January 22, 2013

Neutrogena Moisture Smooth Color Stick Review & Swatches

Neutrogena Moisture Smooth Color Stick are a newly launched chubby tinted lip pencil available in eight shades.

Thanks to Clinique chubby pencils seem to be right on trend for Spring 2013 with many a drugstore introducing their own variation. With such a repetitive product circulating across many different avenues one would think I’d be a tad tired of seeing it by now. But I have to admit the excitement is still there with each new tinted pencil that releases.

Are you tried of tinted lip pencils yet?

Not me!

Neutrogena Moisture Smooth Color Stick range at around $7.49-$8.99 each depending where you buy. The eight shade selection is in no way competition for Revlon’s larger variety of pencils however, some folks might feel the formula is one. Not everyone loved Revlon’s texture however, I was personally a big fan.

Neutrogena Moisture Smooth Color Sticks are considerably less pigmented than Revlon and Covergirl’s version but more so than Clinique’s. They have a lot more moisture and a high sheen finish compared to both Revlon and Covergirl’s but aren’t as balmy a texture as Clinique’s version so the softness you experience after using Clinique’s simply isn’t there. It is however, hydrating through the wear.

Moral of the story? They have their own separate characteristics compared to other pencils.

The formula promises to condition lips through the wear and improves the appearance of lips within a three day period. Personally I felt like they softened my lips and offered moisture throughout the wear but not after. They are supposedly made with real fruit extracts as well as mango and shea butter. They have a twist up design so you don’t need to sharpen them after the point dulls, simply twist up.

Some reader’s expressed a dislike for the stronger citrus-y fruit punch flavor and scent. I personally liked it. If you’re sensitive to fragrance and flavor in your lips products you might want to avoid.

Fresh Papaya, Bright Berry, Rich Raisin

These stand out for me because they lack the balm-yness I associate with Clinique’s pencil. They have more of a lightweight glossy feel on lips, dare I say a little silicone-y but nothing uncomfortable. They remain virtually weightless through the wear with a high sheen and a good deal of color that’s quite opaque in finish. Pigment will vary from shade to shade but all three colors I purchased had sheer to medium color pay offs with an opaque finish. Color wears anyway from four to five hours on my lips without migrating, fading, or morphing in anyway. They remain moist, soft, and hydrating through that wear time. The pencils have an easy glide across my lips (even when they are dry) and have a smooth finish with a little sheen that isn’t terribly glossy or shiny.

Overall, I liked them a lot! I do admit to enjoying Revlon’s version a little more because of the bolder pigmentation of some of the shades but Neutrogena is a close runner up. If Clinique’s version wasn’t pigmented enough for you and Revlon’s wasn’t moisturizing enough I think you’ll like Neutrogena’s formula. These provide moisture and just the right amount of tint that is noticeable on lips.

Rich Raisin

Fresh Papaya

Bright Berry

Def worth picking up!

Available now at drugstores.

Tried ’em?

I look forward to your thoughts!

I purchased this item.

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

  • Let

    I have this in Fresh Papaya and I love it :-). I think my favourite version is Neutrogena’s. Haven’t tried Covergirl’s version though.

    I might pick up the Watermelon and Raspberry shades later.

    • melanie

      I love the Neutrogena smooth color stick. Not quite the chubby sticks by Clinique but a close second. Covergirl… I picked up a few and they are very drying totally disappointed. The application is rough/dry not smooth at all. No moisturizing qualities about it. You almost need to add a lipgloss on top to pull it off, I would not recommend. Revlon’s are not bad but out of the three Neutrogena is the winner

  • Teasha

    Im looking out for them. Im not sick of chubby pencils yet, not even close. I love the formulas of every one I have tried, but I might prefer tarte.

    • the Muse

      i like tarte too with clinique a close second ;-D and revlon, so far, my fav ds ones!

  • Lisa J

    I do really enjoy them. I don’t buy a lot of Neutrogena products, but I’m glad I picked a few of these up. I agree that they’re hydrating and I like the color saturation. Very pleasantly surprised!

  • Mel

    I have been waiting for your review on these! I might pick up the one in Fresh Papaya.

  • Erika

    Rich raisin kind of looks a little like Clinique’s Black Honey (at least the search does). Would you say it’s a dupe?

  • Anna

    Do these smell like the name or just citrus-y? I enjoy citrus scents but papaya smells absolutely disgusting to me

    • Kaitlyn

      Honestly, to me they smell like the gummy peach rings that you get in the candy section of many convenience stores. (LOVE!) If you’ve tried the Neutrogena squeeze-tube lipglosses, they smell the same as those.

      • the Muse

        that’s about right Kaitlyn, they do kinda have a peach thing going on!

  • Jules

    I have the watermelon one. I like everything about it except that it’s frosty! And it seems like as I reapply during the day, the frost kind of piles up. A little too 80s-riffic for me. Do these shades do anything like that?

    By the way, I just discovered your blog. I’m sucked in for good. Love!

    • the Muse

      jules, funny, I had that problem with the berry one..aside from that love the formula ;-D only the berry one did that for me the other two were stunning ;-D aw thank YOU! <3!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Jen_M_sunshine

    Am loving the 3 of these by neutrogena I have and plan to pick up a few more. I have several tarte, revlon, and cover girl and like them all for different reasons or because of the color offerings by each brand. I like the fruit punchy scent and feel a nice change to the mint in some of the others. Scents don’t bother me usually so not a factor. Thanks for,the review muse! I plan to pick up the raisin color now along with the plum.

