Kjaer Weis is marketed as a very high end, organic makeup line that boasts stunning packaging, which is also refillable. This makes the initial purchase a once off and then you can continue to fill the packaging with the colours they offer. I bought their new release gift set for Christmas as well as some samples. They do have more shades, but as these are the only ones without carmine, they will be the only ones I try until they bring out new shades.

The website states these lipsticks have:

Moisturizing, organic ingredients like shea butter and jojoba oil are activated with the warmth of your lips, keeping them smooth and drenched in color

Organic Certification:

Of the agriculturally derived ingredients in this product, a minimum 95% comes from organic farming.
(*Disclaimer: The colors Empower, Love, and KW Red use the same formulation as other Kjaer Weis Lipsticks, but also contain small amounts of artificial pigment and are thus not certified organic. The stringent standards of the CCPB will not certify these colors, but the good news is these artificial pigments account for less than 1% of the total product formula. The remaining 99% of our non-certified products still contain the cleanest, most luxurious organic and natural elements found on the market.)

Ingredients:

Expiration:

12 months after opening

Pricing:

$56.00 US for the refillable packaging and the lipstick. The refill alone is $36.00 US. At least it is a good size at 4.5ml or 0.15oz.

In Australia, it’s $78.00 AUS for both and $46.00 AUS for the refill. Yikes!

I bought the gift set, ‘Lipstick à Deux’ for 72 pounds, which converts to about $120.00 AUS (Still a better deal than almost $160.00 AUS for two lipsticks). Even better considering the gift set isn’t available in Australia and I’m not sure whether it will be.

Packaging:

It comes in a heavy, good quality cardboard box, in the signature Kjaer Weis red. Inside your two lipsticks are safely encased by black foam with the label beside them. I won’t lie, it looks spectacular and is the perfect present because of how high end it looks.

The bullets are thick and heavy silver metal that have Kjaer Weis engraved on the bottom and again their logo set on the slanted top. They feel extremely well made. The quality matches their price tag. The name of the shade is at the bottom. You’ll find the logo again, imprinted on the front of the lipstick itself. This way it’ll stay looking pretty for a while, until you wear it down.

Texture:

KW Red and Brilliant are so dry. When I tried to swatch them they didn’t feel creamy at all. This makes it very hard to spread them evenly but it can be done with more pressure and patience. It took a little for them to warm and even then they’re not emollient like a balm. The two samples were much better, but I took those out of the pot with a little spatula and then was able to work them into my lips. I do think because they aren’t a true matte finish they should be better (in theory). Good news though, they barely have a scent. Maybe a tiny bit sweet and you also can’t smell the oils very much. Probably the least scented lipstick I’ve purchased so far.

Opacity:

They say it’ll warm up on application but it takes a while. It feels much more like using a drier crayon on your lips. Brilliant is easier to apply. They both skip because the bullet stays dry and it takes very careful application to get even coverage. I find it best to work in short strokes to line your lips first. They may be dry but the pigment is amazing. None of these start off sheer. The impact of all shades is apparent from the moment you apply, especially KW Red. You only need a little bit to achieve full coverage.

Swatches:

KW Red, Brilliant, Love & Empower

Brilliant

A warm nude lipstick with a tinge of pretty apricot

Brilliant is a nude, that is a little warm and peachy on me. It’s not too light but I would still balance it out with some bold, black eye makeup. It wears and feels very matte and in this way it feels a little flat for me. I’d prefer to wear a balm underneath as it feels drying and isn’t creamy enough to make my lips look their absolute best.

KW Red

Inspired by our classic red packaging, KW Red defies trends and flatters all skintones

The colour is almost spot on, just with a hint of berry.

In terms of applying this, it was by far my least favourite to apply. It’s so dry. It doesn’t warm up easily and because of this, it skips over my lips and it takes very, very careful short swipes to fill in all my fine lines. Once I rubbed my lips together a few times though, the colour comes together and looks fine.

The pigment though .. I haven’t used a lipstick with so much oopmh ever. The colour is so bold and you only need a tiny amount to have it looking opaque. This is a slight problem as you need more to have it feeling moisturising on the lips. Again, I think with a balm underneath, it would work much better.

This was also the hardest to take off. I had to wash my lips with cleanser and scrub them. The shade will stain and is likely one of the longest wearing shades I’ve tried so far.

Love 

A spirited, bright coral color perfect for pale to dark skin tones

They say spirited, I say neon. A true coral in every sense, but it’s almost too bright for my tastes.

I don’t know if it was because it was a sample but applying with a spatula made it a lot easier to spread. It also wears more satin, not a true matte, but in no way glossy. I did find that it felt like the product had tiny hard bits in it, like clumps of oil or wax that hadn’t been melted properly.

Empower

Instantly brighten any complexion with this universally flattering hot pink

It is indeed a hot pink. I think it pulls a little purple on me too.

By far the easiest to apply. It was slightly creamier and has the glossiest finish out of the bunch. It’s also not quite as strongly pigmented, but still packs quite the punch.

PROS:

• Packaging – not only is it the best I’ve tried, it’s refillable. This saves on waste, money and resources. It looks the most stunning, sturdy and of high quality
• Organic
• Extremely strong pigment
• For me it’s pretty much unscented
• Every colour suited me
• They will last a long time

CONS:

• Price – it’s a lot of money to invest in an item, especially one that isn’t skin care
• One of my least favourite formulations. It’s too dry
• Not vegan
• Empower, Love, Brilliant and KW Red are the only shades that do not contain carmine
• Empower and Love aren’t my favourite shades
• Not moisturising enough on their own
• Small amount of dyes

Final Word:

I don’t want to be negative but if I’m paying that much money for a lipstick, I want the whole experience to be amazing. It was such a treat to open a beautiful, expensive looking box, to even more expensive and high end looking products. It’s a different experience putting them on though. I like the ease of one swipe colour, that is moisturising as opposed to drying. These take a little more effort. Your lips would have to be flake free, you might need a balm underneath and you have to take care when applying them.

I’ve tried other colours, which had beautiful opacity and felt better on my lips. That said, if you like matte lipstick, then KW Red and Brilliant have that covered. I don’t think I’ve found a better matte shade with that intensity.

Updated Thoughts

Now that I’ve tried a lot of matte lipsticks, I have to say, I prefer that Kjaer Weis have kept theirs feeling light, without tackiness. In particular the formula for KW Red is great, if you want a long lasting lipstick without the fear of it bleeding or ending up on your teeth

Information taken from: Official website

Updated 28/10/2019