Ever since my mom surprised me with Coach Poppy last year, I've been obsessed with all things poppy. It may sound silly - I think poppies now make me think of my mom and that makes me happy, so if a product has something to do with poppies, I'm all about it. Does anyone else make connections like that with a beauty product?

So that's why this Color Whisper happened. As soon as I saw the initial launch of it, I knew I'd have to have it - if I could actually find it. That's the frustrating thing about Limited Edition Drugstore Collections; if you don't jump at an item and it sells out, you're screwed. I had to check a couple different locations before I was actually able to find one of these. Though, it was totally worth it.

Can we just talk about how cute the packaging is for the Color Whisper range? I really like the translucency and shine the cap has. It's light and summery and almost jewel like and it makes me happy for some unknown reason.

Pop of Poppy is one of those colors that will literally suit any skin tone. It is a semi-sheer ever so slightly red toned pink shade that can be worn very translucent, but does build quite well on itself to give a pop of pink on the lips. I thoroughly enjoy the formula of this range - I think it's my favorite of the "lip butter" trend - because it's just so lightweight. This is a gel based lip product and you can kind of feel that in the way it applies and wears. Given, it doesn't have a groundbreaking wear time; but not many products of the like do on my lips. I don't know if this range has any sort of lip nourishing ingredient infused in them, but they definitely don't cause any dryness in my lips.

I'm super excited that I was able to round up this shade because, even though I bought it for the name, it really is one of those "staple shades" - especially for the summertime! I do have a few other Color Whispers from the permanent line - Lust for Blush, A Plum Prospect and Ooh La Lilac - and while I do have my eye on a few more, I'm really hoping that Maybelline adds more to this range. They're so effortless and comfortable!

What's your summer go-to lip these days?

Review - Darling Girl Cosmetics Kiss You Off: Color Rich Lip Balm in Honey Love

Note - I was sent this product as a part of a discounted sample set for review and testing purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am not being compensated for a good review. If you have any questions pertaining to my reviews of press samples, please visit my disclosure tab.

So this evening I received an email in my inbox, letting me know that my newest Darling Girl shipment of loot has been sent! Hopefully it will be here tomorrow, as once the product ships from the brand, it usually gets here super duper quick! I can't wait.

Honey Love is the second lip product by the brand that I've tried, but the other one I have was discontinued before I had a chance to review it!

It bears mentioning that all lip products from the brand are on a sold out basis - I emailed the company's owner and she told me it would be a brief hiatus as an ingredient had been discontinued by the distributor. They should be back soon!

Darling Girl Cosmetics describes Honey Love as a "gorgeous, honeyed pink" with a semi-opaque finish. Against my cool toned skin, its a very flattering nude with warm pink undertones. These are the kind of nudes that I gravitate towards, especially in the summer, because they pair well with colorful eye looks, but don't pale my lips out and make me look ill.

The formulation of these is actually rather unique. Because it is a pigmented balm product, I kind of expected it to be like the Revlon Lip Butters. Now, these aren't matte at all, but they don't have half the sheen as the Lip Butters and are much more like a lipstick in comparison. Honey love was actually quite comfortable to wear, and I kind of feel like it is due to this finish. It adheres to the lips well and has quite an emollient quality to it at the same time, without being overly gloss and sliding around. It had a little slip to it, but was very different than most products of the same family that I've tried, which I liked.

I wore this on a day where my lips weren't in good form; my lips were chapped and I think I was slightly dehydrated. While this wasn't a miracle fix to my lips, it wore comfortably and did no harm. This could be due to ingredients such as Sweet Almond Oil, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter and Avocado Butter that are found in the product. If I can wear this on one of my worst lip days with success, imagine how great it must be when my lips are in better shape. The color itself stuck around for about 2 hours, which wasn't groundbreaking, but it didn't disappear right away.

Overall;

Pros - 

- Unique and comfortable texture

- Moisturizing qualities.

- Great nude lip option.

- No fragrance.

Cons - 

- Could have a longer wear time.

I really like the texture and finish to this. I just felt that it was unique for a balm like product, and it makes me want to try more from the range. Check these out when they're available again!

9/10

Review - Pacifica Color Quench Lip Tint in Tuscan Blood Orange

I purchased this product as part of a set, alongside the brand's famed Tuscan Orange Body Butter and Rollerball Perfume of the same fragrance. I will be reviewing all three separately, as they are all available separately.

A while back Mary from Neon Chipmunk Makeup posted a review of the nearly cult classic Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange Body Butter, and ever since I've been wanting to pick it up. Finally, I gave in and bought the set, and I'm loving it!

