Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter

The last installment from my swap with Citrine is the Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter. After drooling over all the pretty swatches online for a few months, I decided I must try these and thank goodness Citrine was willing to spoil me. These Lip Butters are relatively new to the drugstore tinted balm market, having been out only since the fall (September I think?) of 2011. However, it seems they are quite on demand. There are in some 20 shades available but it seems many of those shades, if not most, are constantly sold out. That could very well be the result of all the hype on the internet, but monkey sees, monkey does, and that's me ^.^ 

These come in a lipstick tube with translucent plastic caps. And despite the plastic-y feel of their caps, I was surprised to find the inner twist tube a lot more substantial and may be even sturdier than many other lipsticks I own! I especially like it that when you twist to lower the balm stick, it actually clicks in securely at the base. I rarely sees this clicking feature with my lipsticks, if at all, so on this point alone its packaging wowed me!

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

As for the balms themselves, I think like them. A lot. Upon first application their smooth and buttery texture instantly reminded me of my favorite Clinique Colour Surge Butter Shine Lipstick! I was incredulous of course, so I pulled the Clinique Butter Shine out and tested them both side by side, each on one side of my lips ^.^ Haa, the Clinique Butter Shine still won in terms of buttery thickness, but Revlon Lip Butter came pretty darn close, which totally impressed me and I'm so, so, so glad I got my hands on them, thanks to Citrine. In addition, both Clinique Butter Shine and Revlon Lip Butter were similarly moisturizing, gave a nice glossy sheen, and lasted good few hours while keeping my lips nice and soft. Luuuurv.

I received a total of 6 colors (from left to right): 001 Pink Truffle, 025 Peach Parfait, 045 Cotton Candy, 050 Berry Smoothie, 070 Cherry Tart, and 085 Sugar Plum. 

I would say the biggest difference between Clinique Butter Shine and Revlon Lip Butter is the pigmentation level, and yes, I know I'm not being fair in my comparison since the former is marketed as a moisturizing lipstick while the latter a tinted balm. After a couple hours of wear, the Clinique Butter Shine became more of a lipstick with its color still going strong while loosing some of its shine, all the while the Revlon Lip Butter retained its shine, but lost some of its color. 

All that said, in terms of daily wear I actually prefer the Revlon Lip Butter over Clinique Butter Shine, precisely because the latter is so pigmented. Sure, I'd grab it to stain my lips (one layer on the lower lip and press to spread), but like the Maybelline Baby Lips, I don't need a mirror to apply these Revlon Lip Butters (with the exception of 070 Cherry Tart) and I usually just swipe them on as I rush out to the train station in the early morning ^.^ So in the end, it's really these Revlon Lip Butters (001 Pink Truffle, 025 Peach Parfait, 050 Berry Smoothie, and 085 Sugar Plum) that I carry with me and reach for all the time. 

I do have one complaint with these Lip Butters, however. There isn't much product in each of these tubes. The first thing I noticed when I twist these up all the way is that the actual balm sticks were really short! That was when I actually checked their contents and compared them to my other lipsticks. Turns out each of these Revlon Lip Butters retails for $7.49 but only contains 0.09 oz./2.55 g's worth of product. That's almost 1/3 less product than your average lipstick, which is usually anywhere from 0.12 oz./3.5g (Clinique, Korres, L'Occitane, Lancome, etc.) to 0.15 oz./4.2g (Maybelline)! So considering their price versus the product content, these Revlon Lip Butters are actually some expensive drugstore tinted balms, and especially so when other drugstore lipsticks run for just about the same price! If you're looking for color, forget these and definitely go for the actual lipsticks!

- 001 Pink Truffle: this one confused the heck out of me. It swatched an opaque and pigmented orangey brown but then goes on me as mauvey as it looks in the tube, only sheerer. I actually need to apply at least 2-3 layers on my lower lips to get enough color for both lips. 

- 025 Peach Parfait: though this one swatched more pink than peach, it goes on a beautiful translucent pinky peach that's obviously warm, even if it has silver shimmers! It matches my natural lip color pretty well, so it's definitely one of those my-lips-but-better colors that I just can't over apply even if I tried ^.^

- 045 Cotton Candy: a cool translucent pearly shell pink but has gold iridescent shimmers, the opposite with Peach Parfait above being warm but has silver shimmers. The interesting thing about this color is that it has more of a satiny finish instead of a glossy sheen like the others. 

- 050 Berry Smoothie: swatched a warm rose but goes on a brighter and cooler carnation pink. Very pretty!

- 070 Cherry Tart: this one goes on exactly as swatched, a bright but translucent blue-based strawberry red. If I layer it, I get an even brighter poinsettia red! This is the only color I can't apply without a mirror, so I don't carry it with me in my purse ^.^

- 085 Sugar Plum: this one is interesting. It looks obviously plummy in the tube but swatched mauvey, and yet it goes on me a translucent wine color with some purple! 

From left to right: 001 Pink Truffle, 025 Peach Parfait, 045 Cotton Candy, 050 Berry Smoothie, 070 Cherry Tart, and 085 Sugar Plum.