My Sheer Lipstick/Color Balm Collection: Reviews and Swatches

With the weather getting warmer, I wanted to make a post of all the (4 total) lip products in my collection that are not quite lipsticks, and not quite lip glosses. They are the sheer in between, designed to be hydrating and give a natural tint to the lips.

Before we go any further, I should say that I have fair cool toned skin, and I love brown-toned lipsticks. My aims when buying brown toned lip products include avoiding ones that are too warm and yellow. All of the products listed are ones that I very much enjoy and use often.

Let's get started!

From left to right, we have:

1.) Clinque Almost Lipstick in Black Honey. I bought this a while ago from Ulta for $18.50. It contains nearly 2g of product. While Black Honey provides a natural, glossy, mulberry stain to my lips, I will say this product is not hydrating. I usually layer it with a lip balm like Carmex or Vaseiline. Still, the color is very flattering, but I do not think I would repurchase. 

2.) Becca Lush Lip Colour Balm in Chai. Originally sold for $22.00, I picked this up by chance for $5.99. It contains a little more than 5g of product. Though I paid so little for it, I would happily pick up other colors in the line as well- like Milk Chocolate.  This also has a natural glossy finish, and is very close to my actual lip color. It is not too warm and the color pigments adhere more to the skin than the other products in this post. It also has a sweet vanilla taste to it. 

3.)  Flesh Fleshy Lips Lipstick in Gorge, a warm brown that looks cooler in the bullet. Gorge costs $18.00 for more than 5g of product, so its a better deal than Black Honey. It is the sheerest product in the collection, but it does deliver in providing a warm tone. The texture is very smooth, buttery, and balm-like and feels quite hydrating. It leaves a natural, glossy finish. 

4.) Lastly, we have the Stila Color Balm Lipstick in Jessie. I originally had the grey-toned shade, Grayson, which I used up completely. Grayson provided a nice bit of coolness to my lips, and I was happy to have paid full price for it, which was $22.00. However, by chance I spotted Jessie, a brown-taupe shade at TJ Maxx for $8.00. It is a bit warmer than I would have preferred, but I do enjoy the formula.  The balms from Stila are probably the most moisturizing, and have the most melty formula. They also have a mint scent to them. Currently Stila is selling them at $8.00 as well.

Hope this was informative! Let me know if you tried any of these!