Batty For Butter

These wretched Revlon Lip Butters. They targeted both the lip product fiend and hoarder in me. I may have gone a little overboard. When I saw they were buy one, get one free at Priceline, all restraint flew out the window. Truth be told, I had been waiting for the sale for a couple of weeks. I stalked my local Priceline in advance, to pick out all the colours I wanted. Then came the agonising deliberation about which I should buy and which I should leave behind. I finally narrowed it down to 6, but my resolve started weakening when I saw reviews and swatches from Australian and UK bloggers (where these have been recently released) of other shades that I hadn't picked. So I started thinking again...

In the end, I decided I would rather chastise myself for shameful levels of self-indulgence, than have that awful feeling of overriding dissatisfaction because my collection felt lacking. I somehow managed to pull off a pretty miraculous feat in not buying a single light pink colour. Cupcake and Strawberry Shortcake particularly called out to me, but I convinced myself that if experience was anything to go by, they just wouldn't work for me. In hindsight, I probably could've swapped one of the berry/plummy/darker shades for a baby pink. For more variety, if nothing else.

These are really a triumph of marketing and packaging. Not saying that the product inside isn't good, because for the most part, I'm actually fairly impressed. But the reality is, the colours and formula are hardly revolutionary. They've just been expertly crafted into an attractive collection of 20 shades, with sophisticated packaging, scrumptious names and Emma Stone as the poster girl. The online community certainly played a part in generating major hype, which I bought into with zeal.

These Lip Butters vary in terms of creaminess (or "butteriness"), and pigmentation. Generally, the ones with glitter (like Peach Parfait and Berry Smoothie) are less smooth and creamy than the ones without. Some of the darker shades (Lollipop, Raspberry Pie, Cherry Tart) are more or less standard lipsticks, but with more moisturising properties. Pigmentation can be built up with any of the shades. Peach Parfait is to me the most wearable, though I'm not a fan of the glitter and you need a couple of swipes to get any colour. Of the brigher shades, I love Sweet Tart and Cherry Tart.

 l-r: Creamsicle, Peach Parfait, Tutti Frutti, Sweet Tart, Lollipop, Raspberry Pie, Berry Smoothie, Cherry Tart

l-r (first row, then second row): Creamsicle, Peach Parfait, Tutti Frutti, Sweet Tart

Creamsicle The one nude that I chose. It looked a lot better on me than Crème Brulee, which was too brown. It's too similar to my skin tone though, so not the most flattering colour. This one, for some reason, smells absolutely heavenly though, like cookie dough ice cream.

Peach Parfait I'd love this more if it weren't so sheer and loaded with gold glitter, because it really is a pretty and easy to wear peachy pink. I think it looks better with at most 2 coats, heavier application results in the glitter becoming almost gritty and the colour a more gold-flecked deep guava.

Tutti Frutti I wasn't going to get this initially, as I have too many coral lipsticks already. But every swatch I saw made me want to have it regardless. This is a very bright orange, bordering on neon if built up in intensity. I like it best lightly applied, any more and I find the orange clashes with my skin tone.

Sweet Tart One of my favourites, it was sold out at the first store I went to, so I had to search for it elsewhere. If you combined Berry Smoothie and Lollipop, then added a touch of bright pink, you'd get something similar to Sweet Tart. Definitely a more flattering pink than the lighter shades in the range, I appreciate that it doesn't make my lips look purple.

 l-r (first row, then second row): Lollipop, Raspberry Pie, Berry Smoothie, Cherry Tart

Lollipop Similar to Sweet Tart and Raspberry Pie, I feel that these three are slight variations on each other and it's not necessary to have them all. This is a pinky fuchsia that is darker and more purple than Sweet Tart, and lighter and less pigmented than Raspberry Pie.

Raspberry Pie Quite dark, vampy, raspberry-toned fuchsia, brighter berry hues than Lollipop, which is lighter but slightly more purple. Excellent pigmentation, very buttery in texture, though not sure when I'd actually wear this. Needs only two coats to create a dramatic lip. Leaves a nice berry red stain.

Berry Smoothie On the sheer side, this is Peach Parfait's darker, more berry twin. Another glittery shade, but a very wearable, everyday colour, albeit a little bit more plummy than I'd like.

Cherry Tart Despite the glitter, this is one of the most flattering shades of red that I own. The right level of brightness, not too blue-based, good level of pigmentation but sheer enough for daytime wear.

Just echoing what's been said before, but one major complaint about these is that you don't get much product for the price. There's only 2.55g of product, compared with 4.2g for a Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick and 3.7g for a ColorBurst lipstick, which these are packaged very similarly to. Seems like a bit of a stingy move by Revlon. At least now, I may very well finally finish up a whole lipstick.