Hey everyone! Today I have a review of the Tower 28 Beauty ShineOn Milky Lip Jelly. Having liked the original ShineOn Jelly glosses from this brand, I knew I needed to try these out when they launched. I was also intrigued since they had two shades that looked more brown-leaning, which I am always wanting more of!
Packaging and First Impressions
This lip gloss comes in a transparent plastic component, the same as their original glosses. The applicator is a typical small, paddle doe-foot that actually holds quite a bit of product. This gloss has no scent, other than a ‘makeup’ scent.
This gloss comes in four neutral shades, from pinks and browns. I purchased the shades “Almond”, described as a semi-sheer milky chocolate, and “Cashew”, a semi-sheer milky rosy brown.
Claims
“The alternative milk of lip gloss. It’s everything you love about a juicy gloss with none of the hangups. Made with plant-based ingredients that are actually good for you like apricot oil and raspberry seed oil —the same healthy + nourishing oils used in our original cult-favorite ShineOn Lip Jelly.”
Price and Quantity
This gloss is priced at $18 CAD ($14 USD) and has 0.13 oz of product.
For price comparisons I chose higher end glosses that come in a cream finish. Note that the below listed products aren’t necessarily going to have the same opacity or texture.
Here are the comparisons listed from best value to worst value:
| Rank | Product | Cost ($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 | Tower 28 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, it’s not surprising this gloss has great value given the price. The two glosses above it have a very different formula, so it all depends on your preferences! The Fenty is comparatively very opaque and just a touch thicker, and the ABH cremes are extremely opaque.
Pigmentation and Performance
Overall, I like this gloss a lot, but it isn’t a favourite
The only issue I take with this gloss is that it is very very sheer. It hardly even adds a tint to your lips, just a touch of colour. This means that buying multiple colours of this gloss is pointless (like I did). While the colour is buildable, it is not realistic to do so because of the type of formula. I also don’t agree that this is a “milky” gloss! You would think milky implies some sort of opacity, compared to ‘jelly’ like their other glosses. How these differ from the original jelly glosses other than being neutral shades, I do not know, and I have two of those.
As for the formula, this is the thinnest gloss I have ever tried. This means that it is very comfortable, has a lot of slip, and is not sticky at all. I also find it to be really hydrating and it seems to last on the lips a surprising amount of time even when drinking. However, because of the thin formula you really have to make sure to not overapply. If you do overapply, say to build the colour, I think you’ll find that the gloss moves around a lot and can get everywhere. Therefore, a less is more approach works best with this gloss, which means you do have to sacrifice colour, unfortunately. But if you are not someone who cares much about adding colour, and you just want a very comfortable gloss that adds a tiny tint, then this is for you!
Below you’ll see that in the swatches you can see a slight shade difference, but that it is hardly noticeable in the full face photos.
Wearing “Almond” 
Wearing “Cashew”
Final Thoughts
If you are looking for an affordable, comfortable gloss but don’t care much about colour, then this is your gloss! Because it’s so sheer, it’s kind of like a ‘your lips but better’ kind of shade, which means it will work with any look you wear! I do wish the colours were more obvious on the lips, since I did buy two, but it is what it is!
Have you tried anything from Tower 28 Beauty?
The ranking list is so crazy to me! The cost per ounce is so high, I never realized. What makes them so expensive, I wonder? Regardless, both colors are super pretty!
LikeLike