The Gerard Cosmetics Hydra-Matte Liquid Lipsticks are widely popular on YouTube and social media. It's a rare occasion where I don't see one of these in an Instagram post or makeup tutorial on YouTube. So, I was intrigued - are these really worth the hype?

You can buy the Hydra-Matte Liquid Lipsticks from GerardCosmetics.com for $20 each. Originally, I was put off by the price, because that's double the price of the Australis Velour Lips, and they are seemingly the same product. However, I saw a discount code of 40% on their Instagram, so I figured I'd give them a shot at this new discounted price ($12.00 each). Shipping was also free, which is a massive bonus for those of us who live in Australia! So, with all of this in tow, I added 'Serenity', 'Cher', and 'Ecstasy' to my shopping cart.

The lipsticks took a little over two weeks to arrive, which isn't a massive surprise, as most international packages tend to take that long. I will say, though, it was a little weird not to receive an invoice directly to my email or anything. The only way you can access an invoice is by logging into the Gerard Cosmetics website - something that they could work on. I like having my own copy of an invoice directly to my emails, because it's what I access the most.

The box that they shipped it in, too, could use a little work. It was a flimsy, white cardboard box, which had obviously been crushed during shipment. Obviously, they cannot control what happens to their packages once they have been sent, but a more sturdy (and perhaps branded) box would suffice.

Upon opening the box, everything was packaged in bubble wrap (thank God, or who knows what condition they could have been in!). Upon unwrapping the liquid lipsticks, I noticed there was a bonus product thrown in. It was one of their Star Powders in 'Sophia', which is a nice, sheer gold highlighter. I'll discuss that product in another post, but it was a lovely bonus.

The liquid lipsticks, as you can see in the first picture, are packaged in a frosted plastic tube, with a gold lid. It may be hard to see, but the gold lid is where the branding is, and the plastic has nothing on it at all, which makes it easy to see the colours. However, I did find it a little hard to distinguish the colours, but that is largely due to the fact that they are so close in colour. The shades are best described as follows:

Overall, I am largely impressed by these shades. I am interested in trying more - 'Iced Mocha' and 'Everything Nice' in particular. I think that the discounted price of $12 does suit them a lot better than the normal $20 - I think that it's just too expensive, and I'd be more inclined to try a higher-end brand at that price range.

If you'd like to try them out, you can see them here. Make sure to add the code 'Gerard40' for 40% off your total (though I'm not sure how long this will be valid).

This post is not sponsored, in case you were wondering. I purchased these products myself under my full name, and so Gerard Cosmetics did not know who I was or whether I was reviewing them or not. Just wanted to clear that up!