Flower Beauty Fridays #1 // Lip Service Lip Butters

When there is a new beauty product or brand release, makeup junkies are more determined than Black Friday shoppers. We'll be the first in line, sign up for text alerts (who, ME?), and call stores frantically to try to put items on hold. Of course we stalk the items online, but nothing beats having the items in your hot little hands to see their true colors and get your fix.

When Flower Beauty premiered in Wal-Mart stores last year, my addiction kicked into high gear. I checked their online system to make sure the items were in stock. With my shopping list in hand, I headed to my local store on release day ready to elbow my way to the display before it got picked over. But when I got there, I discovered that there was nothing there to be picked over; they hadn't even put the items out on the floor yet. I had braved the retail jungle that is Wal-Mart all for not.

It took a few disappointing trips to the store before I could finally get my hands on the items, and the "Lip Service" lip butters were some of the first items I picked up. Most every brand now has a lip "butter" type of product. A genius little product that combines the color of a lipstick with the convenience of a lip balm, these hybrid lippies are the perfect thing to throw in your bag for everyday wear. While they can easily be worn dressed up, their low maintenance appeal makes them perfect for last-minute hurried applications. Their sheer colors are mistake-proof (you hardly need a mirror to apply them) and they are as easy to apply as they are to wear. 

If you're looking to gain confidence in wearing more daring colors (or just looking to get your lipstick-wearing wings) this type of product is a great stepping stone. Lip butters are great for beginners and makeup aficionados alike. Similar to their 2-in-1 balm+lipstick formula, they tend to be 2-shades-in-1 as well because they are buildable. A quick swipe of the product will give off a light, balmy color. Slather that butter on like a fallen Food Network chef, and it becomes more lipstick-like in color. The adjustability allows you to add as little or as much color as you're comfortable with. Further, this ensures that all of the colors in the shade range will look good on a variety of skin tones. 

I have 2 shades, Sheer Snapdragon and Wispy Wisteria. I chose the shockingly pink Wisteria shade to break out of my neutral comfort zone and add some color to my face. With a light application it imparts a soft red-pink glow. Apply the product heavily, and you will build up its intensity to a brighter magenta. Sheer Snapdragon is a more neutral choice. Though it's a "safe" choice, it's anything but boring. A perfect shade for everyday wear, it is a browny-peach shade with a hint of pink. Despite its light brown pull, it never translates dull or orange. This shade is at once timeless and perfect for any season.

Sheer Snapdragon

For a lip butter product, the wear time is surprisingly long. I wore Wisteria through the seventh circle of hell airport earlier this week and was pleasantly surprised to see it last several hours into my trip. With a sheer product such as this, I fully expect to reapply frequently. That it performs more like a lipstick in terms of wear time is a bonus.

Wispy Wisteria

I have one minor complaint about this product: the packaging. I find it to be housed in bulkier packaging than is necessary (though it's beautiful). Aesthetics aside, the real issue with the packaging is that the caps do not stay put, which is a shame for an item that I like to throw in my bag on the go. The birthday gods were watching over my brand spanking new Rebecca Minkoff purse last week. Forgetting just how loose the caps could be, I threw the product into my new handbag, only to later find the cap dislodged and floating around my bag. Amazingly, the bag's lining escaped unscathed. I would not have been pleased with Sheer Snapdragon smeared all over the inside. This problem was the topic of discussion on a recent Flower Beauty Instagram post, so I will be interested to see if they implement the feedback they took into consideration in the future.

In all, I find Flower's lip butters to be the most underrated of the lip butter corner of the market. While most consumers are scrambling for the Revlon Lip Butters or Maybelline Color Whispers, the Flower Lip Service lip butters have gone virtually unnoticed in comparison. While the shade range might not be as extensive as that of other brands, the shades available are beautiful colors that people will want to wear. This, combined with their relatively long wear time makes this product worth looking into if you're in the market for an easy-to-wear lip product.

Flower Lip Service Lip Butter - $6.98
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Flower Beauty Fridays // A New Series

July has been hectic! I've completely dropped the blogging ball due to being out of town (and back in my hometown). However, ideas were being mulled and research was being done behind the scenes.


Hard at work doing research.

I have decided to do another brand series. This time, the series will focus on a brand on the lower end of the price spectrum as I slowly but surely continue to warm up to drugstore cosmetics. Because I appreciate alliteration, I present to you Flower Beauty Fridays. This series will run for five weeks.
Flower Beauty is the brainchild of actress (mother, producer/director, wearer of many hats), Drew Barrymore. A cosmetics enthusiast from a young age, Barrymore released the line in Wal-Mart stores in early 2013 after being inspired by her years as a CoverGirl ambassador. Barrymore wanted to create a line of high quality cosmetics at an accessible price point, noting that marketing and high-end names drive up product costs significantly. With no marketing strategy other than word of mouth, Flower Beauty became an instant success due in large part to Barrymore's star power.

Though admittedly star power is what drew me to it, Barrymore proves that this isn't just another celebrity beauty endeavor. It is a carefully curated, well-thought out collection of products clearly created by the hands of a makeup enthusiast. As the owner of Flower Beauty, she lends more than just her name and image to the brand. She is involved in the business and retains major creative control over the products and direction of the company. In so doing, Barrymore ensures that the brand embodies her ideals and who she is. The products are made in the US, not tested on animals, and are accessible to customers of all means. Her hard work and dedication has resulted in a full-fledged beauty brand which contains hundreds of color cosmetics products.

At first, I was miffed that the line was being released only to Wal-Mart stores as I only shop there occasionally and do so purely out of necessity. (#teamtarget) However, when I realized the reasoning behind the move was to give more consumers access to the products, I was willing to put retail politics aside. Having grown up in a rural area (where I am visiting as I write), I understand completely the inability to have the things you want and need readily available to you. While we definitely believe in shopping locally (as we tend to know personally the mom and pops that run the smaller retailers), the draw of a larger retailer is an unavoidable convenience in modern times. The Wal-Mart in our local area is the closest and largest major retailer, so we are limited in our choices until we have time to make the 45-minute trip to the city, or unless we rely on the mysteries of online shopping. Placing the brand in Wal-Mart stores reaches both the urban and rural consumer.

In addition to the "geopolitical" factor, I can appreciate that the items are available at a Wal-Mart price point. While there is some truth to the adage "you get what you pay for", Flower products are formulated with the same ingredients as luxury makeup. The budget leftover from marketing is put into the products themselves yielding a high quality product at a mass-market price. We all like an indulgence from time to time, and I willingly admit my allegiance to high end cosmetics, but this line proves that good makeup doesn't have to come at a high price. While a celebrity face helps to sell products and makes consumers feel inspired, at the heart of it we purchase cosmetics because we wish to take pride in our appearance. This quest shouldn't have to be exclusive or indulgent, but something that is attainable by all.

I've long been a fan of Barrymore's California-cool style, so I'm easily persuaded to try anything she endorses or creates. Any chance I have to emulate her natural beauty and bohemian style, I take it! I have been very pleased with the items I have tried from the line and look forward to picking up more...for the sake of research of course! Stay tuned as I brave the aisles of Wal-Mart to find the hidden Hollywood gems of Flower Beauty.