Maybelline Colour Elixirs and No7 BB Lips Beauty Balms

Maybelline Colour Elixir in Mandarin Rapture, Maybelline Colour Elixir in Alluring Coral, No7 BB Lips Beauty Balm in Geranium, and No7 BB Lips Beauty Balm in Blush Coral

The Maybelline Colour Elixirs and No7 BB Lips Beauty Balms are similar products, in the sense that they're both a liquid balm with a decent amount of colour payoff and a high shine finish, so I thought I'd group them together in one post. I also thought that this would make up for the lack of lip swatches. I just couldn't get the photos right! Speaking of which, the photos above look fine on my screen, but not so fine on my dad's, so sorry if they're not looking great on yours!

The Maybelline Colour Elixirs (£6.99) were not something I intended to buy. I hadn't looked at many reviews online, and the packaging didn't appeal to me. Then I swatched them and realised how balmy and similar they were to the NYX Butter Glosses. I bought Mandarin Rapture first because my store had a very small selection and I didn't realise there was a coral. Then I ordered Alluring Coral a few days later. I definitely prefer the latter. I prefer the colour, it's more opaque and even, and it has no shimmer. Mandarin Rapture's shimmer is very fine, mind you, and you can't detect it on your lips, but I'd prefer there to be none. I feel like they're more pigmented than your standard gloss, they're moisturising, and they last a few hours. Alluring Coral also stains my lips slightly. The scent is a mix of perfume and fruitiness, but it's not offensive. I can see myself buying more of these in the future.

I don't like the name of the No7 BB Lips Beauty Balms (£9), because they've simply jumped on a bb everything trend, but the actual product is impressive. They're like the Elixirs, but they're thicker and more balmy. They also have SPF15, which is an added bonus. Geranium is my favourite because it's more pigmented, but Blush Coral is perfect for those more natural days. I'm not sure how well it'd show up on those with more pigmented lips, though, so keep that in mind. They're more expensive than other high street lip products, but No7 always have an offer on. Buy one get one half price, £5/£3 off voucher, free gift (sometimes you can combine two of these deals at once, too).

Are you a fan of these balmy hybrids?