REVIEW: VDL + Pantone Expert Color Lip Cube Tranquility

Siiiigh. Is this not the most beautiful combination of colours you’ve ever seen. So dreamy and so so beautiful, I literally cannot take my eyes off it since I got it. Something about it is so mesmerising, I feel like its hypnotising me. This is a classic example of how effective eye-catching packaging can be, making this a hit item flying off the shelves. I’ll be honest and say I had a pretty irrational obsession with getting my hands on this just because of the pretty pretty colours. As soon as I saw it pop up on VDL’s Instagram page, I fell in love. Did I really need or want a tinted lip balm? Not really? But did VDL make me think I needed to have this product in my life? They certainly did. And so here I have it: the VDL + Pantone Expert Color Lip Cube Tranquility in Shade 01 Serenity. What a mouthful.

(FYI, this will be a picture porn heavy post).

VDL + Pantone Collaboration 2016:

VDL cosmetics is a relatively new cosmetics brand in the South Korean beauty market that was founded in 2012 under the umbrella brand LG Household & Healthcare (subsidiary of the LG group, better known in the Western market for their electronics). VDL is targeted towards young women and has the image of being stylish, trendy and fashion forward; focusing on vibrant colours in their cosmetics and priding themselves on working with leading designers and makeup artists.

For the start of 2016, VDL has teamed up with Pantone to release a range of limited edition makeup products.

Pantone is the global authority on colour and provides a colour system across a variety of industries – from designers, manufacturers to retailers. Each year, Pantone selects a colour that reflects our current culture and for the first time, this year they have selected the following 2 shades:

ROSE QUARTZ & SERENITY

To find out more about Pantone and their Colour of the Year, you can check out their website here.

L to R: powder brush, foundation brush, smudge eyeshadow brush, base eyeshadow brush/

The VDL + Pantone 2016 Collection includes:

Expert Color Eye Book 6.4 No.5– they also have previous eyeshadow palettes from their 2015 collaboration with Pantone, hence why this Eye Book is numbered No.5.
Expert Color Lip Cube Tranquility – comes in 3 shades.
Expert Color Primer for Eyes
4 makeup brushes – the foundation brush looks very cool.

Now onto the actual review:

The lip cube in this collection comes in 3 different shades and while I would love to own all of them, I ultimately just picked No.1 Serenity because that was the one I was most drawn to by its beautiful blend of Pantone colours actually being used in the product itself. These retail in Korea for just under £13 (KRW22,000) but since I had to buy it from abroad, and the fact it’s limited edition and sold out in many places, I ended up paying a bit more for this. Not that it wasn’t worth it though – just look at the pretty.

Serenity is a tinted colour lip balm whereas the other 2 shades are more like lipstick.

VDL is very well known for their original line up of lip cubes – lipsticks that are shaped like a cube rather than the traditional pointed shape. This allows for a more precise application, especially around the cupid’s bow and makes it easier to line the lips. This didn’t matter too much for this particular lip cube because it has a very sheer hint of colour, but it’s nice to try it anyway since I’ve never used VDL lip cubes before.

Nice stylish touch to have the logo embossed into the product. Beautiful marbled mix of colours in the lip balm.

Slanted cube shape makes application very easy, precise and convenient!

Oh, this packaging. I could rave about it all day. Look at that cap design. Gorgeous. Looks more premium even though it’s still plastic.

This is a tinted lip balm with a very sheer colour payoff to colour correct your natural lips, and is lightly rose scented. I do wish it could be a little more pigmented to reflect the beautiful blend of rose quartz and serenity but nevertheless it still has a nice hint of colour on my pale lips. You can definitely build up this colour and with quite a few coats your lips take on a nice subtle cool blue/lavender undertone that reflects the serenity shade while giving an overall light pearly pink sheen.

It never becomes heavy or sticky despite layering it on so it works well for applying over and under other lip products. I personally just like to apply it alone as a lip balm on days I just want a light wash of colour and don’t want to deal with the hassle and maintenance of full on lipstick. It has a nice moisturising formula and does protect my lips and provide temporary relief when they’re feeling chapped and raw.

Here you can see the cool blue/lavender undertone better.

2 swatches below, multiple swatches above

It isn’t very glossy but has a subtle natural shine that makes your lips look hydrated and doesn’t emphasise fine lines. As with most lip balms however, it isn’t long lasting, (about an hour or two at most), the shine & colour will gradually wear off and will definitely disappear if you eat and drink. Since I love this product however, and relish the chance to look at it every moment of the day (haha, yes I’m that obsessed), I have no problem frequently whipping it out of my bag during the day to reapply.

I’m so happy I purchased this, and it makes applying lip balm for my dry lips that much more fun and exciting since I get to oggle over this. Rather than rattle on any longer over how much I adore the entire look of this lip cube (I could go on forever), I’ll just leave you with lots of pretty pictures. 🙂 Enjoy.