I tried Kylie Jenner's new lipstick and found that it's just as dry and overpriced as the original

Though I consider myself to be a beauty fanatic, I didn't jump on the Kylie Cosmetics craze when it first began. I instead stuck with my favorite drugstore products, and quietly patted myself on the back for saving money.

Admittedly, I've been curious about her lipsticks ever since, and I became even more intrigued when last month, Jenner announced that her brand reformulated the iconic products — along with the rest of her namesake makeup line — to be "clean" and vegan.

That being said, I decided that now is the time to finally put her liquid lipsticks to the test.

In early July, I ran to Ulta Beauty and bought one of the only original Kylie Cosmetics lipsticks they had left — an orange-toned shade called Heat. The iconic lip kits, of course, were sold out.

About two weeks later, Kylie Cosmetics launched its new products online, and I ordered a similar shade called 22 to compare to the original one.

The most noticeable difference between the two upon first glance is their packaging. The original clear tube has a black cap, a drip pattern, and a print of Jenner's autograph. The new clear bottle has a pink cap, an updated drip design, and the Kylie Cosmetics logo printed in silver on top.

Personally, I prefer the new packaging. The original, in my opinion, screams 2016, while the newer version looks fun and elevated.

When I first swiped the Kylie Cosmetics lipstick across my lips, I was surprised by how smooth it felt. Its orange color was bright and opaque with only one coat, and I had no trouble staying inside the lines of my lips without a liner.

But the lipstick dried almost immediately, making any touch-ups near impossible. That also meant I could feel it settling in the fine lines of my lips, which was pretty uncomfortable.

I also wasn't crazy about its vanilla-cake scent. It was nice at first but quickly became too strong and overpowering, in my opinion.

About an hour after applying the product, I headed to lunch. Unfortunately, the lipstick was no match for soda and greasy McDonald's food.

Of course, it held up better than a cream product would have, but the lipstick still smudged, crumbled, and slowly began to disintegrate.

Things only got worse by the end of the day. I checked in after about eight hours — when its dryness became almost unbearable — and noticed that the lipstick faded to a lighter shade and all but disappeared from some spots on my lips.

My first reaction to the updated formula was relief — the lipstick had no scent, which immediately made for a better application experience.

But that feeling quickly turned to disappointment. Unlike the original formula, there was no smoothness to be found in the product, even when first applied. Instead, in my experience, it immediately settled into every fine line and felt like it cracked when I moved my lips.

On the bright side, I absolutely loved the vibrant hue of the lipstick, which I felt was pretty similar to the Heat shade.

To make sure my comparisons were fair, I decided to get the same lunch while wearing the newer lipstick.

In my experience, my lipstick made it through the meal pretty much unscathed, and it wasn't until approximately two hours in that I noticed some slight smudging and cracking.

Later in the day, after wearing the lipstick for about eight hours, I was ready to take it off.

On the surface, the lipstick looked OK. It hadn't faded or cracked as much as the original formula did after a day of wear, and it actually looked decent from a distance. But up close, I could tell that it was starting to bleed outside the lines of my lips, and it became so dry that it was just uncomfortable to wear.

As COVID-19 cases have started to rise again across the US, I've gone back to wearing a surgical mask in addition to a cloth one. But because the fabrics sit tightly against my face, I've found that at least a little bit of my makeup always transfers.

Both formulas of the Kylie Cosmetics lipsticks, however, stayed put on my lips. My lipstick looked the same before and after wearing the masks, and not even the smallest bit transferred onto the fabric.

I wear makeup almost every day, so I really appreciate when brands make an effort to improve even their best-selling products. I'm also always happy to replace my makeup with vegan alternatives.

So when it comes to Kylie Cosmetics' original lipstick formula versus its new one, I prefer the latter. It lasts longer on my lips, in my experience, and I love its baby-pink packaging.

Unfortunately, I still can't justify the product's $17 price tag when it feels so dry and uncomfortable on the lips.

I was willing to suffer through those feelings when liquid lipsticks first became popular in 2016. But it's 2021 now, and I value comfort above just about any makeup trend.

Of course, matte lipsticks can be a bit dry by nature, and liquid formulas often settle in the fine lines of your lips. But they shouldn't be a pain to wear. Just look at Maybelline's Super Stay Matte Ink line. I've been wearing them for years, and at $9 per lipstick, they've never let me down.

I'm definitely open to trying more Kylie Cosmetics products in the future, and I'm even confident that the brand is capable of making great lip products.

But when it comes to the brand's famous liquid lipsticks, I think my original instinct was right — I was better off sticking with products from the drugstore.