Review: High Voltage Lip Whips

Due to recent customer service complaints, long order waits, orders going missing and ingredient inconsitencies, I can no longer recommend High Voltage Cosmetics.

I'd been waiting for High Voltage to re-release the Lip Whips for ages, so I was really keen to try these bad boys out! I'd heard they were like a very pigmented gloss - the nearest comparison I can give them is the OCC Lip Tars. More on that later. I picked up four to try out.


Girl from Mars:




HV says: A dark wine red with bursts of orange.
I say: It's a very dark wine red! To me it's quite a bit darker than the swatch on the website - it's very vampy on me! I don't see the orange bursts either, but I'm happy otherwise. Totally bought this for the name, I presume it's named after this baby!

Lil Devil:


Flash, no flash.

HV Says: light and bright orange(great for blondes/redheads).
I say: Certainly a great colour for my skin/hair. Though I personally suit orange, I know a lot of natural red heads who struggle wearing it and I can see this working on natural red heads too. I'd personally see it as more of a terracotta-y orange than a bright orange though. Again, I bought it for the name - lovelovelove that song!

She's Got The Look:


Forgot to take a no-flash picture, whoopsie.

HV says: Creamy coraly pink orange
I say: Creamy coraly pink orange! Easily my favourite of the four. This was recommended to me by Pixie_a_la_mode - thanks dood. This and Lil Devil lasted really well on me. I applied both about 8:00, and after several cups of tea and lunch, I had to touch up about 3:00pm. Pretty good!

Ultra Violet:


Flash, no flash.

HV says: A beautiful slightly metallic bright pinky-purple!
I say: I think it's a lot more on the lavender side. I love the colour but I'm not sure how I would wear it yet. Purple smokey eye, probably! This shade doesn't dry down quite as much as the others, probably due to it's more metallic finish.

So, the important question is obviously how do they compare to OCC Lip Tars? Well, I only have one Lip Tar, NSFW, which I like well enough but not being rich enough to buy loads for mixing, I haven't been that fussed about repurchasing. So please take my comparisons with a pinch of salt. I'm no OCC expert only owning one, but from what I've seen/read they all perform pretty much the same.

OCC Lip Tars are meant for mixing. The High Voltage site also says 'lip whips can be mixed to create new and stunning shades!'



She's Got The Look mixed with Ultra Violet.


Girl From Mars mixed with Lil Devil.

Yeah, they mix pretty good! As for the 'little goes a long way' thing:




Yeah, a little goes a long way - I didn't have room on my hand to spread them out further and they certainly would have done. I'd say you probably need less of an OCC Lip Tar, but regardless of how much I use of NSFW, I can't get the bloody thing to not feather, which is something I've never suffered from before.

Other boring things:

-Both have a light peppermint scent. I prefer the HV scent but there's not much in it.
-Lip Tars cost around £8-9/$13 for 8ml, Lip Whips cost $6.25 (approximately £3.80) for 7ml. So HV is a shitload cheaper!
-OCC has more colours, but High Voltage do make custom colours if you ask.
-Lips Whips are cruelty free, vegan and paraben free. Lip Tars are cruelty free, vegan and paraben free. They both contain Vitamin E for keeping lips lovely.
-Lip Whips contain Sesame Oil - just a heads up for those with allergies!
-OCC Lip Tars have a slightly runnier texture than the Lip Whips but they have a similar feeling on the lips.
-Both products need to be applied with a lip brush.
-I find they have a similar longevity.

Overall... yeah, Lip Whips win. They're cheaper, they don't feather, they have better names (yeah, I am that guy. Sorry!) and I do prefer to support smaller businesses where I can. I basically want them all. Now.