My love affair with the Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Color is not a mere crush!

How I came about trying (and loving – spoiler!) the Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Color turned out to be via a rather circuitous route.

When it was first launched a year or two back, I initially looked at it, and then dismissed it as yet another balm-lipstick. Don’t get me wrong. I love balm-type lipsticks, but there are only so many I can have in my collection.

Then, I met a few people who raved about the Crushed Lip Color to me. Suddenly, the feeling of FOMO rose in me. I needed to find out what it was about these lipsticks that had these ladies raving about them.

One day, I stopped by the boutique, and the rest as they say, is history! 😀

Yes, the Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Color lipsticks are balm-type lipsticks. But instead of being a balm first, and a lipstick second, as is wont to happen with these type of formula, they managed to turn it on its head.

I’d say that these are lipsticks first, offering a lovely opaque colour; and a balm second, being comfortable and protecting lips from drying out. But what really got me was the opacity of colour.

After spending quite some time in the store, browsing the selection available, I settled for Bitten. Bitten is described as a medium warm pink, which is a colour I do not usually go for. But I wanted something I could wear daily, without being too in-your-face.

I later picked up a lovely red colour in Regal, but for some reason, that one’s gone missing. I have hunted high and low for it, but it seems to have quietly vanished!

It distresses me, because I really love the formula and the colour. Some day, I might repurchase it. But knowing Murphy’s Law, just when I come home with the new Regal, I would probably find it sitting on my dresser 😛

I had read some reviews that said that these Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Color lipsticks were a little drying. I am sensitive to lipsticks that are drying, so I was a little hesitant.

But I can safely vouch for the fact that these aren’t drying whatsoever! While they aren’t moisturising, in the way that the Bobbi Brown Nourishing Lip Color is moisturising, it’s a little more like a balm. Yet, it is not as balmy as the Bobbi Brown Extra Lip Tint.

To me, it feels like a “baby” Luxe lipstick formula. It is pigmented, like the Bobbi Brown Luxe Lip Colors but not as strongly, and have a less creamy, more waxy texture.

To that end, it has a slightly more waxy feel when going on the lips, and some people may find that it feels heavier too. I don’t find it uncomfortable, and it is not the heavy waxiness of the lipsticks of yore, just the waxiness of a lip balm that is very pigmented.

There is very little shine to it. Just enough to keep things interesting, and not too matte and flat. It makes for a very good lipstick to wear when out and about, and you don’t want something that may travel, as a more creamy formula might.

It also fades quite nicely. Bobbi Brown says that these lipsticks have a satin texture, that appears like a stain of colour on lips. I beg to differ. When they first go on, they are opaque, just like a regular lipstick. But once you have it on, when it begins to fade, then it start looking more like a stain.

I actually took this with me on a holiday about 2 months back. It kept my lips protected so there was no flaking, and yet gave me good colour, so I did not look washed out in photos.

For completeness, this is how the Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Color in Bitten looks on me.

While this isn’t a bright red, as you are used to seeing on me, it also isn’t a pink that washes me out and makes me look sick. Pinks have a tendency to do that with my skin tone.

I like that Bitten is a very wearable, medium-deep pink, with enough blue tones, yet with a little warmth, that makes it a colour that I think may suit most people. I did remember seeing that many people love the nude shades, but when I tried them, they all just made me look sickly – that’s the last thing I want to look!

I personally find longevity to be quite good. Most balm-type lipsticks tend to disappear after a while, because they travel, or because of how emollient they are. This one, being a slightly drier and heavier formula, stays put better.

I have no complaints about the texture or longevity, and I appreciate that there is no scent. In fact, despite my earlier reservations about this, the Crushed Lip Color has become one of my favourite lipsticks. Bitten lives semi-permanently in my bags, and I am always tempted to get more.

The only problem I have is that I find it a little challenging to find shades that suit me. For some reason, possibly due to the slightly more muted shades, I find that there is too much brown as an undertone. I could well be wrong, and it might be simply because I don’t like the colours on offer. But it does limit my colour selection.

Not that I should be complaining – I’d spend less for sure! LOL! 😀

IN A NUTSHELL

The Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Color is a range of highly pigmented balm-textured lipsticks. The colours are opaque, and sit comfortably on lips almost like a waxy lip balm. The band of colour in the middle of the tube, that is almost exactly the same shade as the lipstick bullet does make it easier to identify the shade you want. While I did not expect to, I thoroughly enjoyed using these lipsticks, and it has a semi-permanent place in my daily lipstick wardrobe. For someone with the amount I have, that’s saying something!

PROS:
Pigmented colour and opaque texture
Neutral, muted colours that will appeal to most
Not too glossy texture that sits comfortably on lips
Not drying

CONS:
Shade selection can be tricky depending on your skin tone
A little pricey

WHO WILL LIKE THIS: Anyone who wants a versatile lipstick that you can wear daily, Anyone who wants a comfortable lipstick that feels like a lipbalm but is pigmented and opaque like a cream lipstick

PRICE: RM95 | US$29

WHERE TO BUY: Bobbi Brown stores, Lookfantastic, Net-a-Porter, Sephora, Harrods, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus

Have you tried the Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Color? Is there another colour I should try from this range?

I do miss my Regal. It was a lovely, muted red that was surprisingly wearable even for day time, without exacting too many side-eyes. That said, I don’t think I really care about anyone side-eyeing my red lipsticks LOL! 😀 Tell me if there’s another shade I should try next!

Paris B