Kat von d cathedral lipstick review

The Studded Kiss Creme Lipsticks feature a new formulation but the packaging remains unchanged. The lipsticks are housed in a chunky, lacquered black tube covered with raised square studs. The "KVD" logo is embossed on the top of the cap and the actual bullet is also etched with a similar design.

Formulation: Originally released in 2014, the Studded Kiss Lipsticks have been reformulated to provide a rich, creamy color and a lightweight, comfortable wear. To reflect the new formulation, the product name has also been changed to the Studded Kiss Créme Lipsticks. Kat Von D makes some great products (ex. eyeshadows, eyeliners, liquid lipsticks) but I've always found their lipstick collection to be a bit lacking. I've tried a total nine shades (see here, here, and here) from the original formulation and have found them to be mostly disappointing as the texture was silicone-y and dry. Therefore, I was very happy to hear the news of a relaunch.

Overall, the new Studded Kiss Crème Lipsticks are indeed a significant improvement from the original. Offering a much better pigmentation, the vanilla-scented lipsticks are lightweight, smooth, and creamy. All six shades I have here offer a soft matte finish so I wouldn't say that these are the most moisturizing and nourishing cream lipsticks I've tried but I'm satisfied with the application and wear. The coverage is so much more opaque and there's no icky, silicone-y feeling. See below for a detailed review of each shade.

Bow N Arrow

: Described as a satin-matte fawn nude, Bow N Arrow is a muted beige with a subtle gray tinge. This shade is not as creamy and smooth as the others so the application tugged a bit. Nevertheless, I was able to get an opaque, non-patchy finish.

Ludwi

g: A muted rose-beige similar to a pink, cool-toned Bow N Arrow, Ludwig is very creamy and pigmented.

OG Lolita

: The original Loita (there's also Lolita, and Lolita II), this is a neutral rose nude. The pigmentation is great and the formulation is smooth and creamy.

Double Dare

: A warmer, more saturated version of OG Lolita, Double Dare is a beautiful warm rose. This is the only shade I've actually tried in the original formulation and the difference is night and day. The original was patchy, sheer, and excessively silicone-y and this reformulated version is so much creamier and more pigmented.

Lovecraft

: This is a dusty light pink with a hint of mauve. As you can see, the coverage is great and the formulation is soft and creamy.

Prayer

: A vampy wine red with a satin finish, Prayer is decently pigmented and very creamy. Darker reds like this tend to be very patchy and although not perfect, Prayer manages to provide a mostly opaque coverage. I would still recommend pairing it with a lip pencil if you want a flawless application.

See below for a collage of all six shades. With the exception of "Bow N Arrow" and "Prayer", which have some minor issues, all the shades are very impressive. My personal favorites are OG Lolita and Double Dare. Which one is your pick? Have you tried the new Kat Von D Studded Kiss Crème Lipsticks? Share with me in the comments below!

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There are many ways to describe beauty products — decent, good, great, and amazing are just a few — but arguably the ultimate honor (besides being named an Allure Best of Beauty winner) is when a product is heralded as a cult classic. It's not a title bestowed on many beauty products, reserved only for those special ones that retain their popularity year after year after year. They are the antithesis of the viral trend category that seems to dominate our screens more and more often.

But the ever-moving cycle and constant innovation of the beauty industry means that many of these fan favorites will undergo reformulations or, even worse, be discontinued — to the disappointment of many fans. It's currently happening to the product formerly known as Kat Von D Beauty Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in the dusty, rosy mauve shade Lolita. As of August, the entire Everlasting lipstick line has been replaced with the brand's (now KVD Beauty) new Everlasting Hyperlight Liquid Lipstick.

KVD Beauty Everlasting Hyperlight Liquid Lipstick

Let's back up for a second: Kat Von D Beauty became KVD Beauty in 2020 after the brand's founder, Kat Von D, stepped away to focus on other projects. The brand is now solely-owned by Kendo. At the time of the transition, the parent company claimed the existing Kat Von D products wouldn't be changed. More than two years later, this is the first reformulation of a classic product from the brand so far.

According to an August press release from KVD Beauty, the new formula is still liquid, still matte, and still long-lasting. The brand tells Allure via a statement that it wanted the upgraded lipsticks to have a "more comfort and a hyper-lightweight feel" while continuing to be transfer-proof and long-lasting, two qualities fans loved about the original lipstick.

To be clear, the shade formerly known as Lolita is still in the line, it just now goes by the name Queen of Poisons. Not all the existing shades were so lucky: Of the 21 shades in the new collection, 12 are brand new colors and nine are reformulations of old ones. All nine reformulations have new names, including Torch Ginger (née A-Go-Go) and Moon Flower (née Lolita II). But certain other fan favorites, including Bow n Arrow and Ludwig, did not make it into the new line at all… at least not yet.

