I confess, I'm a fan of BLK. After first trying out their Travels All-day Intense Matte Lipstick reviewed here, I decided to venture more into their brand which tout 'uncomplicated beauty' regarding their products. A very alluring tagline for makeup newbies and makeup aficionados alike.

blk All-day Matte Powder Foundation

Touching the powder itself- it feels fine and smooth. It's not dry or chalky and has the faintest smell of typical talc powders. It feels lightweight on the skin and the finish is quite natural. Application-wise, I typically use a fluffy brush and lightly apply this on top of my base whether that be sunscreen or on top of the blk skin tint. The result is a soft matte finish and yes, skin-like. I wouldn't say this is a powder foundation in the original sense of the word, this feel most like a typical pressed powder with sheer-light coverage. Something to set the makeup, keep the oil at bay or touch up with.

While I do like the texture and the small amount of coverage it gives, I have a tiny problem with the shades. This only comes in a whopping TWO shades. Light beige and this one. I would feel a little bit better if they release a translucent one and maybe 2 more shades that have an olive or yellow undertone. Because after a while, this leans a smidge orangey on me- which makes me look off. Which brings me to the their other product...

No this can't be made to full coverage no matter how much you put on, just needed to get that one out there. It does look skin-like and natural but at most it can be built up to a semi-medium (if you push it) without sacrificing the nice natural finish it gives. 

Right off the bat, I like the runny texture. It gives you the idea that 'I am just a tint with some moisture nothing more' and I love it. On the skin it feels like an emollient moisturizer but not heavy or extremely tacky. It's not a matte finish, more of a slightly dewy natural one. The component (tube) is something I like as well, as it provides a more precise dispensing of product. And the bottle is small and sleek (everything from this whole line looks perfection btw love the 'neutral/skin' minimalist packaging) making it an easy addition to any a makeup kit/area. 

I feel like their darkest, Chestnut would work better in terms of undertone, but it's just too dark on me when I tested on the counter. So I decided on Vanilla, despite being obviously pink-beige. I felt like this is easier to work on as it is only a 'tint'. The undertone is prominent with being as light coverage as it is. I find that most of the shades in the skin tint are prominently red/pink in their shade. ----WHY IS THAT. I'm not saying no one in the Philippines has that undertone, but why not release some more extra shades that are more blue/green, heck I'll take a yellow undertone over this pink.

And this is why I like Vice cosmetics better in terms of shades. They have a wider array than most locally available cosmetics brands with most of them being yellow and/or golden in undertone. While I don't particularly like their extreme oxidation on me (turns at least 2 shades darker) I applaud the idea behind the release of more than the 'standard' 4 shades from the get-go.

I really really like these two products -don't get me wrong. The price-point is very fair.  They're cruelty-free! The packaging looks good. The components of the products are sturdy. I love their matte lipstick formula. Their philosophy is nice...

but the shades. Man the shades. I think they have to work on that. They have to release more colours for warm and olive skinned individuals and really make their products uncomplicated. Because if I have to use extra products to counter the mismatch of shades, then how uncomplicated is it really?

Traveling with make-up can be a little more stressful than it needs to be especially for the makeup lover. There's the issue of the liquid bases and huge canisters eyeshadow and powder. Not to mention the many lippie choices you have to consider for day-to-day, depending on the finish and itinerary, how it doesn't clash with your outfits or when you're so spoilt for choice but can only bring at most 2 lippies etc etc etc.



Made for the wanderer and jetsetter in mind, these mini (and when I say mini I mean the bullet is about 2 inches in height the product inside even less) lipsticks are the quick and easy companion of people who need options when they're traveling and don't add up on the airport scale.


Ingredient list

The names are must-visit locations of every traveler.


Isn't the packaging beyond adorable? From the box to the tubes themselves - this collection feels very well thought-out. I do appreciate the matte lego aesthetic and the animal icons on each tube it can come across to some as a little juvenile given the packaging and how mini this is (about 2 inches in height).



The blk travels set retails for P1,499 with eight creamy matte shades to choose from. Why all the animal icons? It's because the set donates a portion of the sales to the WWF or World Wildlife Fund .(If you haven't tried their lippies, isn't that a good incentive to try them? lol)



These particular lipsticks are made in Taiwan while I believe makeup in their other collections are made in Korea. All their products are cruelty-free and PETA approved. 


On to the swatches :



These lipsticks were released in a set way back, around this time last 2018 I believe. Hence the 'holiday' main box packaging. I might've switched the labels of the hand swatches. Sorry!








LA and Paris are shades I'm lukewarm about. They work when I have a specific look in mind, but I prefer them more as washes or tint rather than full on color on the lips.




*Colour on photo shown is London*

Application-wise there's full color with one swipe but full opaqueness can be achieved with two full swipes.

*Colour on photo shown is New York*

LONDON and DUBAI are my most favorite shades out of everything. Majority of the reason being that they're nudes and they're so flattering.


*Colour on photo is wrong. From left to right (new york and london)*

Hongkong is the perfect blue-based deep red on me. It's perfect.

The texture and consistency for most if not all the lipsticks are the same : matte and creamy but not  soft. The finish is definitely matte and it's creamy enough to apply without heavy dragging but  not easily meltable(?) There's some stability to the formula. Don't expect kiss/budge-proof as these do transfer but I find that they leave a slight stain on the lips as it fades throughout the day.

As for how it feels on my dry lips, sufficient prep is needed as these are matte. The small size offers a little more precision than the usual normal sized tube and you can easily finish a tube in a couple of months before it even expires - so that should boost your hitting-pan lemmings. Some of the shades might not work for the darkest of skintones, I think these are perfect for fair to medium-tanned skin, anyone darker some shades would look ashy or too odd.

Try this if you want an introduction to the blk matte lippie formula or you're the type to bring more than two lippies whenever you travel or you just want to finally finish a tube before it even comes close to expiring.

As for me, I like its size and the different shades and the fact that it answers my particular quirk when bringing lippies with me. I personally would like at least two universally flattering options for when I travel. So this set is a cute little addition to my travel makeup bag.

Have you tried any lispticks from blk or any other makeup? What else is good with the brand?

xx,
CJ

PS. Thanks to my beau for gifting me these. I personally love the story more of how confused you were when you got these though. The lipsticks are just a sweet bonus. :P

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