Liquid Lipsticks: Hourglass & Giorgio Armani

I recently purchased the Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick on a whim. It wasn't much planned, but when I read about it on a few beauty blogs and swatched it at the Sephora Hourglass counter, I thought, hey this must be good. 

Because I already have the Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro in the shade 504, which is a vibrant bright red, I thought I'd go for something a bit more wearable than that. I opted for Hourglass shade in "Muse". It seemed a softer yet still vibrant coral-red. The darker skin toned you are, this shade will probably pop out more. On me, it looks very bright and more red than a soft coral. 

After using it for a few days and discovering so many pros about it, I thought I'd do a little comparison between the Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro and the Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick. In some essence, they are of the same concept. They are more lipsticks than lip glosses that come in gloss-like packaging. They are both intensely pigmented and super creamy on the lips. The glide on like whip cream and give this subtle ground between matte and natural-gloss. They don't make your lips powdery matte, but then again, it doesn't bring out some false gloss to the lips either. They give that wonderful middle ground.

Both are super long-lasting. As long as you aren't eating and drinking with this on, they can probably last up to 10 hours. By that time, it might even tint your lips in that shade. I find however, that the Giorgio Armani lip maestro tints the lips more than the Hourglass Opaque Rouge.

Both also have similar applications. The wand has a little felt tip that makes applying easier. In terms of packaging, I must say that the Giorgio Armani lip maestro looks quite the luxury, but even with the small tube packaging, the Hourglass Opaque Rouge carries chic with it too! Being that there is much more in the Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro, it costs for more... price of $32. The Hourglass Opaque Rouge costs $28.

The more important difference I found between the two was that I found the Hourglass Opaque Rouge much less drying on the lips. The Giorgio Armani lip maestro can get quite drying. I often find that I have put Elizabeth Arden 8hr Cream on, before or after the lipstick application. However, the Hourglass Opaque Rouge doesn't dry out the lips even after you've smacked and puckered up your lips several times. I can't say that they are anything as hydrating as say the Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited or the Burberry Lip Mists but then again, they are of different formulation!