A lot of affordable makeup is pretty fantastic, and I don’t spend enough time talking about it. So for May, I’m dedicating the entire month to posts about products under $20. I actually have more under $20 Yesstyle post planned that might land in June – let me know if you still want to see it in May or you’re ready for other things!
There are so many Asian beauty lip products I love that this could easily become several posts. I’ve tried a ridiculous number of tints, stains, glosses, balms, lipsticks, and blurred matte lip products at this point, but I made myself narrow this down to the under $20 lip products from YesStyle I actually reach for all the time and would repurchase first. Almost all of these are stains because they’re just so good, but I did include one everyday glossy balm. If I’m missing one of your favorites, tell me in the comments so I can try it next!
In this post, all links are affiliate links (thank you for your support!), but all opinions are my own. Swatches are under a ring light to show true to color (photo #1) and then standard lighting to show the formula a little better (#2) for all the products.
JOOCYEE Long-Lasting Glossy Rouge in Diamond Sea and Naked Tea – This formula is such an easy, moisturizing, nourishing balm that I can apply without thinking. My lips always look and feel so much better when I use these. I was honestly pleasantly surprised how much I love this formula. Diamond Sea is the shade I reach for constantly. It’s a perfect everyday cool-toned mauvey pink that has a little sparkle without being chunky or grainy. Naked Tea is warmer than I wanted it to be. I thought it would be more neutral, but on me it pulls a little orange. It’s still wearable, especially if I use one of my lip mixers underneath, but it’s not the shade I’d tell you to buy first. If I were picking one, I’d get Diamond Sea.
Judydoll Ice Watery Lip Gloss-Gen 2 in 06, 11, and 18 – I love this formula so much. It’s glossy and moisturizing when it goes on and feels so nice for hours. This is actually the product I chose to put on after retesting a bunch of these because it’s really just so good. It also leaves a real stain behind that actually lasts. The stain also matches the color of the gloss and doesn’t turn orange or pink or another color I’m not expecting.
11 is the easiest everyday shade for me. It’s that perfect “my lips but better” cool-toned, slightly mauve lip that I can throw on without thinking (I’m sure you’re seeing a pattern). 18 is the brown I’d recommend first if you want an actual brown that doesn’t turn orange. It has a little bit of yellow in it in a way that works really well with my undertones, but it still stays brown instead of going Cheeto. 06 is annoyingly warm. In the listing, it looked like a perfect terracotta red, which is exactly the kind of warm shade I actually can get away with sometimes. On me, this goes pumpkin orange.
rom&nd Juicy Lasting Tint in 39 Odd Grape, plus minis in 10 Avocado, 12 Odd Mulberry, and 13 Black Berry – I’ve used rom&nd Juicy Lasting Tints on and off for years, so this is a formula I already knew I loved. It’s glossy, comfortable, easy to wear, and it leaves enough of a stain behind that it doesn’t feel pointless once the shine wears off. Like the Judydoll glosses, these stain the color you hope for (mauve, green, purple, and black respectively) instead of turning bright pink or orange for no reason. I’ve tested these on my lips, hands, and arms just to make super sure, and they all stain true to tone, which makes them especially useful for mixing.
Odd Grape is the one I bought to actually wear all the time, and I do. It’s a muted, dusty, rosy pink, which is basically the exact color I’m always trying to find in both lip products and blush. I also picked up the minis in Avocado, Black Berry, and Odd Mulberry, mostly to use as mixers. Avocado tones down lip products that are too red or that aren’t showing up well because my natural lip pigment is too red. Black Berry deepens products that are too pale or too chalky. Odd Mulberry helps when something is too orange but I don’t want to fully neutralize it with blue, so the purple tones down the yellow while leaving some of the red. The minis are $8 each, and you can usually find them on sale, which makes them worth it to me for mixing.
ETUDE Fixing Tint in 14 Rose Lilac and 15 Woody Pink – This is my favorite formula in the blurred matte lipstick/lip tint category that I’ve tried so far. I’ve tested a ridiculous number of soft matte, lip blush, blurred lip products at this point, and these are the ones I keep coming back to. You can tap on a little for a soft hint of color or build it up more, and either way it stays comfortable, looks smooth, and never gets dry or crusty. Woody Pink is a dusty rosy neutral that works really well with the mauvey beige looks I wear all the time. Rose Lilac is deeper and moodier, more of a jammy berry-plum, and it pairs especially well with berry-toned blush. Woody Pink fades into a really pretty light pink stain, while Rose Lilac leaves more of a berry tint. And the stain lasts like all the other tints/stains in this post.
fwee Rose Obsession Stay-Fit Lip Tint in MC03 Dusty Rose – I talked about a couple of fwee lip products in my last post about under $20 Ulta and Sephora products, but you can’t get this one at Ulta. As far as I can tell, this is one of the fwee products you have to get somewhere like YesStyle, and I’m glad I did because it’s a great formula. Even though the ETUDE is still my favorite, this is a close runner up. This is blurring and matte, but not too matte. It still has a little bit of a satin finish, so it doesn’t give me that flat, dry, powdery lip look. It feels comfortable and moisturizing, and although it’s not as nourishing as some of these other products, it doesn’t dry out my already dry lips or make them look worse. Dusty Rose is a great everyday mauve on me, although I like the tones of the Etude more. The Etude stains also last way longer (like they were still on my arm the next day longer), so if you’re looking for something that doesn’t stain as strongly, the Fwee is a great choice.
What lip products should I test next? As always, some products may have been gifted, but all reviews/opinions are completely my own and unsponsored.
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