L'Occitane Does Tinted Lip Balms

This post contains PR samples

I'm a big fan of easy, swipe-and-go lip products, so tinted lip balms are definitely something I go for. Seeing as how my lips are dry more often than not, products that are hydrating and nourishing will always stand out to me. When I heard L'Occitane was releasing new tinted lip balms, I was super excited. I've loved so many of the L'Occitane products I've tried, including their Shea Butter Cleansing Oil, which is one of my all-time favorite cleansing oils. You could say I had high expectations.

Right off the bat, I noticed the packaging of the L'Occitane Pivoine Sublime Tinted Lip Balms ($16) was very similar to that of the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments. They're metal, color-coordinated and have twist-off lids. It's definitely aesthetically pleasing. Each with SPF 25 and a delicate peony scent, the collection contains four lip balms inspired by the hues of peonies: Transparent, Rose Nude, Rose Plum and Rose Amber.

L to R: Transparent, Rose Nude, Rose Plum, Rose Amber

The transparent one is exactly that and offers no color whatsoever. I was most excited to try Rose Amber, hoping it would make a great throw-on nude shade that I could keep in my handbag for applying a hint of color and hydration on-the-go. Unfortunately, I found the shade to truly be more amber (yellow-brown) than nude, thus appearing a bit off against my complexion. It just seems to age me or something. I'm not sure. Then, I tried Rose Nude, a pinky rose shade. This shade suits me more than Rose Amber does, although I noticed after trying these two that the pigmentation seemed a bit more sheer than I was expecting, which is neither good nor bad, as it is a tinted lip balm, after all. 

Having come to this conclusion regarding the pigmentation, I swiped on Rose Plum one night, sans mirror, and when I happened to look in a mirror some time later, I was a bit shocked. This one is surprisingly pigmented, much more than the previous two, and seeing as how it's also the deepest shade, I basically did a double-take in the mirror, trying to recall when I had applied such a statement lip (and so badly, at that!). This is the thing about bolder shades in lip balm formulations: they tend to slip and slide around more than I'm comfortable with, and it's difficult to keep the edges clean, you know? I tend to steer clear, though the color of Rose Plum is very, very pretty. Definitely my favorite of the three tints, color-wise.

L to R: Rose Nude, Rose Plum, Rose Amber

As far as the formula is concerned, I'm afraid I'm just meh on these. Perhaps I set my expectations too high, as I love L'Occitane products normally, and I thought these would be very similar to the Fresh lip balms, but I just don't find these to be nearly moisturizing enough on my dry, chronically dehydrated puckers. Compared to the Fresh lip balms, which are notoriously soft and prone to melting, these feel much more solid. The texture feels incredibly thin and lightweight on the lips...almost too lightweight, if I'm being honest, where it doesn't feel substantial enough to really coat and nourish my lips. Contrary to its 8-hour hydration claim, these last maybe an hour on me before I need to reapply, which doesn't surprise me, considering the texture.

All is not lost, however, because I appreciate that these offer some sun protection. I'm planning on keeping either the transparent or Rose Nude one in my beach/pool bag to protect my lips while I'm out in the sun. I'm hopeful these will fare a bit better in the heat than some of my other lip balms have.

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Disclosure: The products in this post were sent to me for consideration for a review. I am not affiliated with the company, nor am I getting paid for this post. The opinions expressed in this post are based solely on my own experience with the products.

Posted in: Makeup-2