Category Archives: Lip Balm

Fresh Sugar Plum Tinted Lip Balm Review & Swatches

Fresh Sugar Plum Tinted Lip Treatment

I love a good tinted lip balm for a hint of color that goes with even the most casual look.  And thanks to Sephora’s birthday gift this year (a set of two mini Fresh Sugar lipbalms), I know that am a fan of the Fresh lip balm formula.   I’ve had my eye on Fresh Sugar Plum for a while now.

Texture-wise, Fresh lip balms are extremely soft, and seem like they would melt very easily.  However, despite very hot temperatures where I live (90s and up), that hasn’t happened – though of course I’m in air conditioning the majority of the time.

In terms of performance, I find Fresh lip balm moisturizing, healing, and long lasting – but not quite AS healing as Jack Black lip balm.

Fresh Sugar Plum: one swipe, many swipes

In terms of color, Fresh Sugar Plum is more sheer than I expected.  It is not very buildable – as you can see from the swatch, you can build the color a little bit, but multiple swipes aren’t much more pigmented than one swipe.   Because I have fairly pigmented lips, it doesn’t show up very well on me – it would show up much better on someone with less pigmented lips. Because it’s subtle, I have photographed both my lips without any product and with Fresh Sugar Plum.

No product; Fresh Sugar Plum applied

Overall, I feel undecided about Fresh Sugar Plum. It’s a high quality product, but given my natural lip color, I’m not sure it’s worth the price for me.

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This post is from Project Swatch. All rights reserved.

L’Oreal USA Rouge Caresse Lipsticks Review, Swatches, Photos

As you may know, L’Oreal has released a new-to-the-US line of lipsticks, the Rouge Caresse lipsticks.  The UK has had these for a while now. As far as I know, the only place where these are available so far is Target.  Although my Target’s display was nearly empty, I did manage to find three shades that I wanted enough to purchase! Since one of my local Targets actually has labeled testers of many (though not all) lip products, I was also able to swatch two additional shades for you.

The Rouge Caresse lipsticks have been compared to Revlon’s lip butters, but they have a significantly different texture and color payoff in my opinion. The lip butters are firmer, feel like a sheer lipstick, and are much more pigmented. The Rouge Caresse lipsticks are more balm-like, softer, more moisturizing, and are more sheer.  I haven’t used the Rouge Caresse lipsticks enough to have a preference yet between the two. Actually, I think my favorite sheer lipstick formula of the moment is actually the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains – I’ve been wearing Romantic every day lately!

Back to the Caresse lipsticks: I bought three shades – 167 Sunset Angora, a soft pink, 179 Cherry Tulle, a sheer red that reads more berry on me, and 181 Sheer Linen, a soft nude.

L’Oreal Caresse Sunset Angora, Cherry Tulle, Sheer Linen

As you can see, the Caresse lipsticks are packaged in slimline tubes, but in a normal lipstick-sized gold case.  The packaging is fine; it’s quite lightweight (not luxe), but is functional and reasonably attractive. My one gripe is that these have only a small sticky label holding them closed, which makes it easy for people to open them in-store, difficult to tell if they’ve been opened, and leaves a bit of sticky residue.  I much prefer shrinkwrapping as packaging, as it deters people from opening, makes it obvious when items have been opened, and doesn’t harm the packaging.

L’Oreal Caresse Sunset Angora, Cherry Tulle, Sheer Linen

As you can see, these are sheer – and meant to be sheer.  They really remind me of a tinted balm in feel – they are very soft and slightly glossy.  They do all show up on me, even the nude – but would certainly be more apparent on someone with less pigmented lips.  The below lip swatches are generously applied.

bare lips

Sunset Angora

Cherry Tulle
Sheer Linen

The one downside is wear time – due to the nature of the product, these simply don’t wear for very long on me. After an hour of wearing Cherry Tulle, I had a little color and no glossiness left.   Your specific wear time may vary, but these are going to be a fairly short-wearing product on anyone as contrasted with a more opaque lipstick.

