Ah lipstick-lipbalm hybrids make a comeback this year, where we’ll see a release from a luxury brand soon, but you know what? Never discount the drugstore/pharmacies because you sometimes find gems in there. I’m going to tell you about a gem today 😀 Many gems in fact!
Yes, me hearties, it’s the Maybelline Lip Polish – a liquid lipstick-lipbalm-lipgloss hybrid that promises you luscious shiny pouty puckers with just 1 swipe of the uniquely shaped wand applicator. I picked up one to try during a promotion at Watson’s a couple of months ago and I have to say that I was wow-ed.
These aren’t just wallet-friendly, they are stunning and deserve all the bouquets and accolades rained on it!
If those of you reading from Europe or the USA think these look familiar, well they are! I checked with the brand and I was told that what is known as the Maybelline Lip Polish in some parts of Asia is also known as the Maybelline Color Elixir in other parts of the world.
However, I have read that Color Elixir has a scent, while the Lip Polish is unscented. The other difference is that ours have numbers instead of names. Not having access to the Color Elixir for comparison purposes, I can’t verify if they look, feel or smell like the same things but that’s what I’ve been told. Discrepancies and similarities aside, I think these lip colours very impressive.
It comes packaged like a lip gloss, with a sponge tip applicator shaped like a leaf, that applies product over a wider area more quickly. I’m not usually a fan of sponge applicators but this one does the job very well. It applies colour smoothly and fairly evenly (the deeper shades take more work) with just 1 swipe and it saturates itself well with colour so you pick up a lot of colour with just one go.
Size-wise, it’s compact and small. The thick plastic case has the colour of the product displayed in the embedded insert shaped like a lipstick. The packaging brings to mind that of a lipgloss but the subliminal message of the lipstick within tells you that this isn’t just a lipgloss or a lipbalm. It’s as good as a lipstick, and I fully concur!
Here are the swatches on my arm, with the product swatched directly from the tube with just 1 swatch. You may notice just how shiny and opaque it is 😀
The Maybelline Lip Polish comes in Glam and Pop and numbers which I’ve sort of worked out that Glam shades are shiny and a little more transparent while Pop offers more opaque colour with brighter shades. Fact is however, they look the same so just go with the colours you like. As for the numbers, lower numbers denote lighter shades while higher numbers, stronger shades.
A quick run down of the 4 shades I own are as follows:-
- Glam 2 – I bought this one, a sweet coral pink that has these micro shimmers in the product that aren’t visible on lips (at least not to me) I love this colour.
- Glam 3 – A shiny orange with some micro shimmer, that looks like a coral in the tube. It isn’t as scary looking when worn but is a nice bright shade that allows you to be a bit playful when you feel like it
- Pop 5 – A straight pink that I’d never have picked for myself but had the privilege to try. It has no shimmer and is a sweet blue-based pink that turned out to be surprisingly flattering.
- Glam 6 – A deep berry with no shimmer that is at once glamorous yet can be worn light for a deeper lip shade
The Lip Polish does apply a little more sheer than you might expect, so if you want an opaque colour this isn’t the one you should be looking at. You can apply just a little for a sheer wash of glossy shine or layer it on for more intense colour. I do find that the deeper shades will stain a little so that’s a good or bad thing, depending on what you prefer.
Here are the swatches on my lips so you have an idea of what they look like. I applied just 1 layer of product.
Maybelline Lip Polish (1) Glam 2 (2) Glam 3 (3) Pop 5 (4) Glam 6
It feels lovely on lips, without feeling sticky or goopy and for me, a gloss-phobe, feels surprisingly light. It doesn’t dry out my lips at all so the balm properties might hold true. I like wearing Glam 2, Glam 3 and Pop 5 for casual days or even just everyday because it feels so comfortable and the colours go with almost everything.
You may notice how Glam 3 on my more pigmented lips, takes on a pinkish orange tone that is much more flattering than the straight orange you see on my arm. I believe your lip colour will play a part in changing the way these look on everyone, because they do apply more sheer than you expect. The exception is Glam 6 which is opaque in 1 swipe and very strongly pigmented.