On the brand's website, they provide a shade match chart for the colors that were reformulated. "Understanding how many people loved the original Everlasting Liquid Lipstick, we made a concerted effort to recreate shades that are similar to that of the original collection," the brand's statement reads. "We will be launching new shades in the coming months, as well, ensuring everyone will be able to land on their perfect shade of the new Everlasting Hyperlight Liquid Lipstick!"

Despite the reassurances from the brand, some longtime fans over on Reddit were wary about the change — as often happens with reformulations of classic products. While most were in favor of ditching the arguably problematic name Lolita, they hoped the formula and color they loved so much wouldn't stray too far from the original.

I've never tried the Lolita lipstick or any other shade from the original Everlasting line, so I didn't personally understand what all the fuss was about. To help me understand, I tapped a few of my colleagues — all of whom were former Lolita devotees — to try the Queen of Poisons shade and compare it to its predecessor.

Despite their love for the original mauvy hue, deputy digital director Kara McGrath, digital news editor Nicola Dall'Asen, and senior commerce writer Angela Trakoshis all agree that the original formula was very dry. It wasn't exponentially drier than other matte liquid lipsticks on the market at the time, but we have (thankfully) evolved and want better for our lips. The brand's promise that this new formula would be a little gentler on the mouth sounded like a good thing.

Angela wearing Queen of Poisons

Courtesy of subject

A good matte lipstick should be pigmented and long-lasting without sucking every last bit of moisture from your lips — basically, it should feel and look comfortable. And it looks like the Everlasting Hyperlight Liquid Lipstick is living up to the brand's claims. One swipe of the lipstick had Trakoshis time traveling back to her middle school days when the shade was all the rage ("you weren't a cool kid without it"). "This new version is actually comfortable. [The older version] would leave my lips cracking and so dry," Trakoshis shares. "But now it lays clean and really feels like nothing is there."

Kara wearing Queen of Poisons

Courtesy of subject

McGrath concurs that the revamped formula is much nicer on the lips and noticed that the longer she wore it the better it felt. "[It's] almost like the lipstick needs time to settle into and become one with your lips," she says. She pitted the lipstick against a walk in 90-degree weather followed by a buffalo chicken wrap, and the dark mauvy pigment remained. She says the shade might be a little darker than the original but not enough for it to matter.

Dall'Asen was such a fan of the new formula that it might have convinced her to return to wearing KVD lipsticks. "Off the bat, it's easier to spread around and dries down to something a little more velvety and a lot less flaky (seriously, I used to have to wipe Lolita off entirely before reapplying back in the day because it lasted long but didn't layer well)," she says.

Nicola wearing Queen of Poisons

Courtesy of subject

Now how did I feel? Honestly, mauve hues aren't exactly my thing, so I figured regardless I'm not going to fall in love with it. While putting it to the test, I did something potentially risky — I didn't apply any lip balm. I usually like to prep my lips with some moisture before applying matte-liquid lips. Now, my lips weren't as dry as SpongeBob out of the water, so I figured it wouldn't be too bad. And I was right because the moment I swiped on the light liquid formula, my lips felt fine.

Me wearing Queen of Poisons

Courtesy of subject

It has a nice color payoff, and you can continue to layer the formula without worrying about clumpiness. Its mauvey hue looks lighter on my lips than it does in the tube. Speaking of that tube, I'm not feeling the ridged packaging, and I'm not alone. "I do have to mourn the original packaging because I was always a sucker for the hand-drawn tattoo motif. And I'm not super into the new ridged tube, however, the updated doe foot is certainly something to note," Dall'Asen shares. She notes that the applicator is a little smaller and narrower than the original, which she says made it "far easier to control in terms of placement and amount." I'm a fan of the doe foot, as well, because I can use it to line my lips if I'm running out of lip liner.

The defining ingredient that changed it all is dimethicone, according to cosmetic chemist Ginger King. "It offers a silky smooth feel and provides a cushion on skin, lips, or hair," she shares. "It is one of the magic ingredients to give products that instant luxurious feel."

Overall, in our opinion, the Redditors have nothing to fear. KVD's revamped Everlasting Hyperlight Liquid Lipstick is receiving 10s across the board. The Queen of Poisons shade, in particular, stayed true to its predecessor's mauvy hue while giving our lips much-needed relief.

What happened to Kat Von D lipsticks?

KVD Beauty has replaced the cult-favorite Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks created by Kat Von D. The new ones are said to be more comfortable, and don't feature Von D's artwork on the packaging. The makeup brand has also changed Von D's controversial lipstick shade names, including "Lolita."

Did KVD discontinue Everlasting Lipstick?

As of August, the entire Everlasting lipstick line has been replaced with the brand's (now KVD Beauty) new Everlasting Hyperlight Liquid Lipstick.

Is KVD liquid lipstick drying?

It's a thinner formula, more similar to the Lime Crime Plushie liquid lipstick formula. I find it very comfortable to wear, it's not drying at all, and it doesn't feel like I have thick, cakey, crumbly lips.