Review: Maybelline "Dare To Go Nude" Color Elixirs + Bonus

I'm now reviewing 2 of the Maybelline Color Elixirs from the limited edition "Dare To Go Nude" collection. I already reviewed ALL of the Color Tattoo eyeshadows from this collection. 

(Feel free to skip to the very end of the post to read the Final Verdict and skip over the details.)

Left is #105 "Polished Petal" & Right is #110 "Radiant Bloom".

I picked up 2 of the 6 shades that were limited edition. These are the 2 pink shades in the collection. I want to note why I only picked up 2: 

1) They were over a $1 more than the regular Elixirs and I'm not sure why......? They cost around $9.25 and the regular Color Elixirs are around $8. 

2) Up until this part I had never used these before and I was a little skeptical. I heard a lot about these when they first came out, but not a word since. I wasn't sure if they were a fail or just over hyped.

First, let me start off with an official description of these lip products for those of you who are like me and are a little late in trying them out. Maybelline describes these as:

A trio of concentrates that delivers the color of a lipstick, the cushionry care of a blam, and the glass shine of a gloss.

In other words, this is a higher concentrated lip gloss, in my opinion. -With that said, you can not expect the highest of color payoff with these, but do expect more color than the average gloss. I assumed it would be thick, because how else would you get the shine and "cushion balm" texture. Also, while this may last longer than the average gloss while wearing, I didn't expect it to last more than 4-6 hours.

Starting with #105 "Polished Petal". The left is the Elixir swatched just 1 time and basically just kind of globbed on. The right side is smoothed out. It's pretty pale and light. This is the cooler of the 2 pinks.

Here is what Polished Petal looks like on the lips. It's a milky pastel and it definitely excentuations any lines, dry patches, and uneven-ness on the lips. This color is much lighter than my natural color, so this actually gives a light color on my lips.

Here is an up-close view of Polished Petal. You can see this does not give a full opaque coverage on its own. I highly recommend putting this over lipstick. The good thing was that I didn't find this to be sticky, just thick. It does take some work to even out the product on the lips and I did not care for the odor. It seems like the perfume they put in this product is very minimal and doesn't last very long. If you happen to get any in your mouth, you will have an unpleasant waxy taste in your mouth and that's no fun. Overall, I found this to last an average of 2-3 hours on its own depending on conditions.

Here is #110 "Radiant Bloom". This is the warmer of the 2 pinks. The left is when I smoothed the product out and the right is is where I swatched it just 1 time and it just sort of globbed on. Again, these are thick. 

This is what Radiant Bloom looks like on the lips. This is my favorite of the 2 pinks in this collection. It is much more opaque and gives better coverage. This is not as milky and shows up as more of a pastel color. It does show dry patches and uneven-ness if you have any on your lips though, but not as bad as Polished Petal.

Here is an up-close look at Radiant Bloom. As you can see this provides much better coverage than Polished Petal on its own. It's darker and warmer too. It has an average of 2-4 hours of wear time on its own depending on conditions. I did not find this to be sticky either, just thick. The real problem with this color is one that it shares with Polished Petal- the odor or smell is not pleasant. The perfume in this Elixir is not long lasting and its not long after being applied that you will get that heavy wax smell that is not pleasant. It almost smells like crayons. If you get any on your tongue it will be unpleasant too, leaving that waxy taste in your mouth.

Here are side-by-side swatches of the 2 limited edition pink Color Elixirs. From the swatches there is not much difference. It's more of a choice of weather you want a cool toned or a warm toned pink. However, once applied, Radiant Bloom is the clear winner here.

Here's the bonus- After having disappointing experiences with the limited edition Color Elixirs, I went out and bought one from the regular lineup. This is #60 "Nude Illusion", which is a matte nude color that is pretty neutral in tone to me.

Here are swatches of "Nude Illusion". The left is were I just swatched 1 time and the right is where I smoothed it out. I found this particular Color Elixir to be much faster and easier to smooth out then the 2 limited edition pinks.

Here is what Nude Illusion looks like on the lips. I found the "nude" part of the name to be quite true. It pretty much is just a gloss on my lips, which is okay for every day/casual use. This Elixir alone was much more opaque and easier to deal with than the 2 limited edition pinks. I also did not find any issue with unpleasant taste or smell. It has a bit of that same perfume smell as the limited edition ones and then it just fades away as time goes on.

Here is an up-close view of Nude Illusion. It is a little lighter than my actual lip color, but not enough that you can tell from a normal view. It's a thick gloss that I feel goes good on its own or over lipstick. I also feel you get more wear out of this one than you do the limited edition ones I reviewed. This averages more of a 4-6 hour wear depending on conditions. 

Final Verdict

#105 Polished Petal - I give this a 4/10. The formula makes for streaky and uneven application. It takes quite a bit of work and product to even out and give decent coverage. It is not a product that can be worn on its own; it should be applied over lipstick. While it is thick, it is not sticky. The wear time of this particular Color Elixir is less than that of one from the regular product lineup. I did find that this product was less nourishing than other Color Elixirs, but did not dry out my lips. The smell and taste are unpleasantly overwhelming. 

#110 Radiant Bloom - I give this a 7/10. The coverage is decent and this can be worn alone, although it looks better over lipstick. The wear time is less than a Color Elixir from the regular lineup though. It is thick, but not sticky. The formula is nourishing and does not dry the lips. Unfortunately, the smell and taste are unpleasant and overwhelming, and give this product a lower score.

#60 Nude Illusion - I give this product an 8.5/10. This not limited edition and seems to perform better than the limited edition Color Elixirs. It performs well both on its own and over lipstick, and the wear time is quite good for a gloss. It is thick, but not sticky. The formula is quite nourishing on the lips and does not dry out the lips at all. While there isn't an aftertaste to this product, the smell is almost of a chemical-like perfume and does eventually fade. It would be nice if in the future they could improve the smell of the product.

After trying out 2 of the limited edition Elixirs, I passed on buying anymore. However, I am not opposed to trying more from the permanent line as the only permanent Elixir I have tried turned out to be quite good.