definitely black [SEP] admittedly it is been a while since i have used lipstick and when i have used it in the past it is been regular stick lipstick rather than the liquid kind but i had to go over my lips several times to get opaque coverage with this stuff it is quite black no problem there so if that is your primary concern you do not have much to worry about but you do have to use a lot to get there and it wipes off pretty easily again i am comparing this to solid lipstick which is harder to remove so all in all i think i will stick with solid lipsticks in the future and leave the liquid kind alone but your mileage may vary oh and it does taste a little like chocolate which i found unnecessary and kind of weird