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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Review: Burt's Bees Lip Crayons in Hawaiian Smolder and Napa Vineyard

Remember back in May when I posted about these new matte lip crayons from Burt's Bees (click here to see the display)? Well I finally found them at a local Walgreens a few weeks ago and I picked up two shades because I just can't resist matte lippies. The display indicates that these are "moisture-rich" and "creamy matte lip colors" and that's all I needed to hear!

Burt's Bees Lip Crayons in Hawaiian Smolder and Napa Vineyard
(retail: $9.99 each, 0.11 oz)

There are six shades in this collection, and I'm guessing these are permanent (they don't say limited edition on the display or packaging), although they are not yet listed on the Burt's Bees website, as of the time of this post.

fully safety-sealed


The ingredients are only printed on the safety-seal--sorry if it's hard to read.



I love the little embossed honeycomb design on the lids. These are standard twist-ups like we've seen from countless other brands:

Hawaiian Smolder

Napa Vineyard



Warning: Matte lipsticks never look great on me when viewed in extreme close-up, but I wanted to show these to you anyway, since you can always get a better idea of lip colors when you see them on someone's lips. Please keep in mind that, when viewed at a regular distance, both of these colors look smooth and "normal" on my lips. 


Hawaiian Smolder

Hawaiian Smolder is a cool-toned pink that leans a bit neutral on me. This is a sheer color that requires multiple swipes to build up opacity and, as you can see in my pic above, there is a bit of shine to this lip color (my photo actually makes it look like there might be some shimmer as well, but there's no shimmer here--just a bit of shine). As far as I'm concerned, this is more of a satin-matte than a true matte. But because of that hint of shine, the overall texture is quite creamy and moisturizing. Due to the sheerness of this color and the creamy formula, staying power isn't the greatest. I can get 1-2 hours of wear from this one before it's basically gone from my lips.

Napa Vineyard

Napa Vineyard is a scarlet red matte. On me it leans a tiny bit warm, but in certain lights it reads as a cool-toned scarlet. This is a true matte in every sense of the word. There is no shine to this color and the texture is reminiscent of what I like to call "Matte 1.0" or "First Generation Mattes" from the late 80s and early 90s. If you were around back then, I'm sure you remember how those original matte lipsticks tugged at your lips and felt almost like glue when you tried to rub your lips together. This is very much like that, only it doesn't have a thick, heavy consistency like the 90s mattes. The consistency is lighter, but it's quite dry and nothing like the texture of Hawaiian Smolder. On the plus side, the pigmentation is phenomenal and you only need one light application for what you see above. Staying power is also great--I can get about about 5-6 hours of wear and this color leaves a soft red stain behind.

It's hard for me to make any general statements about these lip colors because they're so drastically different from one another. If you were to blindfold me and have me try each one separately, I would swear to you that they came from two entirely different brands. I don't know if all six shades in this range vary so dramatically from one another, but these two shades are like night and day in terms of texture, pigmentation, moisturization and opacity.

One thing they DO have in common though is that they are both flavor- and fragrance-free. These lip colors do not have the standard minty flavor or fragrance that you get with many other Burt's Bees lips products.

FINAL VERDICT: This one's a mixed bag and I honestly don't know if I would recommend either shade to you. Hawaiian Smolder has a nice, creamy texture and it feels great on the lips, but the color is sheer and the staying power is lacking. Napa Vineyard is a gorgeous shade of red with excellent pigmentation and staying power, but the texture is very dry. I love that these don't have a minty fragrance or flavor (there's really no fragrance or flavor at all) which I know will make some of you quite happy. Other than that, I think that if matte jumbo lip pencils are your thing, you might be better off with the Revlon Colorburst Matte Balms, which have great pigmentation and a wonderful texture.

Do you own any of the Burt's Bees Lip Crayons? If so, how are they working for YOU?

The products featured in this post were purchased with personal funds. For more information, click here.
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11 comments

  1. I experienced the same between these two shades. The first shade I tried was Napa Vineyard and it was a tugging matte & so pigmented, I expected the rest to be the same. The second shade I tried was Hawaiian Smolder and they were so different! I also found the Niagara one similar to Hawaiian Smolder, but the Redwood was more like the Napa one.

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  2. the colors are really pretty.....guess not available in India

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  3. I'm not sure about these (especially at the price), but have you seen the Palladio lip crayons at Sally's?

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  4. I just recently bought Hawaiian Smoulder and the color looks ok on my skin tone, it's nothing to brag about.But, I do like the color and the consistency of the crayon. I was origanally looking for Napa vinyard, but the Walgreens that I went to was all out. I going to try the ones you've suggested as well, since I seem to like the crayons.

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  5. Well this review came in just in time...I am not really a fan of matte lip products so I am glad that I did not buy one this morning when I stopped at the display. The shades are really pretty, too bad about the inconsistency though. Great review though, G. Thanks! (You saved me $ this time)

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  6. Its a pity about their staying power, otherwise I would sweep these up in a second. A good enough to eat lip crayon!

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  7. I havdno luck with these. I forget which shades I bought, but both were drying and just overall 'no' for me. I returned them. They are permanent, though.

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  8. Napa Vineyard is a beauty, but I'm still on the fence about these. I keep hearing how dry they feel. Even with that $1.50 coupon floating around some displays this seems a bit steep.

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  9. i bought this in niagara overlook and i absolutely love it! its definitely my favorite drugstore lip product i have bought this year. on me its a nice pinky coral and it isnt drying and stays on for 2-3 hours. i love that it has no taste or smell , its a nice vibrant color that still manages to look natural. i wouldnt say its 100% matte either.

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  10. I have the light lilac based pink. I'm really liking it. It's not a zero moisture matte, but reads as matte on the lips after a few minutes. Not drying, for me...but I always wear lip balm (blotted on the back of my hand) under any lip product. There is a tiny bit of settling in the lip lines after a few hrs (in this shade, in my exp) but by then I just swipe a bit of balm on to refresh it.

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  11. Great review! Thank you. I had higher hopes for these!

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