The Battle of the Lip Lacquers!

This year it seemed like the 'it' product was lip lacquers. Rimmel set the beauty world alight with the release of the much anticipated Apocalips, and since then many other brands have jumped on bored with their tuppence worth.
Recently I went into Boots, and after picking up two products that I had my eye on for ages, (more on these later), I had to find a 3rd item to make up my 3 for 2, (which is a harder task than you'd think in Boots believe it or not), I ended up choosing this Colour Pro Lip Lacquer from Collection, as I haven't tried much from the brand.
After having used both offerings from each brand, I figured it would be nice to do a post comparing the two, as considering they're both meant to be lip lacquers, they should both work in the same way, right? Well lets find out!

Rimmel Apocalips: Rimmel say that these provide 'The intense rich colour of a lipstick, enhanced by a satin smooth shine', and I have to say they do deliver on everything they say!  At first I wasn't very taken with these. Perhaps it was the unusual texture, or the fact they were very hard to use without making a mess, and because I bought them in all the bright bold colours, it always ended up that I left the house looking like I did my make up in the dark. Epic fail. However, after finally getting to grips with these, and figuring out how to apply them without looking like a bad drag act, (actually a drag act would probably still have done it better than me), I love them! So much so that I had bought 6 out of the 8 colours available at the time in them! The texture of these are real creamy, and packed full of pigment. They just feel so comfortable on the lips, and after the initial wet feeling upon application, they do dry to a nice glossy finish. I myself personally do find that they wear a bit after eating or drinking, but even so they do still leave a slight stain on the lips, particularly the stronger colours. My personal favourites of the bunch are Stellar, which is a fab coral red colour, and Apocalips, a lovely deep pink colour which I love for nights out! I have been tempted to wear it for work somedays, but I haven't been brave enough to do it yet... But someday! I'll pop in some swatches of these below so you can see the colours and texture's for yourselves!  The packaging of these is also something a bit different, Rimmel really made the effort to make sure it suited the name of the product! These released earlier in the year with just 8 colours in the collection, which isn't bad really, but now they've upped that to 13!! They are priced at 7.95 each and are available in Boots and your local Rimmel stockists!

Collection Colour Pro Intense Lip Lacquer: Collection is another drugstore brand that is well known with bloggers, probably most for its Lasting Perfection Concealer. I'm yet to try that however, so on a whim when in Boots the last day, I decided to pick up a product I hadn't heard much about from the brand, just to see were they a good all rounder brand. I picked up the colour 3, which first of all is a bit disappointing that they don't actually have names for these, personally I just think that the number only is a bit boring. Regardless, I picked up the colour I thought I'd wear most, which is a nice bright bubblegum pink, which strangely is something I don't have in my collection! Collection say that these leave a 'lacquer like finish for the evening or a subtle sheen for day time wear'. First of all, the texture is really really different to that of the Apocalips. Its sticky upon initial application, and just remains that way for the length it remains on the lips. I applied some about an hour ago, maybe more, and my lips are still sticky! Now I  don't have a problem with that, but its just something to note incase you don't like that in a lip product. Colour wise, they are pigmented, but nowhere near as much as the Apocalips, (or maybe its just the colour I chose, I don't know). Again I'll pop in a swatch below so you can see for yourselves. I also find it hard to apply these, not in the same way as the Apocalips, but more in the sense that the applicator on these nearly drags across your lips and doesn't disperse the product very well. Really to me, these are just a highly pigmented lip gloss. A lip lacquer to me should be somewhat similar to a lipstick, but in a liquid form, and I'm afraid to say that this doesn't meet that definition for me. Packaging wise, there's nothing very different about this product for me, it just looks like a standard lip gloss or lip product. Another downside with this is there's just 4 colours! They are priced at 6.49 from Boots.

Overall I was fairly disappointed with the Collection offering. I did have high hopes for it, and had imagined it to be a lot creamier than it turned out to be... It just is a big sticky thumbs down from me, but seen as I got it for free in the 3 for 2 I can't be too upset. If you are looking to try a lip lacquer from the drugstore, I think at the moment the Rimmel ones are probably the best ones to try! And there not expensive, so if at the end of the day you're not a fan there's no harm done.

                                        Rimmel Apocalips in Apocalyptic and Stellar

                                       Collection Colour Intense Lip Lacquer in Shade 3
So that's it guys, have you tried either of these?

Thanks for reading,
Alisha xxx