March 29, 2024

This New ‘Lip Mousse’ Has Steph Completely Hooked

It’s the fastest, foolproof way to nail the blurred lip look and it feels like you’re wearing… absolutely nothing. Urban Decay Lo-Fi Lip Mousse in Frequency, $22, available here.

The descriptors “lived-in,” “undone,” “deconstructed” and “flat-out messy” are ones I use often when discussing my ideal personal beauty aesthetic, and they apply to both hair and makeup. Listen, precision can be a good thing when you’re talking about, say, a sharp liquid line or a gel manicure. But most of the rest of the time, I’m partial to smudged-out eye makeup, diffused highlighter and blurred-edge lips.

That said, I haven’t been hugely into the matte liquid lipstick formulas that have been everywhere over the last few years, usually finding them too heavy and chalky to blend out and soften into the hazy, stain-y tint I prefer.

With a bit of practice, I’ve finally mastered the technique behind creating a blurred lip: Swipe on a creamy, satin-finish lipstick bullet, blot it away a bit with a tissue, pat it around with my fingertip and then run a tissue or Q-Tip around the edges to soften any remaining harshness. And though I’ve gotten that process down to a couple of minutes, tops, it’s still not exactly low-maintenance.

Then I tried Urban Decay’s new Lo-Fi Lip Mousse,and my multi-step routine was instantly rendered obsolete. Described in the brand’s press materials as a“whipped and airy matte lip,” the plush, cushy formula feels like a hybrid between a super-light cream and a hyper-blendable powder. Which is to say, it’s unlike anything you’ve ever put on your lips before.

Housed in a small pan, it looks more like an eye shadow than a typical lip product, and it even comes with a genius little shadow-like applicator nestled inside the base (it pops out when you flip the compact open). It couldn’t be easier or more fool-proof to use: With the applicator or your finger, just swipe on a tiny bit of pigment (a little goes a long way) and blend it out for instant, imprecise color. You can build up the intensity for even more impact, so the finish ranges from just-finished-a-popsicle to a more intensely vibrant, velvety effect. My go-to shades have been Frequency – a bright, tomato-y orange-red (shown above) – and Amplify – a deeper berry shade.

Unlike most other matte lipsticks which feel heavy or rubbery on lips, this one feels like… literally nothing. The one downside I’ve found to it is that if your lips are chapped, it can really highlight the appearance of any patchiness – and it does not wear well over lip balm – so I’d just make sure to use a lip scrub, then balm, then blot that most of the way off before going in with the Lip Mousse if you’re prone to chapped-ness.

Urban Decay Lo-Fi Lip Mousse in Frequency, $22, available here.

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