I have been on a quest
for a long long time to find the perfect lipstain. Lipstick always
disappears rapidly on me so the idea that I can have perfect lips all
day long has always appealed to me. Here’s just a few that I’ve
tried & tested...
Benetint: The
original and the best, some might say. Unfortunately I didn’t get
on too well with it. The colour was just a little bit too dark for
me, and I found that it wore off on the inner part of my lips (where
they meet when I have my mouth closed). As the colour was quite dark
on me, this meant that I was left with two-tone lips! HOWEVER...this
was probably because my lips are naturally quite dry, so if your lips
are in better condition then you might get on ok with it.
Posietint: I
found this to be much better for me – it still wore off a bit but
because the colour is more natural on me it didn’t look as obvious,
and was easily hidden with a bit of lipbalm (or even tinted Vaseline)
when I couldn’t get to a mirror to reapply.
Cha Cha Tint: I
will admit right away that this scared the hell out of me when I
first saw it and I really didn’t know what to expect when I put it
on. I was pleasantly surprised, a thin layer gave a very subtle ‘my
lips but better’ effect and it did not look orange in the
slightest.
The one complaint I do
have about Benefit stains is that they are not the most
user-friendly. You need to be quite careful not to apply too much
with the little brush (which can be quite fiddly), and you definitely
need to do it in front of a mirror. They do work quite well if you
apply it with your fingers but you need to wash your hands right away
or you’ll end up with a bright pink fingertip!
Elf moisturising
lip tint spf 8: I bought this recently in the shade ‘Blush’
and quickly abandoned it. The shade was wrong for me, but I hold my
hands up to that one as I broke my rule of not ordering lip colour
without having seen it in the flesh first. I found that it didn’t
tint my lips at all, and both smelled and tasted quite minty. I also
found that the colour seemed to change drastically in different
lights and just looked horrendous at times.
Elf Lip Stain –
Fashionista & Heartbreaker: Heartbreaker is a lovely nude
colour that looks quite peachy in the tube but when on just enhances
the natural lip colour slightly. It has good staying power, but once
the stain has dried it can look quite matte and obvious. This can be
countered by using the accompanying gloss but I found that there is a
bit of a trade off with staying power when you use the gloss so only
a minimal amount is needed.
Fashionista is another pink colour
slightly darker than my own lips that can be built up for a bolder
colour. They come with a lipgloss-type wand which makes controlling
the amount applied quite easy.
Revlon Just Bitten
Kissable Lip Balm Stain: I bought this a few weeks ago and am
completely in love with it. I bought it in the shade Honey, which is
slightly darker on me than it seems to be on other people (going from
pictures online), however it is extremely flattering, and although it
does change colour a bit in certain lights like the Elf stain, it is
not a radical change and still suits my skintone. It is not transfer
proof but does have good staying power and the crayon format means
it’s easy to quickly top up on the go without too much fuss.
As with any lip stain
you need to make sure your lips are well exfoliated and moisturised,
and I find that a ‘less is more’ approach is usually best – on
many the colour takes a while to fully develop so it’s best not to
put on too much right away as the final colour may be a bit darker
than when it first goes on.
