Gucci Baume a Levres Lip Balm

After my underwhelming experience with YSL Volupte Plump-in-Colour Plumping Lip Balm,  I vowed to not go near non-Japanese "luxury" brands again. I felt the quality of the product doesn't always commensurate with the retail price, so if I was going indulge, I'd rather go for Japanese high-end instead, which has rarely disappoint in my experience. Of course I'm biased :P

Then came the 2021 holiday season and Selfridges ran their year-end sale, wherein I spotted something peculiar: these Gucci Baume a Levres Lip Balm. Yep, vow broken. I have zero discipline, or honor :P I figured there was no harm in trying some lip balms, right? There were five colors available and I picked three: 2 No More Orchids, 3 Rene Pink, and 4 Penelope Plum.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash. 

Gucci lip products come in metal tubes with different designs for different lip product lines. For these Lip Balms, their chubby round tubes were Tiffany blue with ribbed gold twist-up base, very elegant and understated. The Gucci name and logo is set in gold at the top of the cap. The whole lipstick tube itself is rather weighty and substantial, and feels luxurious in my hand, like I'm holding an ornament of some kind. This is nice, but can also be a double-edged sword, especially for me: if it looks and feel too precious, I won't carry it around, if in the least because it's so heavy. Ha.

This Lip Balm has an "oily balm" formula that I love: there's a satisfying balmy tug during application and then an immediate "soaking in" sensation that leaves my lip well saturated and moisturized. The balm is also long-lasting, smoothing, and lips-plumping. I know, this is not a plumping lip balm. I even checked the product website to see if there's any claim for lip-plumping and there isn't. However, smoothing and plumping are indeed known effects of octyldodecanol, the first ingredient listed. There's also a nice shine to the finish. The Gucci product website says there's a fragrance that has violet and fruity notes, but I don't smell anything from my tubes, not even during application, so I don't know what they're talking about. The only thing about this Lip Balm I'm not too thrilled with is the polyethylene. 

Frankly speaking, if you're curious to try this Lip Balm, wait for it to go on sale and indulge. I'll watch the sales myself because I'd like to get the last color that I don't have: 5 Ester Rosewood. But stocking up? Probably not: the Lip Balm retails for $42 at the time of purchase and is now $50 a piece, folks. Even with 3.5g/0.12oz. of product content, this is still a $50 "luxury" Lip Balm--with polyethylene, boo! My brutally honest take is that the "luxury" is mostly in the packaging and I wish they'd made it refillable! Overall, I do love these balms and do enjoy using them quite a bit. However, after I pick up the last color, I will not repurchase.

 

- 2 No More Orchids: shimmer-free, translucent petal pink. This color swatched well the back of my hand but is very sheer on my lips, almost like an actual lip balm. ha!

 

- 3 Rene Pink: shimmer-free translucent neutral pink-red. This color turns redder and shows well on my lips. 

 

- 4 Penelope Plum: shimmer-free translucent berry.

From left to right: 2 No More Orchids, 3 Rene Pink, and 4 Penelope Plum.