I Tried Amazon’s Bestselling Lip Kit & Here Are The Results

Not since Kylie Jenner first took a dip into the beauty world has a lip kit made this much buzz. We're talking, of course, about Wonderskin’s Wonder Blading Peel & Reveal Lip Colour Kit, a peel-off lip stain that promises to last all day without budging, fading or feathering. If true, it is a veritable gift from the beauty gods, especially in a world with lip colour-ruining face masks. The kit has already been a sell-out success on US Amazon, earning thousands of 5* reviews which – given the harsh world of internet beauty critics – is no mean feat.

But does it really stand up to the hype? With Wonderskin finally launching in the UK, we decided to really put their lip kit to the test. Namely on a night out with friends, food, drinks, dancing and a few kisses; for the full ten-hours that Wonderskin claims their lip kit lasts without top ups.

Here’s how it fared…

Wonderskin’s Wonder Blading Peel Lip Kit is not quite a lip stain, but it’s not quite a lipstick either; it’s somewhere in the middle and combines the best of both, the colour intensity of a lipstick and the staying power of a stain.

Essentially, it's a semi-permanent lip colour with two stages, using something Wonderskin call ‘Liquid Blading Technology’; an easy, at-home alternative to microblading (the semi-permanent tattoo technique that gives you the look of fuller lip colour or eyebrows). First a tube of Lip Masque, which appears a metallic blue-purple shade (not the final colour!), is painted onto the lips and then after a short wait (10 to 45 seconds depending how intense a colour you want), the Activator Spray is applied. After this, the blue-purple masque can be peeled off the lips, revealing a vibrant lip stain.

The gel Lip Masque infuses the top layer of your lips with an ultra-high concentration of pigments. While many other stains often use alcohol-based to leave a long-lasting colour, we love that Wonderskin’s Masque is gel-based and alcohol-free, meaning it shouldn’t dry out your lips (bonus: the entire kit is also vegan, gluten-free, cruelty-free and paraben-free).

After this the Lip Activator mist is designed to trigger a "hyper-stain reaction", basically sealing all the pigments within the Masque onto your lips, so once you peel the blue-purple film off, all the colour is left on you.

I always like to give new products a good sniff when opening them – in all honesty, the way they smell can make or break the experience. While the Lip Masque has an odd, chemical scent, the Activator is fragrance-free. First I applied the Masque onto clean, well-exfoliated lips (I used Lush’s Watermelon Sugar Scrub, £6.50 if you were wondering – shout out to the Harry Styles fans in the house). Swiping the Masque on like a lip gloss was a little odd, if only for the colour – I felt like I was putting on a Halloween look.

For my first trial I opted for a lighter stain, leaving the Masque on for just 10 to 15 seconds before spraying with the Activator, using the small towel that comes in the pack under my chin. The combination did leave my lips tingling a little, but nothing too uncomfortable; rather I found the spray left an oddly sweet taste on my lips which I didn’t enjoy, but wasn’t a deal breaker. All I needed was to swill my mouth out with water after.

With the spray on, the Masque does quickly transform into a light film that can be peeled off, just not in one easy go like the promo pictures suggest (here’s where the towel really becomes useful).

My first time applying the Lip Kit, I was pleasantly surprised with the initial result. While I had chosen Romance, which is billed as a cool rose shade, it rather left my lips a warm berry pink; a vibrant flush, like my natural lips, just a little more intense and without any bleeding into the fine lines around my mouth.

First impressions aside, I really wanted to put the Lip Kit to the test, wearing it for a full ten hours – the amount of time Wonderskin promises that you can wear the kit for, without touch ups. A day out in London for a boozy, bottomless, birthday brunch with friends I haven’t seen in months seemed like the perfect opportunity. For this occasion, I left the stain on for longer – the full 45 seconds – for a deeper, more intense stain.

Yes, there was nothing smeared on the inside of my mask, despite pulling my mask on and off several times.

Yes, more than a couple bottomless mimosas proved no match for my lips – there were no annoying marks left on my glass, as there often are with lipstick.

Yes, I didn’t notice any odd, pink marks on my food.

Despite my journalistic integrity, I’m single and not going to go about snogging random strangers in the bar during a pandemic. Drunken kisses of friends’ cheeks in the girls’ loos did prove the stain to be kiss-proof, though.

Splashing my face at the end of the day didn’t dislodge the stain, but I’ll have to wait for another heatwave and a trip to the beach to fully test this one.

At the end of the ten hours, the colour is definitely still there and there is still no bleeding, but as my lips have dried out the stain has clung to the dry patches on my lips, which has left my lips looking a little tight and drawn, You definitely need to thoroughly exfoliate your lips before using this one, and then lip balm on top to keep my lips looking full and vibrant all day. Next time I would probably opt for Glossier’s Balm Dotcom in Cherry, £10 to amp up the sweet, berry shade of the stain.

First I tried my usual double cleanse (Caudalie’s Micellar Cleansing Water, £9 and CeraVe’s Hydrating Cleanser, £7.60) to no success and even after a good scrub with a makeup remover wipe, there was definitely still a distinct stain left on my lips. You’ll need a strong oil-based cleanser to budge this stuff. I recommend Glossier’s Milky Oil, £10 or DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, 24.00.

Odd as it might seem to apply the blue-purple Masque, you need to properly layer it up, leaving no patchiness as this will translate to your final stain. The first time I trialled the Lip Kit, I ended up applying a second coat to get full coverage.

After a few uses of the lip stain, I found that applying it first – before the rest of my makeup – worked best. This way, the Activator spray doesn’t dislodge your base, especially if you need to use the towel to wipe away the Masque.

In the UK you can buy the lip kit from Amazon or Wonderskin.com.

Aside from Wonderskin’s Blading Peel Lip Kit, there are several other great lip stains on the market. Dior’s Addict Lip Tattoo, £28 applies like a lip gloss that then dries down to a stain, but doesn’t dry lips out thanks to the squalane and glycerin packed into the formula. Packing another punch of moisture is the Aqua Beauty Radiant Gel Lip Stain by e.l.f, £14.11 which is enriched with purified water, rose water and vitamin E for a moisturising, cooling feel. If you’re looking for a little more from your lip stain, we also love MILK Makeup’s Glow Oil Lip & Cheek, £24. Packed into a handy tube, this one’s great for on-the-go beauty and touch ups.