once they set to their matte finish but Pink Buttercream still looks vibrant, even though it’s still quite nude! When worn by itself, I think it could be too light for anyone deeper than medium to mayyyybe medium dark BUT that’s what lipliners are for. I honestly think that just about anyone except maybe deep, cooler skin tones can wear this if they want to add a liner and blend it out to a more ombre-nude type of look. This shade doesn’t pull cool toned at all, so that makes it even more wearable if you have a medium dark to deep skin tone and want to give it a shot!
This Luxe Matte Liquid Lipstick has the same fantastic texture as the others from this bundle and applies like a dream. I found this to be the most pigmented of the three lightest shades, so it gave me awesome color payoff and coverage using very little product. Wear time was about 5 hours before I had to touch up in the center. It held on to most of my lips for 8 to 9 hours and only began to fade around the edges around the 7 hour mark.
Dupes: ABH’s Milkshake Liquid Lipstick is a VERY close dupe, though it can look a little lighter on the lips for some people. It’s the closest one I found, though. NYX’s Lip Lingerie Liquid Lipstick in Baby Doll is slightly more peachy-brown toned, while Satin Ribbon is more pink. Jeffree Star’s Mannequin Velour Liquid Lipstick is more mauve, and I’m Nude is lighter and a little more pink. MAC’s Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour in Lady-Be-Good is close, especially with the way the formula feels, but it does have a more peachy-brown undertone.
Liners: Whirl Lip Pencil from MAC is PERFECT to wear with Pink Buttercream because it’s similar to a natural lip color and shouldn’t look too bright or too cool toned. NYX’s Mauve is also really nice. Both Whirl and Mauve are a little darker but they’ll add some dimension to the lip, which is typically a good thing with lighter lipsticks. NYX’s Nude Pink and MAC’s Dervish are a both warmer and more pink if you’d rather not tone down the color of this liquid lipstick, but still have some definition.
Overall Rating: 5 / 5
Application: 5
Coverage: 5
Color Payoff: 5
Texture: 5
Wear Time: 5
Packaging: 5
Suedie: On the website, this is referred to as a “light warm-gray, suede-nude best suited for fair to dark skin tones”. It has a true matte finish and is a light to medium, pretty neutral, slightly gray toned brown-nude. On me, it’s more neutral to cool toned, but I feel like this is going to look different on everyone, depending on the undertone of your own skin, which is a good thing! I love colors like this because they’re always flattering no matter who puts them on and Suedie is definitely a color that can be worn by anybody, especially if you play around with liners to customize this to be the perfect nude for you!
It has the same texture as the rest of the Luxe Matte Liquid Lipsticks in this bundle, applying easily with no patchiness or streaking. Color payoff is fantastic and coverage is completely opaque without having to apply much product. Wear time was around 4 to 5 hours before it faded in the center of the lip, and like most of these, I got about 7 hours of wear overall.
Dupes: MAC’s Cafe Au Chic Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour is a pretty close dupe for Suedie, though it may pull warmer on some skin tones. NYX has two Lip Lingeries that are sort of close too, but Delicate Lust is more gray toned and Honeymoon has a slightly warmer, almost mauve undertone. ABH Sepia Liquid Lipstick is a little darker.
Liners: Again, Melt Cosmetics’ Nudist AllDay/Everyday Lip Liner will work well with Suedie, but it’s a little lighter and more nude… It sort of just gives you definition without interfering with the lip color itself. NYX’s Nude Beige Lip Liner is honestly almost the exact same color. A few Lip Pencils from MAC that I like to use with this liquid lipstick are Stripdown, which is slightly lighter and cooler, Stone, which is cooler toned, and Chestnut, which is a bit darker but is great if you want an ombre look or have a medium dark to dark skin tone.
Overall Rating: 5 / 5
Application: 5
Coverage: 5
Color Payoff: 5
Texture: 5
Wear Time: 5
Packaging: 5
Grave Danger: TIME Los Angeles refers to this as “a dark cool-toned gray-taupe shade suitable for fair-medium skin tones”. In this photo (which is one that needs to be redone), it’s reflecting my ring light, but it does have a matte finish once it sets. It’s exactly the shade as it’s described to be and I would definitely agree that it’s probably best for fair to medium or maybe medium dark skin tones. If you have deeper skin, this is so cool toned that it could wash you out BUT as always, you can play around with liners and see if it works for you!
