Review: NEW Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipsticks in Oxford Street Fuchsia, Notting Hill Nude and In Love with Ginger

Purchased by Me

If you missed my original post about the new Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipsticks back in June, then you might not know that in addition to a new formula and new packaging, there are also some new-to-the-US shades in this color range. There are 25 shades in the new Moisture Renew line and while most are carry-overs from the original line, there are some new shades here that were previously only available in the UK. I'm not sure exactly how many new-to-the-US shades are in the range, but at my Walgreens I was able to find three. I picked them up and I'd like to show them to you today, along with my thoughts on the new formula.

NEW Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipsticks

(retail: around $6.99, 0.14 oz) 

The new cases remind me a lot of Maybelline Color Sensational lipsticks. They're not identical to the CS lipstick cases, but quite similar. I love this style, and I think it's a big improvement over the old purple metallic tubes.

The new Rimmel cases have the signature crown embossed on the top of the lid:

Made in England

Ingredients (from the drugstore.com website):

Diisopropyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Di-PPG-3 Myristyl Ether Adipate, Polyethylene, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Punica Granatum Sterols, C15-19 Alkane, Silica, VP/Hexadecene Copolymer, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Microcrystalline Wax, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Ozokerite, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Caprylyl Glycol, Fragrance, Tribehenin, Tocopherol, Behenyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Linalool, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, C12-16 Alcohols, Sorbitan Isostearate, Hydroxycitronellal, Hexyl Cinnamal, Lecithin, Retinyl Palmitate, Tin Oxide, BHT, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Geraniol, Butylene Glycol, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate, Atelocollagen, Hexylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, May Contain (+/-):, Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Cl 77891), D&C Red No. 7 Calcium Lake (Cl 15850), Iron Oxides (Cl 77491, Cl 77492, Cl 77499), D&C Red No. 6 Barium Lake (Cl 15850), FD&C Yellow No. 5 Aluminum Lake (Cl 19140), FD&C Yellow No. 6 Aluminum Lake (Cl 15985), Carmine (Cl 75470)

 Three new-to-the-US shades: 

In Love with Ginger, Oxford Street Fuchsia, Notting Hill Nude

I was really hoping that we'd get the shade Dark Knight Waterl-oops! (MAC Rebel dupe) here in the US, but I did not see it in the display at Walgreens, and I've heard from several of you who weren't able to find it at your drugstores either. Now that the new Moisture Renews are up on the Rimmel US site, I'm afraid it's official. No Dark Knight Waterl-oops! for the US. Boo! Maybe Rimmel will bring it to us in a limited edition collection sometime down the road (fingers crossed). 

The good news? We got three other lovely UK shades! 

In Love with Ginger, Oxford Street Fuchsia, Notting Hill Nude

One swipe of each shade on bare skin

If you look to the top of these swatches, you can see that there's some nice shine to these lipsticks. If you look to the bottom of my swatches, you can see the pigmentation of each shade after ONE swipe on my arm.

In Love with Ginger: Very opaque tomato-red creme. This color reads as a very orange-toned red on my medium-pigmented lips. Excellent pigmentation on the first swipe. 

Oxford Street Fuchsia: Neutral-leaning, cool-toned bubblegum pink creme (not fuchsia at all, as the name suggests) with excellent pigmentation and good opacity. It's not sheer, but not quite as opaque as In Love with Ginger. You will need to build for better opacity, but it only requires a few swipes for even coverage. Unlike some other light bubblegum pinks I own, this one is quite creamy and not chalky or cakey in the slightest. 

Notting Hill Nude: Neutral nude creme that leans a tad bit warm. Just like with Oxford Street Fuchsia, you only need a few swipes for even coverage. The pigmentation is excellent and although I was afraid this might be chalky or cakey (or both), it's neither. On my medium-pigmented lips, this reads as a light nude that almost borders on a "concealer-as-lipstick" type of shade, but not quite.

Texture and consistency: Major improvement over the old formula. The texture of these new lipsticks is light yet smooth and creamy. This formula feels extremely hydrating on my lips, whereas the old formula felt heavy to me, and it was also a little drying, with a tendency to get a bit cakey. That is absolutely not the case with the new formula. These new lipsticks feel luxurious and I love the way they hug my lips. I can still feel some moisture after my lipstick has faded, which is a nice bonus.

Staying power: With a formula this creamy, don't expect stellar staying power. I can get one to two hours of wear from these lipsticks, if I'm lucky. But really, that's exactly what I expected so I'm not disappointed.

Fragrance/flavor: The biggest complaint that many of us had about the Moisture Renew lipsticks was the strong fragrance the flavor. There's no denying that the strong floral-plastic fragrance and flavor were deterrents for many of us. Has this changed with the new formula? Kind of. The fragrance is different--it has gone from floral-plastic to more of a powdery rose scent. To me, the fragrance isn't quite as strong as the old formula, but it's still noticeable during application. I do think it's an improvement though, because I don't get that sharp plastic note that I got with the old formula. As for the flavor, that's where these new lipsticks lose a few points for me. To me, the flavor is just not pleasant. It tastes like bitter plastic mixed with baby powder and rose. It's a strong flavor for the first ten minutes of wear, but it does fade almost completely after about ten minutes for me.

FINAL VERDICT: I love (and I do mean love) the color, pigmentation, opacity and formula of the new Moisture Renew Lipsticks. The only thing I don't love is the flavor. I can deal with the fragrance (it's not my favorite, but it's not atrocious) but the flavor is a big miss for me. Thank goodness that, for me, the flavor fades significantly after about ten minutes of wear. But if you are extremely sensitive to flavor in lip products, the flavor might be a deal-breaker for you. If you are pretty tolerant when it comes flavor in lip products, then I think these are definitely worth considering. The other qualities are fantastic and overall, these lipsticks are wonderful. It's just a shame that they could be perfect if the flavor and fragrance were different.

Do you own any of the new Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipsticks? If so, how do YOU think they compare to the originals?

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