Maybelline Colour Drama Velvet Lip Pencils

From top to bottom: Berry Much, Minimalist, In love with Pink, Nude Perfection, Fab Orange and Light it up.

These are a big thing. Like NARS dupe, big. That's what the word on the street is... or, the word on blogs anyway, that's basically the same thing, right? There's something so creamy and long lasting about these, and dare I say it, compared to my NARS velvet pencils these glide onto the lips, whereas the NARS do tend to somewhat pull at the lips. The price difference is also a factor in whether or not to try these out, as they come in at less than a fiver at £4.99 (here), so 2 for £10, or 3 for 2 is where you want to grab these, preferably 3 for 2, because that;s always amazing. God bless Boots and Superdrug for those deals. The formulas are divine. Creamy and long-lasting, non dragging on the lip when applied and the pigmentation is insane. From the image above, I think you can tell which pencil I bought first... and used a lot of. That would be Nude Perfection, which is, much like its name suggests, perfection. It's that gorgeous nude that you can wear with anything; you can layer over a nude lipliner to extend its staying power, or just slick it on - either way, it's basically my go to for a done-up face without looking too done-up, y'know?

Then we have the brights. Say hello (looking at the image below) to Light it Up, a fab bright glossy red that lights up your face, giving you a classic look with a twist. Then we have Fab Orange which I adore layered over Bourjois' Peach Club - the staying power is insane, seven hours without touching up and eating in between (that's gonna need a post all on its own) - it's such a bright orange, a colour I'd usually steer away from, but adventure is out there, and it's this lipstick. Skipping Nude Perfection, next up is In love with Pink, which may be the pinkest lipstick I own... and the one I find the scariest to wear, because me and pink... it's never really been a thing. Pink frightens me, because I don't think it looks good on me, but this colour is coercing me, slowly. It's a slightly blueish pink, which I think teamed with black liner and lots of lashes looks gorgeous. In addition, we have Minimalist, a soft, nude pink - more just bitten lips than Nude Perfection, and although it's a cute colour, my lips are a bit too dark for it, so I think it looks a bit strange on me. I think I definitely need more of a play around with it. And lastly, is Berry Much, perhaps the pencil I was most excited about, because berry in Winter is always a yes for me. It's a blackberry stained kinda berry, that looks so gorgeous pressed lightly onto the lips as a stain, or slicked on for a full pow! of colour.

All in all, these are fabulous, and definitely worth a swatch if you're thinking of investing in a NARS pencil, but aren't sure what to expect. Fab Orange is totally a Red Square dupe, whilst Red Essential (a colour I'm yet to purchase but have swatched) is so Cruella from NARS, and I loooove my Cruella pencil. That'll be a dupe post, ready and waiting for when I purchase Red Essential. Have you spotted any of these on the high street? What's your take on them? Do you think they're NARS dupes?