Apocalips Lip Velvet - Australis

First look at three shades from the Australis Apocalips Lip Velvet range.

Welcome!

Today I want to share my initial thoughts on three shades from the Australis Apocalips Lip Velvet range. I picked these up around a month ago and haven't worn them much, but I did want to get them swatched and on the blog as the colours are quite lovely.

I've been on a huge matte lippie binge for awhile now; I'm still desperately hoping to see some new Velourlips soon and I'm eyeing off more Anastasias and a few of the Jeffrey Star's selection.

My natural lip colour for reference

So I grabbed these from my local Target, but Australis is found in a lot of places like Priceline and various chemists etc. They retail for around $16 I believe; however I did get these at a sale. Otherwise frankly I wouldn't have bought them. For me that price is rather higher, especially when proper matte Velourlips are less that $10.

They're marketed as being Lip Lacquer; neither lipstick or gloss but has the colour of a lippie with a smooth satin shine. The three I have below though are labelled as being 'matte' with a 'lip velvet' subtitle. Do I consider these matte? No. Check out the swatches.

#505 Burning Lava
I absolutely LOVE this colour; it's a stunning, gloriously pigmented cool-tone red that is bright and straight up sexy. I would definitely recommend use with a lip liner however, as you can see I have it alone and it's feathering out into the fine lines of my lips.

I don't find this has a matte finish, I think it's a satin finish liquid lipstick.
The staying power is moderate to minimal; rather typical of a liquid lipstick. If you want it to last longer then make sure you're wearing it over a lip pencil or primer.

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#307 Meteoric Matte
This one is slightly a bit too magenta for me, ideally it would be slightly darker. That said, it's another gorgeous shade, I really do love it's vibrancy. Again, it's also another super pigmented Apocalips. I had no application issues and it wore the same as Burning Lava. I had minimal to no feathering; but regardless for longevity I would recommend use over a pencil or primer.

Meteoric Matte does feel like it has a more velvety finish than Burning Lava, which straight up was a plain liquid lipstick and I think has no matte attributes whatsoever. I wouldn't label this as matte either, but at least I can see the direction they're trying to go.

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#206 Atomic Rose
Another colour I really adore. Atomic Rose looks on me like a pastel coral with slight salmon tone, but it's almost like it's a pastel neon. Rose? Not really. Pretty? Definitely.
Here too I am wearing Atomic Rose alone, no primer or pencil.

Here you can see how it leans to a more salmon tone; it's not really suitable for my skin because it does have that slight hard-to-describe-neon-pastel-orange-pink-thang going on. Which is a shame, because I actually really like it. Being a lighter shade the application was slightly more work to get an even opaque finish - however the pigmentation is good with minimal feathering.
I also feels like Atomic Peach lives up to the Lip Velvet aspect that Burning Lava sadly missed. Out of all three it was closest to a matte finish - a lighter application did lean further towards the dry-matte finish that I love so much; however it doesn't quite make it.


So. Final thoughts?
Wear time on all three was minimal to moderate; it's going to depend on the base you're using like other liquid lipsticks. Burning Lava feathers out easily so it is a must to line the lips prior.
These do also have a tendency to get on your teeth; again I would recommend use over a pencil base, apply, blot, apply.
The applicator is standard wand with pointed doe-foot that hold product well. Tubes are a decent 5ml; however price tag sits around $16 AUD.
Pigmentation and application are great; no complaints and I adore how gorgeous each shade is. Although some aren't my exact cup of tea or suit me, I still really do like each and can imagine the rest of the range has something to suit everyone.
I'm not a fan of the matte or velvet label, I do feel like they don't quite hit the nail on the head there. I also find it confusing as a consumer that they're marketed a a liquid lipstick with a satin finish, yet the packaging clearly states matte and velvet-finish. I do feel in hindsight like I should have swatched more thoroughly at the store and not bought these afterall.

Would I recommend these?
If the price tag doesn't phase you and you're a fan of liquid lipstick with a satin to slight-velvet finish, yes. If that's not your game let's move right along :)

Thanks for reading!