Rimmel Lip Stain collection (4):
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| For this product you would use the stain first before using the balm to seal the colour and moisture in. The colours are very dense and they don't rub away that easily so you can imagine how they maintain the "stained lips" effect :) |
This is probably one of the brands that can get away with "loud" colours but that's my opinion. For me personally I'm not keen on the balm at the end of the stick as it reminds me of glue stick or glue gun sticks. The packaging does match with the tints as intended so that's a positive thing, however...it took me three days to have the denser colours completely off my hand (bath, soap you name it). For £5.99 it's not a budget brand for a student like myself.
Miss Sporty Dr Balms (5):
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| Left - right swatches: 02 Glam Kiss, 03 Gossip Kiss, 04 Heartbreaker Kiss, 05 Honey Moon Kiss and 01 Sweet Kiss |
The swatches for the Miss Sporty range is clearly different from Rimmel but the consistency is almost clear. I bought Glam Kiss (02) and it is moisterising for my lips but doesn't show much of the colour however for £1.99 you can't go wrong. Also they smell nice, fruity and sweet! The product itself looks like a normal lip balm you would buy for rescuing your dry lips.
NYC Smooch Proof 16H Lip Stains (3):
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| Very soft to the skin but sadly as they were 'TESTER's the consistency was difficult to show for 498 Berry Long Time (middle) |
The colours are lighter and softer than the packaging so it wouldn't be too harsh of a tone against your skin. I bought 490 Persistent Pink as my lips are quite pigmented as it is so I opted for the lighter shade. These were sold at £3.99 as the felt tip applicator would be perfect for precision. The colour of the packaging remind me of raspberry jelly but different tones but NYC are known for their vibrant colours throughout their makeup range.
Collection 2000 Colour Pout Lipstain (6):
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| Left - right swatches: Heartbreaker, Kiss, Flirt, Tease, Pout and Pucker. A range of colours shown here and each match accordingly to the swatches on my hand (except for the 4th and 5th). |
The applicator is again a felt tip but at the same time the consistency is very runny so the swatches, particularly the red and pink, bled a lot on my hand. £4.99 each, six different colours but with pigmented lips I may have to use nude lipstick/gloss beforehand but the runny consistency doesn't entice me sadly. It's interesting how only the cap and the bottom tip are showing the colours reminding me of felt tip pens I use to have when I was a child in school, probably not the best design I could pick out of my makeup bag.
GOSH Long Lasting Lip Marker (4):
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| Vibrant colours!!! Swatches from top left - bottom left: 003 Berry, 001 Red, 005 Soft Rose and 002 Pink. There was a 004 Chocolate but that was dried out to the point where nothing can be swatch from that. |
Unlike the Collection 2000 range the consistency is similar to Miss Sporty range but much better and at the price of £6.99 I think this would be worth it. The packaging is similar to a felt pen with the chunkiness but distinctive to the GOSH range with the black, sophisticated look.
MUA Kiss Proof Lip Stains (3):
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| Very light against my skin complexion as you can see with the swatches. Left - right: Fruitillicious, Kissalicious and Fabulicious. |
MUA is renowned for their affordable range at Superdrug starting at £1 but recently expanding to MUA Professional. These products would be perfect for that soft stain effect and that's £3 for this lip stain. The packaging itself looks lightweight with the shiny text reflecting back at you but at the same difficult to see without the store lights waving over your shoulders.
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Now comparing these six brands I have to say that all achieve similar results but some lack in consistency others lack in packaging. However I personally feel some of them are very drying on my hand, making them impossible to rub off until a few days later.
Questions: why are there so many of these lip stains to choose from I don't even understand the importance of this product for starters. Isn't a lipstick enough to give your lips a flush of colour or is it the fact that lipsticks wear off so easily it's a hassle to be retouching throughout the day? When did these lip stains become popular? Why are there so many complaints of the product drying out the lips and people wasting money, trial and errors are happening in the world of beauty, etc.
Why I numbered this as '#1' is because there are other brands out there that I haven't been able to swatch or they lack samples so I will pop into my local Boots for this opportunity.
My poor hand ~ sacrificing my skin for the sake of these swatches. If you personally have a favourite lip staining product please feel free to mention below in the comments or you want to give your opinion as to why these products are so popular, I need to know why as a fellow beauty lover. :)
Mucho love,
Tofu x
