Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro in Shade 500

I’ve been trying to tone down my work makeup lately and embrace a little bit of neutral sophistication. It’s been a shock to the system frankly. I don’t feel complete without a full on face and I’m the sort of girl who has no qualms about combining a dark heavy eye with a bold lip. Still I’m playing with more neutral shades and if there is one thing I think a conservative office look needs it’s a fabulous neutral (not nude) lip colour in a formula that will see you through the work day with minimal effort. Cue angels singing and rays of light cascading down from heaven. Armani has the answer.

The Lip Maestro formula is a relatively recent release. It is packaged like a lip gloss in a heavy duty plastic tube with a doe foot applicator but the product itself it more like a matte finish long wearing lipstick. There is no discernible perfume in these, just a slight hint of that plastic lipstick smell than unfragranced lip products tend to have. The pillar box red cap and silver emblem are chic although my obsessive compulsive tendencies are twitching at the clash between the red cap and some of the shades. Clearly I need to rethink my priorities if I’m bothered by that...

Now I know I said the formula is more of a matte finish and this combined with the long wear aspect would normally scream DRY CAT ARSE MOUTH but fear not. These are anything but drying. Initially they do have some gloss to them which is exaggerated in the lip swatch by the flash (they aren’t that glossy in real life). The pigmentation is incredible. The shade 500 is completely opaque in one swipe. It feels creamy on the lips and the creamy texture lasts for hours on me. Whilst I don’t find it particularly moisturising I would never call it drying. It’s very, very comfortable to wear.

The shade 500 is a neutral dusty rose with just a hint of peach to it that makes it actually very brightening on the skin. It’s subdued and classic yes but it’s also very flattering and it perks up my complexion beautifully. I get a good 5 hours out of it before I start to notice signs of wear and I am a tea drinking fiend.

The catch? £25 for a lip product is not exactly a bargain is it. But a long wearing, comfortable to wear product in a formula and shade I adore? I’d happily buy more even at that price. The shade 502 is calling to me as another work staple and 300 looks like it could be the perfect summer coral. Have you tried these yet? Thoughts?