Hey everyone! Today I have a review of the Rare Beauty Glossy Lip Balm. I decided to pick one of the shades up on a whim when buying the melting blush. Glosses, of course, are my favourite kind of lip product, and if it can hydrate like a balm as well? Wins all around.
Packaging and First Impressions
This lip gloss comes in a transparent lip gloss tube that is flat along one side. I personally, LOVE this, functionally. In the past I have had a minor gripe when a gloss has literally no flat surfaces, including the bottom (the Becca Glow Glosses come to mind), just when it comes to standing it up for various reasons. This Rare gloss is flat on the side AND the bottom, haha! Inside there is a small, flame-shaped doefoot (not sure how to describe the shape) which holds a decent amount of product. Depending on your preferences, you might need to dip in a couple of times to get your preferred coverage. This product doesn’t seem to have a scent beyond the typical “makeup” scent.
This gloss balm comes in five shades, spanning neutral, coral, pink, mauve and berry tones. These are intended to be the same five shades as the Melting Blush and the other products that were released in the Stay Vulnerable collection. I purchased the shade “Nearly Neutral”, described as a “soft neutral pink”. This shade is a lovely rosy brown, so I don’t necessarily agree with the shade description. This time the photos on Sephora vs Rare Beauty look more similar and more accurate, compared to the Melting Blush pictures that I mentioned in that review.
Claims
“Like a lip mask in a gloss, this ultra shiny balm cushions lips with soft, nourishing color that’s all slick, no stick. Super smooth formula wraps lips in long-lasting hydration with a hint of color and shine for plump, healthy-looking lips. Richly nourishing yet feels incredibly weightless and comfortable—never sticky! Improves lips’ texture while keeping them soft and moisturized all day.”
Price and Quantity
This gloss is priced at $23 CAD ($18 USD) and has 0.12 oz of product.
For price comparisons I chose higher end glosses that come in a cream finish. Note that the below listed products aren’t necessarily going to have the same opacity or texture.
Here are the comparisons listed from best value to worst value:
| Rank | Product | Cost ($CAD) | Quantity (oz) | Cost-Quantity Ratio for 1 oz of product |
| 1 | Fenty Gloss Bomb Cream | $25 | 0.3 | $83/oz |
| 2 | Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Gloss | $22 | 0.16 | $138/oz |
| 2 | Tower28 Milky Lip Jelly | $18 | 0.13 | $138/oz |
| 3 | Buxom Full On Lip Cream | $24 | 0.14 | $171/oz |
| 4 | Tarte Sea H2O Lip Gloss | $26 | 0.14 | $186/oz |
| 4 | Dior Addict Stellar Lip Gloss | $39 | 0.21 | $186/oz |
| 5 | Rare Glossy Lip Balm | $23 | 0.12 | $192/oz |
| 5 | BareMinerals Gen Nude Buttercream Lip Gloss | $25 | 0.13 | $192/oz |
| 6 | Hourglass Unreal High Shine Lip Gloss | $40 | 0.2 | $200/oz |
| 7 | Charlotte Tilbury Lip Lustre Gloss | $28 | 0.12 | $233/oz |
| 8 | Marc Jacobs Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquer | $38 | 0.16 | $238/oz |
| 9 | Pat McGrath Lust Lip Gloss | $37 | 0.15 | $247/oz |
Overall, the value of this gloss balm isn’t great. While it ranks pretty middle of the road, there are many other great options. The shocking part is that a Dior lipgloss has better value!? Anyways, you may or may not be someone who will go through an entire gloss, but I do! So I do think the value is important.
Pigmentation and Performance
Overall I am surprised to be pretty happy with this glossy lip balm!
The pigmentation of this gloss balm is very much just a tint. Depending on how much product you apply, you can build it up. However, this will affect the wear and comfortability (discussed below). I do like the tint though! It comes across as a neutral pinky brown, which is a favourite shade of mine to wear.
As for the formula, she is thicc!!! This is the thickest most viscous lip gloss I have tried in a long time. Now, while my first impression was that that was an awful thing, I have actually grown to see many benefits to this. When you apply the gloss, my advice is to not overdo it. If you have too much product close to the center of your lips where they touch, you can get that stringy pulling effect when you open your mouth, which looks straight up nasty. What I have learned to do is build up the colour to where I like it, and then I’ll remove any excess that ended up right at the center with a cotton swab. This is the type of gloss that you aren’t really going to want to be rubbing your lips together while wearing it, because it is such a thick layer on your lips. Also, it is slightly sticky, and only gets stickier as it wears down throughout the day. BUT, this gloss actually provides a really effective protective layer on your lips, and it lasts on the lips for a really long time! Even with eating and drinking, you can still very clearly feel that protective layer, even if the colour has mostly worn away. That makes this a really effective gloss at keeping your lips hydrated, and overall I find it very comfortable.
Below are swatches of the shade I purchased, plus a full face photo.
You can tell that this is a sheer gloss because you can still see my scar on my lower lip (left side). 
Final Thoughts
Overall, I am happy with this gloss. It’s a nice shade and it’s hydrating. I don’t feel the need to purchase more shades, as it isn’t my favourite gloss formula, but it’s definitely a good one (Fenty still takes the cake for me). It’s especially good for those of you who hate how quickly gloss wears down, or have issues with it staying inside your lip line!
Have you tried this gloss formula from Rare Beauty yet?
Wonderful review!! I think the shade looks stunning, I don’t know about the formula. For the way you described it, I don’t think I will like it! I absolutely love the Tower28 beauty glosses and I think I will keep using those for the moment!
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I also quite like the Tower28 glosses! I got some of their original jelly ones last year, and just recently got two of their milky ones. They’re actually next on my list to review! That formula is the literal opposite of this one haha.
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Thanks for give us information about lip gloss . it is very useful for me.
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