Review: e.l.f. Essential Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick in Pink Umbrellas

Purchased by Me 

Since Target is now carrying some of the new-for-2013 products from e.l.f., I decided to pick up a few things when I was at my local Target a while back, which I'll be reviewing here in the weeks to come. I'd like to start this mini-series with one of the new Jumbo Lip Gloss Sticks:

e.l.f. Essential Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick in Pink Umbrellas

(retail: $2, 0.099 oz) 

There are eight shades in this range. These are twist-up pencils, just like all of the other jumbo lip pencils that have invaded the drugstores in the past year.

From the e.l.f. website:

The Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick is a tinted lip color that glides on like a lipstick but looks like a gloss. With nourishing Jojoba, Soybean and Vitamin E key ingredients, it conditions and moisturizes the lips. The twist-up component and smooth glide formula is easy to use for on-the-go application.

Ingredients: Polyisobutene, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ethylexyl Palmitate, Ceresin, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Disostearyl Malate, Microcrystalline Wax (cera microcristallina), Polyethylene, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Glycine Max (Soybean) Oil, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil, Tocopherol, Propylparaben, Methylparaben. May Contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Red No.27 Lake (CU 45410), Red No.7 Lake (CI 15850), Yellow No.5 Lake (CI 19140), Blue No.1 Lake (CI 42090), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Mica (CI 77019)

These pencils are the exact same width and height as the Revlon Balm Stains, but the balm stains contain 0.095 oz worth of product, whereas the e.l.f. version contains 0.099 oz.

In my experience, e.l.f. is notorious for having lip colors that look one way in the tube, and another way on the lips (that's actually not a bad thing sometimes because I've tried e.l.f. lip colors that didn't "wow" me in the tube and ended up looking 100 times better on my actual lips). Looking at this pencil, it looked like a warm, pinky-coral creme in the tube.

Swatched on the back of my hand, it still maintained that warmth (and even though it may looks like there is shimmer on my skin, that's just the light reflecting off my skin--there is NO shimmer to this color):

But...once on my lips, the color turned much cooler than I was anticipating:

right after application

ten minutes after application

Texture and consistency: Not as thick as a Revlon Balm Stain, but not as emollient as a Neutrogena Color Stick, I"d say the texture and consistency of this e.l.f. Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick is somewhere in the middle between the two. It feels slicker on the lips than a Revlon Lip Butter, yet not as slick and moisturizing as a Neutrogena Color Stick. It does feel pleasant on the lips though, and I haven't experienced any issues with this product drying out my lips. 

Finish and pigmentation: This is a sheer creme lip color with no shimmer or sparkle. The pigmentation is weak on the first few swipes, but the color does build up nicely after several swipes. Right after application, I don't love the color of Pink Umbrellas on my particular lips. But after ten minutes (see pic above) I find that it eventually turns a bit more sheer while maintaining a nice, creamy-looking wash of color.  This particular shade is not big on shine, and I don't agree that this product "looks like a gloss" when on my lips. Although I do agree with the claim that it "glides on like a lipstick" although to be more accurate, I think it more closely resembles a sheer lipstick.

Staying power: To be fair, e.l.f. doesn't claim that these are long-wearing, so I wasn't hoping for hours and hours of wear. That said, I was happy with the staying power of this shade given that it's a lighter color and it's sheer. I can get about two hours of wear before I need to reapply. But I do want to note that toward the end of hour two, this lip color clung to the drier parts of my lips and left a chalky residue behind.

Flavor and fragrance: Minty toothpaste. Every time I use this product, I am reminded of Crest toothpaste (specifically the basic white, non-gel formula). It smells like minty toothpaste and also tastes like minty toothpaste to me. Not a deal-breaker, but also not something I love.

FINAL VERDICT: For two bucks, I'm not terribly disappointed with Pink Umbrellas, but I'm also not finding myself reaching for it. It's a nice, sheer color, although I'm bummed that it turns so cool on my particular lips. I also like that the texture feels nice and non-drying. But I have dry lips at the moment, so I'm not liking that, as this color wears down, it tends to cling to drier areas and leave chalky-looking remnants of color behind. All in all, I think this one works best as a keep-in-the-purse-for-emergencies type of lip color. At this point, I"m  not sure if I'll try any additional shades (unless some of you say that a particular shade is really worth giving a shot!).

Do you own any e.l.f. Essential Jumbo Lip Gloss Sticks? What do you think of them? Are there any other shades that you think are worth a shot?

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