What say I then? If these were a stock, I’d call a buy on them. They are affordable, deliver a lovely result, do not dry out lips and makes you feel great. There’s nothing more you can ask from a lip colour 😀
In a nutshell
The Maybelline Lip Polish are unscented lipstick-lipgloss-lipbalm hybrids that I think are wonderful products. The sponge applicator is very effective, picking up lots of colour and is easy to deposit and spread on lips. The colour is more sheer on lips than it implies so do not expect opaque strong colour. I find that the deeper shades stain a little if you like that. I love these because they are pigmented, non-drying, have a lovely glossy shine and are so affordable. Apparently these are the same products known as Color Elixir in other parts of the world but accounts of product differ slightly. Can’t verify it myself but these are excellent products all around!
Pros: Affordable, Pigmented colour, Glossy shine, Not drying, Easy to use, Wearable colours to suit most if not all skintones, No scent
Cons: None (unless you count that it’s a little sheerer than it lets on)
Who will like this: Anyone who likes glossy lipstick with pigmented colour and shine, Anyone who wants an affordable pick me up
For the sake of completeness, here are all 4 lip colours worn in a full face look. Does it amaze you as it does me how just the change of a lip colour can practically change the whole look? The rest of the makeup remains the same 😀
Have you tried the Maybelline Lip Polish? Which is your favourite colour?
I think these are great for the price and performance, and I’m a lipstick snob! 😀 My favourite colour of the 4 here is actually Glam 2 which is a nice “neutral” shade for me, adding colour and shine to my look yet not looking too overwhelming. For days when I feel like glamming up, I go with Glam 6. It’s like Dior Black Tie in an affordable liquid lip 😀 Some day if I’m free, I’ll go searching for dupes of colours I have – but no promises! 😉
Paris B
Maybelline Lip Polish by Color Sensational comes in 10 shades locally – Price: RM32.90 (watch out for sales!) Availability: All Maybelline display counters
I got Glam 2 and 6! Just like you, I’m loving Glam 2. I found 6 too dark for me and passed it to a friend. I’ve been wanting to buy these for a long time, but there were no testers in Guardian and Watson. Last week, they finally had testers in Guardian so I picked up two. I want to go back for more! Real value for money!
I can’t recall off the top of my head what Glam 6 is, but I’m thinking the bright red? But Glam 2 is a great everyday wear sort of colour that adds colour to the face without being too strong, so I forsee myself getting a lot of use out of it. I’m thinking of trying one of the nude browns. It’s an affordable experiment after all 🙂
Haha after your review, this is one more thing on my wishlist!
Really like the berry coloured one 🙂
Another item on my wishlist, the Two Face chocolate bar palette!
Haha I believe they are permanent but I do notice that stocks run out quickly. I was eyeing the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette too! But the idea of things smelling like chocolate doesn’t appeal to me since I’m not that big a fan of chocolate to start. But the colours look so wearable and lovely
This lip polish is very nice! Unfortunately recently, I hauled to much bright lippies or else I will actually get them! Still, who knows what will happened in future. And I like how you look with Pop 5!
Haha get some of the lighter shades then, Cynthia? 😉 Thanks, Pop 5 turned out to be an unexpected love for me too. I can wear pink! YAY! 😉
Pop 5 is nice! 😀 Perhaps I should just buy this instead of the lipgloss I told you I wanted to buy 😛
Happy St Patrick’s Day!! Cheers!!! 😀
LOL Why not, you could probably buy 4 of them LOL 😛 Is it St. Patrick’s Day already? Oh boy, time for a pint of guinness! 😀
I love this stuff! I grabbed 3 when it was released back in January and have been using them quite regularly since. Easy to wear and feels great. The applicator is da bomb!
It must have been you again, raving about it that got my attention! LOL 😀 They’re great though and I’m thinking of trying some of the light shades. I like how easy they are to wear and the non-sticky, non drying bit really has me loving it
Oh my. I’m going to add this to my shopping cart later when I shop for groceries. Especially Glam 6. I mean, Tine’s taught me that if it’s bought during grocery shopping, it’s technically groceries. I agree.
Tine is a smart woman! I shall have to put that into practice the next time I go grocery shopping 😛 You’d love Glam 6 but if it costs AU$30, skip it!
