Review: Sally Hansen Moisture Twist 2-in-1 Primer + Color Lipglosses

A while back, I received six of the ten shades of Sally Hansen Moisture Twist 2-in-1 Primer + Color Glosses for review, and today I'd like to share my thoughts with you. I've been wearing these glosses off and on for a few months now:

Sally Hansen Moisture Twist 2-in-1 Primer + Lip Color

(retail: around $6 each, 0.5 oz)

From the Sally Hansen website:

Prime & color lips in just one moisturizing twist. The primer sets a smooth, super moisturizing base for flawlessly smooth shiny lips. Available in 10 luminous shades.

• +30% more moisture, instantly

• Antioxidant formula has Jojoba, Sunflower & Moroccan Argan oils

• Non-sticky, weightless feel

The ingredients aren't listed on the tube and I couldn't locate them online either, but as you can see above, these glosses contain jojoba, sunflower and argan oils.

I'm a sucker for glosses that have a layered or "twisted" mix of colors within the same tube. These are just so darned pretty to look at! If you look closely, you'll see that all six of these shades also contain both shimmer and sparkle.

 

The doe-foot application is slightly different from other gloss applicators I've seen at the drugstore. It's got a little groove to it that makes it fit snugly against the lip during application.

Swatch time!

All six of these shades are quite wearable. They vary in pigmentation, with the lighter shades like Spun Sugar appearing almost colorless on my medium-pigmented lips, while the darker shades like Berry Blend and Plum Piroutte have more pigment to them and actually make for nice Your Lips But Better shades on my lips.

Texture, pigmentation and hydration: the texture of these glosses is quite nice. They're not sticky or tacky, and they feel soft and hydrating on the lips. These are not watery, thin glosses, despite their lack of stickiness. They feel thicker and more cushiony on the lips than some other drugstore glosses I own, and they make my lips appear a little more plumped up as well (although they don't claim to be plumping glosses and they do NOT have the signature sting of plumping glosses). Pigmentation varies--the lighter shades are pretty much colorless on my lips while the darker shades are more visible, yet none of these glosses would be considered opaque. They're all definitely sheer in nature. They all contain subtle shimmer and larger bits of sparkle, but the sparkle doesn't feel gritty and it doesn't read as "glitter bomb" on the lips--it's more subtle than that. I do want to warn you though that when these glosses wear off, the sparkle can still be seen a little bit on the lips.

Staying power: On average, I can get about three hours of wear from these glosses. That's better than other non-sticky glosses I own, which sometime only last an hour on my lips. I think the improved staying power is probably due to the "primer" part of these glosses. 

Flavor and fragrance: These glosses have a gourmand flavor and fragrance to them. They smell of vanilla baked goods to my nose and the flavor is mild vanilla. The fragrance seems to vary a bit from color to color though: some shades have a very strong vanilla birthday cake fragrance, while others smell softer, like vanilla cupcakes.

FINAL VERDICT: If you're looking for a moisturizing, non-sticky gloss that delivers nice shine and soft, sheer color, these might be a nice fit for you. You've got to like vanilla though, since all six shades I received both smell and taste like vanilla baked goods. All of these glosses contain shimmer and sparkle, but the effect is not over-the-top. The shimmer and sparkle are subtle on the lips, though the sparkle does tend to stick around on my lips after the gloss has faded. I wouldn't recommend these to those of you who prefer your glosses more like liquid lipsticks (highly pigmented and opaque), but if you tend to like subtle, sheer colors, I think these deliver better pigmentation than some other sheer glosses I've owned from the drugstore (if you stick to the darker shades--the lighter shades aren't very pigmented). And the moisturizing properties are a bit better than some other drugstore glosses I've owned as well. I think they're fun and worth a whirl if you can spot them on sale (CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens often run sales on Sally Hansen so that shouldn't be difficult).

Do you own any Sally Hansen Moisture Twist glosses? Thoughts?

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.