The Freshly Sugared Rogue: Exploring New Lip Balm Frontiers with the Fresh Sugar Berry Lip Treatment!

Greetings from the second chamber of the dungeon, fellow rogues!

Gird your loins, fellow adventurers! The process of wading into that enormous pile of miniature loot continues today as we break into the second chamber of the dungeon. This chamber is in a similar colour family to last time, but on the other end of the spectrum in terms of pigmentation and delightful smooshiness ^_^ Trust me, ‘delightful smooshiness’ is not usually a phrase you hear bandied about with regard to dungeons, but here I feel it applies. But I’m getting ahead of myself! To keep things organised, I’ll start all these posts off in a similar fashion, to whit:

‘I should mention first off that a large number of the minis came in the form of the Sephora Give Me More Lip holiday special set, which contains 17 lip products in three loose ‘colour schemes’: red, nude and pink. I ordered this set from Sephora through the indomitable Jaa, who was kind enough to wrangle all the goodies into a parcel small enough that it wouldn’t cost me the contents of Erebor to ship it here. Jaa was also kind enough to take me a couple of pictures of the set before the packaging had to go…‘

The 2014 Sephora Give Me More Lip set (photo courtesy of Jaa)

…and here the inside! So much miniature lip goodness *drools*. The Tarte pencil at the left centre is the only full-size product. Yet more photographic awesomeness from Jaa!

 ‘I was rather excited when I saw what this set contained, because it was basically a laundry list of brands I’ve wanted to try for the longest time. Since there are so many products here, and because I’m a rogue and we’re funny like that, I’m going to review the contents in spearate posts (or in small groups) so that I can devote proper attention to obssessively photographing each miniature lip product with other miniature things ❤‘

Alrighty then, let’s dig into the next little gem on the list (yet another popular choice for review from my fellow adventurers) – the Fresh Sugar Tinted Lip Treament in Berry! 😀

*bling* How jewel-like is that brushed metal, boysenberry-coloured packaging? *grabby rogue hands*

Can we just take a minute to talk about the packaging here? I realise I’m not the first to do this by any stretch of the imagination, but I think it warrants serious consideration. This tube is made of metal. It has heft. Heft! It has a screw closure at the base of the lid that I spectacularly failed to photograph. A screw closure. This is possibly the most securely packaged lip balm in the multiverse, and I am a fan. There’s nothing worse than pulling your roll of lockpicks out of your kitbag, only to discover that they have all become glued together with strawberry Chapstick or whatever (especially given how horrible that stuff smells). this lip balm will not do that to you. The packaging has your back. And this is just the miniature version.

It even has sunscreen. Sort of. For those sunny dungeons, don’tcherknow….

Speaking of smells, let’s start with a whiff of this. I had read various reviews likening it to everything from lemon cheese cake/lemon meringue pie to lemon Pledge, so my expectations going in were pretty much restricted to ‘lemon, probably?’. In this respect I was not disappointed, as the product does indeed smell lemony, with a sugary sweet but still fresh edge to it. Aptly named! It doesn’t have a flavour, per se, but there is a sweetness to it on the lips that is totally inoffensive. The perfume does hang around on the lips for quite a while, but since it’s a decent one I don’t really mind. It’s not like you turn away anything that obscures ‘dungeon musk’ while you’re adventuring, right? 😉

Some of the product…

While we’re on the subject of questing (yes, you may call me Queen of the Obvious Segues): you might not want to take this into the next magma cave/dragon’s lair/lost desert temple you visit. It’s currently residing in the refrigerator at Rogue HQ, standing very incongruously in the egg tray, because this is possibly one of the softest, smooshiest lip balms I have ever experienced. To be fair, the little bullet is always going to be dinky (and ADORABLE), but the susceptibility of this stuff to even relatively mild heat is incredible. I’d heard this was a bit of a characteristic of these balms, and the Internet did not lie: I opened it yesterday and pulled the whole bullet out, as it had glued itself to the inside top of the lid. No worries – I just dropped it back in and put it in the fridge to re-set, but it’s definitely something to be aware of. Even when it was not leaping (slithering?) out o the tube, it is very soft to apply.

…all of the product! I decided to keep it on ice, because, you know. Smooshy. 😀

On the topic of softness (sorry, I can’t stop now), Fresh certainly haven’t gone soft on the quantity if product they give you in this deluxe sample size. Matching the substantial packaging, there is a whole 2.2 g of smooshy goodness in here! This may or may not seem like a lot depending on your expectations from samples, but I was well pleased with it. Certainly, next to the Posietint sample, it is gargantuan 😉

Gargantuan Lips! OMG It’s Lipzilla! Et Cetera…

 

On to some pictures of my lips that make them look equally gargantuan! (broken cymbal noise). I’ve been dithering around talking about everything *but* the details you probably want to hear, but I thought I’d keep them down here near the lip swatch pictures, for the adventurer in a hurry ;-). This lip balm is, in short, really nice. Smooshiness and all. Meltiness and all. It has a lovely, smooth, almost jellied coating feeling on the lips, which is something I rather like in my balms when my lips are feeling dry. It lasts quite a long time on me for a lip balm (close on two hours, colour intact), and my lips feel better after using it. The colour is a moderately sheer berry pink that changes (on me) depending on the light. In cooler, darker or cloudier conditions, it takes on much more of a berry tone, while in brighter, sunnier, warmer ones it has a distinct pink edge. The difference out and about is even stronger than in the pictures, but it looks nice either way, so I’m not complaining. The only issue I have with the smooshiness, coupled with the sheerness, is that sometimes it can take a bit of work to get the colour even. Most of this work can be done by mashing your lips together a few times however, no mirror required.

So! All in all, I rather like this little balm, and it certainly lives up to the nice things said about it (and others in the line the line) by people whose opinion I respect. If you live in a hot climate and are looking for something to toss in your handbag, however, this is not the balm for you, and the full-size price tag (for a lip balm) is substantial (~$22) which may be a deal-breaker for some. I have, at last count, 1726431724 lip balms to get through, and I can honestly say that I have enough other ones that are also nice that I don’t feel the need to go out and get the full size immediately. Should the occasion arise, however, I would definitely consider it!

What do you think, fellow adventurers? Have you tried any of Fresh’s lip balms? What’s the most you’re usually willing to spend on a lip balm? Are there any other products you find particularly smooshy?? 😀

The practicalities: Fresh Sugar Tinted Lip Treatments are usually 0.15 oz, and cost $22.50 each for the full size. Berry is a permanent shade, and they can be acquired from www.sephora.com. The Sephora Give Me More Lip set does not, sadly, appear to still be available on the Sephora website. It was ~$60. There is, however, the Give Me Some Lip set for $25, which contains a shiny Bite lip pencil, as well as some other goodies.

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images and text on this blog are the property of The Painted Rogue unless otherwise stated. If you nick off with any of it, be prepared to find that your morning hot beverage tastes a little…different than usual. Didn’t the rogue say something the other day about that new poison that makes your inner ear itch maddeningly for the rest of your life? I think she did…