I really like these! I wish ours were unscented though, no fair! Hahaha. You look great, Paris!
Thank you Larie! 😀 Maybe I should swap you some of ours for some of yours and we can see how different/similar they are, eh? 😀
Ahaha! I’m up for it any time 😉
You look superb in these but definitely super awesome in Pop5! I love how it looks on you~ 😀 Makes you look super sweet. It is super pretty!
Bella
Thank you Bella! 😀 Pop 5 did turn out to be a surprise winner in my books too because I don’t usually wear Pink lipstick and this one worked 🙂 I’m sure it’ll look as fab on you 😀
I checked it out last week or so after you tweeted about it (yes – admittedly before you fully reviewed it but it was on sale and being just about < RM30/-, could not resist picked it up :-p). Went through the available testers – took some time – it was a toss up between Glam 9 or Glam 7 and ended up with Glam 7. Under Guardian's "warm" lights, Glam 7 looked better or so I thought. When in natural light, it suddenly looked more coral/orange than I anticipated. (Arrghh – takes getting used to) (And now, Glam 2 on you is making my wallet twitch – how did I bypass Glam 2) And why does the applicator dispense it in sort of a goop/splotch when I apply – then it hit me [duh] – got to smooth it over and "mm mm" the lips. After that and a light blot with tissue, it's turned out pretty nice for a minimalist coverage – orange-ish and all.
LOL! I think I did say it was fabulous back then and my view remains the same 😀 I agree the in store lighting is horrible! I can’t remember what the different numbers are, so I do wish they’d labelled ours with names instead of numbers. The applicator does pick up quite a lot of product so I swipe it down the sides of the tube before applying to the lips and you’re right, I do the smacking lips together thing too, to get it evened out! Picked that out from the Bobbi Brown workshop LOL 😀
I love Glam 2 and 5 but so far, in my state, this not yet arrive (or probably will not ever available here). From what I can see, the size is small enough to easily carry anywhere, even in tight pocket jeans (my quirk is to put lip product in my pocket, haha). And as in your review that the colour is sheer so I would love to try this when I travel because I usually put on lip colour without mirror and I need something that moisturize and give slight colour to enhance my poor, pale face thanks to travelling 😀
Aww I hope you get these soon because they really are great! Or maybe look out for them as Color Elixir, if you’re based in Europe/US. And you’re right, you can quite easily stick a tube into your jeans pocket because it’s tiny! And yes, if you get the lighter shades, you could possibly apply it without a mirror but not the stronger shades cos they are pigmented! 🙂
I absolutely love these! I own Glam 13 and Glam 6 and can’t wait to try more! I do wish these had names instead of numbers like the Elixirs, makes it so much easier to remember!
I totally agree with you Ankita! I wish there were names too because I have no idea what the numbers imply! I’m also keen to try more but will likely try a couple of the lighter shades, just for the fun of it 😀
I really like glam 6 on ya, really SO glam!!! I tried on Black Tie once but I look too gothic with it. Perhaps it was my high cheekbones that adds to that scare. My hubby and the promoter even said TOO gothic, can you imagine?? Now when I see shades like that and Glam 6, I can only watch from afar, looking sad and deprived….. LOL!
Thanks lovely! 🙂 You are right though, that deep plums do tend to pull gothic especially on fair skins and if you have dark hair! One way I’ve found to try to make it work is to pick a shade with more red in it. Black Tie is fairly bold, Glam 6 is much brighter and lighter in shade so if you really want to try to see if it’ll work, it’s an affordable option. If all fails, apply just a thin layer to get a sheer tint of berry colour on lips. Pretty! 😉
Okie I will take ur recommendation, as in find one with more red! Red is awesome so anything with more red in it, all the better….hahaha! Let me just share with you a secret (no longer now)…I actually refused to accept that Black Tie looked too gothic for me (even though I saw it in my very own eyes), I actually dragged 2 of my unlucky friends with me to go to another counter to try it AGAIN. History repeated. 2 people got shocked. Hahahah!