    • Jen_M_sunshine

      Forgot a comment! So loving the lip crayons and not tired of them ever! I counted 13 of them in my purse this weekend! I need to enter cosmetics anonymous! Will u be my sponsor? Hehe

      • the Muse

        No because I’d have to enter it with you. we’d need a sponsor who can actually HELP our addiction not add to it ;D

  • Suz

    I wanted to like these. I really did. But as a woman of color, my lips are dark and these provide no real color payoff for me 🙁

  • Jennifer

    I just bought 3 at Walgreens on sale! I really like the formula. It is definitely moisturizing and feels comfortable on the lips. And I love the scent! so delicious.

  • blueraccoon

    I want to like these, I really do, but the scent just gets to me. Sigh.

  • Kaitlyn

    It’s the strangest thing, I tried the Papaya color and felt like it dried my lips out! The watermelon one was moisturizing though. I’m going to have to give it another shot though. Maybe my lips were unusually dry that day. I don’t think so, but we’ll see.

    • the Muse

      i felt that way about the berry one kaitlyn, not moisturizing enough where as the other shades were good ;-D maybe it was just the color for me!?

  • Eraser

    I love them! I’ve been a fan of Clinique’s so I’m happy to see other brands get on the bandwagon, but I didn’t like Revlon’s at all. These are more like Clinique’s, i.e. a true balm. My only slight complaint is that all of the shades seem to be frosted & it would be nice to have some plain ones.

  • Sev

    Oooh. I’ll have to look out for these. I’ve been wanting a “chubby stick” type product for a few years now, but balked at the price of Clinique’s. Both the Tarte and Nyx pencils I acquired turned out to be the wrong shades, though. These look promising–can’t wait to stalk my grocery store and Target this weekend.

  • Tracy

    Are they shimmery ? They look like it ! I’m most interested by the Papaya color..

    • the Muse

      depends on the shade tracy both papaya and berry have a bit of shimmer 🙂

  • Smriti

    All 3 look so gorgeous! But these chubby sticks haven’t been launched here yet, gah! Not even the Revlon ones. It’s so annoying to miss out on all the good stuff, not to mention my health too. All that frustration does have an effect right? Maybe if I plague all these brands with emails, they will listen..?

    On a different note, I just stumbled across your blog looking for reviews, and I think you rock!! Count me as a regular follower Muse 🙂

    • the Muse

      aw thank you smiriti!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;-D LOL it’s overwhelming the amount of products and forget when they trend, everyone starts releasing their own version!

  • Natasha

    I have the Fresh Papaya and love it as a quick, go-to color for every day. I also like the REvlon ones, esp. crush which is a lovely wine color.

  • Caitlin

    SO not tired of lip crayons! Keep ’em coming! However, I am not a fan of frosty finishes–on my wrinkly lips even a little frost makes me look like an older woman trying to look like a younger one, lol. So I will make sure to avoid the frosty colors.

  • Linda

    Ah these are fantastic! I have the Revlon one and it sure lacks moisture but it kind of makes up with pigmentation. Might try these very soon!

  • Nantajit

    I promise this would be the last one I add to my purse LOL … Thanks Muse for the great review as always!!! 😉

  • jenn s.

    I am NOT a fan of the scent. I get peach, blech. :p Luckily, it dissipates rather quickly. The raisin shade will be my next purchase. It looks lovely with your fair skin, Muse. 🙂

  • Jessica

    I have the sweet watermelon one and it seems a bit gritty and i noticed that there is little fine black spects on the tip of crayon. Is that normal?

  • Yuli

    I just got one in sweet watermelon and I love it! Its kind of you natural lip color-but better type of color, perfect for everyday. I’m surprise people don’t like the scent, I personally love it, it reminds me of the Benefit Ultra Plush lip glosses, which I was in the fence about, I love their scent, but didn’t like the price much. So this moisturizing sticks are perfect for me.

  • BooBooNinja

    I adore Bright Berry. I’m disappointed to hear that it’s not moisturizing. Or, is it that it’s *not as* moisturizing as the others but still relatively moisturizing?
    I wish we had Neutrogena cosmetics here. *humph*

  • crmelody

    Must have the papaya shade! I generally hate scents, but I hope I can stomach it. That color is the perfect everyday shade! May I ask: What blush are you wearing in this?

  • FN

    Hi Muse,

    Thank you very much for these reviews. I just stumbled on your site yesterday and I am so so glad I did.

    I live in Calgary Canada. Do you or anyone else knows where I can get the neutrogea moisture smooth color stick? And the loreal glam shine stick as well?

    I have checked walmart, shoppers drugmart and target but couldn’t find them.

    Thank you so much and have a happy new year.

    • Isabella Muse

      hi FN How are you? Aw glad you did too! I’m not in Canada unfortunately but hopefully one of my other reader’s can help you out and give you a word where to locate those in your area!

      happy New year!

  • Jacqueline

    I haven’t had any luck finding them in Nova Scotia at any drug stores, but did find them in a 3 pack at Costco. I can’t remember what two of the colours were, because I didn’t like them and I gave them to my mother, but I love the Plum perfect! Now I’m on the hunt! will find them somewhere.

    • Megan

      Jacqueline, was it a Costco in NS??? I would love to find these! I thought no Neutrogena makeup was sold in Canada!