trèStiQue – Mini Plumping Lip Balm (Barbados Berry)

Posted on November 12, 2019 by The Pale Adventurer

Online Description:

What it is:
A tinted lip balm that makes lips look fuller.

What it does:
This cute, pocket-size plumping balm is both collectible and crave-able. It enhances the look of lips with trèStiQue’s proprietary Maxi Lip and marine collagen microspheres, both clinically-proven ingredients that help lips look up to 32 percent fuller over time. The formula is also infused with shea butter for smooth, soft, and supple lips. It leaves lips moisturized, and plump-looking, with a kiss of color.

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
– Parabens
– Phthalates

What else you need to know:
trèStiQue creates everyday two-in-one beauty essentials that simplify how you use, carry and apply makeup—perfect for life on-the-go. Maxi Lip and marine collagen microspheres are clinically proven to create fuller-looking lips. This product is free of synthetic fragrances, D5, petrochemicals, talc, and parabens. trèStiQue products are always cruelty-free and never tested on animals.

“This product literally lives in every bag and jacket pocket I own! My lips are always chapped so this is my go-to! Plus it leaves a kiss of pretty color.”—Jenn Kapahi, trèStiQue Co-Founder

Research results:
In a consumer test including 21 panelists over a 28-day period:
– Lips look visibly plumper immediately upon application (after first use)
– After 4 weeks, lips look up to 32% plumper and dry fine lines reduced for more youthful-looking lips
– 95% of users said lips were softer, more supple, hydrated & moisturized

Suggested Usage:
-Apply Mini Plumping Lip Balm directly to lips.
-It can be used alone or with other lip colors to moisturize and plump the look of lips.
-Apply as often as desired.

Precautions:
-Cream based formulas are sensitive to extreme heat or sun.

My Thoughts:

I got this little gem on sale from the FabFitFun Edit Sale, which is exclusive to members and a great nook of the internet, if you take the plunge and subscribe. There are tons of things for sale, sometimes for half the price, like this guy, that I bought for $5, and it retails for almost triple that. They sell furniture, clothing, décor, beauty items, you name it. One thing I admire about them is they actually listen to customer feedback and apply it when they can. Now, on to the review of this lip product. The full size looks like it has over double the lip balm product in it, and it includes a lip polish, to help buff off the chapped dryness that looms over the heads of folks like me with perpetual dry skin. This review is over the mini version, which is a fraction of that product and no lip polish.

Performance/Wear: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★/5

I didn’t think I would be too impressed by this, considering I’ve been an avid Fresh lip treatment user for years, but I was pleasantly surprised. This was the first product I have ever tried from trestique and I have been impressed enough to continue investing in more of their products. This applies so easily and feels lightweight, yet packs a moisturizing punch. The tint is very pigmented, so if you’re looking for something sheer, you’ll need to apply this with a light hand. After the first use, I knew I wanted to keep this as a staple in my kit because within a few minutes, my lips didn’t feel so dried out and scratchy. One thing to note is that it has a light peppermint scent to it, but it dissipates within a couple minutes. That’s not an issue for me, but I felt it was worth mentioning for those who get headaches or migraines that are easily triggered by certain scents.

As expected, this will smudge and transfer since all the products by this brand are meant for a more natural makeup wear, and light touchups aren’t a concern. This isn’t something to reach for on the days for a full glam with a lippie you need to hold in place and not budge a bit, but this still makes a great preparatory product to help prime the lips while you apply the rest of your look. A great bonus for those of us who like to maximize the value of the money spent on products is that this also works as a cream blush.

Packaging: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★/5

I adore the pencil design inspiration that went into this, without actually using wood in the packaging. When companies package their products like pencils with wood that require sharpening, that’s an immediate deal-breaker for me and I love this product, so I’m glad they didn’t go that route. Normally, I prefer some part of the packaging to be clear so it’s easy to distinguish the color of a product I want to reach for, but the color on the top and bottom are spot on to the color of the actual balm, that it isn’t an issue. The top half of the gray part of the packaging has a pencil-like texture, which I also admire how much detail they put towards making this feel like a pencil-inspired product, but not actually using any typical pencil materials. The bottom half of the gray part of the packaging feels soft and luxurious, while the colored top and bottom parts feel like everyday plastic.

The top twists off easy enough, but I don’t think I would feel safe carrying it with me out of fear that it would twist open and get everywhere in my bag. I love this product too much to let it go to waste by moisturizing everything in my purse and not my lips.

Price: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★/5

Again, I got this for almost a third of the retail price from my FabFitFun subscription, so it’s an easy win in my book. After trying it out, I feel the price is definitely validated, especially since my other favorite lip balm if from fresh and is sold for the same price for 0.15 oz. of product, while the full size of this gives you 0.21 oz. of the balm AND 0.10 oz of the lip polish.

Ingredients:

-Maxi-Lip: Enhances the look of lip volume.
-Marine Collagen Microspheres: Enhances the look of lip volume.

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, (Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil), Beeswax (Cera Alba), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil (Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil), Polyglyceryl-2 Isostearate/Dimer Dilinoleate Copolymer, Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter (Butyrospermum Parkii Butter), Dicalcium Phosphate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax (Helianthus Annuus Seed Wax), Trihydroxystearin, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Tribehenin, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil (Citrus Aurantifolia Oil), Sorbitan Isostearate Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil (Mentha Piperita Oil), Lactic Acid, Citral, Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate, Atelocollagen, Mica, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Red 6 (Ci15850), Red 7 Lake (Ci15850), Red 28 Lake (Ci 45410), Blue 1 Lake (Ci 42090).

Pros: