Reading the names of the colors for the new BECCA Lip Colour Balms is like reading the menu at a hip neighborhood coffee shop.
There’s a Chai Crème, a Cherry Ganache, Café au Lait, Almond Fraise and a few others…YUM! “Yeah, can I please get a medium Toasted Hazelnut with 2% and no foam?”
Never been a fan of the foam…
Which reminds me, I found THE BEST coffee drink on planet Earth about a month ago. Problem is, it was two hours away, GAHHHH! But more on that in a few.
Look and feel like the Chanel Rouge Cocos
The BECCA Lush Lip Colour Balms are Ulta exclusives available now for $22 in the permanent line. They’re incredibly lightweight, hella hydrating, highly pigmented nude lip balms that won’t last long on your lips. I get about two hours at the most.
There are eight sheer shades, and you can build them up to medium coverage. For me they fall smack dab in the “shiny but not too shiny” category, a la the Chanel Rouge Cocos.
Nudes for all skin tones
I like that there are some rich browns and burgundies among them (good nude options for deeper skin tones), so they aren’t all just standard pale pinks and beige. BECCA has always been great about including shades for a wide range of skin tones, and they’re keeping it up here.
But do they taste like coffee?
I expected they might based on the shade names (which would be SO next level!), but alas, they don’t.
They taste a little like vanilla. Maybe. If I close my eyes and think about it, LOL!
Chai Creme, the one closest to my natural lip color, has been chillin’ in my purse for the past two weeks, except when it isn’t because I’ve swapped it out for Ginger Vanille or Cafe Milk Chocolate. I dig that I can slick any of them on my lips without needing a mirror.
I’m diggin’ these darker nudes
They’re low-maintenance, and you can still dial up the intensity by adding an extra layer or two. Recommended if you like moisturizing lip colors but refuse to deal with drama!
The Almond Mocha, also known as “The Best Damn Coffee Drink I’ve Ever Had in My Life”
I found it at Hannah Coffee & Sweets, a cute little independently owned coffee shop in San Jose, and I’ve been tempted to drive the two hours down there to get another one every single day since I had it!
Have you ever had almond roca candy, like the kind in the pink tin? Toffee dipped in chocolate and crushed almonds? In high school, my friend Jen and I went through a phase when we were obsessively eating it all the time, even for breakfast (OMG!).
Anyway, the drink tastes like someone melted a handful of almond rocas into the smoothest, strongest coffee imaginable, then three in chunks of dark chocolate.
UGH, I almost cried. It was so good!
And not only was it freakin’ delicious, but it also kept me buzzing for hours. I had my drink at noon, and I was still on freakin’ fire in HIIT class at 6.
Next time you’re in the South Bay, PLEASE go get one so I can live vicariously through you!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
If you feel like reading more…
1 year ago ago today on MBB: Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 410
2 years ago today: Tabs the Cat: Ranger, Globetrotter, Salad Enthusiast
3 years ago: For Pictures, Do You Feel Like You Have a “Good Side”?, The New NARS Audacious Lipstick Collection: The Nudes, The MAC A Novel Romance Quad Is Like Many Real Life Relationships, Both Hot and Cold, Beauty Confessions: Sometimes I Pick My Perfume by Color…
4 years ago: I’m Laurie Leopold of 312 Beauty, and This Is My Makeup Life, BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Opal Is a Peachy Bronze Beauty, Unsung Makeup Heroes: RMS Beauty Living Luminizer, What’s Your Stance on Permanent Makeup?
5 years ago: A Fall Trend to Try: Matching Tips and Lips, Concealer Question: Do You Use the Same Shade to Cover Dark Circles and Blemishes?, Not Even Michael Phelps Handles Water As Well As New Make Up For Ever Aqua Brow, Veggie Soft Taco
6 years ago: The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed, The 3-Step Ombre Lip, Newest Trader Joe’s Obsession, Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 152, Neighborhood Cat Watch
7 years ago: MAC Venomous Villains: 101 Things You Didn’t Know, Are You Getting Fresh with Me, Supernova Radiance Brightening Pen?