As mentioned above, since my Target has testers (proof!), I also have swatches two more colors: 178 Cardinal Plume and 177 Fiery Veil. Please note that these photos were taken in Target lighting with my phone, so are not necessarily color accurate. To me, Cardinal Plume looked like a bright, sheer red (gorgeous on some, but those always pull pink on me), and Fiery Veil was a TRUE bright orange.

L’Oreal Cardinal Plume, Fiery Veil

Overall, I like these – especially Cherry Tulle, which is a lovely sheer berry that’s fairly unique among my lipsticks.  I can see myself using Sheer Linen layered over another nude to add some shine without adding the stickiness of a gloss, and using Sunset Angora on a natural-makeup day instead of just lip balm.   However, due to the wear time, these will be a daytime lipstick option for me rather than something I wear on nights out – at night, I want something that will last longer.

Have you tried the Caresse lipsticks? Are you planning to?

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This post is from Project Swatch. All rights reserved.

Revlon Adore Kissable Balm Stain Swatches and Photos

I bought a fifth Revlon Balm Stain!  Clearly, I am loving these 🙂  For a full review of the formula, please see my first post on the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains.   This post is just swatches and photos.

revlon adore swatch

Adore

Adore lip swatch

Adore

Here are all five of the Balm Stains I currently own swatched together – As you can see, Adore is warmer and more of a brick red, while Romantic is also red, but brighter and with totally different undertones.

Revlon Kissable Balm Stains swatches - Adore, Crush, Romantic, Rendezvous, Honey

Revlon Kissable Balm Stains

Thus far, my favorite is Romantic (I’m also enjoying wearing Romantic and Rendezvous mixed together, as in this FOTD), and my least favorite is Honey.

Lip swatches of Honey and Crush are here.
Lip swatches of Romantic and Rendezvous are here.

These are my favorite lip product of the year – at least this far! I do think that I’ve bought all I want thus far, unless Revlon releases some new colors.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain Review, Swatches, Photos

A new item that’s been popping up at drugstores are the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains.  They’re chubby pencils that (I think) are supposed to moisturize and give glossy color, but then leave a stain on the lips.   They’re somewhat similar in that to the Tarte Lipsurgence Lip Tints (the glossy ones) – but I don’t own own, so unfortunately cannot do a comparison for you!  I don’t think they are as similar to Clinique’s Chubby sticks (which I also don’t own); although both are chubby lip pencils, the Chubby Sticks aren’t meant to stain.

I decided to buy two colors: Rendezvous, a peachy orange, and Romantic, a sheer, very natural red, so today I have swatches of both, and my first impressions of the product.  Let me just tell you this right now – this review is going to be all positive, because so far I really love these!

The packaging, including the exterior packaging, is nice.  Instead of using sticky residue-leaving labels or leaving them open to be molested by people in the drugstore, they come with a small piece of easily-opened shrinkwrap that mostly prevents people from opening them, and lets you know if someone did open one – which I appreciate!  The balm-stains themselves are packaged in a plastic tube which is approximately the color of the product inside.  They twist up – you don’t need to sharpen them. This is great in that there’s less waste, but it does mean that once you flatten the pointed tip with use, it won’t be sharp again.  I tested out the mechanism for twisting up the tubes, and both of the balm stains that I bought twist up and back down again smoothly.

The Just Bitten Kissable Balm stains smell like peppermint, though the strength seems to vary a bit.   I barely noticed it with Rendezvous, and while Romantic was more strongly scented and made my lips tingle a bit (though in a pleasant way).  They feel nice on the lips – they are moisturizing going on, and my lips felt good even once they had worn off.

I found that the color was very long lasting.  I tested Rendenzvous out for several hours. Because it is a lighter shade, I didn’t expect it to last long, but the full color and glossiness lasted at least three hours (and through a meal!), and it left a nice, even stain for a few hours after that, which I eventually removed to try out Romantic.  I’m wearing Romantic right now, and I expect that since it’s deeper, it will last as long or longer – but I’ll update this post if it doesn’t! (quick update: three hours after application, it’s not as glossy anymore but the color is still going strong, very even and lovely!)

