Hi friends!
Yup, you guessed it – today’s post is all about the Rare Beauty Dewy Lip Balms! I was very kindly gifted a few items from Selena Gomez’s new beauty brand after interviewing one of their executives for a work assignment last month. If you didn’t know already, Rare launched back in early September exclusively at Sephora with a whole slew of base, lip, cheek, eye, brow and priming products. Everyone on social media was going crazy for this launch, and while I’ll usually dismiss the hype train, I couldn’t help but be super intrigued this time. Before even receiving/testing out any of their products, I was so impressed that everything in the line was under $30. I love me a good affordable makeup line!
In addition to receiving two shades of the Dewy Lip Balms (there are a total of 8 including a clear balm), I also received the concealer and two of the liquid blushes from the brand’s PR. Initially I was going to review everything in one long post, but I decided that would be way too challenging for me to write and way too long-winded for you to read. Instead I’m going to break everything up into individual posts and do a mini-series kinda thing. First up, we’re going to dive into those lip balms. Later this week I’ll give you my thoughts on the liquid blushes; next week, we’ll talk about the concealer. Let’s get started!
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DISCLAIMER: THIS POST CONTAINS GIFTED ITEMS, BUT ALL OPINIONS ARE 100% MY OWN.
THE DEETS ON THE RARE BEAUTY DEWY LIP BALMS
Sheer color, soft shine. The kind of tinted lip balm you can throw on without a mirror and still get right.
Glides on with a smooth, satisfying slip. Feels comfy and cushiony, never greasy or sticky.
Weightless hydration that lasts all day so lips feel nourished and nurtured.
Lips look fuller and healthier, with buildable color that blurs the look of fine lines without settling.
- Cruelty-Free
- Vegan
- Paraben-Free
- Dermatologist-Tested
- Suitable for Sensitive Skin
- Available in 8 shades
- $16.00
Rare Beauty Dewy Lip Balm in Empathy
Rare Beauty Dewy Lip Balm in Honor
SHADE DESCRIPTIONS
Empathy – a bright, warm rosy pink. I really like this shade both on the lips and on the cheeks. I find it very brightening and flattering on my skin tone.
Honor – completely clear. Nothing much else to say here!
MY THOUGHTS ON PACKAGING
Honestly I think the packaging across the whole Rare Beauty line is beautiful; very sleek, minimal and modern. I can definitely see why there have been a lot of comparisons made to Fenty Beauty in this respect. The Dewy Lip Balms are housed in cream-colored, matte-textured tubes that have one straight-edged side; they are not magnetized to each other like the Fenty Match Stix are, though. To hold, they feel very luxurious for the price even though they are quite lightweight.
They have slanted, circular bullets much like a lot of lip balms and sheer-tinted lipsticks do. (Think L’Oreal Colour Riche Shine Lipstick for reference.) Overall, in addition to the pleasing aesthetics, I think the packaging is quite functional.
RATING: 5 / 5 ⭐️
MY THOUGHTS ON TEXTURE / APPLICATION
These have a super creamy texture on application; very nourishing and pleasing, especially if you suffer with dry lips like I do. The color applies seamlessly on the lips, almost to the point where I need to take extra care, particularly with the shade Empathy. If I’m too quick to slap this on, I sometimes run a bit outside my lip line; the texture is really that buttery! But to be fair, this has only happened once or twice since I’ve been testing it, but I thought it was still worth noting; this could be especially important if you buy one of the darker shades.
I’ve also been using the shade Empathy as a cream blush from time to time, and I really like it for that purpose. The balmy texture makes it very easy to apply to the cheeks with my fingers, and the finish is lovely and dewy.
RATING: 4 / 5 ⭐️⭐️
Rare Beauty Dewy Lip Balms in Empathy (left), and Honor (right).
Swatches of the Rare Beauty Dewy Lip Balms in Empathy (left), and Honor (right)
MY THOUGHTS ON PIGMENTATION
I do think that the name is misleading here. Tinted lip balms usually offer nothing more than a kiss of color; these have full pigmentation much like a traditional lipstick does. I’d say they are much more a dewy lipstick rather than a dewy lip balm. So if you buy this expecting sheer color, you’ll be disappointed. (Obviously this comment only applies to the shade Empathy, not Honor which is completely clear.)
That being said, I’m totally fine with the intense color payoff! I watched several Rare Beauty reviews on YouTube before testing so I wasn’t totally caught off guard.
RATING: 5 / 5 ⭐️
MY THOUGHTS ON WEAR
This is where the Rare Beauty Dewy Lip Balms start to falter for me. They feel very plush and moisturizing from the time of application until about 2 hours in, but then they start to thin out and feel really weightless and non-hydrating. It almost feels like a dry-down happens, if that makes sense. I wouldn’t say they completely dry out my lips, but there’s a point in the wear-time where the formula stops feeling comfortable. I feel this is particularly the case with Honor. My fellow beauty blogger Nova explains the feeling very well in her excellent blog post on the Dewy Lip Balms.
With respect to the color, Empathy will wear off as soon as you eat or drink something substantial, but will leave a nice stain for about an hour or so afterwards. It also wears very nicely on the cheeks as a cream blush, as I’ve said; I still notice color after 10 hours on my dry skin.
RATING: 3 / 5 ⭐️
Wearing Honor
Wearing Empathy
MY THOUGHTS ON PRICE
The Dewy Lip Balms retail for $16.00, which is quite affordable and something I wouldn’t normally balk at. However, considering they are not the most moisturizing in the long-term I’d say you’re better going with the L’Oreal Colour Riche Shine Lipsticks. They’re a very similar product to the Dewy Lip Balms, but they’re even cheaper, and offer more comfiness over time.
RATING: 4 / 5 ⭐️
FINAL THOUGHTS
I’m kinda ‘meh’ on this product. It’s not bad by any means, but it’s certainly not my favorite lippie or one that I reach for again and again. If anything, I much prefer to use these on my cheeks rather than my lips; you can get more longevity that way and bypass that dry-down feeling. If you’re looking to buy something from Rare Beauty, this is not the product I’d wholeheartedly recommend. (That’s still to come!)
Have you tried the Dewy Lip Balms from Rare Beauty? If so, what did you think? I’d love to know!
xo, and be well, Erica
PIN IT!
I was so interested in these (Rare Beauty is not available here yet) there’s a nude I liked but now I’m skeptical, I normally like these kinds of products now IDK, you were so lucky to get them gifted though!
Ehh, they’re just OK in my book. They could be a lot better texture-wise; color-wise they’re absolutely lovely though. The next product I’m going to review from them is a real keeper though, so stay tuned!
Uhhh keeping my eyes pealed!
It sucks that the wear isn’t longer because everything else about them seem really nice.
They’re not awful, or great, they sit somewhere in the middle for me. Color is gorgeous; texture could be a lot better. Wow, that was my whole review in just two sentences! 😄
Nice that Empathy doubles as a cream blush!
That’s its saving grace!
these don’t look so bad but i can see that they’re nothing special, i cannot wait to see other products from this brand 🙂
Yea, if you’re going to explore the brand, I’d probably skip these!