NYC Expert Last Lip Lacquer Swatches and Review

NYC Expert Last Lip Lacquer ($4.19 CVS) is a new release for Spring 2015 and claims to deliver intense color in a lightweight, glossy formula. I purchased 8 out of the 12 shades to try since CVS had them BOGO 50% off a few weeks ago...let's take a look!

The Expert Last Lip Lacquer line offers a nice selection of shades from nudes to pinks, berries and reds. They're packaged in lightweight plastic tubes that look nice and simple...they're a little cheap feeling but that doesn't bother me because the price is great and I'd rather have a superior product inside the tube than have fancy packaging. I also like that the entire tube except for the cap is clear and you have a large area to see the color inside.
They come with a standard doe foot applicator...I wish it was one of the bigger, flatter ones that some other brands have, because it would reduce the number of times I have to dip the wand back in to get more product. With these, the color seemed to be mainly just on the tip when I pulled it out of the tube so it took 3 or 4 dips into the tube to cover my lips well.

When I swatched them, I was really impressed by the opaque color!  These are really pigmented for such an inexpensive lip product.  They remind me a little of Rimmel's Show Off Lip Lacquers, but these feel even more lightweight on the lips.  They feel like a liquid lipstick-gloss hybrid in that they have the full coverage of a liquid lipstick with the lightweight, shiny texture of a gloss.
The scent is a fake, fruity scent (like strawberries maybe?) which I really don't like, but I can only smell it when I'm applying the product, then it disappears and I don't smell it anymore which is a really good thing!

Here are the swatches on my arm and then each shade on my lips.  My experience with the pigmentation was that it's hit or miss depending on the shade.  The three lightest shades to the left applied patchy and streaky and took a few coats to get nice, even coverage.  They also seemed to cling to dry patches.  However, the 5 darker shades I tested had amazing pigmentation and looked and felt smooth during application. Fidi Fuchsia in particular really wowed me when I went to apply it...one coat and I was done!
So I would recommend the darker shades here (the 5 to the right in the photo below) and advise skipping the other three unless you don't mind working around the patchiness.

Left to Right: Riverside Romance, Lincoln Square Love Affair, Coney Island Candy, FIDI Fuchsia, Central Park Passion, Madison Square Mauve, Turtle Bay Toffee, Tribeca Mocha

Riverside Romance

Lincoln Square Love Affair

Coney Island Candy

Fidi Fuchsia

Central Park Passion

Madison Square Mauve

Turtle Bay Toffee

Tribeca Mocha

Overall, these are a great bargain lip product that really packs a punch with pigmentation in a lightweight formula.  Wear time was also impressive and they do stain the lips, however the glossy formula does transfer to everything.  The good news though, is that even with transfer you don't lose a lot of the color...they really stay put.  One way I was able to get around the transfer was to blot my lips after application.  It took the glossy finish away, but at least I wasn't leaving lipstick all over my water bottle, utensils, and my toddler.
So I definitely recommend these, even though there are a few areas where they could improve. I'd love to hear from you if you've tried these yet!