You know what? I stupidly stood there at the pharmacy thinking why I wasn’t able to uncap this lipstick after tugging on the end for quite awhile! And then realized it’s actually a lip gloss/balm hybrid *facepalms* I do like Glam 2! I think I’m starting to grow out of the lip gloss phase…I’m really into those ‘my lips but better’ lipstick shades now. Oh, and I caved after reading your post about the Revlon matte balms…just had to get Sultry.
Hahaha I don’t blame you Yee! Which also tells you that their packaging works right? Fooled ya hehe… 😉 Glam 2 is a nice wearable colour and I think you did a good job picking Sultry! It’s one of the best colours in the Revlon Matte balm range
I honestly really love this. I got the one in glam 6 last week and if it wasn’t for the fact that wearing it o Uni would be weird, I would definitely be wearing everyday. I have very very dry lips and even if I drink loads of water, my lips will always be dry. This does not ready me out at all… Seriously. Im going to buy all of the colours… hehehe
Woohoo! You know, at your age, nothing would or should be deemed weird being worn to uni, because it’s the age of experimentation 🙂 So go on, wear it daily if you like, or maybe wear it as a lighter wash of colour instead of full on glam? 😀
I just bought Glam 7 because of the pinkish-coral color but I ended up not liking it. =S I have pretty dry lips and this seems to accentuate it more. Color-wise, it looked great when I tested it on my arm but on my lips, it came off nude/natural. Unfortunately, I was aiming to get more color from this one. As far as drugstore lippies go, I would still prefer Revlon.
Sorry to hear that Liz 🙁 I guess it had to fail for someone. I think Revlon lippies are great too but they are quite different from these. Still I saw some pix of Revlon doing similar lipstick-gloss hybrids to be released later this year so let’s wait and see how those fare 😀
oh! I just bought Glam 1 yesterday! I’ve been holding it off for months because online swatches just wasn’t impressive enough. And yesterday I was in a happy shopping mood so yeah I picked one up. Tried it as soon as I got into the car (yeah I was that impatient!). It was strange. Glittery light nude peach that applies lighter on my lips. I like the shade. I had dark makeup on yesterday and it compliment the eyes very well. Today I had a sort of bright makeup on and again it compliment the eyes quite well. The texture… hmm… not quite used to it. It feels heavy, or siliconey… don’t know. I will have to use more and see what’s the hype. :p
oh you look so sweet in Glam 2 & 5! <3
Thank you! 😀
It has that lipgloss slip to it but I find it not to be as heavy as some other glosses I’ve used. I think it’s a nice affordable pick me up and a fun way to play with colours, but like everything, it’s not exactly a must have. Just a nice option 😀
I’ve used it for a few more days, and i think it’s the feeling like there’s a film of something on the lips. Different from lipstick. Can get used to that. Love the subtle shimmery stuff left behind after colour has faded. My daughter was staring at my lips for a good few minutes. :p
Mmm that doesn’t sound pleasant at all! >.< At least it wasn't too costly a mistake eh? 😀
I did not want to pick these up, but now I may pick a couple if they go on sale here. I don’t know, with drugstore, I only buy to use once and then stuff boxes with them. But these look very, very nice.
Oh Shivani, I so know what you mean about stuffing away drugstore items after one use! Happens to me too if they’re items I’m not that interested in. But the recent Revlon balms have gotten a lot of use from me and so have these Maybelline ones so I think I’m breaking myself of the habit 😀 I still rarely go for drugstore eyeshadows though – it never seems to be worth my time no matter the brand 😛
I have it in the shade Glam 9 which is quite similar to Pop 5. I really like it, the texture, pigmentation, and how long wearing it is. The only problem is that application can get a bit tricky, I need to be quite careful not over applying it and make sure the application is even.
I find that wiping down the applicator on the side of the tube helps to control application, otherwise it can be a bit goopy because the applicator holds a ton of product 🙂
Glam 6 looks real cool on you!
Thank you! It’s a gorgeous colour 😀
Hi Paris.. I love these Lip Polishes from Maybelline. Great color, nice feel on the lips and affordable. I have Glam2, Glam 3, Glam 6 and a mauve shade which I x remember the number. Planning on getting more of these gems.
Good picks Phyllicia! 😀 These are such fun products and surprisingly good quality too!