Review: Ilia Lip Conditioner in Arabian Knights & Bang Bang

Ilia Pure Lip Care makes pretty products. While that should be a given with cosmetics, I’ve discovered prettiness tends to be the exception rather than the rule with healthier brands. Not only does the packaging tend to be dismal, but the products themselves apply like pale imitations of the ones that are slowly trying to kill you. Not only are these Lip Conditioners gorgeously colored, but the packaging is excellent. The recycled aluminum tubes manage to be sophisticated and industrial at once. I feel positively chic whipping one of these suckers out in a crowded bathroom. And while I realize I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, life’s too short for ugly lipstick.

Let’s talk formulation. So, the title of this product is “Lip Conditioner.” Ilia is careful not to quite call these lipsticks on its website, possibly to make sure your expectations are in check. The Lip Conditioner is an incredibly moisturizing balm that happens to pack heavily-pigmented tint. Now, because these are really balms and not lipsticks, these tints are sheer. They are also extremely buildable. One can wear these for just a hint of color or really layer and pile on the pigments. Even when heavily layered, the color never gets opaque; it always remains a bit transparent.

It is a bummer, however, that the Lip Conditioner has minimal staying power. The product never sets into my lips enough even to stain them. It smears all over a water glass or a straw. If I am wearing a lip wearing a lip, I need to reapply often. 

Ilia Lip Conditioner is sold in six shades. This initial color palette is a little limited; at least one new color, Neon Angel, will be released soon. Two of the colors look extremely light and in the warm orangey/beigy/”nude” family. The next two seem to be light and medium pinks. Sight unseen, I ordered the deepest two: Bang Bang and Arabian Knights. 

Bang Bang, the tube on the left, is a cool, blue-leaning red. Remember I said these were sheer and buildable? One has options for how she applies her Lip Conditioner. My lips are naturally medium pink, so if I just dot Bang Bang over a clear balm, I get a deeper pink. If I do a heavier application, I can build up to a true red. When deployed at full blast, Bang Bang is probably the best damn red I’ve ever worn. If your red needs are cool-toned, you and Bang Bang might be in luv, too.

Next up is Arabian Knights. Oh my stars and whiskers, this is a special color. Arabian Knights is a cool, purply berry. Dotted lightly on top of a clear balm, Arabian Knights turns into a sheer grape rinse on my lips. Applied more heavily, the pinkish tones come out more and more. At maximum strength, Arabian Knights is the dark berry lip color of my dreams. As a pale girl, dark lip pigments have a tendency to go goth on me quickly. And while sometimes that’s fun! the sheerness of Arabian Knights keeps the color refreshingly, interestingly dark rather than scary dark. 

Swatched below, from left to right, are Bang Bang and Arabian Knights:

Ilia Lip Conditioner ingredients: (85% Organic) — Organic Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Organic Jojoba (Simmondsia Chinensis) Seed Oil, Organic Beeswax (Cera Alba), Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Organic Sesamum Indicum (Seasame) Seed Oil, Organic Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Tocopheryl Acetate (Natural Vitamin E), Pomegranate (Punica Granatum) Seed Extract, Grape (Vitis Vinifera) Seed Extract, Citrus Aurantium Ducil (Orange) Fruit Oil, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Oil, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Oil. May Contain: Mica, Titanium Dixoide, Iron Oxide (CI 77499, CI 77492, CI 77491), Red 7 CI15850, Red 28 CI45410, Yellow 5 CI19140.

Comments

[Mia]

Like the colors, really pretty, mostly bang bang. But I don't like the ingredients below, red 7, red 28, yellow 5? Hmmm, better no, thanks.