Morgana Cryptoria Lip Balms Review + Swatches

I know ya'll are excited about these, at least I hope you are, because I nearly burst at the seams when the package arrived. Without further ado and chatting from me, onto the review!

I paid for my PayPal invoice on July 18, 2011. My items shipped on July 23, 2011, and arrived on July 25, 2011. Can you say fantastic? Definitely impressed by the turn around time! I did this a little differently and told Melissa on Twitter that I wanted Heliotrope, but couldn't decide on a 2nd balm color and gave her a list of a few I liked. I ended up with Heliotrope and Diabolical Drusilla.

 

They arrived in little lip balm tubes and both twisted up and down with no difficulties. There is a silver sticker on each with the company name, color name and an ingredients list, which is much appreciated.

The ingredients for Heliotrope are: Ricinus Communis Castor Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil, Elaeis Guineensis Butter, Cucurbita Pepo Seed Oil, Astrocaryum Tucuma Seed Butter, Caprylic/Capric/Stearic Glycerides, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Shorea Robusta Seed Butter, Elaeis Guineensis Oil, Hydrogenated Soy Bean Oil, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Glycine Soja Oil, Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil, Cerifera Wax, Glycine Soja Wax, Euphorbia Cerifera Wax, Copernicia Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Tocopherol, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxide, Manganese Violet

The ingredients for Diabolical Drusilla are: Ricinus Communis Castor Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima Oil, Elaeis Guineensis Butter, Cucurbita Pepo Seed Oil, Astrocaryum Tucuma Seed Butter, Caprylic/Capric/Stearic Glycerides, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Shorea Robusta Seed Butter, Elaeis Guineensis Oil, Hydrogenated Soy Bean Oil, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Glycine Soja Oil, Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil, Cerifera Wax, Glycine Soja Wax, Euphorbia Cerifera Wax, Copernicia Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Tocopherol, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Tin Oxide, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxide,

Red 7 Lake

The current price of the balms are $7, with a few of the 'sheer' colors being $5. I paid $5 per balm as Melissa was having a sale, and my total with shipping and delivery confirmation was $14.00. You get 4g of product for $7.

The balms can be purchased here: http://www.morganacryptoria.com/NEW-Lip-Balms_c_32.html

Swatches:

Top is natural light, bottom is flash. Heliotrope on the left and Diabolical Drusilla on the right.

Heliotrope is described on the Morgana website as a 'violet with pink tint'. I would say that this description and the swatch photo on the website are accurate. This color is a lighter version of Mac Up the Amp, and is very flattering on my cool skin tone. In some ways, it's what I wanted Mac Go For It to be, instead of it being so bluey and patchy!

Diabolical Drusilla is described as a 'hot pink with a violet sheen and hints of turquoise twinkles'. I would again say that this and the swatch photo on her site are accurate. The turquoise twinkles are hard to pick up, but they are there. This color is simply gorgeous. I don't own anything like it. You'd think it would be like Mac Violetta or the other semi common magenta-with-fuchsia-flash lipsticks, but it's not. It's more like a metallic raspberry!

Applying the balm feels a lot like applying a lipstick. I like that it feels moisturizing but doesn't have the usual waxiness and slip of a lip balm. This allows for better color payoff. They didn't feel drying at all, even with a high shimmer shade like Diabolical Drusilla, and applied smoothly and evenly. As it is in the shape of a lip balm, I found it to be a little difficult to get a completely perfect line around the edges of my mouth. I was able to get a pretty accurate application, and I would imagine a lip brush would be necessary if you wanted it to be just so. I found that using the edge of the balm for the cupid's bow and outer edges of the lips was the best method.

Heliotrope in natural light.

 

Diabolical Druscilla in natural light in the top photo, flash in the middle photo and natural light in the full face shot.

You can see my rough edges with the application of Drusilla. It wasn't such a big deal on Heliotrope but as Drusilla is SO pigmented, it's much more noticeable. I don't mind needing a lip brush because the colors are simply amazing.

As for wear time, I applied Drusilla to bare lips around 6PM and ate dinner around 7:30. I had a drink through a straw. When I was done eating, the color was still nicely intact; I had some fading and some of the shimmer and glossiness had left the lips... but for a balm, it looked fantastic. My lips never felt dried out and I kept the product on until around 11PM, when I removed it with a makeup wipe. I had some slight pink staining, but that's to be expected with such a pigmented pink lip product.

Overall, I think Melissa did a fantastic job on these balms! My lips didn't feel uncomfortable while wearing them and I didn't have the urge to apply another more waxy lip balm. I think these would be a great product for someone with dry lips.

So, what are you waiting for? Run, don't walk, and order some of these! I'm currently lusting after Amaranth, Galaxy, Solar Flare, Luminous Lava, Countess Bathory and Vampire's Vineyard. How about you?