Matte Me dupe? (Note vs Sleek)

A while ago I went to Alanya, Turkey on a vacation. I scored a bunch of beauty products there, mainly lipproducts, and have reviewed all of them up until now with the exception of one. I probably was excited by this one the most!

Does the packaging not remind you of the Sleek Matte Me lip creams?! The packaging is almost identical! I scored this MatteMoist Lipgloss by Note Cosmetics for about 15TL or less (around €5). You do, however, get a bit more product (0.5ml) from Sleek!

I am still not sure where this brand is from. I initially thought it was a Turkish brand (the main website is also in Turkish), but then I saw lots of Thai and Indian girls on social media sporting their products. Also, on the packaging it mentions Italy, despite of the Turkish/English descriptions.

I saw a color that looked pretty much the same as Sleek's "Birthday Suit", but decided to opt for a different color instead! I went for 401 Matnude. Note that I did not actually realize I had purchased a lipgloss, not a liquid lipstick or cream, until after my review.

Note Mattemoist Lipgloss 401 Matnude (left) Sleek Matte Me 436 Birthday Suit (right) w/out flash

Note Mattemoist Lipgloss 401 Matnude (left), Sleek Matte Me 436 Birthday Suit (right) w/ flash

Note Mattemoist Lipgloss 401 Matnude (left), Sleek Matte Me 436 Birthday Suit (right)

The first thing I noticed was the difference in consistency. Surprisingly, the Mattemoist Lipgloss is way creamier in texture than the actual Matte Me Lipcream. On the picture you can hardly tell a difference aside from the color. But in my books, Sleek has definitely won this battle. First off, a matte lipgloss sounds pretty contradicting to me. With its rather thick consistency, I would have rather opted for calling it a liquid lipstick, or lipcream.  Secondly, it took way too long for the product to dry up (especially compared to Sleek's), and still slightly transferred onto my skin after doing so. Thus, no long-lasting finish!

Pros Note Mattemoist Lipgloss

♡ I really liked the nude-ish color selection

♡ Feels nice on the lips (not drying)

♡ Easy to apply

Cons Note Mattemoist Lipgloss

♡ Takes too long to dry (for the "matte" effect)

♡ Does not last long

♡ Not widely available

♡ A bit pricey for what it does

All-in-all, I think it is a nice lipgloss, but it definitely does not deliver or serve anything special to the table. For the same price you can either score the Matte Me Lipcream by Sleek, or two XXL Longlasting Lipglosses by Essence (pretty much the same consistency and effect).

Lobi,