Revlon Rendezvous

Revlon Romantic

I did notice that the color of Rendezvous reminded me of Tutti Frutti lip butter – though the textures are different, so I swatched both of them together.   They’re similar, but Tutti Frutti is more orange, and Rendezvous is more peach.

I’m sure it’s clear from this review – but if it’s not – I love these! I plan to pick up a few more shades soon. So far, I think this is one of the very best drugstore lip products I have tried.

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This post is from Project Swatch. All rights reserved.

Revlon Tutti Frutti Lip Butter Review, Swatch, Photos

This is a scheduled post as I’m visiting family this weekend. I may be slower than usual at approving comments and responding to questions. 


I have and love Revlon’s Candy Apple lip butter, and I recently bought a second one – Tutti Frutti, which is a softened orange.   I really like the lip butter formula – I find it to be very moisturizing, yet not too slippery.  It’s pigmented enough that I’d classify it as a glossy, moisturizing lipstick rather than a lip balm.

I don’t love the packaging of the lip butters – there’s something about the quilted-looking plastic on the outside that I just don’t find aesthetically appealing. However, I do like the interior metal part of the packaging, and it is functional and sturdy.  The packaging isn’t something that prevents me from buying the lip butters, but it is something I notice and dislike every time I use them.

Tutti Frutti is a really pretty shade. It would be a good “introduction to orange” shade if you’ve been wanting to try an orange, but don’t want something too bright. I’d say that it’s halfway between coral and orange – it’s nowhere near as bright as Revlon Coral, which is quite bright and quite orange, for example.

The following lip swatch turned out a little bit more muted then the color actually appears on me – the full face photos is more color accurate.  However, I’ve applied a couple coats of Tutti Frutti. If you prefer a more subdued look, you can dab on just one coat.

And, the full face photo – click for full size.

Overall, I’m really glad I bought Tutti Frutti. I have some similar shades – I’ll be doing a coral / orange lipstick comparison post soon – but this one is really flattering, pretty, and has a great formula!

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This post is from Project Swatch. All rights reserved.

Bliss Fabulips Lip Care Kit Review, Photos

When I first read about the Bliss Fabulous four-piece treatment set, I couldn’t imagine spending $45 just on lip care. But, the idea seemed so fun; all the reviews I read were positive; and my lips have been very chapped this winter. So, I eventually decided to just go for it and get it!

When you lift up the top on the kit, you see a very cute array of the four products; a lip cleanser, lip scrub, lip plumper, and lip balm.

The lip cleanser is a little bit weird – it has a pump top, you pump a little out, and apply it to your lips. After about 10 seconds, it starts to foam and tingle.  It’s odd, but definitely fun, and it removes traces of lipstick or grease very well.  The instructions say to rinse it off when done, so I do.

the cleanser is super foamy and awesome

Next up is the lip scrub; this is pretty standard. It’s a scrub with very fine grit – very gentle and moisturizing while it scrubs.  I apply it to dry lips then rinse it off, but you could probably just wipe it off with a dry tissue – it’s very emollient and very nice.

lip scrub

Third: rejuvenate with a minty lip-plumping gloss! This doesn’t hurt my lips at all; it just tingles a little.  The gloss is fairly long lasting and wears very comfortably.  Since it has a glossy finish, it seems weird to do the fourth step – lip balm – on top, so I’ve been picking either the lip plumper or the lip balm as the final step.

see how glossy and lovely the lip plumper is!

And finally, a super, super soft lip balm. This is a nice balm, but I do have to say that it doesn’t last a very long time on my lips – after half an hour or so, I feel the need to reapply.

lip balm

Overall, I do like the kit. The lip cleanser and scrub are my favorite, but I also like the last two steps. After using the whole kit, my lips go from feeling dry and flaky to feeling soft and hydrated; the kit works very well, and I have been using it regularly to great success for a week or two now.

I bought my kit at a Sephora store, and it’s also available at Sephora.com . You can also purchase the balm or the scrub individually.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure policy

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This post is from Project Swatch. All rights reserved.