Hard Candy Plumping Serum Gel Lipstick Review and Swatches

Purchased by Me

Hard Candy Plumping Serum Gel Lipstick ($5 at Walmart) was introduced for Fall 2014 and I've been wanting to try them for a while now.  My local Walmart had an empty display of these for a long time and just recently got them in stock.  On a side note, I really wish Hard Candy was sold somewhere other than Walmart, because I'm just not a fan of going there. The makeup aisles are always a disaster area and everything I want to buy has been opened up and tested by customers...it's so annoying!
Needless to say, I was only able to get three shades of this lipstick because the rest had been opened up (gross).  I got Beloved (a medium pink), Infamous (a pinky nude MLBB) and Admired (a pinky bronze nude).

Beloved, Infamous, Admired

These lipsticks come in silver tubes with black print. The tops of the caps are supposed to show you what the color looks like, but I found some of them to be a bit "off", for example Infamous looks nude on the cap but the bullet itself looks way more pink.

From top: Beloved, Infamous, Admired

The formula of these lipsticks is pure heaven, especially if you have dry lips.  These could be the most moisturizing lipsticks I've ever owned!  They feel so buttery, it's like they're a heavily pigmented balm. They literally melt into your lips and the color payoff is excellent.  They leave a high shine at first that wears away over time, but the best part is that the color lasts a really long time. I found that these stained my lips and 8 hours later, I was still seeing the color (although the glossiness was gone after about an hour or so).  I didn't have even a hint of dryness with these, and that's pretty incredible considering that most really moisturizing formulas have absolutely no staying power.  These are the best of both worlds!

Admired, Infamous, Beloved

As far as the "plumping" aspect goes, these aren't the type of lipsticks that plump by irritating the lips- they don't burn or sting at all.  The plumping comes from hyaluronic acid which is found naturally in our bodies. It's a substance your skin is full of when you're born (hence why babies have plump skin) and we lose it as we age.  So essentially, these are just "plumping" by filling in the skin with moisturizing hyaluronic acid to minimize lines and wrinkles to create a smoother, fuller appearance.
These have a vanilla cake-type scent that's not heavy or overpowering.  I didn't notice it after a few minutes.

As for the shades, I loved them all!  Admired is a bronzy-nude with some pink in it to keep it from being too brown.  Infamous and Beloved were very similar to each other, but I found Infamous was slightly more pink while Beloved was more peachy pink.

Admired

Infamous

Beloved

Overall, these could be my favorite lipsticks ever!  I mean, it's not often that you can use the words "super moisturizing" and "long wearing" together when describing a lipstick. I really want to get the rest of the shades now but unfortunately the Walmart website says "In store only" so I'm forced to go back to Walmart to get them (if they've since replaced all of the opened ones). Ugh.

Have you tried these yet?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!