Matte Purple Lipsticks Comparison

I long promised a review/swatch/comparison of these two purple lipsticks, since they are rather similar. It's high season for bold plum lips even for those who don't go around with dark lips all year (i.e. not me), so a little help deciding can't hurt.

Catrice Ultimate Stay Lipstick 070 Plum & Base / Astor Soft Sensation Lipcolor Butter Matte 028 Royal Diva

First thing first: the official pictures are severely misleading, as in real life they are a lot more similar. The below pictures is somewhat truer to how much so. This, of course, immediately goes to show than unless you're an avid collector of all drugstore purple lip products, you probably don't need both.

The Catrice lipstick has a very neat, minimalist design that I love - it's super sturdy, and fits everywhere. The Astor lip butter's packaging is just as others of this kind - a big tube with about as much product as a normal/small lipstick (it doesn't say the exact amount).

I swatched them under different lights - it goes without saying that the natural light one is the most true to colour, especially in the case of the Astor lipstick (on the right). Both swatches are one swipe (!).

Left to right: artificial light, natural light, flash.

Let's see the breakdown then:

Colour: the Catrice is more berry-ish, while the Astor is a true purple, but both are warm in tone. Both provide good coverage, but the Astor lipstick is denser and also darker, and the Catrice lipstick is slightly more buildable.

Matte-ness: Both are matte with a very slight shine that quickly fades.

Hydrating/Drying: The Astor is self-professedly a hydrating product, and it is kinder to your lips, but the Catrice product isn't especially drying either.

Staying power: excellent in both cases, especially for such dark shades.

Scent: the Astor has a sweet buttery vanilla smell, while the Catrice is virtually odourless.

Pricing: the Catrice product is about 40% cheaper than the Astor.

One more swatch, worn in very similar lighting conditions for further comparison.

And the ultimate verdict? Hard to say, because these are currently my favourite matte lip products - maybe I like the Astor lip butter a bit more. I have always been a fan of matte Catrice lipsticks, and I was not disappointed this time round either; it's a gorgeous and reliable one. The Astor lip butter was the first of the lip crayon kinda lipsticks I tried (I know, a bit slow on the update), and I have since purchased another shade, because I love the formula and the overall quality and the easy applicability. On a more subjective note, I like the colour of the Astor product a little better, and I'm also generally a fan of scented lip products, but I know some others loathe them.

So, each to their own, I say. That's why this review is here to help, go rock those purple lips.