Max Factor Colour Intensifying Balm

When it starts to get a little warmer, my matte lipsticks get put away for the season and the sheer/balmy lipsticks get their time to shine. I always thought sheer lipsticks weren't for me but once I tried them, I was hooked. I love the way you can achieve a coloured lip without the upkeep and precision that regular lipsticks have. With that in mind, Max Factor have introduced a range of their Colour Intensifying Balms to get you set for the warmer months.

Now when I first heard of the Max Factor Colour Intensifying Balms, I didn't have my hopes up. Don't get me wrong, I love the brand but to me, the word balm suggests that the lipstick is more on hydration and less on colour payoff. Think Maybelline Baby Lips for example. Thankfully this isn't the case here as the name suggests, the colour is really intense and wears much more like a sheer lipstick, hurray!

With these balms, it's all about the layering. When you first apply it can appear quite a subtle flush of colour but with a couple of layers, you can really build them up for a much more bold look. I have three shades from the collection so far:

05 Sumptuous Candy - is an icy, blue toned pink. I personally have quite dark lips so I found this shade really didn't suit me. I think this shade would be more suited to more tanned skintones as it really washes out my pale complexion.
25 Voluptuous Pink - is a bright, yellow toned pink and when I first saw it, I didn't think I'd like it. At first I thought it would appear to be like a barbie pink on the lips but it worked really well with my skintone.
35 Classy Cherry - is my favourite from the range. On first impressions it appears to be red but once applied it's much more like a rich deep pink. If there's one you need, it's this one. Great for those not used to wearing a red or bold lipstick.

I've been really impressed by the quality of these lipsticks and with any range I do think there is always going to be shades that work for you and shades that don't. If I'd have any criticism over the range, I would say I would have liked a little more staying power but with these type of balmy/sheer lipsticks, less staying power is to be expected. Will you be trying the Max Factor Colour Intensifying Balms?

*This post contains PR samples