Korres Guava Lipsticks: Gorgeous, but are they worth it?

Korres Guava Lipstick ($22.00 for 0.06 oz.) is a slim-sized lipstick with carnauba wax, beeswax, and shea to keep your lips hydrated as you wear the lipstick color. It’s currently available in ten different shades ranging from nude to red. I tried #17 Pink and #55 Red.

• #17 Pink is a shimmery shade of rosy pink with no real shimmer so much as just a silver frosty sheen. It went on fairly pigmented, though I’d describe it as semi-opaque. It was smooth and creamy, and it definitely felt moisturizing on the lips.
• #55 Red is a semi-opaque shade of vibrant blue-based red with a subtle sheen. This one was a bit more pigmented and intense compared to #17 Pink, but it is also red, so I was expecting a little more pay off with this shade.

I actually really loved the feel of these–very soft and silky. I felt like these wore well, too, and they gave me about four hours of wear with minimal fading. Though they made my lips feel hydrated, they’re not ultra creamy or glossy–I don’t think they’d give chapped lips enough hydration to quench their thirst, but for normal lips, they do quite well.

My biggest complaint was the price of the lipstick, particularly relative to how much product you get. To put it in perspective, a MAC lipstick goes for $14.00 for 0.10 oz.; a Guerlain lipstick goes for $30.00 for 0.12 oz.; Cargo’s PlantLove lipstickgoes for $20.00 for 0.14 oz.; and a Urban Decay lipstick goes for $22.00 for 0.13 oz.

I’d be more comfortable paying $22.00 if I was getting a decent amount of product. Korres’ Mango Butter Lipsticks are $18.00 for 0.12 oz. product, so while the Guava Lipstick may have fancier ingredients, it still felt and looked like a lipstick on me, so the extra $6 for half the product is hard to swallow.  Next time, I’m going to look into their regular lipsticks instead.

• Product: 8/10
• Value: 6/10
• Ease of Use: 8/10
• Packaging: 7/10

Recommendation: Love pigmented lipsticks? Korres give just the right amount of pigmentation for a nice lip color. The packaging is slim and compact, but the price is not nearly as palatable. At $22 a pop, it’s a bit more than a treat for some. From Korres, I’d expect a price a bit lower (probably around $18) or else double the product. One of the major reasons I love Korres is that they’re an affordable and consistent brand.  The Guava Lipsticks are a great product, but they’re certainly a bit of a splurge!

Availability: Sephora

See more swatches and product photos…

Guava Lipstick in #17 Pink and #55 Red; Cherry Lipgloss in #52 Red; #51 Silver Eyeshadow; #13 Sky Blue Eyeliner Pencil

#17 Pink Guava Lipstick

#55 Red Guava Lipstick