Revlon Matte & Lacquer Balms Review

I know every blogger and their dog has already reviewed the new Revlon lip balms, but I wanted to share my love for them with you too! You see, I've become just a little bit obsessed. You may have seen in my latest beauty haul post that I picked up a trio of these on my payday shopping trip. I loved them so much that I decided to go back to Boots the following weekend and pick up three more - and I could well end up with even more by the end of the month!

l-r: Striking, Elusive, Sultry, Provocateur, Demure, Vivacious

There's ten different shades to choose from for both finishes, ranging from the soft pinks & pale nudes, to the bright oranges & bold reds, so there's something for every taste. So far I have three from each (taking advantage of the Boots 3 for 2 offer!), opting mostly for more of the "safer" colours, though having swatched a few of the bolder colours, I am tempted to pick some of those up too. After swatching all of the shades in store (yes, I was there for a very long time!), I would say there were only 3 out of the 20 I didn't like, which isn't bad going. Unfortunately, my bank balance didn't allow for me to purchase all of them!

The matte shades I have purchased are Striking - a orange/red shade that's not too bold, Elusive - a soft pink shade, really nice for everyday & Sultry - a deeper pink/mauve shade, which I think is really nice for this time of year. I have to admit I was a little worried about trying the matte balms. I very rarely wear matte lipsticks as they tend to dry out my lips very quickly. However, this is not the case with the Revlon balms. They have a much more moisturising formula than your typical matte lipstick, yet still achieve an almost completely matte look. They glide on nicely and are also quite pigmented, so it doesn't need much building up to get the colour pay-off you want. The staying power is not as great as you would get with a regular matte lipstick, though I had come to expect this from a balm. I tend to get around 3-4 hours wear before I need a top-up. What I do like about these is that they fade evenly and don't become patchy on the lips.

From the Lacquer balm range I picked up Provocateur - a blue-toned red shade, Demure - a pale nude shade with glitter & Vivacious - a vibrant pink shade. These have a lot more of a glossy finish, without the stickiness that you can often get from a lip gloss. Again these glide on very nicely and some of the shades are very pigmented. The staying power for these is not quite so good - around 2-3 hours at best. The shades I picked up are all very pretty, although I was a little disappointed with Demure. This contains glitter particles which stick to your lips, so as the shade fades away, you are just left with a load of glitter on your lips, so you have to be careful to keep this one topped up!

Apologies for the poor lip swatches - I've had a cold, so my lips aren't in the best condition!

 My favourite shades are Provocateur & Sultry. I don't wear red lipsticks very often, as a lot of them are very bold and not great for everyday use. Provocateur is more subtle and not as deep as a lot of reds, so I can get a lot more use out of this. Sultry is a lovely colour for winter time and I have found it is the longest lasting balm out of the six I have purchased so far.

Overall I'm very impressed with these products, particularly the matte balms. Although they are not the longest lasting, for someone who has very dry lips most of the time, I'd take moisturisation over staying power any day. They retail for £7.99 each and are still on the 3 for 2 offer in Boots at the moment.

Have you tried the Revlon matte or lacquer balms? What did you think of them?