I’ve been waiting for the new ColorBurst Matte Balms to drop since hearing about them in November, so when I recieved an email at work from Boots saying that they had released the balms a week early, I let out a short squeal and proceeded to order a few online.

The matte balms have a….balmy (duh) and velvety texture, due to the Triple Butter Complex (shea, coconut and mango butters) while also having a light peppermint fragrance. I’m in love with the simple pastel shade packaging and the colours are very true to the actual products. Because I ordered these online without swatching any first, I had to be sure to pick colours that I thought would suit me. Some are gorgeous, and some would probably be better suited to someone of a lighter complexion but hey ho!




l to r: Shameless, Unapologetic, Elusive, Sultry, Standout, Showy
apologies for the photography – I’m going through a terrible lighting situation at the moment!





Shameless is a very deep, intense purple shade, however the funny thing is is that i’ve seen this colour swatched on other lighter skinned ladies, however on me, it comes off as a light lilac? Very strange. I don’t know if I’ve received a bad batch, but I would have LOVED for this shade to be as deep the colour on the packaging. 

Unapologetic is a bright red-toned pink which is rather pretty and would suit those of all skintones. I need to figure out how to rock this properly as it’s such a bright shade for me, but it’s gorgeous nonetheless. 



Elusive is a cool toned pink which would really be suited to those who are paler than I. I don’t really know how I’ll be able to rock this for everyday use, but Steph always finds a way! I’m a tad disappointed as I thought this would come out as a rose coloured nude which I normally tend to go for when looking for nudes, but alas.

Sultry is a gorgeous brown based pink with hints of plum and I LOVE it; a definite ones for the darker skinned ladies, this colour compliments darker and tanned skin tones beautifully without being too overpowering. 



Standout is a lovely deep blue based red tone that reminds me of my beloved Ruby Woo by MAC, albeit the shade being a tad darker. This is definitely a shade I can see myself wearing on a daily basis and I love the slightly retro feel to it. 

Showy is another shade that slightly disappointed me because after seeing swatches online, I thought “ooh, another blue-based pink?! Could this be the matte version of MAC’s ‘Girl About Town’?” which is another of my favourite shades. As you can see, the colour comes up very chalky on me and almost looks white; NOTHING like the colour on the packaging. I’ll be having a play about with this to see what I can do with it though. 

So there we have it. Altogether there are 10 shades in the collection so at some point I’ll be picking up the other four to see what they are saying. There are a few WOC-friendly shades chucked in there so I’m happy about that however I was a tad disappointed in some of the colours such as Showy, Shamless and Elusive as I was really hoping that they would suit me! Despite being a matte finish, the textures of the balms are extremely moisturising and keep lips hydrated so you don’t have any of the cracks between the lips and all that palava. 

Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm | £7.99 | Available on Boots Online now!