Almay Smart Shade Butter Kiss Lipstick (Medium)

Almay launched its Smart Shade Butter Kiss Lipstick a few months ago as an addition to its already popular collection of shade-sensing face makeup. The line, designed to take the guesswork out of finding a flattering lip colour currently features 12 lipsticks in total: a pink, berry, red, and nude (4 shade categories) tailored for light, light/medium, and medium skin tones (3 skin tone categories).

Of course, despite being organized by skin tone, I don't think customers should feel limited to only 4 shades... not to mention the fact that there are many people with skin tones darker than "Medium." It's a nice guide for those who might truly be clueless about what lipstick to choose but that's all it is: a guide. In fact, although I would actually characterize my skin tone as Light/Medium, I was sent a set of the Medium shades to test out and haven't found them to be unsuitable at all. When it comes to makeup, my motto is typically "wear what you want." After all, it's always more fun to experiment!

The Medium shades are quite pigmented as you can see from the swatches below. While not particularly unique colours, I think they  make for good basics if you don't already have a go-to pink, berry, red, or nude.

L-R: Pink-Medium, Berry-Medium, Red-Medium, Nude-Medium

Where the Butter Kiss Lipstick line really shines, however, is the formula. Made with shea butter, coconut butter, and vitamin E, these lipsticks are super creamy and hydrating. On the lips, it feels like you're wearing lip balm but you get the pigmentation of a lipstick -- especially with the Medium shades. With a suggested retail price of $9.49 CAD, the cost is certainly reasonable for the quality and I bet these will go on sale sometimes too.