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I never thought I’d say this, but J.’s makeup is pretty bomb. I went to their store at Dolmen Mall the other day and picked up two of their NOTE Mineral Matte Lip Creams and I was surprised by how much I liked them.

I think the texture is great and very, very moisturising. It retails for Rs2,600 for a single lip cream, which I suppose is average. I’ve cheaper products and ones that are more expensive, so I suppose this falls somewhere in the middle.

I got two colours — 04 Runway and 03 Rose Sorbet — and I really like both the colour and coverage of both lip creams. Usually, when you go for lighter shades, the coverage suffers, but not in this case.

I wore Runway to a wedding — and made my friend wear it too — and both of us liked the texture and agree that it was pretty long-lasting. The colours looked great on both of us — if I do say so myself — and the products were easy to apply and reapply.

My friend thought it was very drying, but I have to disagree. I think it’s an incredibly creamy formula that is super moisturising. For me, the one downside is how much the product transfers. Exhibit A — my water bottle. Half the product seems to be on the bottle instead of my lips! I guess you could use the old setting powder trick to set the lipstick, but the idea is to have this creamy finish, which I think would be diminished greatly by using setting powder.

This isn’t a huge issue though, because though the colour seemed to be getting on everything, it wasn’t getting off my lips. You couldn’t tell that my bottle, tissue and food had lipstick on them because the colour remained as vibrant on my lips as when I first applied it.

While both colours looked good, I felt that Runway lasted longer and had a richer colour.

The Mineral Matte Lip Cream comes in eight shades and is available online and in J. stores.

I’m rating it four out of five — the transfer isn’t what you want but it’s an otherwise great product and I can see myself restocking it in my makeup bag once it runs out.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

This article is part of an ongoing series on supporting local products. All the products are independently evaluated and reviewed by a member of the Images team and reflect their personal opinions. If you’re a local business and would like to be featured, reach out to us at imagesdawndotcom@gmail.com.