8 years ago: Which Skin Care Products Go with You When You Travel?, MAC Make-Up Art Cosmetics, Itty Bitty Flower, Say Aloe to Vaseline Aloe Fresh Gel, MAC Make-Up Art Cosmetics Collection Pictures, Swatches and MORE First Impressions
9 years ago: 9 Things I Wish I Could Do, Bath and Body Works Black Amethyst Fragrance: Oranges and Amber for Fall, Technical Difficulties
LindaLibraLoca says
August 15th, 2017 at 1:26 am9 years ago? Wow. I don’t think I even read beauty blogs back then. Wait, I am sure I didn’t, I started reading them in 2010 and discovered your blog in 2013. Quite a long time!
LindaLibraLoca recently posted … Beachy, Glowy, Bronzed makeup – Summer Vacation 2017
Lex says
August 15th, 2017 at 3:59 amWow, I *love* Cherry Ganache on you. It’s stunning! Ya know, when I opened up this post and glimpsed at the color range in the pictures, I was really worried. Yesterday I ordered a Besame lipstick in a very dark red-plum shade (Red Noir), and I thought these might have something similar, and I might have bought the wrong thing yesterday. But… PHEW. The textures sound completely different, since you say the Becca stuff is more like a lip balm, whereas the Besame apparently can last 8h on the lips. Bold statements, Besame…we shall see about that! 😉 Would grab a Becca nonetheless, but Ulta does not offer international shipping… :-/
Lex recently posted … Chanel Travel Diary Collection 2017: Reviews for the Road Movie and City Lights quads, plus retractable brushes
Kim says
August 15th, 2017 at 5:43 amAll those darker colors are lovely. Of course, you know I still dig Black Honey. 🙂 I’m sorry your fave coffee is so far away! Did you go to the Winchester Mystery House? Do I always ask you that? I think I ask everyone who says they were in San Jose. HAHA! I’ve never been but would like to. It seems really neat.
cherie says
August 15th, 2017 at 7:25 amBeautiful colors! Bummer they don’t last that long.
Erin says
August 15th, 2017 at 7:57 amAll those shades look great. Hella moisturizing is exactly what I need.
Erin recently posted … Farmacy Honey Drop Lightweight Moisturizer First Impressions
Carmen says
August 15th, 2017 at 11:30 amYou look gorgeous, Karen! All of those shades look great on you. The first two or three looked very similar to each other, could barely tell the difference!
kellly says
August 15th, 2017 at 11:39 amOMG I want them ALL!!!
Anu says
August 15th, 2017 at 12:33 pmHi Karen!
Omg you crack me up, you are hilarious and so into the makeup world, I love seeing your subscription in my email box. Do you write your own blog posts btw? I’ve heard some folks pay for others to write theirs. Yours are so genuine that I don’t think you do. Anyhow love your blog. Was wanting to get into the blogging world one day but I’m not a writer or anything much less a photographer, just dreaming I guess!?
Your long time subscriber
Karen says
August 15th, 2017 at 3:27 pmHi Anu,
Yup, I do everything on the site myself. Been doing it now for 10 years. I think anyone can become a writer or a photographer! When I started MBB back in 2007 I couldn’t take a photo to save my life! If you practice you can get there. 🙂
Irene says
August 15th, 2017 at 12:44 pmYou’re my absolute favorite beauty blogger but we have completely different skin tones so if I ever try something that looks lovely on you it doesn’t suit me at all! Such a shame haha. I very much like the first and third shade on you!
Karen says
August 15th, 2017 at 3:26 pmHi Irene,
I’m sorry to hear the colors that work for me don’t always work for you. Hmm… Would it help to sometimes do swatches on something more neutral, like paper? I hope at least you can get a good idea of how things work and last through the writing even if the colors don’t always translate the same way.
Lauri Everlove says
August 26th, 2017 at 12:41 pmAs soon as I saw your review of these I ordered creme chai, toasted hazelnut and cherry ganache! I love Becca and love the colors and that they are moisturizing.