I don't know about you, but I was so excited when these were launched - although I don't actually own any, I'm a huge sucker for lip crayons. I just don't have any because I haven't found any I liked. Stila had the best texture and colour payoff, but all their colours had too much glitter, and Bobbi Brown's lip crayons were nice, but had a very dry texture and tasted like wood mixed with mint. Eeeww.
And Barry M? Well, these had a really good texture, and had above-average decent colour payoff (particularly for the darker colours), but unfortunately, they were full of huge bits of glitter. Now this won't deter some people, but it's definitely a no-no for me. I do like the formula on these though, I hope they release some in a creme or gloss finish soon.
Here are swatches:
L - R: No 1 Scarlet Red, No 2 Cherry Red, No 3 Mandarin, No 4 Party Pink, No 5 Ballet Pink
OK. So my camera didn't capture the glitter, but I swear it's there. And I'm sorry the swatches for No 4 Party Pink and No 5 Ballet Pink are so small - the Superdrug girl told me I was "using too much" of her testers.
No 1 Scarlet Red is like China Glaze's Ruby Pumps nail polish, but in a lip crayon form. It's got bright big bits of red glitter in a red base. This is one kickass colour, it's a true fire engine red that I really quite like (sans glitter). This one was also the most pigmented of the lot.
No 2 Cherry Red is a pretty colour, a pinky-red leaning to the cool side. This one also has glitter in it, and the gliter is actually visible by just looking at the pencil itself. You can see bits of glitter in the pencil.
No 3 Mandarin is a corally orange colour that also has orange glitter bits that you can see even in the pencil.
No 4 Party Pink is a bright lilac pink, with matching colour glitter. Still, glitter-averse girls might want to avoid this.
No 5 Ballet Pink is a pale, pastel pink that's not glittery, but quite frosty. This one required some building up to acheive the colour intensity you see. It's not that pigmented.
So all in all, I can't say I'm a huge fan of these, mainly because of the glitter. I really liked the formula on these though, they were smooth and well-pigmented, with the exception of Ballet Pink. If you don't mind the glitter, this is a good place to look for a daring red colour.
