Swatch & Review: Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters

(Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters)

There have been a ton of interesting beauty products launched during my absence, and I'm excited to start reviewing them. Since this is the first week of Spring, I thought I'd make it our word of the day, and feature a product I think is perfect for this season (of course a great lip product can be used any time of the year, but these shades in particular fit in perfectly with Spring).


Since their launch late last year, the beauty blogosphere has been buzzing about the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters. This weekend my local drugstore had these babies on sale for only $3.99CAD (Regular price $7.49-$10.99CAD for 0.09 oz.) I couldn't pass up the deal, and selected 4 Spring friendly shades (out of their 20 colour range), to bring my total up to 5 lip butters to talk about today. Full review, lip swatches, shade descriptions and more below.

(Revlon Colourburst Lip Butters)

Let's start with the claims. Revlon describes the Colorburst Lip Butters as a buttery balm plus shiny colour, that will give you soft healthy lips. Softer, smoother, instantly hydrated, with mango, shea and coconut butter. They say the formula provides hydration and glides on smooth with sheer to medium colour plus shine.

For the most part, I'd agree. The formula is a mix between a lipstick and a lipbalm. You get the colour of a lipstick, mixed with the shine and hydration of a balm. However, being a hybrid product, it doesn't quite excel at either as well as the individual products.

While you do get sheer to medium colour depending on the shade (and a few shades have even more pigmentation, closer to opaque), most shades aren't going to give you absolute full coverage on the lips, that some lipsticks can. (I'd like to note that because of this, a good amount of your natural lip colour will show through, especially on the sheerer shades, which will make these look somewhat different on everyone, according to how pigmented their natural lips are). 

But the biggest difference between these lip butters and lipstick, is the wear. The wear time on these varies by shade (more pigmented colours, darker shades, wear longer than sheerer and lighter shades), but even the bolder shades don't last as long on the lips as your average lipstick. The time between reapplication for me was more akin to a semi-opague lipgloss, than a lipstick. 

When it comes to hydration, these feel nice on, they certainly don't dry your lips out like some lipsticks can. But do they actively add moisture? I'd say yes, a little. Not as much as if I were to have worn a good traditional lip balm instead, but it's there. As for shine, there's lovely shine to each of the shades I tested, giving the lips a moist look, certainly on par with the shine or sheen from any of my lip balms, but not venturing into the territory of a gloss.

(Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters w/flash, l-r Lolipop, Sweet Tart, Gumdrop, Tutti Frutti, Creamsicle)

(Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters natural light, l-r Lolipop, Sweet Tart, Gumdrop, Tutti Frutti, Creamsicle)

My lips have been in NO shape lately to be wearing a lot of my normal lipsticks, (they just weren't hydrating enough for my very dry chapped lips to endure). I was missing colour, since I had little choice but to keep grabbing for my regular balm or chapstick 24/7. I was very happy when I bought my first Lip Butter and could slick on lovely bright colour again (Lolipop) and still have some hydrating benefits, all in one convenient tube. I wear it out and I keep it in my purse to reply on the go (with a mirror), and even though I do have to switch up to my normal more intense balm when I get home, I don't mind at all.

Onto the swatches and colour descriptions!

Lollipop - is a cool toned, pinked up fuchsia, with purple shimmer. This was the first lip butter I purchased (in early Feb). As a fan of bold lip colours, I was drawn to this shade. It's one of the bolder, more pigmented shades in the line, the coverage falls somewhere in-between medium and full, more of a semi-opaque lip product.

(Revlon Lollipop Colorburst Lip Butter) 

(Revlon Lollipop Colorburst Lip Butter) 

(Revlon Lollipop Colorburst Lip Butter)

(Revlon Lollipop Colorburst Lip Butter)

Sweet Tart - is a clean bright pink cream. The colour isn't nearly as warm as the translucent tube would suggest, it's cooler. I'd consider it near neutral on the scale, though in certain lights it leans more cool toned. Again this colour is one of the more opaque of the 5, just a little less than Lollipop.

(Revlon Sweet Tart Colorburst Lip Butter)

(Revlon Sweet Tart Colorburst Lip Butter)

(Revlon Sweet Tart Colorburst Lip Butter)

(Revlon Sweet Tart Colorburst Lip Butter)

Gumdrop - is one of the pastel shades offered, it's a pale lilac with just a touch of subtle light pink and purple shimmer. This shade is one of the more sheer of the bunch, you can build it up a little, but not much. A good amount of your natural lip colour shows through, though the lilac is certainly still noticeable.

(Revlon Gumdrop Colorburst Lip Butter)

(Revlon Gumdrop Colorburst Lip Butter)

(Revlon Gumdrop Colorburst Lip Butter)

(Revlon Gumdrop Colorburst Lip Butter)

Tutti Frutti - is a vibrant orange in colour. It's not the sheerest or the most opaque of the bunch, but it's buildable. You can wear this one more built up if you like bold lips (see my on lip swatch) or you can go with a one swipe, less heavy handed approach, and get a sheerer look that will be more wearable for those of you who might be intimidated by an orange lip. Tangerine is an IT colour this Spring, and this is a great way to sport it.

(Revlon Tutti Frutti Colorburst Lip Butter)

(Revlon Tutti Frutti Colorburst Lip Butter) 

(Revlon Tutti Frutti Colorburst Lip Butter)

(Revlon Tutti Frutti Colorburst Lip Butter)

Creamsicle - is a pale creamy peach nude. Upon close inspection there seems to be a small amount of white and pinky coral shimmer in there, but it's SO super subtle that it's not noticeable. This is one of the sheerest shades I've tried, and it's not very buildable. Fans of nudes will be fond of this one.

(Revlon Creamsicle Colorburst Lip Butter)

(Revlon Creamsicle Colorburst Lip Butter)

(Revlon Creamsicle Colorburst Lip Butter)

(Revlon Creamsicle Colorburst Lip Butter)

(Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters w/flash, l-r Lolipop, Sweet Tart, Gumdrop, Tutti Frutti, Creamsicle)

(Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters natural light l-r Lolipop, Sweet Tart, Gumdrop, Tutti Frutti, Creamsicle)

PROS:

-More hydrating than your average lipstick.

-Nice sheen/shine.

-Comfortable on the lips, easy to wear.

-Great shade range for a new drugstore lip product, currently 20 available.

-Attractive quilt design packaging, coloured translucent tube and top window allow for easy identification and view of product.

-Easy to find. Widely available at drugstores/Wal-Mart/Target/etc.

-Can be found on sale, or BOGO 1/2 off at certain retailers from time to time.

CONS:

-Not a replacement for traditional lip balm.

-Not as long lasting as traditional lipstick. Will need reapplication more often.

-Packaging can be difficult to open a times. (I experienced difficulty with 2 out of 5 of my lip butters).

THE VERDICT: BUY!

If you're a fan of medium coverage lip colour with shine, then definitely pick this up, (that's a no-brainer). If you are one of the lucky few who doesn't need to use a lip balm to keep your lips in good condition, this may even be enough to be a double-duty product for you on those off days where your lips could use a little boost.

What if that's not typically you? Well for me, (someone who loves bold colour and has easily chapped, dry lips) this isn't going to take over the role of my favourite intense pink lipstick or replace my much needed lip balm, but I'd STILL recommend picking up whichever shade most appeals to you and giving it a shot.

Let me know what you think of these in a comment below. Which of the lip butter shades are your favourite? Is there a must have shade I'm missing out on? I'd love to hear from you.

As always, thanks for reading!