Lou's Lip Product Love In - Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick - Backstage Bambi

Over the last few weeks or so I've been having a bit of a sort out - Thanks to Facebook Marketplace I finally got my hands on an IKEA Malm Dressing Table! IKEA in their wisdom discontinued all of the Malm range in the birch / beech finish so I'd pretty much given up on ever finding one that matched the rest of my bedroom furniture. The best things as they say though, come to those who wait, and my patience paid eventually paid off!

One of the plus points of the IKEA Malm Dressing Table, is the huge storage drawer, so I'm in the process of reorganising my makeup storage, and finding places for all of my bits and bobs. As well as weeding out the odd broken powder and crayon smelling lipstick, sorting out my make up collection has also given me the opportunity to both distinguish my most used products, and to rediscover lots of old favourites.

This post is the first in what I guess will be an occasional mini series, I've had a good sort through my lip collection, and I want to share some of my favourite products with you. I've got a review of a kit coming up, and a few collective posts but I thought I'd start off by talking about one of my favourite 'happy' lip colours.

Putting some of her personal opinions aside, you have to hand it to Kat Von D, her make up collection is on point. Like so many US based brands, it took a while for the range to make it across the Atlantic, but thanks to a globetrotting bestie, I was lucky enough to get my hands on the Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette before the range launched in the UK, and it was love at first swatch, so when the brand launched into Debenhams in 2016, I immediately ordered a few bits including this lipstick, which rapidly became a firm favourite in my collection.

Now as well as being famous, or should I say infamous for her vegan and cruelty free stance, Kat Von D really became famous through her work as a tattoo artist, and she's most definitely carried that artistic flare though into her make up line. All of the packaging has a dark, almost Gothic vibe, and her lipstick tubes in particular have an almost sculptural feel. What came first the packaging or the name? I don't know but what I do know is that the name of her lipstick range Studded Kiss is reflected perfectly in the black plastic, raised stud design lipstick tube. This packaging is totally unique and it doesn't just look striking, it's also immensely practical, I sometimes have tremors and pains in my hands and the textured tube is really easy to hold, and grip even on my worst days.

As striking as it is, it isn't all about the packaging, the lipstick inside is pretty special too. There are around 40 shades of Studded Kiss lipstick to choose from ranging from your regular pinks, reds and nudes, to more daring fashion lead shades, like purple and green. For my first purchase I played it relatively safe and went for Backstage Bambi, a vivid hot pink in Kat Von D's satin matte formulation.

Embossed with KVD logo, this lipstick like rest of the Kat Von D range, is both vegan and cruelty and it's also free from parabens and mineral oils. All of the lipsticks in this range have a high pigment content and contain nourishing and moisturising ingredients.

As you can see from this swatch the pigmentation is excellent. Given the satin matte formulation, it isn't the creamiest lipstick I've ever used but neither is it the most drying. It feels pretty comfortable on the lips and it wears incredibly well, like so many lipsticks now it almost fades down to a stain, so you don't need to constantly reapply. I used to be quite scared of colours like this, because I don't particularly like drawing attention to my uneven lips, but the older I get, the braver I get, so the brighter and more vivid the pink, the better!

I can honestly say that there isn't a thing that I dislike about this lipstick. I love the packaging, I love the colour, I love the wear time and I love the sweet vanilla scent and taste. I took the product photos quite a while ago now and it's probably just as well, because my Backstage Bambi doesn't look quite a beautiful as it once did, to say it's well used it an understatement! If Backstage Bambi isn't for you there are at least 39 other shades to choose from in the Kat Von D Studded Kiss range, so you're bound to find a colour to suit you. I'm definitely going to buying a back up in the near future, and next time I fancy a new lipstick I think Kat Von D may be my first port of call x Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipsticks have a recommended retail price of £17 / $20 and are available in the UK from the Debenhams website, selected Debenhams stores, and directly from Kat Von D. Have you tried anything from Kat Von D? Let me know your recommendations in the comments below x