Last month I was getting some things from Sephora—they really sucked me in with promises of a philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake bubble bath birthday gift—and to get free shipping, I added two tokidoki sale glosses in Burger (sheer orange) and Rocketeer (sheer deep black red <— which is… purple?). I’ve read mixed reviews of the Prisma glosses online, so I was ambivalent about these. There were people both loving and hating the taste and smell, saying the gloss is way too sheer, adoring the cute packaging, but noting that the product is expensive for the quality and that you’re basically paying only for the box.

After getting and wearing both the glosses, my verdict is that I love them. However, one caveat: they aren’t worth the full price of $15. The breakdown:

{taste+smell} I’m firmly in the “love it, it’s amazing” camp. People complained it reminded them of children’s cold syrup, and I wish I had syrup this yummy as a kid! They have a mild, sweet smell that reminds me of berry Jell-O and a sweet taste.

{color} Yes, these are super sheer. However, Rocketeer definitely shows up as a deep berry purple and noticeably changes the color of your lips. Burger won’t make your lips bright orange—and I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing ;)—but will give them a nice, warm, orange cast along with the shine. I definitely see it, despite the sheerness, but then again, my eyes are more sensitive to color than most.

{packaging} is out of this world ADORABLE, both the outer boxes and the tube itself. The graphic designer in me squee-ed a little when I saw it. I do wish there were fewer glitter particles in the cap though, so that the character inside would be more visible. Burger has less of a problem with this than Rocketeer.

{application} The applicator is something I’d never seen before: a silicone, spatula-like tip. It takes some getting used to, but I don’t think it’s any better or worse than your standard doe-foot. Maybe it’s less of a harbor for bacteria because it’s sleek as opposed to fuzzy?

{longevity} As time went on, my lips absorbed the gloss and the color became less pronounced. I would say, in general, I needed to reapply every one-and-a-half to two hours and after eating and drinking. This absorption is great, though, because:

{other} These glosses are amazing lip balms! They got my lips softer and more nourished than my Chapstick. My usual problem with glosses and lipstick is that they dry my lips out like whoa, and I always end up needing to put on Chapstick before applying them. Not with these! In fact, if they weren’t so pricey, I would get a couple more colors and say bye-bye to other lip balms.

Verdict: yummy, adorable, nourishing, and great for everyday wear. Subtle, sheer colors, with lots of shine. Not worth $15, but a great deal for $7. As cute as the branding and packaging are, I wish Sephora would ditch it and lower the price on the whole line.