Beauty on a Budget: Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lipstick

Use these lightweight lipsticks to get Korea’s biggest lip look

By Lauren Kelly, Editor-in-Chief

Revlon’s Ultra HD Gel Lipstick recently released a few new shades, along with instructions on how to use two of them to do a gradient lipstick look.

This look, which emulates the inner lip tint brought on by sucking on a cherry popsicle, has been popular in Korea for a long time, and many Western products have sought to match it.

I bought the two shades used in the example, Sand and Rhubarb. Sand is a light pinkish-beige, while Rhubarb is a bold red. I’ve worn both separately, and they are beautiful shades in their own right. In fact, Sand might be my new go-to on days where I want to go very natural or wear a muted lip colour, and everyone who has seen it loves it. Rhubarb is the opposite—worn full coverage, it is bright and in your face, and even when I patted it to tone it down, it still made a statement. It is a great shade of true red, and it’s a fun colour for summer. On their own, both of these colours are winners.

On to the gradient lip. Sand is a beautiful base for the look, and I like that it gives my lips a fully made-up look compared to leaving the outer lips bare or with balm. Even though Rhubarb is so bold, it doesn’t look nearly as high impact when used for this purpose, and the combined colours nail the gradient look.

If you need a guide on exactly where to place Rhubarb, that will be easy to find online, or you can refer to Revlon’s in-store signage, which has a step by step pictorial. I’d never really attempted this look in the past, but it was very easy to do, as the product blends incredibly well. Since I bought them, I’ve been wearing this style a lot, and it has really grown on me.

In general, I’m very impressed with most aspects of these lipsticks. The gel formula and the style of the tube makes them easy to blend, and the gentle shine gives them a great, casual look for summer. The 15-colour lineup offers many options for solo wear, and the couple nice brights included—such as two purples, a bright pink, and a coral—would all be great substitutes for Rhubarb for the gradient lip if you want to experiment. My only complaint is the longevity, but it’s hard to ask that out of a light-weight gel formula. Regardless, Rhubarb leaves a light tint, so even without a recent application you keep the gradient look.

I would recommend both of these, together or alone. I found them on sale at Shoppers for $7.99 down from $13.99, but London Drugs sells them for $11.99. Although there are cheaper drugstore lipsticks, I think these are definitely worth the price tag, but if they’re a little steep you can hold out for a sale. I would keep an eye on these and stock up—they’ll be a great summer staple!