REVIEW: Revlon Lip Butters June 4, 2012

I always loved lip balm. My sister can attest to the fact that I finish up lip balms really fast (Flattened out my EOS lip balm in 3 months… true story 😉 ) I love my lip balms but I always wished they had a bit of color on it so I can just wear 1 product instead of layering on the lip balm and my lipstick.

The first tinted lip balm I had was the Blistex Lip Tone… I didn’t feel that it gave enough tint. I felt it just made my lips look even but not enough color for me to forgo lipstick.

The next product I tried was Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer in Merlot. This is a very pigmented lip balm… however, this seemed more like a lipstick than a lip balm. It did have the minty tingle of the lip balm, however, it seemed to dry my lips out… Although I did use this up until the thin tube was empty as I really loved the color and chose to use a separate lip balm beneath it.

So anyway, I have actually tried several brands which didn’t give me the effect I wanted so when I saw these lip butters launched, I was actually a bit skeptical on how pigmented they are and at the same time how moisturizing they feel on the lips. I have seen multiple blogs raving about the Revlon lip butters… so I decided to give it a go.

I initially bought 1 lip butter – Raspberry Pie. To see if its worth the hype it was getting online… and it was indeed worth it. I loved how it moisturizes my lips and at the same time have lipstick-like pigmentation on my lips. 😀 Yay!!! But I think not all colors have huge pigmentation… there are pretty sheer colors available too. I guess I just chose the colors with a lot of color pay-off when swiped on the lips.

So I ended up having 3 colors on my collection – Raspberry Pie, Sweet Tart and Tutti Frutti



1) Raspberry Pie – a warm fuschia-berry tone. I love how bold the color is and yet its not screaming for attention. It actually makes my skin tone seems lighter. This is actually my favorite among the bunch.

2) Tutti Frutti – is a bright tangerine color. It’s a wearable orange hue that is flattering for most skin tones. When I use this I only use about 1-2 layers max so as not to make it too loud a lip color.

3) Sweet Tart – On the tube, it seems like a dark salmon color but when swatched, it’s actually a light pink shade (similar to carnation pink on the Crayola box 😀 ). I actually look weird when I wear light pink lipsticks so I was a bit iffy with this color when I swatched it on my hand and quite relieved that it actually looks good on my lips.

Swatches L-R –> Sweet Tart, Tutti Frutti, Raspberry Pie



On my lips they looked like these:



PROS:

1) Moisturizing – They do keep my lips soft and smooth. The lip lines are not that noticeable.

2) The feel light on my lips unlike some lip products where it feels a bit heavy and sticky (I’m not sure if I made sense hehehe).

3) Buildable color – you can choose to have a sheer application (1 swipe) or have intense color by swiping it on your lips several times.

4) Very pigmented – at least from the colors I chose they were really pigmented

5) For a tinted lip balm, they do last pretty well (about 4 hours)

6) It has a faint vanilla smell (like MAC lippies) which I actually do not notice anymore after using the lip butters several times.

CONS:

1) A little pricey for Php 525 (approx $12… these lip butters only sell for about $7 in the US). But if I am not mistaken, I got my other 2 lip butters at 10% off during a mall-wide sale… So I guess you just need to watch out for those sales to make the price a little bearable.

2) Tube is a bit difficult to open – Not really sure if it’s just me but I tend to have difficulty opening the tube. It has a tendency to slip since the bottom portion visible to hold on to is a little small. So I’m really careful when I open it.

3) It easily melts – I guess it’s living up to its “butter” consistency. You have to be careful not to expose your bag to sunlight or heat or leave your lip butters in hot areas as they easily melt. I know I have limited sunlight exposure when I travel to work and yet, they somehow melt to the sides of the tube. I’m a bit OC on my lipsticks – I hate it when they melt to the sides of the tube and make a mess when I twist it down. 😦

Considering the pros and cons of the Revlon Lip butters, I still love them and have been using them on a daily basis since I got them. If I use them up, I might consider repurchasing them.

HAUL & REVIEW: Beauty Shopping at the Korean Mini Mart

Wow… It’s been awhile since I last wrote… got so busy with my new work… (ergo: new role, new demands, new responsibilities) technically not so new since I already got my permanency letter yay!!! Anyway, I’m back and I will definitely make more effort to write more about the things that keep me sane and relaxed…

I was craving for the creamy sweet Korean Ice cream – Melona the other day so as I entered the Korean mini-mart, and headed for the freezer, there was this small shelf beside the check-out counter that caught my eye… make-up!!! Korean make-up in general is pretty good. It’s good quality and the packaging is usually really cute 😀 So to cut it short, I checked out the beauty shelf and got myself a small haul:

• Rucy’s Vanity Auto Eyebrow Pencil – Grey > Php 60.00 ~ approx $ 1.39

• Rucy’s Vanity Lipstick – Red > Php 120.00 ~ approx $ 2.79

• Ludon Lipstick – Shade 25 (Bubblegum Pink) > Php 140.00 ~ approx $ 3.25

• Purederm Make-up Cleansing Tissues > Php 29.00 ~ approx $ 0.67

Total damage: Php 349.00 or $ 8.10



So were they worth a try?

They are pretty good considering the price point. I think they are pretty comparable, if not better than some drugstore brands.

1) Rucy’s Vanity Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Grey – It’s your regular twist up eyebrow pencil. It’s pretty hard to overdo the application since it comes off as light and you build it up with several strokes of the pencil. Being grey, it doesn’t give a harsh black hue on your brows. It still comes off as natural dark brows. Staying power is pretty good at about 5-6 hours.



2) Rucy’s Vanity lipstick in Red – This is similar to the Revlon lip butters in my opinion as it comes off pretty sheer. The color is pretty build able but it won’t go as intense as your regular lipstick. If you want a natural looking red lips without looking like a pin-up girl, this lipstick will do the trick. Staying power on the lips is similar to lip balm but it does leave a flattering stain on your lips. This lipstick has this rose-scent about it that I am not so keen about. But the scent does go away after a few minutes… so if you are not so sensitive about smell, then I think you can rock this lipstick.



Swatches – (Left) on my hand (Top Right) my bare lips (Bottom Right) with the lipstick



3) Ludon Lipstick in #25 – This lipstick is in a flattering bubblegum pink color. It looks a bit matte but it’s really creamy and has a good feel on the lips. It stays on the lips for a good 4 hours (shorter if you eat or drink) before fading away. This lipstick has a vanilla scent (similar to MAC) that I like and as with the other lipstick, the scent goes away after a few minutes. I love this lipstick actually and I don’t mind retouching after several hours… really love the color… this shade of pink does not make me look washed out or weird (hehehe).



4) PureDerm make-up cleansing tissues – It gets make-up off pretty well in my opinion. It has a refreshing scent that is not overpowering nor nauseating. I think it’s pretty convenient to carry in my bag as the size is pretty compact and it’s actually an effective make-up remover. I like how it did not break my skin out as my skin is pretty sensitive. So I also love this. 😀



So I guess these are pretty good. If you are on a tight budget in terms of make-up, these are pretty good and would give you value for your money. So the next time you visit the Korean mini-mart, you might want to check out their cosmetics too apart from the yummy ice cream. 😀

(Extra Note) My friend purchased the Rucy’s mascara and she already got a second tube since she liked and finished off her first tube.