Maybelline Color Sensational Color Elixir Lipstick Review

I bought this originally because of the packaging. Beautiful clear packaging with what looks like a lipstick bullet inside holding the colour. The applicator is just a usual doe foot applicator but it is quite fat. I find it quite hard to get a precise line with this. Could be a problem with the more brighter colours. It has a lovely vanilla-y scent to it. Found it applied very smoothly. Didn't settle in to my fine lines around my mouth. Not a sticky application. Glossy shine. The colour Blush Essence is a lovely rose-y pink shade with a slight shimmer that isn't particularly noticeable. The lasting power of this isn't very impressive. I found it took 3 applications to make it last the day (especially after eating or drinking). For that reason I would be more likely to reach towards a lip stain than this on a daily basis. But in its defence it is very moisturising.

This is one of those products that I want to love, but in reality I don't reach for that often.

The packaging is super cute and classy (do those two words go together? They do now, haha!), in my opinion. I love that you can see the actual colour of the gloss, and the general design of the 'bullet' is very sleek and looks more expensive than your average drugstore lip product.

The wand has a little angled fuzzy diamond shaped doe-foot applicator, which I really like. It's easy to apply evenly, and it's not too big, so doesn't pick up too much product.

I have this in the shade '010 Celestial Coral'. The name is bit weird in my opinion, as this really isn't a coral shade at all, rather, a fairly warm brightish pink. It applies fairly opaquely, and true to colour. It definitely doesn't have the opacity of a lipstick, but it is highly pigmented for a gloss. Because the colour applies evenly, it's easy to sheer out without it looking patchy. It is definitely shiny, which again makes it more like a lipgloss than a lipstick.

It doesn't feel super sticky, and it is quite comfortable to wear. I do find that the stickiness increases slightly after a while, but nothing too major (just kind of weird that it doesn't happen straight away). If I'm wearing my hair out, I don't usually wear this as it is just sticky enough to attract hair... which is always annoying.

One thing that I do really like is the fact that this is actually quite moisturising. I can wear this without a lip balm and my lips feel really comfortable, which rarely happens with any type of lip product. I wouldn't say that the moisturising effect lasts particularly once this has worn off, but it definitely doesn't dry my lips out.

This generally lasts for a few hours before wearing off. With this particular shade, it often leaves a slight stain if I just wear it by itself which lasts longer.

However, the reason I'm not a big fan of this is the scent and taste. It has a very weird, slighly sweet perfumey scent, which is fairly strong. I can live with it, as it's not really unpleasant, but unfortunately it tastes exactly like it smells. Perfume isn't exactly my favourite flavour, but when it's on my lips it's hard to avoid! That really puts me off using it, because if I eat or drink with it on, I can taste it.

So overall, I do like this product, but due to the scent/taste I don't use it very often, and I won't be purchasing other shades.