Etude House Balm Color Tint #3 Love is Sweet Review

Hello everyone :)

  Today I am reviewing Etude House's relatively new Balm Color Tint. I have mine in shade #3 which is called Love is Sweet. This product is supposed to help you make gradient lips easily. The product is sort of like a lip crayon but it has a 7:3 colour ratio. 7/10 of the stick is a sheer balm while the rest of the stick is a pigmented lip tint. I got mine at a local Korean store but you can find it for $6.78 USD here on Jolse. Beautynet Korea has them here and Cosmetic Love also has them here but Jolse has the best price for them.
   For starters the packaging is very simple and not as girly or princess-y as most Etude House products. The product is housed in a lip crayon-like packaging that is not unlike the Clinque Chubby Sticks. It is a twist product and the colour of the tube matches the colour of the tint.

   The sheer balm shade is actually slightly tinted as well and I like the natural sort of sheer pink colour it gives. The balm however isn't very moisturizing. I find it just helps the tint part to apply better and makes it easier to create a gradient. You could also wear just the balm part or just the tint part if you really wanted to. You might throw off the 7:3 balance though haha.

7:3 Ratio

   The tint part is very pigmented and the texture is on the matte side. I do find it to be a little bit drying, even with the balm part underneath. It is not hard to blend out though. This product also does not really seem to have any scent.

Top: Balm
Bottom: Tint

   I find that the Balm Color Tint lasts way longer on my lips than I expected it to. I even had some colour on my lips after some moderate eating and drinking over lunch. It also is very easy to touch up. I like that if I want to wear a gradient lip to school or work and I use this product than I do not need to bring multiple products to touch up my gradient lip throughout the day. You only need this one product (and maybe a more moisturizing lip balm). I do find that I either need to apply a bit of a clear lip balm under neath this product or overtop of this after it has set. The tint does not feel initially dry but after a couple hours of wear my lips start to feel a little too dry for my liking. If you  have very flakey lips then the tint part might accentuate that a little bit as well. Below you can see what the tint looks like applied, it is a little more vibrant in person though.

Bare Lips

 Balm applied 

Balm with one layer of Tint applied 

   Normally I don't like to wear any drying lip products at all unless I need a very long lasting colour for an event, however, I just love the colour of this tint and I love how easy it is to do touch ups. On me this shade is a bright pink without being a hot pink. It almost leans a little bit more coral. I actually ended up with two of this same shade by mistake but I'm not even annoyed in the slightest, I really like it. The price is also very affordable as they are currently only $6.78 USD each on Jolse. There also are four other colours ranging from a more nude shade to even a darker red.
   Overall yes, I do recommend this product for its pretty colours, affordability and ease of use. However, I do not recommend this product if you are someone with chronically dry lips. You could, however, use it if you prepped by exfoliating and moisturizing well with a good lip balm.

        What I liked: - Affordable
                              - Nice Colours
                              - Easy to do a gradient lip
                              - Pigmented colour
                              - Buildable
                             
What I didn't like: - Can be drying

Overall rating: 4/5

This review was completely unsponsored and the products were purchased with my own money.