Rimmel Show Off Lip Velvet Review and Swatches

Rimmel London Show Off Lip Velvet ($6.79 at CVS) is a new matte liquid lip cream that offers 5 new shades and claims 8 hours of weightless wear.  Let's take a look!

When I first saw these last month, I almost passed right by the display because I assumed they were the Show Off Lip Lacquers that have been out since last year.  But then I looked closer and realized that even though all of the tubes looked basically the same, some had a glossy finish and some were mattified.

The Claims:

•  Weightless liquid colour with a velvety smooth finish
• Earth-shattering intense colour stays true for up to 8 hours
•  Moisturizing formula instantly increases lip moisture by 31%*  

There are 5 shades in the line, two are on the lighter, nude side and three are really bold, bright shades.  I honestly wish there were more to choose from because I wasn't too crazy about any of the choices.  The Show Off Lacquers come in 14 shades, so I'm hoping maybe they'll expand this line at some point.



I purchased the shade Atomic Rose,which I thought would be a rosy shade but it's got a lot of peach in it and almost looks coral when swatched. Here are the other four shades (from the Rimmel US website- they have the UK name Apocalips on them...not sure why they used these photos on the US site):

Apollo, Orange-Ology, Meteoric Matte, Burning Lava

As you can see, there isn't much to choose from, especially if you like lighter, more neutral shades.

These have a standard doe foot applicator and it picks up a lot of product right away, so you don't have to go back in for more.  This is highly pigmented and one swipe completely coats your lips with color. They feel really similar to NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams and go on so smooth and velvety. I found these to be a little bit more moisturizing than the NYX version which was great because whenever I hear the word "matte" I cringe thinking about what it'll do to my dry lips. If you have flaky patches, I could see this sticking to them so you'll likely want to exfoliate before using this if that's the case, but if your lips are just a little dry or lined, this won't make that worse.  It felt comfortable on my lips for hours and I didn't have any issues with it caking into my inner lips or cracking.

The below photo is just one swatch with the wand, so you can see how crazy-pigmented this is! It's full coverage and actually offers a little bit of shine at first before it dries down.  The first time I used this, I might have applied too much because the top layer would sit on top of my lips and would transfer to my water bottle or cup, but then I tried to use a little less and pat my finger over it a few times, which helped it to sink in and took off some of the excess.  By doing that, it looked matte right away and had less drying time.
I wouldn't compare this to a long-wearing lip product, like the type you have to get off with an oil-based makeup remover (such as Rimmel's new Provacalips).  It does have quite a lot of staying power because it stains your lips, but it's not drying at all, so there is still some slip to it.

Rimmel Show Off Lip Velvet- Atomic Rose

Here's the shade Atomic Rose on my lips.  It actually helped to smooth some of my lip lines which is amazing for a matte lip product! It feels completely weightless and isn't sticky at all...you don't even notice you have it on unless you press your lips together and then they just feel super smooth and soft.

Rimmel Show Off Lip Velvet in Atomic Rose

Overall, I absolutely love the formula and staying power of these, but I'm not happy about the limited shade selection and I really hope they come out with some more. Atomic Rose is pretty, but is a bit peachy/coral on me and I was really hoping for a nice pink or rose shade. 

So what do you think, have you tried these yet, or are you thinking about picking one up?