So this is probably one of the biggest lip balms I've encountered in my day. There isn't much wasted space in packaging either - its a behemoth of a balm. I'm not 100% sure if the one sold outside of the set is as large, but this one is pretty huge. The diameter of it alone is from the tip of my finger to my first knuckle - nearly twice the size of the average lipstick/balm. Instead of twisting at the bottom to push the product up, it twists at the top - which is strange, as I find myself constantly trying to twist the bottom as I'm not yet used to it.

The product itself is actually quite pretty to look at. It is not one uniform color across, but rather has a marbling finish similar to a Baked Blush or MAC Mineralize Skinfinish. Very pretty.

Tuscan Blood Orange reads as a sheer, dark peach with very fine and subtle shimmer. It applied mostly evenly, but did get a bit patchy rather than fading evenly. The only shade I could find that was similar to this was Revlon Peach Parfait Lip Butter, but that was darker, less orange toned and had microglitters.

On my lips, this product felt like the average balm. It deposited a good amount of moisture, but wasn't something that is going to fix a giant amount of damage on your lips. It is infused with Coconut Oil and Cocoa Butter.

The biggest thing about this product is the fragrance, as you could well imagine. Since this is based on the fragrance itself, it is highly fragrance with the iconic Tuscan Blood Orange fragrance. If you are sensitive to products that are heavily fragranced/flavored, this one may not be for you. It didn't bother me - probably because it smells good :) - but I can definitely forsee myself kind of avoiding this when my medication is making me sick, as the fragrance has a good amount of power.

Overall;

Pros:

- Unique Shade

- Natural Ingredients

- Good amount of product

Cons:

- Heavy fragrance and flavor may not be for everyone.

Do I like this? Yes. Is it a holy grail? No. It is a tinted lip balm, and a darn good one at that, but if it is pricier than Chapstick, it needs to moisturize better than Chapstick.

7/10

Review - L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm in Legally Regal (Limited Edition)

How was everyone's Easter? Mine was a much needed relaxing day; especially after the week leading up to Easter itself (Spring Break is never fun when you work in retail!)

But, on to beauty!

L'Oreal's Versailles Romance Collection really stood out to me when it launched in the first part of last month. While pastel's aren't exactly groundbreaking for spring, they most definitely have their place.

And they're just so pretty ^.^

The Colour Riche Balms are housed in a rectangular case with a semi-sheer tinted lid that correlates with the color of the actual product. The packaging is nice to look at and I feel that it is more secure because of the closure in the front.

The bullet itself is flat on the top, instead of pointed like a lipstick, and retracts fully into the packaging.

Legally Regal is a sheer lavender pink shade. It does read more toward the pink side in the swatch, as it looked a touch more lavender in the bullet. On the lips, it is a very cool toned sheer pink. It isn't going to add a whole lot of color to the lips, but it does make a bit of a difference.

I like the color and the sheerness to it for what it is. Its one of those appropriate shades for me when I'm running to the grocery store or working at 4am and don't want to be glammed up, but when I still want a bit of color. 

The formula is average. It doesn't dry my lips, but I don't know if it 100% warrants being called a balm. To most of the beauty consumer world, the word balm implies hydration; in terms of hydration this "balm" just isn't cutting it for me. Given, I enjoy balms with either intense hydrating properties or far thicker consistencies, I felt that this should have been marketed as a sheer lipstick, rather than a balm. The color itself lasted about 2 hours on my lips; the color didn't fade as quickly as the sheen did.

Overall;

Pros:

- Flattering translucence in on trend color.

- Color lasts about 2 hours.

- Beautiful and functional packaging.

Cons:

- Not hydrating.

While I'm not one for sheer lip products a majority of the time, I can agree that they do in fact have their place, thus I have a few in my collection. I do, however, prefer these products to be more hydrating as I feel they show imperfections on the lips much worse when they lack moisture. I do prefer Revlon's take on these kind of products for that reason, but they do tend to be a touch more opaque. L'Oreal's Colour Riche Balms are going to give you the sheer color that you are looking for, but you aren't going to get a whole lot of moisture from them, so plan accordingly. 

6/10

Bulk Review - Maybelline Color Whisper.

I thought I'd knock out all three of the Color Whispers that I have in one go, so I will be reviewing Lust For Blush, Oh La Lilac and A Plum Prospect in one post. Any of this line that I come across separately will be reviewed in a separate post.

The packaging of the Color Whisper line has a transparent lid that correlates with the shade, similar to the Revlon Lip Butters. They are fairly thin when related to nearly everything in my collection. There is a little less product in these, given the smaller size.

Lust For Blush

Oh La Lilac

A Plum Prospect

- Lust For Blush is a rosy, my lips but better shade. It reads a touch warm on my skin tone.

- Oh La Lilac is my favorite shade. It is a very cool toned lilac pink. Its a more wearable take on lilac, given the sheerness.

