I've been completely buried in books lately (for those of you who don't know, my class XII Boards start from 1st March, 2014) and whenever I've had the time to raise my head, I've been reading manga or working on an untitled project for the blog or working on future blog posts (so that I can set a date for the post to publish itself) or just staring at Stana Katic's face on 'Castle' with an occasional switch-up being Emily Deschanel's face on 'Bones'. That was one long sentence. Whoa.
I watched a video by saaammage (a popular YouTube beauty guru and one of my personal favourites) where she was swatching the new Maybelline Color Elixirs on her lips - check out the video here. They all looked so gorgeous and promising that the first thought I had was, 'We're never going to get these here'. I was wrong. For a change. We got them, sure, but there was a catch - they were rechristened 'Maybelline Lip Polish Liquid Color Balm by Color Sensational' and they weren't given the cute names like in the Elixir range. Instead, they were divided into, I believe, two sections - GLAM for more evening and subdued shades and POP for brighter, in-your-face shades. Eventually, since we have them here, I'm not going to whine. Even if they're ₹450 for 5 millilitres of product, I'm just not going to whine. (Broke student problems, you guys.)
The packaging of these products is amazing. They're packaged in clear, rectangular structures (I'm out of words, darn) with a silver top and if you invert them, you can actually see the whole lipstick bullet elegance going on. I'll admit, the whole lipstick-bullet-bottom was kind of awesome.
They have a leaf shaped applicator, which, I must say, takes applying a gloss-balm hybrid to a new high. It gives you the precision you require while applying darker and saturated colours, which is what this entire collection is all about. The applicator has tiny fibres in it for better and smoother application and is rather soft and cushion-y. The main website describes these lip polishes to be a combination of a powerful lipstick, a glossy lip gloss and a hydrating lip balm. You'd think it's a little far-fetched but to be completely honest, it's exactly what these products are. It's as saturated and pigmented as a lipstick, it's as glossy as a lip gloss and it nourishes like a good old lip balm. Added claims are: "Pure saturated colour pigments that provide deep intense color like a lipstick, moisturizing Liquid Conditioning Balm gets the lips ready for intensely rich colour, gives a soft cushiony feel and care to the lips, built-in glossy top-coat, that makes lips look fuller and more luscious."
I am rarely disappointed by Maybelline products and these Lip Polishes are far from disappointing me. Even if their prices are a little out of budget for us students, I'm not complaining. I really am not. You get the goodness of three products in one simple product. When I applied it for the first time, the first thought that entered my mind was how opaque the hue was. The formulation is definitely hydrating and nurturing and it gives off just the right amount of gloss. I was also impressed by their staying power. If you don't eat or drink, chances are, these may last for up to six hours. Even if you do end up eating and drinking, they do last for a bit of time. My only complaint is that when I first applied it, I felt that they numbed my lips a little. I didn't enjoy that feeling at all since I usually don't find that problem with other lip products. On times when my friends have used them, they seemed to be completely oblivious to the feeling. Maybe it's just me. Also, they tend to stain your lips quite a bit. That part doesn't bother me.
I got them in two GLAM shades - just so that my mother could grab one if she wished. She's always complaining that she cannot use most of the lip products I own because of their colour range. GLAM 6 is a highly saturated dark pink bordering purple (Better description of the colour by my girlfriend: "It's a plum! It's just a plum!!"). GLAM 16 is a brick shade with tiny gold shimmers that aren't visible in the tube but are very much present on your lips (Better description of the colour by my girlfriend: "Okay, it is a brick shade.").
If you have ₹450 in your hand that you don't want to save, go ahead and grab one of these. They come in 15 shades - 3 POP shades and 12 GLAM shades. Be prepared to be confused, my friend. Picking just one is tough business. I do like these quite a bit and may pick up a couple more shades. There's no harm in owning more lip products, is there?
Until next time,
be awesome!
~AB.
