little white truths

Thank golly I finally got some usable shots of this product: for some reason it was one of those items that I needed to photograph three times before getting shots I could live with.

If there's one common thread between the products that give me grief when it comes to photographing them, it's that they're almost always items that annoy me - and the whole 'my camera won't focus' thing is just the icing on the cake.

But life tends to be like that, doesn't it?!

Moving on. We received one of these from Maslow & Co and while I was happy to get one that wasn't bright red, this also isn't the kind of thing I would have chosen for myself.

Some people will love this packaging and I do get that, but I'm one of those people who prefers to own things that look sleek or plain, rather than cute. Cute isn't something I'm drawn to with my makeup and skincare products. Call me boring, but there it is.

My other issue with this product is that it's apparently a hybrid lipstick, balm and gloss, which to me means that it doesn't serve any function well so it's not my favourite and it's currently on my Project Pan list for that reason. Thankfully there's not much product so I'll be done with it soon.

Tony Moly claims/product details:

• Super nourishing and coats your lips in a beautifully wearable sheen
• These glosses work worn on bare lips or over the top of a lip stain or lipstick
• Extra hydrating with a delicious fruity scent and glossy sheer finish
• To treat chapped or dry lips while applying a layer of colour
• Available in nine shades, each a different flavour
• RRP $8.95 AUD for 2g

Please note that I often play with the lighting and saturation of my opening shots to get them to look better, which is why I always include these unedited and unfiltered shots of my coloured products so you can see what they really look like.

Above I've photographed the product in natural light and below in indirect sunlight:

There's a swatch:

 Natural light (outdoors):

Verdict

I don't love this product and there's not much to say about it so I'll be brief.

It's a twist-up arrangement and there's not much product, which is probably partly why these are so cheap. They're meant to be hydrating like a balm and have the finish of a gloss, but if I had to compare them to anything, they're more like a lip crayon on me because they're not hydrating in the slightest and they're not very glossy either.

The thing that bothers me most about this product is that it's not nourishing on my dry lips so it's caused me some grief during the panning period and my lips are suffering: they're drier than usual and flaky/chapped, and although that's partly because it's winter, this product has done nothing for them. Indeed, it's only made matters worse.

I like the soft strawberry scent of this shade because it's there but it's not overpowering or too sweet. The fragrance treads the right balance between being detectable while not being in-your-face, and that's the thing I like most about the product.

Shade #1 is a cool-toned baby pink that does not suit me. You'll see above that it either looks invisible or makes me look like I'm living in arctic conditions. I could live with that if the product hydrated my lips, but since it doesn't, there's really no point in me wearing it. 

In hindsight I should have decluttered it, but at least it's not going to last me much more than a month of daily use.

One final thing to note is that this does very little for my lip lines so I can't wear it if I want to look my best. If it had a plumping or blurring effect, it would be a good topper for some of my drier lipsticks - but it doesn't so it loses points on that front too.

Overall, I don't rate this product. If you love the packaging and have a tenner to spare - sure, why not - but don't buy this if you need something functional.

No.