Hi my lovely readers, how has your day been?
I've been seeing a lot of reviews on the new Maybelline Baby Lips Electro Pop range & I decided to add my thoughts to the pool. For us Indians, the most exciting thing about this launch is the packaging of the range. Finally we get Baby Lips with the adorable US packaging that actually puts the "baby" in the lip balm!! When I was swatching this new launch at the Maybelline counter, I felt that Pink Shock was the most pigmented so I picked it up. Funnily, there's a yellow one that comes out as clear, why it is in the "electro pop" range baffles me! When I started using Pink Shock, I realized that it is very similar to a cult favorite that Maybelline released in India a long time ago - Pink Blossom from the Lip Smooth range. I felt that the lip smooth range is discontinued but I still see it at Health& Glow, not anywhere else. I purchased the Lip Smooth lip balm last year after hearing so many rave reviews about it. I'll review Pink Shock in detail first & then compare it to Pink Blossom.
Shades: Pink Shock, Fierce & Tangy, Berry Bomb, Oh Orange
(Availalble in more shades in US! =[ )
Octyldodecanol, Polybutene, Petrol Atum, Isopropyl Myristate, Polyethylene, Ozokerite, Diisostearyl Malate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter / Shea Butter, Candelilla, Cera/Candelilla Wax/Cire De Candelilla, VP/Hexadecene Copolymer, Parfum/Fragrance, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Aroma/Flavor, Limonene, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Alumina, Silica, Benzyl Alcohol, Mel/Honey/Miel, Centella Asiatica Extract, Linalool, Benzyl Benzoate, Tin Oxide, Citral, Eugenol, Geraniol. May Contain: CI 77891/Titanium Dioxide, CI 45410/Red 28 Lake, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499/ Iron Oxides, CI 45380/Red 22 Lake, Mica, CI 15850/Red 7, CI 15985/Yellow 6 Lake, CI 19140/Yellow 5 Lake, CI 42090/Blue 1 Lake.
Things I love: Affordable price tag, lightweight texture, pigmentation, lasting power, finish.
Things I dislike: low hydration, lack of SPF, ingredients, flimsy packaging.
The best way to apply it is to put on a single layer, press your lips 2-3 times to blot it out and then reapply. This ensures that you will be left behind with a stain that lasts for hours & hours even after the balm has slipped off. I applied it this way and I had to remove the stain with a makeup remover!! The balmy feeling mostly disappears after a meal but the color still stays. With this lip balm, the balmy feeling and the glossiness lasts for a pretty good time - 2 to 3 hours. What's really appreciable is the pigment- it packs a punch! With 2 layers it covers up my lip pigmentation. You can see a slight difference between color of upper & lower lips in the pics, but that is because the picture is zoomed in, its only visible up close. The lip balm offers a glossiness that makes the lips look like they're naturally plump! Its not like the shiny glossiness of a lip gloss (which I feel looks fake). I find it mildly moisturizing, I don't think your lips can survive a whole day of AC with just this lip balm on, but I haven't tested that out yet (will do it soon & update)
Now let's see the not so good parts. Lack of spf means I cannot wear it during the day, unless I want my lips to get dark (good lawd!!!). Its not very hydrating, it has shea butter(8 th on the ingredient list) & Vit E, but it feels good on the lips only when they aren't chapped. If you're hoping to cure chapped or cracked lips, this won't make the cut. It will settle into the cracks & cuts. For a lip balm claiming to have shea butter, you'd think it would be in the top 3 of the ingredients list. And the oh-so-cute packaging? Well, I dropped my lip balm and the tube is all shaky now :( Finally, the one common problem all users had - the bullet doesn't go fully inside the tube, so it might chip off while opening & closing the cap, especially when you are in a hurry
Pink Shock VS Pink Blossom:
Pink Blossom is a color changing balm, it appears clear in the tube but changes upon swiping it on lips. Pink Blossom is a bright pink whereas Pink Shock is a berry toned pink . But they appear to be very similar on the lips in the pics & have the same finish. Pink Blossom is pigmented too, but not as much as Pink Shock. What bothers me about Pink Blossom is that it very clearly appears darker on my upper lip and lighter on my lower lip. My upper lip has pigmentation, that's why. What I hate about Pink Blossom is that after it dries up on my lips, it leaves a stain behind which looks very shabby. I know its hard to imagine, but it looks like I applied an uneven lip stain which ended up looking darker on upper lip & lighter on lower lip. Similar to how all the Benefit Lip & Cheek stains look on pigmented lips. It has has Jojoba & Vit E but low hydration like Pink Shock . I need to get rid of the rich pink stain with a makeup remover. I love the packaging of the Lip Smooth range though; since Pink Shock is pigmented, the wide bullet leads to little error every time I apply the lip balm without looking in a mirror. Pink Blossom has a packaging exactly like a slim lipstick and that leaves no room for error. I have dropped it as well but that hasn't affected the packaging. And yes, I am one veryclumsy girl. I feel that the balmy part of Pink Blossom lasts for a lesser time than Pink Shock. It has SPF16 & retails for Rs.135(~$2.2). Available at Amazon.
I think that Electro Pop range is nice to have, I won't label it as a must have but I think I will face no problems using it during spring time, when lips won't be chapped. I do love the color, and the glossiness it gives my lips. I just wish it was more hydrating and had SPF as well. I like it more compared to Pink Blossom, though the later scores for packaging.