--AT A GLANCE--
Revlon makes some of my favorite chubby lip pencils, the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains; I like them so much that I have them in nine out of the available twelve. Named after twelve cities around the world, the Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stains come in 12 beautiful shades of pinks, corals, reds, and dark burgundy and plum. The major claim is that the formula is infused with Vitamin E and aloe to keep your lips moist without the stickiness--88% of women felt this way but I usually ignore stats presented by the company as the study parameters aren't clear without some digging.
The colors I picked up are Miami Fever, Cannes Crush, and India Intrigue. I was a bit hesitant about picking up a lot of colors because I hadn't seen any review or anything about these lip products. The L'Oreal Colour Riche Caresse Aqua Lacquer Lip Stains weren't what I was expecting. However, the Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stains are much better at the whole lip gloss-lip stain hybrid formula in my opinion.
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| Excuse the chipped nail >.< |
--THE BREAKDOWN--
Packaging for this lip stain is quite sleek. They come in a plastic square tube which were sealed with a sticker and a plastic wrap. That might have been because I ordered directly from the Walgreen's website right when they ere available for pre-order. I walked by the displays in Walgreens recently and they only have the sticker on it. Rest assured, the sticker is quite sturdy and sticky so it's obvious if it's been peeled off.
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| The outer plastic wrap that I got from my online order |
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| The sticker seal...not as foolproof as a plastic wrap but better than nothing! |
At first, they were only available at Walgreens but I've also spotted them at Ulta and CVS for $9.99 USD for 0.27 oz (8.0 mL). That comes to $37 USD for 1 oz.
- Miami Fever is a bright, almost neon orange color. From the picture online on Walgreens, I thought it was going to be a pink-y coral color so I was disappointed when this came instead. Orange was my favorite lip color two years ago but lately, I've been more into pinks and raspberries for whatever reason.
- Cannes Crush is a flamingo, pink-y coral color. It's what I thought Miami Fever would look like so I'm not that disappointed but again, the color online doesn't match the color of the actual product.
- India Intrigue is a dark, mulberry color on the lips. Out of the three that I have, it's the one that matches the online color the best.
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--THE GOOD--
Aside from the colors not matching what's pictured online, everything is pretty solid. The formula is moisturizing and easy to spread. Of course, some of the credit belongs to the applicator, which is bent at an angle for ease of application and looks like a elongated pentagon. The taper tip allows me to get a precise line on the edges of my lips and all the way into the corners of my lips, which is where I struggle the most when applying lip products. Pigmentation on these stains are phenomenal! I haven't had a problem with these overflowing or leaking wither, so fingers crossed! They go full color and opaque in one swipe, a dream come true. One swipe (and a little dab on the inside of the tube to remove excess product) is all I need to coat my lips. With India Intrigue, I sometimes use my finger to blend out the lip line for a softer effect. The dark color can look harsh and intimidating if it looks defined and perfect in my opinion.
The shades I have don't have any glitter or shimmer in them. If there's one thing that peeves me about lip products is the dreaded shimmer or glitter. I have nothing against glitter or shimmer on my eyes or my cheeks but I cannot tolerate them in my lip products. I apologize beforehand to those who like their lip products to sparkle and glimmer but I think it looks tacky and childish. The gritty feeling some of them have also irks me to no end. There are some products that don't go overboard with the sparkle factor but I just avoid them as a makeup principle (I'm looking at you NARS Orgasm Lipgloss--a bit upset that I spent 100 BI Points on it at Sephora but in my defense, it didn't say what color I was going to get, online shopping at its worst).
Scent-wise, I'm not getting anything from them. I'm smelling my hand swatches right now and I can't detect a scent. In the tube, there is a slight plasticky smell but it isn't overwhelming. Lip products don't go on or near your nose anyway so I don't think it's a major problem for me.
Initially, these do have a lip gloss feel and look upon application. My lips are glossy and hydrated, just like what a lip gloss is supposed to do. Since it was such a glossy product, I decided to let it sit for a while to see if any staining would take place. After about an hour, I got thirsty and had to take a sip of water.They were still very glossy and moist-looking so I took a careful sip. As you can see on the rim of my cup, barely any color transferred to the cup. I did a quick check and my lips didn't lose any of their color! As I continued to wear it, they continued to dry down slightly and that's when I see the stain come out.
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| Aftermath of the first drink |
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| Second drink...barely anything came off! |
From initial application to the end of the day, the color lasts really well, even through 3 meals and snacking. Of course, they don't look perfect by the end of the day, but there is still enough color on my lips to be passable. I like to take a tinted balm that matches the stains with me to touch up around hour 5, not that it lacks moisture, but because after two meals and drinking, the color could use a little touch up to look perfect. Unlike the Just Kissable Balm Stains, the stains actually match the initial color you applied--major brownie points!
At the end of the night when I go to remove them, the stain lifts easily with my Its Skin Cleansing oil. If you don't have cleansing oil, any oil-based cleanser, like a duo phase eye makeup remover, should be able to get rid of it with ease. My lips aren't a peeling, cracked mess either, considering it's a stain and all.
