CLINIQUE Pop Lip Colour + Primer Lipsticks

[Purchased]

Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primer (0.13 oz.) individually retail for $18 USD ($21 CAD) and are available in 16 shades. They are said to be "a rich, weightless formula that fuses bold, saturated color with a smoothing primer."

* Beige Pop (04) is described as a light, pinkish nude creme. [P]

* Berry Pop (15) is described as a rich, dark berry creme. [P]

* Cherry Pop (08) is described as a rich, blue red creme. [P]

* Fab Pop (12) is described as a light, pink creme. [P]

* Grape Pop (16) is described as a neutral, blue purple creme. [P]

* Plum Pop (14) is described as a soft, neutral plum creme. [P]

* Sweet Pop (09) is described as a bright, yellow pink creme. [P]

* Wow Pop (11) is described as a bright, blue pink creme. [P]

"This lip color delivers a lightweight formula that lasts for up to eight hours. It glides on effortlessly, creating a modern-velvet finish that keeps lips comfortable while color stays true. This product is allergy tested and 100 percent fragrance-free."

The packaging is half reflective silver and half color-coded depending on the shade—which is incredibly useful. As expected with Clinique products, these lipsticks are fragrance-free and have no taste. The formula was smooth, lightly moisturizing and had good color payoff, despite some of the lighter shades falling into lip lines over time. They have a thin, weightless consistency that makes applying easy, without the product tugging or dragging.

Beige Pop is a light-medium, peach beige with warm undertones and a creamy, glossy finish. This shade applied smoothly, mostly even and semi-opaque. My natural lip pigmentation did show through in some areas and the color liked to lightly settle into fine lines and imperfections over time. Beige Pop wore well for +3.5 hours before fading. (4/5)

* Bite Retsina was similar, more brown. Kat Von D Noble was less pink, matte. Too Faced Melted Chihuahua was darker, more brown.

Berry Pop is a medium, brightened, red-berry with warm undertones and a creamy, glossy finish. This shade applied smoothly, mostly even and semi-opaque. It had nice pigmentation but the color lightly grabbed to any imperfections, making it appear slightly darker in those areas. Berry Pop wore well for +5 hours and left behind a faint stain. (4/5)

* MAC D For Danger was light, cooler, more muted.

Cherry Pop is a medium, brightened, vivid red with cool undertones and a creamy, glossy finish. This shade applied smoothly, evenly and mostly opaque. It was the best performing shade of the bunch and the smooth, creamy consistency made it very comfortable to wear. Cherry Pop wore well for +6 hours and left behind a stain. (5/5)

* Too Faced Melted Velvet was lighter, warmer. Too Faced Melted Strawberry was lighter, more pink.

Fab Pop is a light, baby pink with warm undertones and a creamy, glossy finish. This shade applied smoothly mostly even and semi-opaque. Due to the thinner consistency, this particular color quite a bit of slip which caused it to settle into the fine lines of my lips almost immediately after applying—applying a lip pencil beforehand helped prevent this. Fab Pop wore well for +3 hours before fading. (4/5) *I experienced the entire lipstick breaking out of the tube from the base the first time I went to swatch this shade. Fortunately, my local Sephora swapped it for a new one and I haven't had issues since.

* Kat Von D Lovesick was warmer, matte. Kat Von D Melancholia was lighter, more yellow toned, matte.

Grape Pop is a light-medium, muted lavender-pink with warm undertones and a creamy, glossy finish. This shade applied smoothly, mostly even and semi-opaque. The pigmentation of this particular color was really nice, but the payoff felt more sheer than it should. Grape Pop wore well for +5 hours before fading. (5/5)

* Too Faced Melted Violet was lighter, brighter, more purple. MAC Heroine was darker, cooler, more purple. MAC Men Love Mystery was cooler, muted, more purple. Sephora African Violet was brighter, cooler, matte.

Plum Pop is a medium, muted pink-plum with neutral undertones and a creamy, glossy finish. This shade applied smoothly, evenly and mostly opaque. It had a thicker consistency than the rest which stopped the color from settling into fine lines, but I felt it accentuated imperfections more easily. Plum Pop wore well for +5 hours before fading. (5/5)

* Too Faced Melted Fig was cooler, more purple. Kat Von D Mother was brighter, cooler, more pink. Sephora Marvelous Mauve was muted, more brown, matte. Sephora Pink Souffle was lighter, more pink.

Sweet Pop is a light-medium, candy pink with cool undertones and a creamy satin finish. This shade applied smoothly, mostly even and semi-opaque. Yet again due to the pale nature and thinner consistency, I found the color did lightly settle into fine lines over time, but not nearly as bad as the others. Sweet Pop wore well for +4 hours before fading. (5/5)

* Kat Von D Lovesick was lighter, cooler, matte.

Wow Pop is a light-medium, brightened pink with cool undertones and a creamy satin finish. This shade applied smoothly, evenly and opaque. It had great color payoff, although it felt more sheer than you'd expect. Unlike some of the other shades, I experienced very little product pulling into lip lines over time. Wow Pop wore well for +5.5 hours before fading. (5/5)

* MAC Candy Yum Yum was darker. Kat Von D Backstage Bambi was darker, warmer, matte.

Overall, while these lipsticks didn't perform as described—ie. smoothing, velvet finish, bold color, 8-hour wear—if you compare them to your average lipstick, they are a nice formula nevertheless. The Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primer's provide a nice, creamy pop of color, they are incredibly comfortable and lightly hydrate lips during wear. I will definitely be reaching for these on days where I want a hydrating, low maintenance lip color; and if that sounds like you, these are definitely worth checking out! (**Shades contain Carmine and Red Lake 6, 7, 22, 28 and 30 Pigments)

Available now from Sephora!