Korres Natural Purple Lipgloss
The Spring Season: Korres #25 Natural Purple Gloss
Korres #25 Natural Purple Cherry Gloss
($17.00) is a deceivingly named gloss, because it’s not even near purple, but rather it’s a played down pink with a little bit of peachiness to it. It’s a very wearable shade that can be worn everyday, alone, or matched with a more dramatic eye. Korres Cherry Gloss is non-sticky and feels good on lips while you’re wearing them, and they all have a very glossy finish. Natural Purple is pretty opaque and has a creamy look to it — no shimmer. It has a faint scent of cherry that doesn’t really linger once it’s applied. You can see my original review, plus reviews of the other two shades here.
Is this the perfect glossy shade for you? Would you wear it?
The Spring Season is a series of posts featuring my favorite soft beige, coral, and pink lipsticks and lipglosses — all perfect for the first blossom of spring — that runs through March 2010.
KorresUSA.com: Temptalia Readers Save 30%
Temptalia readers can save 30% off their entire order and get free shipping on all orders $35 or more at www.korresusa.com through December 31st, 2009 with code TEMPTALIA.
(Please note, this code has been supplied via Korres for Temptalia readers, but I do not receive any commission/payment for your purchases.)
The Scarlet Season: Korres #55 Red Guava Lipstick
Korres’ Guava Lipstick is an amazing formula, albeit pricier than I feel it should be, and the red shade is a really fabulous starter-red. You know, like you’re not quite sure you’re ready for a full-stop red, so you need to work your way towards it… that’s what this shade is for. #55 Red is a soft, semi-opaque red with just a hint of pink. It’s not too bright, nor does it run orange or blue, so it’s very wearable. The formula itself is incredibly hydrating, so it even wears well and leaves lips feeling soft at the end of the day.
The Scarlet Season is a series of posts showcasing and featuring my favorite shades of red lips–from glosses to lipsticks that runs through December 2009. You can sure expect to see a lot of red this holiday season!
Korres Cherry Lip Kisses ($19.50) is a set of three 0.20 oz. lipglosses (that’s full size!) by Korres for the price of just a little more than one single lipgloss. After trying #52 in Red Pink, I wanted to see how the other shades stacked up and if they were as opaque as that one (which was already a darker gloss).
- #33 Nude is a semi-sheer peachy-nude with golden copper sparkle. This one was just okay – there’s nothing really special that drives this color. It looks blah on my lips, and it’s the sheerest Korres’ lipgloss I’ve tried. It’s not a bad shade, it’s just not one I’d actively seek out.
- #25 Natural Purple is a creamy, semi-opaque played down pink with no shimmer. I actually liked this one the most out of the three shades, because it gave me full color, lots of glossiness, and it looked natural. I don’t know why it’s called Natural Purple, but it’s definitely an easy, wearable shade.
- #54 Fuchsia is a semi-opaque medium fuchsia with softer pink fuchsia sparkle. This one settled a bit into lines and applied streaky, so some care needs to be used to apply it and get a more even look. It’s a fun pop of pink, but I’ve seen this color before.
Korres’ Cherry Full Color Gloss is a moisturizing, non-sticky gloss with a high-shine glossy finish that tends to be more pigmented than the typical gloss. Not all shades are created equal, so some shades are more opaque than others. The gloss has a faint scent of cherry, but it’s hardly noticeable (which may or may not be a good thing for you).
- Product: 26/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Availability: Sephora
See swatches… Continue reading →
Korres Lip Scrub
($19.00) is a solid lip scrub in the shape of a lipstick. It uses rice powder to exfoliate while jojoba oil and beeswax are there to hydrate your lips.
The product has me at odds. I’m not sure if it’s best to remove it, let it sink in for a few minutes, then remove, or not to remove it at all. The rice powder makes for a very, very subtle exfoliator, and it feels more like a polisher than a scrub. I really didn’t feel like it did much in the way of exfoliation, though it did make my lips feel more hydrated–if I didn’t wipe it off, but the grainy bits of rice… you have to wipe it off at some point. Otherwise, it just feels like you have sand on your lips.
The lemon scent is very subtle, too, and I think I smell more of the jojoba oil/beeswax combination than the lemon. This stuff also doesn’t taste good, so those who have the urge to lick their lips while this is on… resist!
While convenient for travel, I don’t personally find it necessary to travel with. A toothbrush or a wash cloth will do in a pinch, and at $19, I’d rather buy another lipstick than a lip scrub that does just a so-so job. Not to mention, I think it’s easy to use up this product, so you won’t get as much usage out of it as you’d like before needing another tube.
- Product: 22/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 3/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Availability: Sephora.com
Korres Thyme Honey Cream
($32.50 for 1.35 oz.) is a daily moisturizer designed for normal and dry skin.
Korres is known as a brand that doesn’t use a lot of those “bad” ingredients like parabens, suflates, petro-chemcials, and synthetic dyes. My personal stance is I’m not overly concerned by them, as research hasn’t proven otherwise (at least not to me) — one of my favorite beauty blogs, The Beauty Brains, did a write-up on parabens. So for me, a “natural” product just has to be a good product for me, but I’m not looking for anything explicitly natural. (It’s totally fine if you are, though! To each their own! 
)
This is a medium thick cream that comes in a jar, but it actually feels lightweight and absorbs very quickly. I went through my entire jar in about four or five weeks. It definitely felt a little faster than normal (normally I’ve spent the requisite four to six weeks testing it out, and then I move on and there’s still plenty left). To be clear, though, I was using this both AM and PM and typically I do have a separate AM and PM moisturizer. I’d expect if you just use this as a PM moisturizer, you’d get about two to three months of use out of one jar.
This doesn’t have any SPF, which does make it usable at night (without feeling like you’re wasting the SPF factor!), but consequently, you do need to wear something else that does have SPF. I found it moisturized my normal-to-dry skin very well, and I never felt dry or had any dry patches creep on me.
I will caution some on the scent, which is kind of like an earthy honey scent. It didn’t read synthetic honey to me, but it’s noticeable when you first apply it. I personally didn’t notice the scent linger on after it absorbed, but if you’re not a honey person, I’d recommend you choose one of Korres’ other moisturizers. I liked the scent, though I didn’t love it, but it wasn’t an issue for my nose!
Even though Korres does recommend this for normal skin, I think it’s more suited for those with drier skin, because it is quite hydrating and rich enough to soothe drier skin, it may be too heavy on normal skin. I wouldn’t recommend this one for oily skinned folks, either. If you have normal skin but sometimes need an extra boost in hydration, I’d suggest checking out Korres Thyme Honey Mask instead, as an as-needed intensive treatment.
I’m not a big fan of open-jar packaging. I’m just not keen on using fingers to scoop out product (let’s face it, most of us are not vigilant enough about using a separate, sterile spatula every time we go to moisturize), so I’d rather an airless pump in some form myself. The packaging feels nice (I think it’s glass) and has some heft to it, and the way Korres’ labels their products is cute and functional.
Overall, after using this for over a month (’til I ran out), I liked it, but I’m still on the hunt for something else. I don’t typically use up whole jars of anything, so it is a testament to how much I did enjoy using the product while it lasted. It moisturized and kept my skin moisturized throughout the day without causing breakouts or clogged pores. That’s pretty much what the product is supposed to do, and it definitely did that! I’m trying out Korres’ Wild Rose moisturizer now, will let you know how that works out…
- Product: 26/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: For those with dry skin, Korres’ Thyme Honey Moisturizer will keep your skin hydrated and soothed!
Availability: Sephora
