I first heard about SKINN Dimitri James Caviar Lip Cream at the 2015 Generation Beauty Conference in NY when I visited their booth. If you have ever attended one of these events you know that it is crowded and there isn’t much time for you to talk to the brand ambassadors because of the long lines of people waiting to get their turn. I received the Caviar Lip Cream as well as the SKINN Dimitri James Lip 6X Pro-Volume Lip Enhancing Serum at the conference and wanted to use them both for a few months so that I could write an honest and unbiased review based on my actual long-term experience with the products, particularly because they are also treatments and not just “makeup.”

If you are a regular reader of BeautyBallerina.com you are probably already aware that I suffer from perpetually dry lips. As such, I am always drawn to lippies that are hydrating as well as being an actual lip treatment, so to say that I was intrigued and excited about both of these products would be an understatement.

While I really do have a lot to say about the Lip 6X Pro-Volume Lip Enhancing Serum I am going to limit this review to discussing the SKINN Dimitri James Caviar Lip Cream and I will discuss the other product in its own separate review. By the way, the photo on the top of this article is of me, CC Kane,  wearing the Caviar Lip Cream in the shade Bare.

Color: In the tube the shade Bare looks rather dull, even a little on the grayish side, however, as you can see by my pic the shade is not at all grayish or dull. I believe that the thick plastic tube is reflecting the black cap which is changing the color of the lippie in the tube. (That is my theory anyway). To be honest I actually really adore this shade on me, I think it is a perfect nude that could work for me during winter or summer.  What I also really like about this shade is that it is buildable and you can layer it until you achieve the sheerness or opacity that you want. I used three layers to completely cover my natural lip color to achieve the shade in the photo above. I also did not use any lip liner, however, I did use a highlighter on my cupids bow. It is important to point out that no filters were used in that photo and that it was taken in natural sunlight, in other words, the color is true to life.

Texture: This is a very creamy formulation, and it is slippery and not sticky at all. In fact it might even be slightly lacking in the stickiness department. This lip cream glides right on and layers easily without stripping the layer below it. The lip cream is also thinner than most formulations that label themselves as a cream. This, however, does not seem to impact the color in any way, however, it does seem to impact the length of wear.

Longevity: This is where this product really lacked for me, this product did not have good staying power at all and I found myself reapplying this every 30-45 minutes or so. The positive part of that is that this is a great lippie to use if you plan on having a make out session with someone and you don’t want lipstick all over their face (or yours :), but, if you are a married old lady like me, you probably would prefer a product that could last longer than a cup of coffee.

Treatment: This does make my lips silky smooth and does significantly improve the moisture level of my lips even after it has worn off. I do also notice that when I wear this it seems to melt right into any cracks my lips might have and softens it right up.

Overall: I LOVE the shade of this lippie and think that it is a bomb color, for that reason alone I will tolerate the constant reapplying. While I did not try all the other shades, I did swatch a few on my hand and they were quite beautiful, I think this is where SKINN is really excelling with this particular product – the shade selection. I also really like how my lips feel while using this product. However, paying $22 for a 0.18 oz lippie (even though the color is gorgeous) seems steep to me if it isn’t going to be long lasting. I will use this up because the color is perfection, but I’m on the fence as to whether or not I will purchase this when done.

If anyone from SKINN Dimitri James reads this – take note, reformulate this color and I will be your biggest fan!

For those of you that are curious, here is the ingredient list (pulled directly from the SKINN Dimitri James website). Also, as per their website their products are not tested on animals.

RICINUS COMMUNIS (CASTOR) SEED OIL, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, HYDROGENATED OLIVE OIL, HYDROGENATED JOJOBA OIL, GLYCINE SOJA STEROLS,  CERESIN, BEESWAX (CERA ALBA), BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA) BUTTER, OLEA EUROPAEA (OLIVE) FRUIT OIL, SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS (JOJOBA) SEED OIL, ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, CAVIAR EXTRACT, TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891), MICA, GLYCINE SOJA (SOYBEAN) OIL, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, TOCOPHEROL, FLAVOR
MAY CONTAIN：
RED 7 LAKE (CI 15850:1), YELLOW 5 LAKE (CI 19140:1), IRON OXIDES (CI 77492, CI 77499)