I decided to try two more of the new Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, and I actually really prefer these two shades to the other four that I reviewed in Part I here. These two came from my local Rite Aid, and were still on sale for $5.39 each (40% off of $8.99).
As stated in Part I of this review, it is impossible not to see the similarity between the packaging of this product and Clinique's Chubby Sticks, however I can't give you comparison between the products themselves since I do not have any of the Clinique Chubby Sticks in my stash. They are also often compared to Tarte LipSurgence Lip Tints, however Tarte uses far fewer chemicals than does Revlon making a tangible comparison difficult. Therefore, for the purpose of this review I will evaluate Revlon's newest lip product in a bit of a vacuum- not because I necessarily find this product to be peerless, but because I either do not have the appropriate product against which to compare it (Clinique), or I have a similarly fashioned product that I don't think is demonstrably similar enough to warrant a comparison (Tarte).
One of the first things that I love about the packaging, aside from the cute bright colors that approximate the colors of the products themselves, is the fact that they opted for twist up tubes. I hate having to sharpen chubby lip products because of the inconvenience, messiness, and sheer waste.
According to Revlon: "It’s a pampering balm fused with a lightweight lipstain in an adorable chubby crayon. Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain gives softer, smoother lips with a perfect flush of color that lasts hour after hour. The gel formula comes in 12 vibrant shades that match any look or mood."
Outdoor Lighting in the Sun
Indoor Lighting
They further claim:-Lightweight Lipstain + Moisturizing Balm
-100% of women who tried it felt their lips were instantly moisturized with a soft stain of color
-Retractable chubby crayon, no sharpener required
Revlon's tips:
Step 1: Apply Just Bitten Kissable™ Balm Stain evenly to clean, bare lips. Build color and coverage as desired.
Step 2: Reapply as desired for moisturizing shine throughout the day
I think that their classification as a balm stain makes it clear that when they are first applied that they behave a bit like a lip balm, but once they dry down they are ostensibly lip stains. The color is buildable, but can very easily be sheered out as well. My swatches were each given multiple passes to build up the color, but I found that I was actually able to build it up a bit more. The texture is very comfortable and balm-like, but definitely behaves more like a sheer lipstick than a lip gloss. They are not, however, moisturizing in the same way that the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters are- not by any stretch of the imagination.
They do have a slight peppermint smell and taste that does cause a small amount of tingling on the lips, but for me it was neither painful nor unpleasant. The first four shades that I reviewed were neither moisturizing, nor particularly drying. However, these two shades really dried out my lips. It took between 1-2 hours before I was able to see the effects, but after wearing Crush (#005) all day I found my lips were quite chapped. The only way to combat this drying effect for me is to wear this on top of a very moisturizing lip balm, but that does seem to defeat the purpose of a stain/balm. The sheen lasts for a several hours and once it wears away I am left with a stain that lasts for about 4 more hours. Therefore the wear-time is quite good.
Cherish #015: is a lovely sheer leaning blue-based bubble gum pink, but it has buildable color.
Crush #005: is an insanely gorgeous plum burgundy merlot type of shade that is one of the best colors that Revlon has ever done, in my opinion. It is quite buildable so that it can be quite vampy, but it can also be sheered out for daytime wear. This is a real stunner, people!
Overall assessment: While I am crazy about these two colors, both of these shades dried out my lips. Crush is by far my favorite color of the 6 shades that I bought, but it was likewise the most drying on my lips. I'm not entirely sure why one is more drying than the others, but I won't be wearing them without a lip balm. I wore Crush longer than any of the other shades and am left to wonder if the remaining shades would be as drying if I reapplied and wore them all day as I did Crush.
Did you find them moisturizing or drying?
Hey Lola, I tested out the wear on Honey. It doesn't dry out my lips (thank goodness!). Sadly, it leaves behind a warmer and pinker stain when the top layer wears away. This is disappointing as I like the original colour far more. I think I'll hang onto it as I like the idea of a non-transferring lip colour. Oh, and I swapped away Darling as it was too cool for me.
ReplyDeleteHi BooBoo- you are soooo lucky that the formula didn't dry out your lips! It's funny that I have read lots of reviews about Honey specifically stating that the color changed a great deal after wearing it for a while. I find that a touch strange. It's a bummer that the final stain color is markedly different from the original color. You could always just morph the stain color by applying another color lipgloss on top of it at that point. I'm not surprised that Darling ended up too cool for you.
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