January 6, 2012

Clinique Almost Lipstick for Spring 2012 Review, Swatches, Photos

Now might be a good time to set aside some cash for ALL of the new Clinique Almost Lipsticks. Yes, ALL.

At $15 each they are an absolute essential and affordable haul. You NEED these.

Jump!

Inspired by cult favorite Black Honey, Clinique has introduced several new shades of Almost Lipstick. I knew I was going to love these before every trying them and surprise, surprise, I was right. I adore these. They will easily become a staple product in my beauty arsenal and a daily part of my makeup regime. I can see myself toting around a shade or two everywhere I go because they are such a practical beauty product that not only makes my makeup touch up easy but also imparts moisture to my lips as well as the most flattering shade of MLBB (my lips but better) lip color.

That’s the key here, MLBB. Every single shade of these new Almost Lipsticks is a universally flattering shade of color that enhances the tone of your natural lip color and creates a beautiful, natural sheen of color that’s never over done and always just, just, just RIGHT!

Out of the eight shades there wasn’t a single color that didn’t completely suit me. Clinique couldn’t have launched these at a better time as we are not only headed into Spring and wanting a lightweight lip product but they are also perfect for dry, chapped Winter lips.

The formula applies as smooth as butter on lips and glides on beautifully well. It’s pretty much fool proof application here because even on dry lips you still get a perfect, hydrating finish. Almost Lipstick is about subtly. The finish is a sheer wash of color that’s looks fresh and extremely natural. They have a hint of shine with a dewy fine finish that keeps lips nice and moist throughout the wear. I can probably get around three to four hours of wear time from these before they fade away.

The joy is definitely the sheer formula as it somehow, someway allows your natural lip color to come through while enhancing it and creating a perfect custom fit shade that flatters all skin tones.

Shades:

  • Luscious Honey
  • Lovely Honey
  • Spicy Honey
  • Flirty Honey
  • Shy Honey
  • Black Honey
  • Chic Honey
  • Tender Honey

Some of the shades that stand out for me personally were Tender Honey, Spicy Honey, Lovely Honey, and Flirty Honey.

Overall, The new Clinque Almost Lipstick Collection for Spring 2012 is definitely a winner. These are a buttery smooth lippie with just the right hint of color to give lips a fresh, natural look that’s undeniably flattering! My swatches aren’t really great so next week I’ll have some lip swatches up of these guys!

Very Muse Approved for purchase.

You NEED these.

I’m seriously considering a back up purchase of my favorite shades!

Love!

Get them now at www.clinique.com or head to your favorite counter for a little swatch! I bet you fall as deeply in love as I have.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Larie

    I swatched these in store and they felt really lovely! I may have to pick up a few 😉

  • kimkats

    Will definitely check these out soon – one of the local stores here should be having a GWP in about a month or so, so timing should be about perfect!

    Do you know if these are permanent, or just lauched for spring? I’ve worn the Black Honey one since it was actually a heavy gloss in the old green pot! that’s been a few years back….. 😀

    • the Muse

      perm kim! but I still think I need backups lol I’m obsessed! they hit it out of the park with these! it was introduced in 1971!!! who knew black honey went back that far? ;D!

  • Cj

    …can i has all of them?

    You had me at MLBB! As soon as I see these in store, they will be mine lol

    Side note. Yesterday I woke up with THE WORST case of chapped lips ever. It looked like my lips scabbed over (TMI I know) I’ve been using Blistex medicated lip balm and seriously it’s a godsend! Between it and my lip scrub, my lips are almost back to normal 🙂

    • the Muse

      rosebud salve…YOU NEED it cj ;-D great chapped lips remedy ;D! ugh my lips are dry as hell :-/

      DEF DEF DEF the perfect shades of MLBB ;-D they are so brilliant ;D! it be almost lipstick time now!

      • Cj

        I think I actually have some in a drawer somewhere lol I should go find it :p between these and the loreal balm’s which formula do you prefer btw?

        • the Muse

          these, hands down. more color to them than l’oreal’s version! still sheer but beautifully so ;D!

          • breyerchic04

            How about compared to Revlon, which gets better than L’oreal’s.

          • the Muse

            that’s kinda not a comparison breyer….considering revlon’s version is crazy pigmented and loreal and almost lipstick is far, far sheerer. like apples and oranges 🙂

  • elizabeth

    Ooo I want! Must keep my eyes open for a gwp. Thanks so much for the swatches!

