Glossier Generation G

I bought this in Zip on Sunday at the Glossier showroom (quite the scene that place. I was simultaneously fascinated and annoyed. Highly inefficient way of selling, but it did make it feel a bit more velvet ropey than your average store. Kids these days...) Anyway, it's the only one of these lipsticks that showed up at all on my lips. It comes off as more orange than I like initially but then somehow transforms to a nice soft red. Not terribly drying and medium staying power. I'm not sure I will buy again, but it's an interesting product. Here's some weirdness, though, and I can't find any commentary on this on the internet. I swear to God it smells like doughnut or empanada grease. Not rancid grease, I think it's purposeful. It's oddly not unpleasant but super weird. Every time I pull the thing out, my brain instantly thinks I've just eaten something tasty that is very very bad for me. Anybody else ever notice this?

bsolutely adore this lip product! I bought the shade "Crush" & it's the perfect pink. If I dab it on, it's a very natural pink color that really gives my face some life. If I apply it like a normal lipstick, it's a beautiful sheer red that looks amazing with a nice gloss. I normally wear it with a natural pinky lip liner, and "Crush" over top. I do plan on getting the rest of the shades very soon, especially "Jam" & "Cake." I adore Glossier and their whole line, the packaging is so nice & their overall aesthetic is so cute. The only drawback is the price, but I do have a link for 20% off your next purchase! :) http://bff.glossier.com/fF0L2

Another trial-size product from Glossier. Seriously, ladies, is this brand a huge rip-off or is it me? The color I got is a very standard rose pink that I put on once and will never wear again unless I'm dressing up as my grandma for Halloween. So disappointed. I thought it would look more natural.

I love this tinted lip balm. It's matte without that dry, cakey, "HI I'M WEARING MATTE LIPSTICK" mess. It's subtle!

I bought this in Leo (neutral terra cotta brown) and I love it. There's no gloss or shine, and yet it doesn't look flat or dull. And it goes on so smooth and sheer. Just a hint of color. It's perfect for me.

My only complaint is the cheap-ish packaging. It's cute, but the quality could really be better.

I can't wait to try more shades and I'd definitely buy this one again!

Where do I start? I've extremely conflicted by this product. I have one colour in the shade Zip, which is a nice poppy red that you can build up, blot, and it stays there all evening (if you work it right). So longevity isn't the problem for me. It actually looks really cute, and it's not messy to work with. And where most lip colours need some sort of Qtip intervention to look blotted, you can just throw this on.

Now on to the critique. I've had Zip for about 8 months now, and i'm over halfway finished. I see a lot if complaints that it has a small amount of product, and you would be right: a standard lipstick carries about 3.5 grams where the Generation G has 2 grams. I take a long time to finish a lipstick anyway, and it tends to expire before I can accomplish that, but I can see this being a deal-breaker for people.

There's also the drawback of the packaging, as I've seen on so many reviews on the Glossier website (they have since hidden the review section) The packaging breaks! I'm very light-handed with my makeup, and i've never had caps break on me, but this cap, after several weeks, begins to crack in a spherical form until a chunk of the lid falls off and you have to stick it back on with tape. I'm assuming this is why they include the stickers... to patch up the sins of packaging malfunctions.

Lastly, and I would say most importantly, the price tag is very arbitrary. If you look at the price of say... a Mac lipstick, what are you paying for? You're paying for 3 grams of product, a sturdy package, and the name of a reputable makeup brand. Glossier sells neither with Generation G, as you get less product without the sturdiness or prestige. A Mac lipstick costs $17.50 USD, a Generation G costs $20 USD. The lipstick market is a competitive place, and once the trend factor of Glossier has run its course, and people begin to compare QUALITY, they will have only competitive pricing to contend with. Social media marketing aside, if I was given the choice right now between paying 20 dollars for Glossier or 17.50 for Mac, I would take the latter.

That being said, I am clearly enjoying the actual product inside, no complaints there. It's all packaging, quantity, and price-tag for me. If they released an improved version of this product with 3 grams and a nice sturdy tube (and perhaps for 17 dollars like the lip gloss), I would consider buying another one. However, as it stands, I'll get my red lipstick fix elsewhere.

