Released just this past summer, Maybelline‘s Color Jolt Intense Lip Paints feel like the brand’s answer to everyone else’s liquid lipstick/gloss hybrids (sometimes called matte glosses by other brands… WHICH IS NOT A THING OKAY – you cannot be matte and glossy at the same time!).

Lip paint is definitely the best wording for these little guys – they deposit one heck of a lot of colour in a thick almost gel-like formula. They’re a bit thicker than the Too Faced Melteds, in case you’re familiar with that formula. (I’m going to be doing a lot of comparisons to the Too Faced Melteds because the products are very, very similar.)

Like the Melteds, the Maybelline Color Jolts have a flocked applicator that is slightly narrower than their counterparts. The product comes out of the center of the applicator via the squeezy tube. Due to the nature of the small applicator, it’s really, REALLY easy to get a precise tip (easier than the Melteds). While they have a watermelon scent when they come out of the tube, I can assure you that this goes away. I, for one, am totally grossed out by the scent of fake watermelon and yet I was able to wear these for several hours without issue because the scent dissipated very quickly. (What a relief!)

What’s a review without pointing out some of the negatives however? (An ad, that’s what.) The Color Jolts are only really half full in the tube. I was surprised when I went to go apply Never Bare (the one above) and discovered that I had to squeeze halfway down the tube before I got any product out of the tip.

• A Maybelline Color Jolt retails for $9.99 USD and contains 6.4ml.
• A Too Faced Melted retails for $21 USD and contains 12ml.

If you look at those two, you can see that the cost of a Color Jolt is on par with the cost of a Too Faced Melted which is a bit ridiculous since Maybelline is drugstore and Too Faced is high end. Sure, you’re not shelling out more than $20 for a tube if you buy the Color Jolt, but you’re also not getting as much product either. (This only matters to some people – since very few of us actually finish up a lip product like this.) It just seemed weird for Maybelline to chintz on the amount of product you’re getting.

With the size discussion out of the way, let’s take a look at the colours! All three colours were opaque in one swipe. The colours are solid and beautiful. You’ll notice they have a sheen which does stay on the lips for quite some time, so these won’t dry down to a matte or satin finish.

Final Thoughts

Although the volume of the product is really, really weird given the price point, I do enjoy the Color Jolts immensely. I like how true and opaque the colours are. I like that the scent goes away so I don’t have to worry about a taste on my lips. I did find the colour faded a bit within two-three hours, but that’s not unexpected for something with such a glossy texture (re-application and layering were not a problem either). I also found that the product didn’t gather in the outer corners of my mouth which is something I’m exceptionally prone to (even with the Melteds).

Since the texture is a bit thicker than your average lip product, I was never concerned about these travelling or moving around on my lips and I’m really impressed that I can say that given that a glossy red lip is probably one of the most terrifying things you can wear in public! And although I’ve said the texture is thicker than normal, these are not uncomfortable to wear on the lips! I’d love to see them release more shades in this formula since they currently only have 8 shades and most of them skew quite bright which could turn a few people off.

Let me know if you’re interested in the Maybelline Color Jolts, or if you’ve already tried them out!

The Maybelline Color Jolts can be purchased on ulta.com for $9.99 USD each.