Maybelline ColorBlur Cream Matte Pencil Review & Swatches

ColorBlur is a twist-up matte lip pencil with a smudger on one end for creating the gradient-style lips that have been trendy in Korea where you add color to the center of your lips and blend it out toward the edges for an ombre-style look that's darker in the middle and fades as it goes out. You can also use these all over the lips, which is what I did since I feel like ombre lips look ridiculous on me, haha.
The packaging is eye catching and bright and these come in ten shades that are, for the most part, brighter, darker shades so if you're into soft, more neutral lip looks you may only find one or two that you like.

05 Pink Insanity, 10 Fast & Fuchsia, 15 Berry Misbehaved, 20 Orange Ya Glad, 25 Cherry Cherry Bang Bang 30 Partner in Crimson, 35 Plum Please, 40 My My Magenta, 45 I'm Blushing!, 50 I Like To Mauve It

One thing I'm extremely happy about when it comes to the packaging is that these twist all the way down into the tube.  Actually, I should mention that I was trying to figure out how the heck to twist them up and down and it took me a minute. That's because you actually twist them at the base (where the smudger is) rather than higher up on the tube where I thought you would.

I should mention that these are not safety sealed so please check them before you purchase! I bought mine as the store employees were putting them out so I know they weren't touched but I noticed that the product inside had a strange looking texture that resembled coral...it looked like tiny holes or bubbles in the lipstick itself. But the first time I used them, this went away. I just wanted to mention that in case you see that texture...it doesn't mean someone has used it! Another reader had mentioned to me that hers looked like that as well, so I think that's just how these are.


The smudger on the end is rubbery yet soft and works well when softening and blending these out on your lips. I tried the gradient look on me and immediately hated it, so another time, I used the smudger to tone down one of the darker colors and it actually looked really nice. It gave it a sheerer, more stained effect like I just ate a cherry popsicle, which I liked!

The formula on these is beyond creamy. They're super pigmented and glide on with only the slightest touch with absolutely zero drag. That surprised me because usually matte lip products catch and drag on my lips as I'm applying them but these just feel like butter.  In a way, they have the same feel as L'oreal's Silkissime eyeliners, just in a chunkier tube.
On my lips, which are always dry, these felt comfortable and didn't sit in lines or accentuate dryness in any way (although in the winter, this might be a different story...my lips aren't too bad right now). They felt velvety and soft and continued to feel that way for several hours every time I pressed my lips together. They never really sank in, just sort of sat on top but thankfully they're lightweight so this wasn't unpleasant in any way. But because they sit on top, they do transfer quite a bit to whatever you're eating or drinking (or kissing, so watch out!). They can also feather outside the lip line, due to their slippery texture so a liner is a good idea. The majority of these leave a nice stain behind which increases the wear time by a few more hours. The only one that faded within 4 hours on me was my favorite shade, I Like to Mauve It, because it's the lightest one.

I apologize for the varying lighting in these photos. I always try to take my photos in natural light because it's the most true-to-life, but occasionally (like today) the sun was in and out so it changed things up a little bit from one to the other. And in one of the photos (third one down) my face looks greenish while my neck looks white...super weird, sorry about that!

Maybelline ColorBlur 05 Pink Insanity

Maybelline ColorBlur 05 Pink Insanity

Maybelline ColorBlur 10 Fast & Fuchsia

Maybelline ColorBlur 10 Fast & Fuchsia

Maybelline ColorBlur 15 Berry Misbehaved

Maybelline ColorBlur 15 Berry Misbehaved

Maybelline ColorBlur 20 Orange Ya Glad

Maybelline ColorBlur 20 Orange Ya Glad

Maybelline ColorBlur 25 Cherry Cherry Bang Bang

Maybelline ColorBlur 25 Cherry Cherry Bang Bang

Maybelline ColorBlur 30 Partner in Crimson

Maybelline ColorBlur 30 Partner in Crimson

Maybelline ColorBlur 35 Plum Please

Maybelline ColorBlur Plum Please

Maybelline ColorBlur My My Magenta

Maybelline ColorBlur I'm Blushing!

Maybelline ColorBlur I'm Blushing!

Maybelline ColorBlur I Like To Mauve It

Maybelline ColorBlur I Like To Mauve It