This Long-Lasting Lip Crayon Helped Me Get Over My Fear Of Bright Lipstick

I’m a neutral makeup girl. I’ll try basically every bronzer, highlighter or nude lip gloss that comes my way, but colorful lipsticks have always intimidated me. Years ago, I had one bad experience where I was wearing a gorgeous bright red lipstick for a night out. It looked amazing and I left the house feeling confident, but unbeknownst to me, while I was chit-chatting, eating and drinking away, the cherry-red shade had bled onto my teeth. Needless to say, I didn’t know this until hours later, when I peeked in the mirror. One word: traumatizing. To this day, I’ve been a bit averse to bright lip color.

It wasn’t until I recently tried the new Thrive Causemetics EmpowerMatte Precision Lipstick Crayon that I changed my tune. The second I swiped on the two-in-one lip liner crayon, I knew I had stumbled upon something different. The crayon’s plush comfortable texture and long-wear properties make it an obvious choice for everyday wear, while the range of color options make it easy to play up or down your makeup look, depending on your mood.

Keep reading for my full review.

Fast Facts

Price: $28

Best for: A lightweight, hydrating matte finish with a 12-hour color payoff

Rating: 10/10

What I love: In just one product, you’ll get a two-in-one lipstick-liner that offers a long-lasting, velvet-y smooth matte lip color that doesn’t bleed or dry out your lips.

Thrive Causemetics EmpowerMatte Precision Lipstick Crayon

These days it comes to lip color, I’ve been known to be pretty boring. I love the way a fresh pop of color looks on my lips, but most bold colors bleed, leaving me in a constant state of anxiety wondering if my lipstick is all over my face without me having a clue. That’s why when, on the rare occasion, I do opt for colorful hue I make sure it’s a formula that doesn’t get messy — even through drinking coffee or cocktails.

Enter: Thrive’s $28 Empowermatte Lipstick Crayon, which comes in 12 rich shades. It’s made with lip-plumping peptides that hydrate your lips and semi-permanent micro pigment that save you the embarassment of smearing. Think of it as the sister to the brand’s equally as long-lasting, cult-favorite Brilliant Eye Brightener Eyeshadow Sticks.

My Plump (But Occasionally Dry) Lips

I’ll admit I really like the shape of my lips. I get them filled with lip filler once or twice a year, and I’m happy with their perfectly plump, but not too full symmetrical look. I like to emphasize them with a neutral-hued lip liner, and tend to overline my lips just a smidge — especially over the cupid’s bow area. My day-to-day look tends to be clear gloss topped over the liner, mostly out of habit. Plus, a gloss helps keep my lips from being chapped and it’s quick and easy.

One thing I struggle with is occasional dryness, which, as we know, is not typically a good combo when it comes to colored lipstick. When my lips are experiencing mild cracking or peeling, I tend to shy away from colorful formulas in fear it will only draw attention to the condition. This formula, however, is surprisingly moisturizing, like a lip balm. That’s because it’s infused with nourishing ingredients like shea butter, jojoba oil and sodium hyaluronate.

My Review

Like I said, I’m a simple girl (at least, when it comes to my makeup). But I do love the way a new lip color instantly changes up your beauty look, so I was happy to give this fine-point crayon a try. The fact that this product has a sharpened tip that doubles as a lip liner sold me right away. It even comes with a built-in sharpener on the opposite end, so you never have to worry about being stuck with a dull nub (which is key when you’re aiming for a crisp outline every time). I’m able to get a precise clean line first and foremost, then finish off by turning the crayon on its side to color in the rest of my lips.

To ease into it, I stuck with neutral shades (Jo, a pink mauve, and Kaisa, a dusty rose) that felt pretty, but safe to me. The application process was seamless, mostly because the texture was so smooth and comfortable.

A lot of times lipsticks feel dry and tug more than glide, which was not the case here. To apply, I followed the advice of Karissa Bodnar, the brand’s founder. “You may be wondering why have this crazy “X’ on lip, and that is actually how I outline my lips before I take Empowematte,”' she says in an Instagram video. I actually found the tip quite helpful in perfectly tracing the tricky cupid's bow area. She says “it’s like a coloring book,” and I have to agree. Once the lips are lined, it’s so easy to shade in the rest.

The first time I wore the product was for an eight-hour workday, and I was pleasantly surprised with how it wore throughout the day. It’s important to note that it doesn’t dry down like a paint. It’s blendable and stretches a bit so it softly blurs out with time, but pigment-wise, it sticks around all day. I did go back in and touch up a few times, but the precise outline held all day long. I was also mesmerized by the fact that even after eating and drinking, not once did the color get on my teeth or smudge beyond my lip line.

After being impressed with how the neutral colors wore, I felt empowered (no pun intended) to try out a darker shade for date night. This time I chose the color Stephanie — a moody, deep magenta — that stayed in place at night as well.

The Final Verdict

The first time I tried Thrive Causemetics EmpowerMatte Precision Lipstick Crayon, I knew it was going to be a new go-to for me. Without even meaning to, I’ve started replacing my usual lip liner-gloss combo with this multi-tasking stick because it accomplishes the same thing for me with less products. The result: Flawless definition that was still supple and comfortable. The shade I reach for the most is Jo, but Ragan (a warm plum) and Linda (a cherry red) have also made their way into my rotation for special occasions. I know it sounds silly, but this one little crayon has single handedly helped me overcome my once very real fear of colorful lipstick.