Review + swatches of all 15 shades: The new Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lipcolor
When I was younger, my mom always told me that wearing lipstick would make my lips darker. That may be true for her, but over the years I've noticed that my lips have become paler and paler to the point that they're approaching the color of my skin. They don't get dry or flaky, but they do look off to me when they're bare. There is one advantage though: I can now wear any lipstick, even nude shades, without my natural lip color showing through! It's really useful whenever I do these lip swatches, haha.
Today let's take a look at Revlon's latest lip line: the Ultra HD Gel Lipcolor (P575). It has an interesting proposition. Revlon describes it as having "vibrant color pigments suspended in a gel base in high-definition, lightweight color" for "silkier, shinier results". If you loved the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter released five years ago and wished they would come back, well, the new Gel Lipcolor is the improved version of it! It's like the the Lip Butter and the liquid HD Lipcolors had a love child, because you get the crazy pigmentation from the HD line in a luscious, moisturizing formula.
I love that I don't need to wear lip balm with it as it's moisturizing enough by itself. It glides like butter and for most of the colors, the pigmentation is superb! It does feel lightweight and non-sticky. I've found that swiping a couple of layers can get me an opaque glossy color that wears for about 3-4 hours; not too bad for a balmy lipstick.
There are 15 shades available in the Philippines, which I've swatched for y'all here. They come in four colorways: nudes, pinks, reds, and violets. My top five picks are the following:
- Desert - a gorgeous pinky brown nude. It's the kind of lipstick you can pick up without thinking too much as it'll go with everything. It kinda reminds me of the famous Pink Truffle from the Lip Butter line.
- Sunset - a juicy coral red with amazing pigmentation. I went "whoa" the first time I swatched it!
- Garden - a stunning bright pink. We should really start wearing bright pink lipstick again!
- Rhubarb - the red that will make me wear red regularly. It's such a perky, perfect shade.
- Vineyard - it looks like it's supposed to be dark and violet-y based on the shade number, but it actually looks more like a mauvey berry to me. This, tied with Sunset, is my fave shade in the collection!
The weakest ones in terms of pigmentation are Arabica, Cloud Pink, and Twilight. They're kinda patchy by themselves so I would recommend wearing a lip liner underneath to hold down the pigment better. All the other shades are beautiful and wearable for my medium yellow skin tone; even Sand, the nudest nude here, and Blossom, a bright lilac pink, work for me!
I love the slim packaging that tells me exactly which color I'm picking up. The narrow slanted tip aids in more precise application. It bears mentioning that this lipstick has the same sugary sweet scent as the liquid HD Lipcolors.
The catch: for P575, you get only 1.7 grams of lipstick. An average tube would have about 3 grams at least. It's pretty pricey for a drugstore lipstick, no going around that. Is it a deal breaker? It's up to you. In my opinion, my top shade picks above are comparable to luxury ones in terms of quality but without the P1,500+ price tag in one go. The formula does contain argan oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, and hyaluronic acid (an interesting choice in a lipstick) ensconced in a synthetic gel and wax base.
If you love lipsticks that don't weigh your lips down while providing buttery moisture, luscious pigmentation, and gorgeous shades, then I think you'd enjoy the Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lipcolor. Let me know if this looks like something you might try!