Grave Danger felt extra buttery and smooth for some reason and applied easily. It’s very pigmented, so a little bit of product goes a long way and will give you perfect color payoff and coverage. I feel like this particular shade really clung to my lips and lasted about 5 to 6 hours before I needed to touch up, and closer to 8 or 9 before it really started to fade. In the above photo, I had been drinking coffee, so the fading in the center is from that.
Dupes: The closest dupes I found for Grave Danger are both Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolours from MAC… Simply Smoked is close, but a teeny bit darker and has more of an almost plum undertone to it. Flesh Stone is also similar, but a little lighter and has a warmer, more brown undertone. Anastasia Beverly Hills’ Liquid Lipstick in Sepia is very close too, but slightly warmer. NYX’s Lip Lingerie Liquid Lipstick in Honeymoon is sort of close, but definitely doesn’t have the color payoff or coverage and has a hint of warmth to it.
Liners: All of the liners I like to use with this liquid lip are MAC Lip Pencils… First off, Stone is an obvious choice and is very similar in color, so you won’t get a ton of contrast with it. Plum is also really nice and will bring out any plummy-gray tones that Grave Danger has. Chestnut is a good choice if you’d like something a bit darker and more neutral. A few others that I had fun playing around with were Currant, Vino, Nightmoth, and Cyber World, all of which have more wine-stained to purple tones, so it changes things up a bit for a more vampy, ombre lip.
Overall Rating: 5 / 5
Application: 5
Coverage: 5
Color Payoff: 5
Texture: 5
Wear Time: 5
Packaging: 5
Hangry: Hangry is “a deep burgundy brown shade suitable for fair-deep skin tones”… Like the others. it has a matte finish, although it was reflecting the ring light in the photo. While it’s definitely a deep burgundy brown, just as it’s described, it also has some cool plum tones to it (on me, anyway)… I feel like this looks a little different on each person I’ve seen wearing it and depending on your skin tone, it may look cooler or warmer than it does on someone else. As I’ve said before, I love colors like that because they flatter anyone and everyone who wears them, and Hangry can be worn by absolutely ANY skin tone!
Hangry felt very much like Grave Danger… A little more creamy than the lighter liquid lipsticks in the bundle, but still very comfortable to apply. The color payoff is great but there was a little patchiness at first, so I can’t say that it was 100% opaque on the first application. Thankfully, because the formula is easy to layer, it was a quick fix to get full, even coverage! I didn’t have any fading occur until I had this on for about 4 hours and it was in the center of the lip at first. After about 6 hours, I had some slight fading around the edges, but the color clung to my lips everywhere else for well over 8 hours!
Dupes: There aren’t many liquid lipsticks out there that even compare to how gorgeous Hangry is! The closest I found was Ess-Presso, which is one of MAC’s Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolours. If you like a dark lip for fall and winter, this is for sure one that I would recommend picking up!
Liners: Since this is a deeper shade and can show different undertones depending on which liner you use, you can try something like MAC’s Chestnut Lip Pencil or Bittersweet Pro Linger Lip Pencil if you want to stick with a more neutral to cool toned brown liner. A few more options from MAC are Nightmoth or Currant Lip Pencils, which both have more berry to purple tones, as well as Bespoken For Pro Longwear Lip Pencil, which is similar to Nightmoth but longer wearing. The liner that I like to wear with this when I want something that’s nearly the same color, is Melt’s Edible AllDay/Everyday Lip Liner.
Overall Rating: 4.8 / 5
Application: 5
Coverage: 4
Color Payoff: 5
Texture: 5
Wear Time: 5
Packaging: 5
*** This post expresses my own honest opinion. I purchased these with my own money and did not receive any type of PR or compensation for this review. ***
the blog formerly known as lesley makeup 
3 thoughts on “TIME Los Angeles – Luxe Matte Liquid Lipstick – Cool Spectrum Bundle”