The consistency and colour: Pucker Berry applies smoothly, without any stickiness at all. Its consistency is very similar to Vaseline, despite the fact that it contains no petroleum and its main ingredient is castor seed oil! It’s like Vaseline in other ways, too: both coat the lips with a soft, thick-but-not-too-heavy feel, and both moisturize nicely. Pucker Berry itself is a medium brown with a mauve edge and fine red shimmers, but is definitely one of the most sheer lip products I’ve ever come across.

(And yes, that generalization includes lip balms. Translucent lip balms.)

The scent and stay: Super Shiny glosses smell indiscriminately light and fruity, with perhaps a synthetic edge of lemon, but aren’t exactly delicious — the scent is faint, but I’d think twice before trying to consume something with these slightly-waxy undertones! As for the stay, you’re going to get about the same wear out of these as you would out of their feel-alike, my bff Vaseline. For me, that means about two hours tops before you’ll want to reapply. 

The big fat lie: Um, “Super Shiny”? I don’t see a heck of a lot of shine here! My lips look deliciously moisturized, but no more — these are maybe slightly shiny at best, and certainly don’t even touch “Super Shiny” status!

The ingredients:

ricinus communis (castor seed oil), helianthus annuus (sunflower seed oil), acacia decurrens flower wax, phytosteryl canola glycerides, aroma (flavor), silica, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond oil), tocopherol, mica. May contain / French Translation (+/-):CI 77491/77492/77499 (iron oxides), CI 75470 (carmine), CI 77891 (titanium dioxide), tin oxide

The verdict? While I think these are great if you’re looking for a lightly tinted lip balm, I think they fall under the domain of false marketing. They’re nice, but they’re not shiny, and they’re not (or at least, Pucker Berry is not) something I’d turn to for colour, either. I think I’d really love these if they packed more shine, or if they were marketed as a sheer lip balm — but their name is deceiving! 

Additionally, while I can’t dock points for the lack of pigment (they’re described as being sheer,) if Burt’s could put a bit more colour into these, I’d be one happy gal ;)

• You want a nice, conveniently packaged, lightly-tinted, lightly-lemon(ish) lip balm.
• You like a non-shiny lip — I’m actually loving the finish, but I know I’m a strange cookie. The finish of these is diffused and balmy, just… not super shiny.
• You like products you can apply without a mirror, and without your fingers or a lip brush.

• You really do want something “super shiny”
• You want a lip product with a lot of pigment. Or, really, much pigment at all!

Availability: You should be able to find this one pretty easily in many North American drugstores and health food stores, or you could pick it up right here at Well.ca (with free shipping, to boot!)