  • Steph.

    FINALLY. Oh man I have been dyyyyying for swatches! I got a gift card this Christmas for a shop that sells Clinique, so I’ve been waiting to see swatches before rushing off to get them!

    Thanks you thank you thank you!

    • the Muse

      your welcome steph! sorry they aren’t the best swatches! I’m going to try a few lip swatches next week, they’ll be full face, but still can give you an idea what they look like on lips ;D!

      • breyerchic04

        Nice!

        I think I’m going to pick up Chic Honey and one of the lighter ones this weekend. Chic Honey looks to be what I wanted black honey to be. Not to say I don’t love it, but cooler colors are always nice.

  • Noelle

    These are GREAT muse. I purchased Chic Honey on Monday, and I’m very happy with the texture and color payoff.

    • the Muse

      amazing right noelle? Chic Honey is gorg ;D you need MORE! More! More! ;D hehe!

  • breyerchic04

    Fair enough on the pigmentation. Though I didn’t like the Revlon one I got, at least not as much as everyone else does. I’ll keep it, and probably use it a few times, but it’s not zomg!

    • the Muse

      I liked the revlon lip butters, guilty ;-D they were an incredible fine for something so cheap and available so easily. but yeah, I guess there is alot of zomgbbq going on with them! these are considerably more hydrating and lighter than revlon’s if that helps. but the products are a bit too different to compare in my opinion.

      • breyerchic04

        The ZOMGBBQ was what got me down on the Revlon ones, I mean nice enough but that’s the most hype I’ve seen since Wet N Wild shadows. Totally fair.

        I have Black Honey, so I know what to expect (now that I have color ideas, every single site had different swatches, it was awful).

        Oh and just so you know, I got my Sephora birthday card in the mail, fresh balms are the gift of the year, clear and rose minis. I’m hyped to not have to pay $22 a piece to try them.

        • the Muse

          mmm I think things get blown out of proportion when it hits the beauty blog world if that makes sense. I think they are exciting, I even muse approved them, and I think they are an amazing price, etc..etc….but I think I understand that the hype can definitely be overkill sometimes. Right now the 24hr tattoos are seeing that kinda of coverage and I like them, think they are an incredible deal, etc…but there’s alot of YOU can’t live without these going on ;-D and they do have a few quirks that no one mentions and that’s when you end up buying it and being disappointed ya know?

          Hope that made sense ;-D

          I think these are, almost lipstick that is, are worth getting hyped over. I’m disappointed by so many products since I run through so many new products everyday and when something finally does strike me as awesome I’m definitely inclined to rave them hard and these deserve it.

          Sweet! thank god they did away with the awful birthday cake shower gel, that was awful imho!

          • breyerchic04

            I may try one of those eye tattoo things, but maybe not. I’m trying to get eye looks down better and they could help,

            I think they are too, and I’ve been saying for a year I wanted a purpler color of black honey, so I am excited. Plus pretty packaging makes a difference to me.

            I didn’t mind the birthday cake showergel, but the year before was Sephora brand eyeliner and shadow, ick.

          • the Muse

            oh yeah! I remember the shadow/liner thing, was garbage! I didn’t even collect it haha! ;-D I think that tattoo cream shadows are pretty brilliant but some of the matte shades a little meh meh on those!

        • Majick

          yea! I’m certainly looking forward to a nice b-day pres next month. Balms def beat the shower gel. 🙂

  • Musebeliever

    This looks good but a tad too expensive considering what it is. How do they compare with the tokidoki lipbalms

    • the Muse

      I thought they were very nicely priced Muse. Nothing like the tokidoki balms, def a higher quality product than a simple lip balm 🙂

  • Littlecreek

    Cheese and rice I’m pumped! I didn’t know these were out already! Thanks for the Friday surprise! Exclamation points!

  • Sara

    Oh you bastard! I’m on a no-buy and you roll out THESE?? I *love* the black honey almost lipstick. I have ever since I was old enough to swipe that stuff on (as my mom has been hooked since the 80s, it’s always been in her minimalist makeup stash). Several of these look fantastic. A little sheer, a little brown perhaps to mellow out my pink, and a lot of natural looking appeal….damns. These are seriously awesome. While I *like* the revlon lip butters, I don’t *love* them and have to force myself to wear them. I’d trade them both in for one of these in a heartbeat. 😀

  • Andrea

    Hi! I really like the Clinique chubby sticks. Have you tried the chubby sticks and how do you think these compare? I am trying to decide if I need both. Thanks!

