Saturday, April 26, 2014

Beauty Review: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, Colorburst Matte Balms and Colorburst Lacquer Balms


I was very excited to try out the new Revlon Lacquer Balms and Matte Balms after seeing many Youtube videos generating hype about them. These Colorburst balms have only recently been released in Australia just in time for the cooler weather (very smart work Revlon). I also decided to include the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in this because the product is very similar and also by Revlon. I only bought one colour of each and the colours are all different so I have to admit that this review/comparison is not at all fair as we all know that some shades of a product are better than others even though they are supposed to be the same thing. I didn't want to go overboard with purchases though as I do already have a massive amount of lip glosses and lip sticks in my collection, so I just went for colours that I liked and that I thought would look good in the different finishes. 

I bought the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous from Fashion Addict Website. I bought the Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Striking and the Colorburst Lacquer Balm in Whimsical. Both Colorburst balms were purchased from Priceline Website. 

These lip products cost around $17 AU and come in a jumbo lip pencil form. Unlike most lip pencils you can actually twist these up with the silver bit at the end, rather than having to use a sharpener. The packaging is very simple yet effective. You can tell which colour you are grabbing out of your make-up bag because the packaging matches the product. The "finish" is also visible on the packaging, with the matte product having a matte packaging, the balm stain having a light shimmer on the packaging, And the lacquer balms having a really shiny packaging.

^From Left to Right: Whimsical, Striking Rendezvous

The idea of these balms is to give your lips the look that you want  without depleting them of moisture. The Kissable Balm Stain is supposed to have the added benefit of leaving your lips with a lightweight lip stain. Each of the balms has a different appearance, however, from the colours I have chosen it seems that none of these products offer an opaque colour. 

^Here is a picture of me wearing the Kissable Balm Stain in 'Rendezvous'

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in 'Rendezvous'
APPLICATION:
This balm goes on the most sheer out of all colours. It has a thick balmy texture that is almost sticky and the colour can go on a little streaky. It smells nice and minty.

MOISTURE:
I didn't feel that this product was overly moisturising, but it wasn't drying so that was good. 

APPEARANCE:
This colour is a nice light peachy-orange. It is probably a little more orange in real life than it looks in the picture. The colour has a bit of a shimmer in it. Please ignore the sparkles around the lips, that is the result of wearing 'whimsical' first and taking it off. 

STAYING POWER:
This doesn't stay on my lips for long. If I am drinking and eating it comes off pretty easily, especially in the centre of my lips. I have not noticed any lasting stain, but the colour is quite light, so I imagine that if it was staining my lips I probably would not have noticed anyway. So, yeah I'm sorry this probably was not the best colour to try out in that respect. 

When I go to reapply the balm I find that it can get quite cakey. To prevent cakiness when reapplying I recommend wiping the product off and starting again. It's a royal pain I know, but it looks so much better.

^Here is a Picture of me wearing the Colorburst Matte Balm in 'Striking'

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in 'Striking'
APPLICATION: This goes on smooth and feels quite velvety. The product does go on sheer (and matte- something I have never seen before) though you can build the product up to get a more opaque look (though beware it may look cakey if you do this). This one smells minty also.

MOISTURE:
This doesn't feel moisturising and is not drying either. I wouldn't recommend use on chapped lips though, mainly because it would probably look a bit gross.

APPEARANCE:
This doesn't look super velvety or harsh like some matte products do. I think this product is in between a satin and a matte finish. The Matte balms remind me a little bit of play-doh in apperance. The colours look so bright, but also a little muted at the same time and the texture is just so different to other product I have tried, because the product is sheer and matte, but it's not completely matte... I dunno if I can explain it. I just think it looks really nice.

STAYING POWER:
This is not super-long lasting. You tend to end up with the lipliner effect after eating and the same with the Kissable Balm Stain; I recommend wiping off the left-over colour before reapplication.

^Here is a Picture of me wearing the Colorburst Lacquer Balm in 'Whimsical'

Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balm in 'Whimsical'
APPLICATION: This applies super smooth and feels like a lip balm. It smells like mint. And, the colour is sheer but does not apply cakey looking or streaky looking.

MOISTURE: 
This one is actually moisturising. It's not as good as some of the other lip balms I have used, but for something that has colour in it, I find the level of moisture to be impressive. 

APPEARANCE:
This looks like a coloured gloss on. The colour looks more purple in real life than it does in the picture. The Lacquer Balm is a bit on the glittery side so if you have a glitter phobia this is not for you. 

STAYING POWER:
This probably has the worst staying power out of all of them, but it reapplies without looking cakey.

Overall...
My favourite out of these is the Lacquer Balm as I don't own many products like it. I find that most lip glosses are generally quite sticky and I like that this product gives the appearance of a coloured gloss, but that it feels like a balm. I also really like the sparkles. I got over my glitter phobia a long time ago, but I understand that some people are really not going to like the Lacquer Balms because of that. If I buy any more Revlon lip products the Colorburst Lacquer Balms will definitely be the first.

My least favourite of the products is probably the Kissable Balm Stains. I don't think this feels overly pleasant on the lips and the product is really unforgiving in appearance. I think I would maybe like to try one of these in a darker shade at some stage to see if it really does stain the lips because that would make a huge difference to my opinion.

I think the Matte Balms are pretty interesting because they have an interesting texture. I think If these came on sale I would probably purchase a few. 

I think these are great products for the cooler months and for a casual look. I would probably only wear the lacquer balm one for work or an all-day event though, because it doesn't go cakey when being reapplied. I don't mind having to reapply though because I love the strong minty smell of the product. 

Are they worth $17 though? I don't think so. I have paid $17 for better products. I would recommend waiting it out for a sale or a discount code. 

Have you tried out any of the Revlon Balms? What's your favourite?

Your Favourite Blogger,
Natalie

1 comment:

Witchcrafted Life said...

Whimsical looks thoroughly beautiful on you! That shade is elegant and sweet in the same go and reminds me a bit of of it a classic purple and pink Popsicle each melted and ran into each other. Very, very pretty!

♥ Jessica