Fresh SUGAR Lip Treatment, my review

I’ve been wanting to try Fresh products for a very long time! And yet, it hasn’t always been the case. 10 years ago, I was even quite confused by the concept of this brand…

Indeed, the brand was available in France a few years ago. I even had a job interview with them at that time! wink

It was about fifteen years ago, and at the time I remember I had a hard time understanding the brand. They just launched their Crème Ancienne and I couldn’t understand what this anti-aging cream (whose formula was found in the grimoire of a monk!) had to do with a luxurious bodycare brand (or so I thought).
Indeed, Fresh was first known for its pretty soaps and its very chic bath products (in 2003, everybody was obsessed with the Saké bath). At that time, I worked in Parisian department stores, and I remember that the brands like Molton Brown or Bliss were all the rage. So stupidly, I put them under the same umbrella.

I probably wasn’t the only French not convinced by their concept because unfortunately the brand didn’t do well at the time and was withdrawn from the French market for several years. It has since returned, first at the Galeries Lafayette in Paris and now in Sephora France.

However, in the US and the UK, Fresh continued to grow successfully and has since expanded its product catalog. They now offer a lot of skincare products, perfume and a range that obviously caught my eye: the SUGAR moisturizing range, with its best-sellers, the tinted lip balms SUGAR Lip Treatments!

Fresh SUGAR Lip Treatment, presentation:

What the brand says about it:

“A bestselling lip treatment—and a cult-favorite among all who try it, including Hollywood’s elite—that moisturizes, protects, and smooths the lips.

Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15 blends reparative oils and waxes with real sugar, a natural humectant, for delectable and dependable moisture.
Sweet and tart black currant oil, rich in plumping essential fatty acids, cushions the lips while antioxidant grapeseed polyphenols and vitamins A, C, and E provide protection from wrinkle-causing free radicals. It provides essential, year-round protection from damaging UV rays. “

SUGAR is the moisturizing range of the brand Fresh and the main ingredient is, well, sugar as its name indicates. Sugar is a natural humectant (= it retains hydration in the superficial layers of the skin). It’s an effective ingredient for hydration but it’s also very yummy, especially for a lip balm range! wink

In these famous Lip Treatments, sugar is paired with repairing oils such as blackcurrant seed and grape seed oils rich in anti-aging polyphenols as well as antioxidant vitamins A, C and E. Add to this cocktail of ingredients an SPF 15 and you get a complete lip care!
We’re far from the lip balm like Labello full of mineral oils, which apart from forming a thick layer of vaseline on the lips, doesn’t do much to nourish and repair the lips deeply… The formula of these Fresh SUGAR Lip Treatment is much more natural and contains no mineral oil at all! smile

The Lip Treatment exists in several shades and for lip balms, I think some are really pigmented! They could almost be used as classic lipsticks.

I bought one a few months ago when I went to France and when I was in the US, I bought 3 other shades (and believe me, I wanted them all)! smile

In my small collection, there are:
– Cherry: a very pretty bright cherry red, with a good pigmentation,
– Berry: a beautiful berry pink, quite sheer,
– Tulip: a stunning bright pink, well pigmented,
– Honey: a beautiful warm peachy nude, quite sheer.

The range of Fresh SUGAR Lip Treatment contains 10 tinted lip balms and 1 transparent and they retail for $24 each.

Fresh SUGAR Lip Treatment, my test, and thoughts:

– Packaging: clearly, this is at least 50% of the reason why I am obsessed with these lip balms. I’m totally crazy about these colored metallic tubes! They are super chic and fun! The shade of the lip balm is represented by the color of the packaging, which is cute and practical. In addition, I love the fact that you have to screw them on, no risk of accident in the handbag if you want to take them with you.

– Texture and feeling on the lips: the texture is very creamy. It’s a little thick, you can feel it a little on the lips. For a balm, I find that it’s a plus because it remains very comfortable and leaves the lips hydrated and protected for several hours. It’s a very effective moisturizing treatment!
The only issue I have with the texture is that I noticed this summer that it’s a slightly fragile formula that tends to melt easily when it’s a little too hot. So it’s not the ideal product to slip in your beach bag, I’m afraid… uneasy (I imagine they’re aware of this because they created a more “beach friendly” version wink )

– Finish: as you would expect, it’s a sheer shiny finish.

– Taste/ Scent: I’m crazy about their yummy sweet scent, like a kind of lemon brown sugar, a real delight!

– Pigmentation: depending on the shades, these Lip Treatments are either rather transparent or quite pigmented as you will see on the swatches at the end of this post. Cherry and Tulip are quite pigmented and Honey and Berry, more on the sheerer side.

 – Color range: I want them all, they’re all so tempting! They go from light pink, through nude, coral, red and even bright pink. In short, the choice is quite wide!

– Application: the tip of the lip balm is round shaped, so not very precise. Which is OK because the pigmentation and coverage are not the same as a real lipstick so it’s quite easy to correct if you overflow a little.

– Lasting power: quite impressive for a lip balm! On me, it lasts at least 3-4 hours. Not really common for this kind of formula! smile

– Value for money: they retail for $24, which is not cheap. But the quality is definitely here, so I would qualify these more like very high-end and luxurious lip treatments.

Finally, here are the swatches:

And here they are on me:

– Honey:

– Tulip:

– Cherry:

– Berry:

In summary:

[wprs-pros][wprs-cons]

I think it’s going to be very difficult for me not to collect them all! I love them for their effectiveness (they’re really super moisturizing and the comfortable effect lasts on the lips) and also for the beautiful colors and packaging. So I would say that they are worth the expensive price tag IMO! smile

The SUGAR Lip Treatment are available on the brand’s website or on the Sephora website for $24. 

And you, tempted by these Fresh SUGAR Lip Treatment? Which shades caught your eye? smile

Photo credit: bonnie-garner.com