--THE "BAD"--
I put "bad" in quotations because these are nitpicky things rather than deal breakers. Once the early disappointment that the colors weren't what I was expecting wore off, I gave these a try one night. After heavy snacking (it was an all-nighter kind of night T_T), I decided to reapply the color to see what would happen. Though it reapplied smoothly without bunching up or getting patchy, the color got sooooo intense. Miami Fever surprised me because it pretty much went neon. My roommate came out to check up on me and her eyes bugged out when she saw me (might have been a combination of my sleep deprived state + no make up other than my neon lips) and asked me if I had checked the mirror lately. She isn't the rude type so there must've been something wrong for her to tell me that. I laughed when I saw my face because my lips were neon--as if they weren't bright enough to begin with. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but this wasn't what I was looking for.
Another thing is that if you expect these to be a stain, you need to leave them on your lips for a while. If you apply and eat immediately after, they will wear off and you'll be left with nothing, true to their lip gloss-like qualities. I usually wait until the gloss had dried down a bit before I attempt eating and drinking. They do make good meal time products because of their longevity but make sure you apply an hour or so before you chow down if you want them to last.
Though I think the packaging is sleek and simple, it is bulky. In comparison to my travel-size Benefit Coralista Ultra Plush Lipgloss that contains 6.5ML/ 0.22 US fl oz, the Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stains are really big but not big enough that I wouldn't travel with them. I actually took India Intrigue with me when I went home for summer vacation and got good use out of it.
--BOTTOM LINE--
If it isn't apparent from my post, I love these lip stains and highly, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend them! When I'm shopping for lip products, opacity,longevity, and ease of application is what I look for. The fact that it delivers on these three points while throwing in hydration and comfort at the same time makes me feel like I'm on Cloud 9. I had been feeling lackluster with drugstore products lately but these have totally revitalized my love for drugstore items. I'm looking to get a couple more colors, like Barcelona Nights, Rio Rush, Parisian Passion, and New York Scene. I should get LA Exclusive since that's where I'm from but I'm not a fan of Nicki Minaj-esque, cool toned Barbie pinks but I do like her music for the most part. Maybe I'll give it a chance when I run out of lip products, which isn't going to happen in my lifetime by the looks of my growing collection. Actually, that's the reason why those colors aren't already in my collection but more on that in a later post.
If I had to recommend one from the three I have, I'd totally suggest India Intrigue. Though it isn't the first shade that comes into mind when I think summer, it's such a pretty color. Initially, (gosh, how many times can I say that word this post? Bonus points if you can count WITHOUT using ctrl+F xD) it comes off as a blue toned,straight up purple which scared the living daylights out of my conservative-MLBB-lip-product-wearing pants, but the color turns into a pretty mulberry shade. I don't have MAC's Rebel lipstick but this is what I imagine it would look like. When autumn comes around and if I still like India Intrigue then, I might head to MAC and grab that color. For now, I'm settling for India Intrigue.
Keep in mind, they do get more pigmented and bright--didn't think that was possible--with a second coat but that isn't necessarily a bad thing, with all the summer music festivals coming up (Anyone headed to EDC? I'm not unfortunately, but I really want to go before I graduate!).
MWAH Musings ♥
- I'm soooo sorry that I've been away for so long. My last post was May 23rd, more than 3 weeks ago, which surprises me. I had finals coming up and so I was only going to take a small break to study and take them but that plan was derailed with a slight health issue (but that's almost resolved--have one last appointment June 30!). After that, I just really wanted to take a break and focus on school and finish my 3rd year (so scary to think that this upcoming fall, I'll be a senior *shudders*). I'm doing summer classes so I only had a week to spend at home with my family before the session started so I didn't even want to be on the interwebs. Summer sessions are much shorter and go by so quickly that I had to set that as my priority before blogging and in the midst of all that, my youngest brother graduated from high school and is entering university in the fall. To sum it up, it's been a really busy and hectic 3 weeks for me so I hope y'all will understand my absence.
- It's kind of funny because I've almost forgotten how to write a blog post since it's been a while. I even forgot how I usually sign off each post O_O I've started to write this post two or three times before giving up because I just didn't feel motivated. Reading Shari's blog, The Misty Mom, and Rae's of Scatterbraintures recently gave me that last push to write and that's all I've been doing all day. You'll be seeing more posts throughout this week, the fruits of my labor!
- To make it up to y'all, I have a giveaway! I accidentally ordered an extra of each shade so two lucky readers will each be winning two shades I reviewed here. I'll have a separate post up soon after I get a snack--last ate around 6 hours ago. Should be making dinner instead but I'm too lazy for that right now.
So that concludes my super long post! I just had so much to say after weeks of silence so I hope you'll forgive me. I'll do my best to keep things succinct in my later posts.
Until next time,
MWAH ♥
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Disclosure Statement: All products mentioned were purchased with my own money. I am not sponsored by any of the companies mentioned above and was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own. Links are not affiliate links and are provided for the readers' convenience. I cannot guarantee that the product(s) will work for you. I do not approve or endorse the products or information available on these sites. Proceed at your own risk.
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