I'm really disappointed about this product. Got it yesterday and still can't believe how much of a hype it is. The packaging was super cool...but I lost my breath when I saw the actual lipstick and how TINY it was. It looked so much like a sample size that I went to their site and checked if I had ordered a sample. They don't have sample sizes so this is ACTUALLY the size of the lipstick. But that's not all, once I put it on noticed that the colour has NO lasting power. It won't survive your first coffee of the day and it will leave a ring of faded colour around your lips (gross). I really feel like these products are just hyped and there's nothing special about them...and not even the nice packaging and the stickers can compensate for the high price and lack of quality.

Ugh, I want to like this. I have it in Jam. Like the texture, like the color but unfortunately, it doesn't last. Wears off quickly & leaves a ring around the lips.

Maybe these work for people with very fair skin? Zip and Crush sort of show up on me, but the others are like nothing...maybe a little shimmer. Zip and Crush look like lipstick that's been on for hours, has faded, and needs to be refreshed. My lips are pretty pigmented, and they are red, so these shades would clash even if they did show up. These do not apply evenly, and they move my skin during application, which makes things worse. I watched the "medium" shade demonstration on Glossier's website, and the model has the same results I get...which isn't very impressive. The demos remind me of an SNL skit, or something trying to convince me my own eyesight is lying to me. You can see Zip and Crush on the model, but all the rest of the colors might as well be ChapStick. Except for a slight change in lighting, there doesn't appear to be any difference in the model in the "before" and "after" shots.These little sticks are pricey for the small tube!

Hmmm I had such high hopes. I usually like a bold lip but was drawn to the Glossier popsicle stained lip look given by these.

What do I like? They definitely give that stained look to the lips - I have Zip and Jam. Both are very sheer but can be layered to something more like a light level of colour. Zip is my preferred shade of the two being a lovely neutral red. If it was possible for sheer red lips to look natural then this product is the closest thing I've found. Jam is pretty as well, a blackberry shade, but Zip suits me better - I'm an olive NC20 brunette with brown eyes. I also like the matte finish but they don't feel drying. They have quite good lasting power for a sheer lip product, the colour sticks around for a few hours and can last through a cup of tea.

What don't I like? They are incredibly patchy when directly applied to the lips. I find I need to use my finger to blend it in evenly which is annoying - particularly as they're meant to be a easy lip balm x tint type product. I also find the packaging quite flimsy - you can find drugstore products with sturdier packaging than this. To be honest, the patchiness is the biggest negative to this product for me. I'll keep using them - Zip especially as I love the look once blended but I wouldn't repurchase.

I bought these in Zip (the red) and Like (pink).
Zip: this is very red, really a poppy red. It's very true to how it looks in their videos. I find it lasts ok - it's definitely "light weight", and correspondingly lasts less long than a more substantial lipstick. This colour is very trendy and fun. I'm not sure it looks great on me, but it's indisputably a fun colour.

Like: at first, I thought it didn't do anything. Then I realized it does add colour - it's very sheer (as it appears in the skin swatches and videos on their site), and very close to my actual lip colour, but it really does make my lips pop. It's become a real go-to for me, I use it all the time. I am pretty new to lipstick, and I'm always anxious about it bleeding, getting on my teeth, looking "too much", or wearing off badly leaving dry patches or a ring around my mouth (I tend to get really dry lips). This stuff saves me all those anxieties! Because it's subtle, it wears off in a gentle subtle way - it doesn't dry up or cling to my lips awkwardly. Because it's so sheer, applying it is pretty idiot-proof. I layer a lot on, because it's so sheer, and then I top it with their balm (but topping it with any balm or chapstick would work equally fine, I'm sure). It looks understated but pretty.

Overall, I would say if you're very into serious lipsticks, you probably won't be wowed by these. They seem to be closer to tinted balms (and are probably therefore a little overpriced for what they are). But if you want something light and fun, you'll like them. Oh, and some people don't like the packaging. I personally think the aesthetic is cute, and it doesn't feel flimsy to me, but I guess it's a matter of taste. I will be repurchasing the "Like" for sure, and trying another shade as well probably.
If you want to buy for the first time, you can use my link to get 20% off. http://bff.glossier.com/fGQg8