Box of Crayons

Sure enough, a week after saying I couldn't find them anywhere, I spotted a whole heap of the Face of Australia Sheer Gloss Lip Crayons at a Priceline in the city. They come in a pack of 3 and retail for $14.95, though I bought these at 20% off. And yes, they're very similar to Clinique Chubby Sticks, just a touch more pigmented and not as attractively packaged. The colours are also pretty much dead on dupes of certain Revlon Lip Butters, as I discovered when I swatched them side by side.

Top to bottom: Cupcake, Sundae, Macaron

As you can see from the swatch, the colours are quite sheer. It takes several swipes to get any noticeable pigment. Though they apply smoothly like a balm, I don't find them particularly moisturising and the texture feels somewhat waxy and drying. I thought Sundae would be the least flattering because it looks like a more "mature"/brown shade, but it's surprisingly my favourite and the most wearable, a true MLBB colour. The sheerness here actually works as an advantage, as any more pigmented and it wouldn't look as understated and natural. Cupcake is a typical bright pink that still appears fairly muted when worn, quite similar to Clinique Chubby Stick in Woppin' Watermelon, but with slightly more red and raspberry tones. Macaron, more of a cherry red, is the most pigmented of the three by far, but because it's both pigmented and sheer, I found it really hard to apply evenly (as you can see in the picture below). Dry lips probably didn't help.

The left column is the lip crayons (Sundae, Cupcake and Macaron, from top to bottom) and the right column are the Revlon Lip Butters in Pink Truffle, Strawberry Shortcake and Cherry Tart. I was pretty astounded by the similarity. If you have a large lipstick collection, it's normal to find close approximations to products you already own, but these more or less look like total dupes to me. Three out of three. Granted, I still think the Lip Butters are superior (more moisturising, pigmented and better packaged), but the Face of Australia lip crayons are an excellent option if you're interested in a sheerer version presented in a novel form. Ultimately, they're an ideal means of satiating any curiosity you might have about the Clinique Chubby Sticks, without the price (given that you get all 3 for less than half the price of a single Chubby Stick).