Cover Girl Lipslicks vs. Cover Girl NatureLuxe Gloss Balm

In the mid-to-late 1990s I spent a lot of time wearing inappropriately dark lipstick (Revlon Vixen to be precise), as was the way of young women everywhere. After that, I went through sort of a no-makeup phase where inappropriately dark lipstick looked...well, inappropriate, and I happened to discover Cover Girl Lipslicks Lipgloss in Hipster. Since that time, I've bought untold tubes of this product, sometimes buying two or three tubes at a time in case it was suddenly discontinued.

Cover Girl Lipslicks Lipgloss in Hipster.

For years, I tried to buy other lipsticks and lip glosses, but none came close to winning my heart the way Hipster did (aside from the faintly dolt-y name). Everything about it is perfect. The color is like my regular lips but just slightly darker. It goes with everything and, like mascara, just makes me feel "finished." And it costs about $5. I tried a couple of other products once in a while but kept returning to my beloved Hipster while other glosses and stains languished in my makeup drawer. (Sorry, almost-forgotten $18 tube of sticky, gummy Make Up For Ever gloss.)

Recently I branched out again and I've discovered a few things I like. I love Chanel Rouge Coco in Mademoiselle almost as much as I love Hipster, and I'm pretty happy with my MAC Captive lipstick and Hue lip glaze. I'm a fan of those Milani Buzzworthy glosses I bought a few months ago, too.

But I keep buying Hipster. It's just such a solid product for me. Last week I realized I was running pretty low and made a mental note to pick some up at Target. Sadly, Target was out of the Hipster color (grrr) so I decided to try their new NatureLuxe Gloss Balm, which sounded similar. I chose the color Pinot as it looked similar to Hipster.

Cover Girl NatureLuxe Gloss Balm in Pinot.

Well. I don't like it.

First of all, I realize it's a different product line and is said to contain "decadent mango and shea butter", but the NatureLuxe Gloss Balm is $2 more than the Lipslicks. The color I selected also has way too much "sparkle" in it and the effect is kind of borderline 80s frosty. For some reason - whether it's the sparkle or some other ingredient - it also feels kind of scratchy on my lips, instead of moisturizing as I would like. I do not recommend, sadly.

Side by side comparison...no comparison!

So, I bought another tube of Hipster. What products are you hopelessly devoted to?