Not sure if you have heard but Fresh has recently released a new color to their Sugar Tinted Lip Treatment line called Ruby! At first it was exclusive to Sephora's VIB Rouge members only but it is now available for purchase to anyone. I thought it's time to do a proper review then!
Since this is just a new color in the lineup, I'll keep my review short. For more in-depth reviews of the Sugar Tinted Lip Treatment in general, please see my previous posts here and here.
Ruby comes in the same packaging as the other Sugar Tinted Lip Treatments — a colored tube with a screw on cap. It also has the same sweet and refreshing lemony scent, the same soft and buttery formula, and the same short staying power of about 2-3 hours.
On Sephora website, the casing of Ruby appears to be a deep, dark red, and the lip balm itself is also red with shimmer. It looks so beautiful online and in my mind I imagined it to be a nicely pigmented deep ruby red with lots of gold shimmer.
However, Ruby in person is nothing like what you see online. The casing is more of a plummy pink and the lip balm itself is not as deep red. At least the shimmer is gold, just like I imagined, but it's very, very subtle that once you apply on the lips, you can't tell there is shimmer at all.
Another thing that disappointed me is the pigmentation. See, I am so head over heels in love with Tulip — a nice pigmented pink that applies evenly and smoothly. I expected Ruby to have the same level of good pigmentation and application but I was again disappointed by the subpar quality of both features.
Ruby is very very sheer. It is basically the exact same color of my natural lips. It's a true MLBB shade for me. But I wasn't looking for a MLBB shade. I was looking for a ruby red, a “shimmery rouge tint” described on the website. :(
Ruby isn't very buildable, either. The balmy texture moves so much that it's almost impossible to build the coverage. I also find the application to be streaky and blotchy. It doesn't apply as evenly as Tulip at all.
Ruby is unfortunately a let down for me. But that could be because of my own natural lip color. I have yet to see swatches of it on paler lips, so I have no comment whether it will show up a truer, brighter red or not. While the formula provides a nice balmy feel that you can always expect from the brand's lip treatments, the poor pigmentation and mediocre consistency make it difficult to achieve a smooth and even distribution of color across the lips.
Well, here's to hoping that the next shade will be better! Have you tried Ruby? Does it perform better on your lips?
Purchase
US$22.50 at Sephora
฿980 at Sephora Thailand
I was actually deciding between Tulip and Ruby, and it looks like I’ll be going for the former!
I have too many MLBBs!
Definitely Tulip!!! :)
Darn! It’s definitely not the shimmering ruby vision you were hoping for, though it does look pretty on your lips! :)
Thanks, Kristen! I wanted it to be much more pigmented, though!!! -___-‘
Aw, I’m sorry that Ruby didn’t perform better on you, Jaa!! Still, it looks very pretty on your lips, but I can see why you would want it to actually be the rouge color it’s described as.
Exactly! I feel cheated. Haha. Oh well! :D
wow this is such a nice shade :)))
Hope I get hold of “fresh “brand quickly
Thanks, Krithi! I do love Fresh products in general! Just not Ruby haha.
Oh I wish it wasn’t so sheer! :-( I love these balms and was really eyeing this one! I think Tulip was more pigmented than this? I love the original Honey and Rose! This one still looks pretty on you though! :-)
Yep! Tulip is much more pigmented! :)
Hey Jaa, oh this looks like a let-down indeed! I’m pretty sure this will just disappear into nothingness on me as well. Not impressed!
You can definitely give it a “happy” miss!! :)
I think the color looks very good on you Jaa but you are right . Had it been little more pigmented or different color may be , it would have looked even better :D I love your clicks
True! It would be nice it it were a big more pigmented! My clicks?
I’m glad I hadn’t ordered it yet! I wonder how Cherry compares?
I’m sorry Erin! I don’t have Cherry (yet!).
Too bad that Ruby isn’t as good as Tulip:) if I ever get anything from fresh I will pick tulip one:)
Good choice! Tulip is my favorite shade from the line! :)
I actually can’t stand most of these Fresh balms. The plum one had the same issues – okay but super sheer in one layer, can’t build up or else it’s slip city and patchiness. They’re also really melty and the nice “Fresh” etching on the tube scratches off after toting it around a few times… they just smell nice and look good in pics IMO.
I only have fallen in love with these balms just recently! I find the formula to be just perfect for summertime for me but I know it will be too light for winter. I’ll be back to using my trusty, heavy-duty Bite Agave Lip Mask soon! :)
I love this color! I really want to try Tulip too!
I like Tulip much better! :)
Aww – I hate when lip colours are TOTALLY DIFFERENT in the advertising to what they are in real life. And you can’t even blame it on the lighting, because I’m sure what they did was just photoshop the colour. Kind of like the ‘false lashes in the mascara ads’ school of unscrupulous marketing! That doesn’t stop it from being a pretty colour, and I like a good balm/MLBB as much as the next person, but for US$22 you…kind of want what they’re promising, LOL! I’m sure it would show up more on my vampire lips, but looking at the swatch I still don’t think even I would make it to ‘dark red’!
No, I don’t think it has enough coverage to appear “dark red” even on your pale lips, Syl!
And don’t get me started on the mascara ads!!! LOL!