- A Plum Prospect is a sheer pink plum. It reads more to the pink side of plum than the red.

The Color Whisper range is leading off of the gel like, translucent trend. They have a sheen to them, but they're more of a subtle look. If you were to compare these to other Lip Stick/Balm hybrids like the Revlon Lip Butters, they're more sheer and more gel like rather than creme. I think this adds to the translucency. It almost leaves a "popsicle stain" like finish to the lips, but a touch more amplified. 

The wear time of these is fair; the translucency and creaminess makes for a shorter wear time. I find myself needing reapplication at 2 hours tops, and that is with A Plum Prospect, since it had the best color payoff.  They wore comfortably and due to the translucency, were a bit more casual. In that setting, I can probably deal with a bit more reapplication. This isn't my day to day glam work lip (LOVE having a job that allows me to be bold with my makeup) but rather a "spending the day blogging" or "running errands" lip.

I did appreciate that they had only a very light detectable fragrance. They are lightly sweet and a HUGE improvement from Maybelline's ColorSensational line's fragrance which I nearly constantly complain about. 

Overall;

Pros:

- Unique translucent gel finish.

- Wearable shades.

- Non-drying

Cons:

- Short wear time.

Given the product overall, I can find myself dealing with the shorter than average wear time. I'm intrigued by the finish of these and may pick up Faint For Fuchsia, Mad For Magenta and Some Like It Taupe.

7/10

Review - Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey.

I'm feeling myself fighting off a migraine this evening. Since I've arrived home for work this afternoon, I've found myself, for once, taking advantage of catching up on some shows on XFinity On Demand. While I'm not a big television person to begin with, I ADORE Syfy's Face Off. I'm definitely on team Eric F. I love that little goth! I finally saw this week's episode and I can't believe that we're already down to the top four. Its frustrating though; there isn't anyone that I really don't like. Either way I spent the latter part of my day catching up of Face Off and watching far more episodes of American Pickers than I'd like to admit.

I know; totally unrelated.

I did, however, finally have an opportunity to give the Clinique Black Honey Almost Lipstick a good test, so I'm definitely ready to review it.

The packaging is long and skinny. The lid part is reflective metal and the bottom half is a brushed matte metal finish. The lid doesn't snap secure but kind of fits snug enough that it sticks without being too loose or too difficult to open or close.

The top of the lid is embossed with the Clinique "C".

The bullet looks quite dark, but keep in mind that this is meant to apply sheer. I was a bit bummed because I received mine with the little "chip" out of the top. It doesn't look like it was tampered with; I feel like it was a shipping issue. The bullet does retract 100%.

Black Honey is a classic shade that is said to be universally flattering. Clinique describes the shade as a "deep, blackened raisin" which actually makes a lot of sense. It has some berry tones to it, but it also has a good amount of brown to it. It really isn't the kind of shade that I've ever really been drawn to, but I think that's why I really wanted to try it out. It read very flattering on my skin; it added a bit of definition and polish to my look that day. Its one of those shades that is timeless and very work appropriate, but fun at the same time.

The formula is sheer, as is the Almost Lipstick range. It is claimed to be "Emollient rich and lightweight" which is true. It didn't weigh my lips down in the least and it felt thin and smooth. If you were to compare this to the feel that Revlon Lip Butters (the most similar product that I could find) it feels a bit thinner, but wears a touch longer than the average for the Lip Butters. For something that was intended to be sheer and glossy, it wears a little longer than I anticipated as a whole. I had about 2 hours before I felt the need to reapply, but it definitely did fade quite evenly; no patchiness or "ring around the lips", but rather it was a tad bit of pigment on my lips, leaving a "my lips but better" look. I also did not experience any drying or discomfort in wearing this.

There are only two complaints I have about this product are the taste and the applicator. This product has a waxy, chemical lipstick taste and I can usually deal with that, but I feel like it was a touch stronger than what I'm used to. It does dissipate, however. 

The applicator bothered me from the get go, as it was damaged when it arrived in my hands. It is a soft textured product, and those do tend to get messy across the board. I think the fact that is so thin makes it just a bit messier in application. 

Overall;

Pros:

- Universally flattering

- Comfortable wear

- Decent wear time

- Lightweight

- Fades evenly

Cons:

- Taste/smell.

- Messy applicator.

I bought this more or less for sentimental reasoning. Me and my grandmother bonded about how it is flattering on both of us, despite me being 22 with very fair skin and her being 77 with light olive toned skin. However, I was pleasantly surprised of the wear overall. This range retails for $15, but as is my usual complaint of Clinique, it doesn't have a huge shade range that appeals to me. If they release a super vampy toned shade or a violet, I'll be all over that.

8.5/10