Maybelline Baby Lips

One of main attractions in my swap with Citrine are these Maybelline Baby Lips. Seeing these all over the Japanese drugstore really peaked my curiosity and all the good things I've read about them helped. I got 5 different "colors": 010 Peppermint, 015 Cherry Me, 020 Grape Vine, 025 Pink Punch, and 030 Peach Kiss.

My swap with Citrine. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

010 Peppermint

Baby Lips are tinted lip balms that glide on smoothy on with a sheer wash of translucent color in a semi glossy finish, giving lips the "wet" feeling with the slippery texture that has been the norm among lip balms in Japan for these past several years (Shiseido, Mentholatum, Nivea, etc.). These promise 8 hours of hydration with SPF20, and while I can't comment on the SPF part, unfortunately the 8 hours of hydration is definitely an exaggeration. On me, these are just a tinted and slightly better version of Softlips Lip Conditioners. They have some color, feel nicer, and last a whole 45 minutes longer than Softlips, for a total of 1 hour. Regardless of how much or how little I apply, and no matter what I do, or rather don't do, as in not talking, not eating, not pressing my lips together too often, etc., they just evaporate from my lips after an hour or so. And I say evaporate because I can actually feel them drying up on my lips. I've read complaints that they actually dry out some people's lips, but I haven't experienced that. They just don't last nearly as long on me as they claim to, that's all. 

015 Cherry Me and 020 Grape Vine

The good news is that despite the balm itself going away after an hour or so, the color (Cherry Me, Grape Vine, and Pink Punch) stays and I end up with a slight stain on my lips ^.^ So my early morning routine since getting these is to apply them on my run out to the subway station since I'm always rushing and have no time to stop and properly put on some lip color with a mirror. I just swipe these on as I power walk. And then during break time I reapply a sheer gloss on top - any of the gazillion Lancome Juicy Tubes I have would bring back a refreshed pop of color that will then last all the way through lunch time! It's such a nice and easy way to touch up my lips for a color encore that doesn't require a trip to the bathroom or the mirror, and plus I'm just lazy like that :P 

025 Pink Punch and 030 Peach Kiss

Anyway, you know how a lot of tinted lip "balms" are actually really freakin' pigmented and they end up feeling like a balmy lipstick? Well these Baby Lips are definitely tinted lip balms, and are borderline ho-hum lip balms at that. I'm glad I tried them and they are okay, more decent in the light of the colored ones leaving a stain, but I'm not going to go crazy hauling or hoarding them. You should give them a try if you can get them for the same price as a regular chapstick, because that's what they are ^.^ If you want some color, try Cherry Me (my favorite!), Grape Vine (2nd favorite), or Pink Punch. If you want some shimmers, go for Peach Kiss. They retail for $2.99, and each tubes comes with 0.15 oz./4.4 g of product, which is a good amount.

010 Peppermint: self explanatory, goes on clear with a semi glossy sheen.

- 015 Cherry Me: a translucent juicy cherry popsicle red that's a lot more potent on my lips than swatched. Two swipes on my lower lips and press is already a lot of color for me. I like this scent too! It's an obviously artificial cherry popsicle flavor mix with baby powder, sounds weird but is oddly addicting! Thankfully there are no actual tastes...

- 020 Grape Vine: a translucent plum that goes on me exactly as swatched, so it is sheerer than the Cherry Me above. Still pretty though! I'm not too crazy about the grape fragrance, but I don't hate it.

- 025 Pink Punch: this one is totally deceiving. It swatched a translucent bubblegum pink but turns a totally opaque cooler hot pink with some fuchsia on me. And since it goes on me a similar color to Maybelline SensationalColor Lip Gloss in 953 Hi-tech Plum, you'd think it'd be just as flattering, right? Nope. Because of its opacity, every flake and crack on my lips is magnified. Not cool. The fruit punch with a tropical tangy twist fragrance is refreshing though.

- 030 Peach Kiss: this one swatched a very sheer nude but goes on a pretty translucent peachy nude with silver shimmers when layered on my lips. And when the balm goes away after an hour or so, all the silver shimmers remain, so I top them off with a pink gloss for nice shimmery pink lips. That said, my skin is already ashy in this mostly gray winter sky and I don't need any nude lips to further wash me out right now. So I seldom reach for this color, and it's better suited for warmer weather anyway. Its fragrance is a sweet fruity something rather that I couldn't discern very well.

From left to right: Cherry Me, Grape Vine, Pink Punch, and Peach Kiss.