The original chubby lip pencil that inspired a thousand imitations. Three inspirations, eight shades, one jumbo sharpener — and Lipstick Queen's name written in Chinese down the side.
The Chinatown Glossy Pencil has been discontinued along with the wider Lipstick Queen range. The pencil format — with its distinctive jumbo sharpener and film noir box artwork — is easily identifiable on eBay and Poshmark. Thriller and Chase surface most consistently. Confirm the included sharpener is present on secondhand listings. We recommend the alternatives below as your best ongoing options.
Chinatown launched in 2009 as the most formally experimental product in the Lipstick Queen range — the first major brand offering of what is now called the chubby lip pencil format. "The original chubby lip pencil that inspired a thousand imitations," as its own later marketing acknowledged. It predated the now-ubiquitous jumbo pencil gloss by several years, and the format was so influential that virtually every beauty brand subsequently released their own version. Clinique's Chubby Stick, the dozens of NYX and Mac pencil glosses, the entire category of twist-up fat pencil glosses — the lineage runs back to Chinatown.
The product was three things simultaneously: lip balm, lip gloss, and lip liner. Applied as a balm (one swipe), it delivered a barely-there conditioning wash of colour. Applied as a gloss (two to three swipes), it delivered a sheer pop of vivid colour — the brights were genuinely vibrant despite the sheerness. Applied as a liner (using the pencil tip), it outlined precisely. Each came with a custom jumbo-sized sharpener. And it was the only Lipstick Queen product to bear the brand's name in Chinese characters down the pencil's side — a visual nod to its neighbourhood origins, the street vendor energy of Canal Street, and the kooky, dense-with-meaning world of Roman Polanski's 1974 film.
Poppy King launched Chinatown in 2009 with a story that was simultaneously geographic, cinematic, and commercial. In her own words: "Our Lipstick Queen offices in New York are on the border of Chinatown and Tribeca. Everyday I get off at Canal Street subway and marvel at the kookiness of the products on offer. And one of my favourite movies is Roman Polanski's Chinatown. All of which served as inspiration for my Chinatown Glossy Pencils. Kooky and fun with bright colours in a super sheer, super moisturising 'draw on' gloss. Gloss in a jumbo-sized pencil. Welcome to Chinatown, baby!"
The three inspirations layered perfectly. Canal Street was the context — the neighbourhood where the extraordinary sits alongside the mundane, where you can buy anything, where the visual density of the street markets and the product stalls had its own kind of exhilarating kookiness. Roman Polanski's 1974 film provided the second layer — the shade names (Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Genre, Chase) were all drawn from the thriller/noir vocabulary, and the box artwork for each pencil carried film noir-inspired illustrations in the "grindhouse feel" described by Musings of a Muse. The Lipstick Queen offices in Tribeca provided the biographical anchor — this was not a generic concept but a product literally rooted in where Poppy King came to work every morning.
The product's commercial legacy was its format. Chinatown arrived before the chubby lip pencil was a recognised category — it predated Clinique's Chubby Stick (2011) by two years, and the format it pioneered became so widely imitated that "the original chubby lip pencil that inspired a thousand imitations" became part of its own official product description. Walmart's listing noted: "the original chubby lip pencil" as a distinguishing descriptor. The category Chinatown created is now one of the most crowded in the lip category.
Chinatown launched in 2009 with five vivid sheer brights — each named after a noir/thriller concept — and expanded in 2013 with three softer nudes and pinks to address the "pastel trend" and the growing demand for wearable everyday options. The two eras had distinctly different personalities.
The Chinatown format combined three conventional lip product categories into a single, no-bag-rummaging pencil format. In 2009, this was genuinely novel. The "chubby" dimension — a pencil much wider than a conventional lip liner — made application as easy and relaxed as drawing on the lips rather than applying lipstick with precision. The included jumbo sharpener addressed the obvious objection (how do you sharpen something this wide?) and became itself a signature feature.
The format's key innovation was its accessibility for bold colours. As the brand noted: "You can wear shades in this formula that you would never be able to wear in a full-coverage lip colour." The sheer formula meant that Crime (hot pink), Mystery (vibrant purple), and Genre (bright orange) were all genuinely wearable as everyday options — the formulas' transparency ensured the boldest shades looked like a vivid flush rather than an applied colour, eliminating the intimidation factor that usually accompanied brights.
The Chinatown formula was built on the same Castor Seed Oil and Candelilla Wax base as most of the Lipstick Queen lipstick range, but calibrated specifically for the pencil format and the high-gloss, semi-transparent finish. The wax system — Candelilla, Beeswax, and Ozokerite — was firmer than a pure gloss base to allow the pencil to hold its shape and be sharpened without crumbling, while remaining soft enough to glide on the lips without dragging.
The nourishing complex featured four conditioning actives. Shea Butter (Butyrospermum Parkii) provided the primary emollient protection and conditioning. Mango Seed Butter (Mangifera Indica) added richness and the "buttery" texture reviewers consistently noted. Meadowfoam Seed Oil (Limnanthes Alba) contributed the lightweight conditioning film that made the formula comfortable without heaviness. The formula's most distinctive active was Rosemary Leaf Extract (Rosmarinus Officinalis) — an antioxidant extract confirmed in Lola's Secret Beauty Blog's ingredient list. Rosemary extract is rich in rosmarinic acid and caffeic acid, providing free-radical protection and contributing to the formula's "antioxidant-rich" quality that distinguished Chinatown from conventional gloss formulas.
