Frugal Friday: Sinfully Smashing Gold Glosses

The other day, I was walking through Walgreen's and noticed that they stocked Sinful Colors lip glosses*. I knew about Sinful Colors nail polishes, through my little niece, but had no idea they made a lip gloss. I'm probably just behind the times, but I thought I'd pick one up to see how it fared. The three available colors were a light lavender, white-ish clear, and a pale gold shimmer. I went with "Peachy Sheen", the pale gold shimmer.

Once I got home, I realized that I already had a pale gold shimmer in a Smashbox deluxe sample. For fun, I thought I'd see how the $2.99 drugstore gloss did against the fancy-schmancy, $19.00 high-end one (full-size is a good bit larger than the one you see here). You might be surprised, so stay tuned!


They don't look it, here, but just wait. They match up pretty nicely. That Smashbox reallly does have gold running through it. Also, I really need to clean off my dresser...

 Let's start with some swatches. Here they both are, straight out of the tubes:


Left: Smashbox, Right: Sinful Colors.

The Smashbox Reflection High Shine Lip Gloss in Star is thicker, and the Sinful Colors has a teeny bit more yellow to it. They both sparkle nicely, though you do have to pack on the Sinful Colors. The Smashbox only needs a dab to cover well. I will say that the Smashbox took forever to wipe off my arm, but more on that in a minute. Here are the same glosses, this time swatched on my lips:


Smashbox



Sinful Colors (apologies for it being slightly out of focus. I had no idea until I saw it here)

At first glance, there's not much of a difference, is there?

The Smashbox has more glitter, and I didn't need much product to coat my lips. The Sinful Colors, again, had to be piled on, and the shimmer is much more subdued--there aren't any chunks, in the Smashbox. That said, the Sinful Colors is much more comfortable on my lips. The Smashbox is so thick, sticky, and sweet, that it felt almost like I'd smeared Kayro Syrup all over my lips. Even after tissuing the gloss off, I still had to use a face wipe to remove the residue and remaining glitter. It's long-wearing, but feels awful. The Sinful Colors felt silky and moisturizing, even after the shine had worn off. I did have to reapply frequently, though, and the smell and flavor are a little too chemical for my taste.

Honestly, I don't think one is better than the other. I think they're both great for different purposes. The Smashbox is a great gloss...for camera. Of course, that's where Smashbox excels, so that only makes sense. Once that gloss is on, it's on, and it's going to look beautiful and perfect for as long as you need it to. That's awesome for a photo shoot; not so great for a date night. You definitely don't want to kiss anyone while you're wearing it. Brides, steer clear of this one for the big day (but go for it for pictures!).

If you're not looking for something for camera, go with the Sinful Colors. It's a heckuva lot cheaper, just as pretty on, and feels a lot more comfortable. True, there's less glitter, but the shimmer is lovely, and a lot more wearable.

Nutshell Review of Sinful Colors Lip Gloss in Peachy Sheen
Pros: Moisturizing, silky feel, pretty shimmer, lovely packaging, super affordable
Cons: Not a lot of color payoff, not long-wearing, odd flavor/smell

Final Verdict: 6 out of 10. It looks and feels nice, and for $2.99, you could do a lot worse.

*I'm not linking to the Sinful Colors site because it's still under construction, and Walgreen's doesn't have this product online. Actually, I haven't found it anywhere online. If you spot it, please let me know in the comments.