L'Oreal Colour Riche Lip Balm Plush Plum

L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm ($6-8) came out around the same time as Revlon Lip Butter, while (as we all know) the Revlon sheer lipstick/balm hybrid achieved instant stardom (in blogosphere), L'Oreal is relatively unknown and unloved. Earlier this year I picked up Plush Plum, a muted rosy plum with some golden shimmer, in CVS and ended up really liking it.

The Color Riche Balm comes with a silver colored metal case (with a rectangular thing poking out so it actually takes a second or two to find the right side to snap it close) and a transparent plastic lid that matches the shade of the balm stick.While it might not be as photogenic as the lip butters (ahem, I got a few more since shooting them was way too much fun), it's nevertheless well made and look "its (sort of expensive drugstore) price".

The stick of Colour Riche Balm is hard enough that it never wobbles/breaks/gets smooshed in the tube but it never had any problem depositing color with a single swipe. I personally detect a vanilla scent (that's stronger than lip butter and sticks around longer) that's not bothersome.

L'Oreal Plush Plum, Shiseido Tender Sheer Natural Wine, Revlon Bordeaux and Maybelline Plum Shine - To me, Plush Plum leaves a reasonable amount of pigment, a glossy shine (that also enhances the color by a notch) and actual moisture that makes my lips feel quenched. Considering the somewhat wet finish, the tint does go away more quickly (than some lipstick and thick gloss) when I smack a lot but I don't mind doing some one-swipe retouching. 

L'Oreal Colour Riche Lip Balm Plush Plum ( Hello liver lips ). I wish this particular color is not as dusty or less purple. Overall: Beside the closure of the lid, I do like Plush Plum and I will probably get Heavenly Berry (bright raspberry pink) the next time it's on sale. If you plan to try these, please note that the sheerer shades can be borderline clear kind of sheer.

Look what I saw at CVS, a cobalt blue lip gloss from L'Oreal (I took it to more central part of the store to make sure that it wasn't some temporary colorblindness I had) that looks like the one from Guerlain's summer collection.

It turns out to be a genetically mutated Plum Rush - I didn't buy it (just from looking at the tubes, the glosses all seem very sheer and runny) just to see how it looks on lip (or if it's actually safe to use). Instead, I used my CVS coupon (they usually print one out for me whenever L'Oreal is on sale, which is pretty sweet since I always have a manufacturer's coupon in my wallet) on a bottle of Sublime Sun liquid sunscreen (on sale for 6.99 instead of 11.49 in CVS this week) .