Review and swatches: Silk Naturals Kisser Slickers

I decided I needed some sort of balm-lipstick hybrid for work – something extremely moisturising, fairly long-lasting that would impart a bit of colour but wear off evenly. Tall order, I know! I decided to try out Silk Naturals Kisser Slickers. These come in a selection of both vegan and non-vegan (which I think contain carmine? Ah, no, a quick peek at the ingredients list on the product page tells me the non-vegan ones contain beeswax.) The colours are separated into vegan and not, which makes browsing really simple! At time of posting Silk Naturals offers 48 non-vegan colours and 16 vegan ones. There's a butt-ton of brand 'colour clones' i.e dupes available as well.

The first one I ordered was called Nectar, which is apparently a dupe of Clinique’s Black Honey. I’ve never owned it but have read Joeybunny’s ode to it, and it sounded like just the thing. It does indeed look a bit not-work-appropriate in the tube, but goes on SO NICE.

The Kisser Slickers (I am so sorry Silk Naturals but I really, really dislike the name of theses! I’m going to abbreviate it to KS from now on) have this incredible formula that feels just like a really good balm. They’re soft and slippy without being runny or waxy. They’re so incredibly moisturising and the colour descriptions are extremely accurate! Don’t be fooled by the tube, the colours are sheer enough to be flattering, but have enough colour that you can justify owning several different ones. After using and loving Nectar I purchased two other colours AND the clear version to wear to bed at night. Yes, the formula IS that good! The other two I purchased were deeply tinted, non-shimmery so I have a few shimmery ones on my wish list to buy next. These also work with a little gloss over the top if you do want to add shimmer – I have layered Venomous Cosmetics glosses over these without a problem, though it does knock down the moisture factor a little bit.

The only downside to these wonderful balm/glosses is the packaging. Don't get me wrong - I adore the slimline tubes and I think that the labels are just the right mix of simple and cute. However, once you have more than a few of them...

You have to actually pick them up and search for the name to tell them apart. If I could change ONE thing about the KS's it would be to add something to the packaging to make them easier to identify.

A lot of these are ‘dupes’ for high-end products, none of which I own, but for and considering how wonderful the KS’s are to wear, I plan on buying a whole lot more ‘dupes’ AND original Silk Naturals colours.

My lips for comparison (with the Clear shade on, to show you the shine level, and also because I thought it would be funny to 'swatch' the Clear shade... man I need to get out of the house more).

Nectar, "Sheer deep red/brown".

Shh... don't tell the others but I think this is my favourite shade (so far).

Berry Nice, "Sheer raspberry" (a dupe of Bobbi Brown's Raspberry Lip Gloss).

Helloooo sloppy application!

Rare Berry, "Strawberry red".


Hand swatches for more direct colour comparison!

And tube shots, just because.

So now down to brass tacks (what a weird saying. What would be modern version be? "Get down to business?" Because that always sounds a bit dirty to me): the price. Indie lip products can vary all over the shop (snort) in price and sometimes for me, trying out a new product can be scary, not only because of the price but also because shipping to Australia can sometimes take over a month, what with postal madness and indie TATs combined. I am happy to say that Silk Naturals proved to be one of the faster shippers I have dealt with. I'm even happier to tell you that the KS's will set you back $4.50, or $4.25 for the Clear version. YES, FOUR DOLLARS FIFTY CENTS U.S WHICH MEANS SOMETIMES IT'S CHEAPER FOR AUSSIES.

BRB, compiling a massive wishlist of colours.