Review & Swatches: Wet'n'Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in 'Dark Wine' 522A

This is probably the last dark and bold shade of lipstick I'm posting about this winter; to be honest, after last week's snow storm, I'm feeling a bit over the cold season (snowboarding excluded). I've posted about the Wet'n'Wild Silk Finish lipsticks before (swatches of the summery 'Hot Paris Pink' shade here), and for $.0.99, I really do think they're the perfect drugstore pick-me-up. I just wish Wet'n'Wild came out with more cream finish shades!

As you can see, the packaging really does look quite cheap, and I've never been brave enough to just throw these in my purse for a longer time - the bullet is a bit wobbly inside the tube. I'd also prefer Wet'n'Wild put the name of the shade instead of number on the bottom of the tube. I like however how they come packaged in this protective plastic film, no unsanitary surprises here (hello, Rimmel!).

The formula is creamy and comfortable on the lips, and doesn't feel too drying at the end of the day; Wet'n'Wild states these are enriched with conditioning ingredients such as Vitamins A&E and Aloe Vera. Without eating and little drinking and a more thorough application (working the lipstick into the lips, blotting, applying again), it lasts about 4-5 hours on my lips - or more, I cannot really go without eating for more than 5 hours, even for the blog testing reasons :)


The shade 'Dark Wine' 522A is actually not as dark as I'd expected, it's more of a darkened, slightly dirtier pink with red/brown tones. I think this would be a good choice for someone just venturing into the world of bold lips, even more so because the investment is really minimal. For me, a bold lip lover, it's all right - a bit less bright than I would like, somehow it doesn't lift my face the same way Sleek Make-up Cherry does, for example.

As you can see below, the lipstick can be also lightly worked into the lips for a pretty yellow-toned pink stain; below is the full-on opaque lip swatch for comparison. For swatches on a different skintone, check out Citrine's review here.

I really like these Wet'n'Wild Silk Finish lipsticks, the value for money just cannot be beat. I have my eye on two more shades, but honestly can't justify the purchase right now - my lipstick drawer doesn't close anymore! Have you tried these lipsticks? What are your favorite shades?