    Andrea

  • S

    Thanks for the swatches Muse! I’m excited for these new colors as black honey didn’t work too well for me.

  • Rezia

    Thanks so much for reviewing these! I love your website! I can only order online, and it helps so much to see the shades beforehand.

    This is probably a REAAAALLLYYY dumb question, but I just wanna be sure of the colour before I order…do the colours shown in the swatch and close-up pictures correspond to the order of the list you have before the pictures?
    Thanks again! 😀

  • Melissa

    are we (all make up junkies) sure that these are ALL new colors? I just checked my stash, I have black honey, tender honey, and one that I think is lovely but the sticker came off. I’m thinking that at least a few our re-promotes? None the less – gwp time is soon and I will be getting 1 or 8 .. lol

  • Carrie

    Longtime lurker here…I am soooo excited to get these! I love the L’oreal Balms, but the spf in them really bothers my sensitive skin (boo)! So I am thrilled I can try these!

    I am a tad confused on the swatches though. I would like to order these from Clinique online and of course their swatches look nothing like yours! lol

    If you get a chance could you tell me the names of the lipsticks in order of how they are pictured in their close-up shots?

    THANK YOU SO MUCH for being the ONLY make-up blog I need to get all the best products!

    • soso

      I too would like to have the lipsticks with their name identified in the closeup pictures. This will help me identify the shades I like and in knowing which colors are being referred to in the posts.

      @Carrie, if this has been answered already, please share, or direct me to where I can find it! Thanks!

  • Bridget

    Im pretty sure they had other colors for the almost lipstick like way over 10 years ago. My mom used to love them but then they only had the one shade which is too dark. I remember using hers which I think she had in “air kiss” and I loved the feeling of it!!! Can’t wait to go get some!!!! : ) so excited!!!

  • cat

    I swatched Black Honey in store a while back. The taste and feel of it put me off immediately and it didn’t really do much for my lips. It tastes a little waxy and feels a bit too heavy for me. I’ll just stick with Covergirl natureluxe glossbalm.

  • Karrie

    I really liked your swatches but would love to see the lip ones.
    I think for $15, it’s not a bad price.

  • Janet Shepherd

    Hmm, looks like these aren’t out in Australia yet, but the old Black Honey Almost Lipstick goes for $36!!!!

  • FadBurger

    Is Flirty Honey pigmented enough on lips?? I swatched it on my hand today and it seemed awfully sheer…

  • Christina

    I bought Tender Honey a week ago and have already bought two backup tubes 🙂

  • Majick

    ut oh, I think I see trouble on the horizon for me with these – you are right, they are all great colors.

  • Tracy

    Wow those are amazing ! Can you confirm the names of the 3rd swatch of the first pic and the last one on the second pic ? Thanks ! For some reason, I really didn’t like the chubby sticks, colors were too intense for me and it was kinda pasty… I’m definitely more a balm girl !

  • winni

    These remind me of all those shear lipsticks Chanel, Dior & YSL came out with last year. I’ll be buying some of these for sure!

  • katherine

    Nice Muse! 🙂 I remember my first Black Honey almost lippie back in the early 80’s. I think it was my first dept store makeup purchase! I always had a tube somewhere but didn’t rediscover it until the black honey release last year (I bought the whole she-bang of that release!) I can’t wait to go pick some of these up! 😀

    • the Muse

      katherine that was a great collection! some of it didn’t work for me sadly but still an awesome collection ;-D you’ll love these!

  • Jane

    Black Honey has been in my makeup arsenal for 15+ years. 😁 Lucious Honey looks pretty nice. And yes L’Oreal Balm has a nice dupe for black honey for a fraction of the price. 😉

  • Lois Sims

    I was wondering the same that someone else asked..is there a way you can name each color by each swipe? I was totally confused—the list then swipes I just didn’t know which name applied to each color…Oh, & the full face on the lips (applied color & named) would help too…I always look for all that info when I look for swatches of lip colors, but sadly it is not always furnished…..THANKS for doing all this & listening to us…Lois