The sheerness came from the relatively low pigment concentration — five to ten percent pigment, comparable to the Saint lipstick formula — combined with the Hydrogenated Olive Oil and Sunflower Seed Oil base that created a naturally translucent carrier. Titanium Dioxide was used for opacity adjustment in lighter shades; the brighter shades relied primarily on Lakes (Red 7, Red 30) for their vivid colour. The overall formula was fragrance-free and unscented, consistent with Lipstick Queen's range-wide policy.
As listed at Lola's Secret Beauty Blog (Chase variant) and confirmed by Beautyholics Anonymous and Monroe Misfit Makeup:
Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Vegetable Oil (Olus/Huile Vegetale), Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax (Candelilla Cera/Cire De Candelilla), Beeswax (Cera Alba/Cire D'Abeille), Ozokerite, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Plukenetia Volubilis (Sacha Inchi) Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Olive Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Red 30 Lake (CI 73360).
Highlighted ingredients are key actives. Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract is the formula's most distinctive active — rich in rosmarinic acid for antioxidant protection. It is the only LQ product in the range to include Rosemary Extract specifically. Plukenetia Volubilis (Sacha Inchi) Seed Oil — pressed from Peruvian Sacha Inchi seeds — is another unusual inclusion, providing Omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid) in high concentration; this ingredient does not appear in other LQ formulas confirmed in this series. Shea Butter, Mango Seed Butter, Meadowfoam Seed Oil and Hydrogenated Olive Oil together constitute the conditioning complex. Fragrance-free. Pigment load varies by shade; brighter shades use Red 7 Lake and Red 30 Lake at higher concentration. Titanium Dioxide adjusts opacity in lighter/nude shades.
Three chubby pencils that carry the Chinatown spirit — the same "lip balm, gloss, and liner in one" convenience, the same sheer-but-buildable vivid colour, and the same effortless all-in-one format that Chinatown pioneered.
Chinatown's most direct descendant — and the product that proved the format Chinatown pioneered could be a mass-market bestseller. Clinique's Chubby Stick launched in 2011, two years after Chinatown, and immediately became one of the brand's fastest-selling launches. The formula closely mirrors Chinatown's principles: Castor Oil and Shea Butter base, buildable sheer colour, the same "lip balm that happens to have colour" wearing quality. The shade range is broader and includes both vivid brights (comparable to the original Chinatown range) and soft nudes (comparable to the 2013 additions). It does not include a sharpener but is a twist-up format.
For fans of the Chinatown pencil's liner application specifically — those who used the sharpened tip for precise line-work before filling in — Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat is the most precise ongoing alternative for the precision function. The formula is conditioning and comfortable (unlike most conventional liners), the shade range is extensive, and the Pillow Talk shade sits in the same warm-nude-pink territory as Cameo and Pink Bluff. The key difference is format (standard liner width rather than chubby), which makes it better as a pure liner and less effective as a standalone all-in-one product.
For fans of the Chinatown vivid brights specifically — those who loved Crime (hot pink), Mystery (purple), or Thriller (scarlet red) — NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil delivers the most sophisticated vivid colour in the pencil format. The shade range includes Dragon Girl (vivid scarlet-red, comparable to Thriller), Schiap (shocking pink, comparable to Crime), and Cruella (deep berry-red). The formula is more pigmented and matte than Chinatown's glossy sheer formula, but delivers the same "pencil as lipstick" convenience with the same no-liner-needed ease of application. Includes a sharpener.
"Chase is lightweight and moisturizing, with the antioxidant-rich formula nourishing the lips deeply. Several hours of wear time before reapplication. Lip balm, lip gloss and lip liner in one."
This is a lightweight and moisturizing balmy lip gloss that offers sheer buildable colour. The formula isn't so emollient that it wears away too fast — there's the perfect amount of cushion for maximum comfort. Furthermore, there is no discernible taste or fragrance, and I experience several hours of wear-time before the need to reapply. If you love the idea of combining your lip balm, lip gloss and lip liner into one gorgeous, chubby pencil — give Lipstick Queen Chinatown Glossy Pencils a try.
"Thriller reminded me of Benetint except this formula is more hydrating and I don't need that additional gloss layer on top. The box artwork gives you the grindhouse feel."
I was expecting the pencil to be much harder than the company lets on, or to crumble and break when any pressure is applied. Yet somehow neither of these occurred and the pencil went on smoothly and softly without breaking. The colour left behind was very sheer with a semi-glossy finish. The sheer formula is a great way to ease yourself into wearing a bolder lip colour — I thought these wouldn't show up on my pigmented lips, but they're surprisingly buildable. The box art is genuinely beautiful, with thrilling little scenes on each one.
"Pink Bluff is the definition of 'my lips but better.' A perfect balance of dusty pink and nude. Natural-looking without the Silly Putty problem. I used my original Chase pencil down to a stub."
The original chubby lip pencil that inspired a thousand imitations — and that claim is accurate. As much as I appreciated the punchy sheer brights of the original collection, I'm glad the more subtle shades were added. Pink Bluff is a sheer earthy nude-pink that leans slightly cool and is natural-looking without looking concealer-like. I like to use the tip as a liner, then the flat side to fill in colour, so I only need to sharpen it every few uses. The packaging stayed the same across the whole range, which I appreciate.