Clinique Chubby Sticks Intense in Grandest Grape, Broadest Berry & Mightiest Maraschino review

It’s time to get chubby!

We all know how much I love Clinique’s Chubby Stick lip balms (I own seven and counting!), so it should come as no surprise that I have been awaiting the launch of the new Clinique Chubby Sticks Intense with baited breath… or should that be puckered lips?!

Clinique’s Chubby Sticks Intense are basically Chubby Sticks with added junk in the trunk. Whilst the regular Chubby Sticks are more mellow subtle sorbets, these new ones are in-yer-face intense shots of colour. For all of you who loved the old moisturising formula yet wished the shades were just that little more pigmented – well, the Clinique Genie has been at work and your wish is their command.

Just to recap – Chubby Sticks are big fat crayons of awesome, marrying just the right amount of colour to a lovely soft non-sticky moisturising formula (you can read more about the originals here). The Intense versions simply up the ante, delivering strong vibrant and opaque shades with all the pigmentation of a lipstick but none of its often harsh drying effects, thanks to those all important infusions of shea butter, mango seed butter and jojoba seed oil.

Left to right: Grandest Grape, Broadest Berry, Mightiest Maraschino

I was delighted when Clinique sent me three of these new babies to test drive – Grandest Grape, Broadest Berry and Mightiest Maraschino. All of these deliver intense solid colour with just one swipe, as opposed to the originals, where you’d typically have to layer it quite a few times if you wanted to build them up to any semblance of opacity.

Left to right: Chunky Cherry vs Mightiest Maraschino, Whole Lotta Honey vs Broadest Berry

Check out the swatch picture above to see how they compare transparency-wise to the originals – all are shown with just one heavy swipe of the crayon (sorry, nothing similar to Grandest Grape in my Chubby collection!). Showing them side-by-side makes the originals look positively washed out!

Grandest Grape is a rich berry plum shade that leans really purple on my lips. It’s one of those colours that I find a little dark for my usual Morticia-esque pallor so I’d probably save this for days when I’m feeling more like vamping it up!

Broadest Berry isn’t really a berry at all – it’s a shade I’d typically describe as ‘antique rose’ and is a lot more neutral than I’d ever think any lip colour with the word ‘berry’ in it would be! It’s an office-safe mix of warm brown and dusky pink, leaning more on the brown side for me. This feels like quite a ‘mature’ colour to me, and again, I find it a little dark for my Cullen family skin tone. It’s a definite people-pleaser though and I can see Broadest Berry working for loads of complexions and personalities.

My favourite of the three was Mightiest Maraschino. Apart from reminding me of Marty from Grease (‘Maraschino… like the cherry’) – and obviously any opportunity to remember Grease is ALWAYS a good thing! – this was the colour that was most up my street. It’s a bright sock-it-to-em red that (like many reds seem to) leans quite pink on me, making it look cerise on my lips. Nonetheless, it’s still pretty gorgeous. I liked it so much, it gets two photos AND a whole new background – there’s favouritism for ya!

I was mightily impressed with the Chubby Stick Intense formula, especially given how great the pigmentation was – if anything, it felt almost creamier than the original! They also have great staying power, lasting well over four hours with the most intense, Mightiest Maraschino, staying put for around six. There is a little bit of slide there so they do transfer, but you get left with a nice stain rather than the colour disappearing full stop. And I still love love love the crayon twist-up application, which I find miraculously much easier, fuss-free and more convenient to use than regular bullet lipsticks.

Clinique have admirably resisted the urge to just go bold and bright with their first set of Chubby Sticks Intense (even if I’d like to have seen a few more fun playful colours); instead, they’ve produced lots of really wearable and versatile shades like neutrals and berries, which lots of women love and use regularly in their make-up routine but now get to experience chubby-style with that lovely creamy moisturising formula. Although these are all pigmented to the hilt, none of them look garish or intimidating. It really is the best of both worlds scenario – great pigmentation AND a great formula. The only way these could get better is if they somehow manage to work Chubby Rain into a future name (and if you don’t get that reference, go watch Bowfinger)!

Personally, I still love the old shades too as they’re great for easy everyday wear (their semi-sheerness means you don’t need to be nearly as exacting with application… or indeed marrying the colour with the rest of your look or outfit!) but for that extra hit of pigmentation, Chubby Sticks Intense do the job brilliantly. If, like the original Chubby Sticks, they come out with a further set of colours (hey Clinique Genie, I like coral!), Chubby Sticks Intense may even render the rest of my lipstick collection null and void. Get ready for the chubby revolution!

Read my reviews of the rest of my Chubby Stick family here:
•  Chubby Sticks in Two Ton Tomato, Mighty Mimosa and Pudgy Peony
•  Chubby Sticks in Heftiest Hibiscus, Chunky Cherry & Jumbo Jasmine
•  Chubby Sticks Shadow Tints for Eyes in Fuller Fudge, Pink & Plenty and Big Blue

Clinique Chubby Sticks Intense Moisturising Lip Colour Balm, $160, see all Clinique locations in Hong Kong here

Note: these products were provided for me to review.