Burt’s Bees branches out of lip balm with their Lip Gloss and Lip Shine. In a variety of colors and finishes, will they be new your budget-friendly favorite?
By Roxana Hadadi
Burt’s Bees lip balm is one of those ubiquitous products that I think practically every woman owns. The various flavors—from original beeswax to special ones, like pomegranate—are affordable (about $3 per tube), taste great, and last forever; I’ve only fully used two whole tubes of Burt’s Bees in the past five or six years, but I always have a couple in my purse. They’re just solid, no-fuss products.
But as the Burt’s Bees company has grown, they’ve expanded from their first original beeswax lip balm to newer Lip Gloss and Lip Shine products. Available in a variety of finishes and shades, these are considerably “fancier” than the beeswax balm and cost more, too. But do the natural ingredients and high shine factor make up for that higher price?
Burt’s Bees provided me with a few samples of both the Lip Gloss and Lip Shine to test out, and I have some thoughts. For my review, read on!
Burt’s Bees Lip Gloss and Lip Shine
First photo, left to right: Burt’s Bees Lip Gloss in Autumn Haze, Ruby Moon, Spring Splendor, Starry Night; Burt’s Bees Lip Shine in Blush, Pucker, Smooch, Wink
Second photo, left to right: Swatches of Burt’s Bees Lip Gloss in Autumn Haze, Ruby Moon, Spring Splendor, Starry Night; Burt’s Bees Lip Shine in Blush, Pucker, Smooch, Wink
Burt’s Bees Lip Gloss is available in 12 shades, four of which I’ve received for review: peachy gold Autumn Haze, burnt red Ruby Moon, medium pink Spring Splendor, and deep wine Starry Night. According to Burt’s Bees, their Lip Gloss is “rich, pearlized color” combined with “natural oils rich in nutrients to leave your lips soft, shiny and 100% naturally beautiful.” Ingredients include sunflower oil, castor oil, beeswax, and soybean oil, among other things.
Burt’s Bees Lip Shine is available in six shades, four of which I’ve received for review: mauvey pink Blush, cherry red Pucker, deep wine Smooch, and bubblegum pink Wink. According to Burt’s Bees, Lip Shine provides “natural, sheer color enriched with moisturizing apricot wax” that “glides on lips for a sweet and super shiny finish.” Ingredients include apricot wax, sunflower seed oil, beeswax, shea butter, apricot oil, and soybean oil, among other things.
Burt’s Bees makes it pretty clear from the get-go that Lip Shine is a sheer product whereas Lip Gloss is more pigmented, and I appreciated how upfront the brand was about that—because it’s absolutely true. (What the brand doesn’t say, though, is that both products have a slightly off-putting fragrance, like a mix of herbs and something very sweet, like berries; it fades away after you open the tubes, but it’s initially there.) Anyway, the Lip Gloss is more pigmented and far more shimmery, and I think “pearlized” is a good way to describe it—from certain angles, the glosses almost look frosted, with a practically metallic finish. But the effect isn’t too overwhelming, and lighter colors Autumn Haze and Spring Splendor are certainly work-appropriate.
The downside, though, is how the gloss actually feels while on. The texture of the gloss isn’t too gloopy or too gritty, but I do think they feel heavy on lips. They move around a bit and don’t really “set,” and I was very aware that I had them on whenever I was wearing them. Unlike Burt’s Bees lip balms, which kind of melt into lips, the Lip Gloss just kind of sits on them. It’s not the best experience, even though the colors are quite pretty and the darker ones—Ruby Moon and Starry Night—were opaque with only one swipe.
I had a better time with Burt’s Bees Lip Shine, which are, as described, very sheer, but also very shiny and very wearable. It has almost a jelly consistency, being very sheer and glossy but slightly sticky; it’s not as heavy-feeling as the Lip Gloss, and it felt soothing, too. On slightly chapped lips, I found that the Lip Gloss accentuated flaws, whereas the Lip Shine smoothed over and hid them. The Lip Shine isn’t tacky and didn’t migrate around my lips while I was wearing it, and although the shade range is limited, I think they’re all work-appropriate because they’re so subtle; even the deeper colors like Pucker and Smooth just add a bit of tint to lips.
Overall, I would wholeheartedly recommend Burt’s Bees Lip Shine if you’re looking for a subtle, comfortable lip tint to throw in your bag and that will last around three or four hours. The Burt’s Bees Lip Gloss requires more maintenance, however, and isn’t as easy to work with; I needed to retouch after the second hour or so. Nevertheless, these are both promising, affordable options from Burt’s Bees, and I like the variety the brand is bringing to their lip care line.
VERDICT: B for Burt’s Bees Lip Gloss; A for Burt’s Bees Lip Shine.
AVAILABILITY: $9 for each tube of Burt’s Bees Lip Gloss; $7 for each tube of Burt’s Bees Lip Shine. Both are available at BurtsBees.com or any drugstore that carries the brand.
EDITORIAL NOTE: The products featured in this post were provided to Chesapeake Family’s About Face blog by the manufacturer or their public relations company for review. Chesapeake Family’s About Face blog posts are inspired by personal experience and opinion, and are not paid for or influenced by the manufacturer, PR company, or any other organization unless mentioned.
Photos by Roxana Hadadi.
In middle school, Roxana Hadadi was a cosmetics-scorning tomboy; in high school, a glitter eye shadow- and black nail polish-loving trend kid; in college, obsessively committed to dying her hair unruly colors that upset her mom. Now a bit older and a bit more mature, she’s trying to figure out what hair, body and cosmetics products will work for her, you and your family in About Face, Chesapeake Family’s new beauty blog — and she’ll leave the sparkle makeup and neon highlights in the past. Roxana also writes movie reviews for Chesapeake Family’s Popcorn Parents blog.
