review and swatches: revlon colorstay moisture stain in london posh

It's the last instalment of the glossy stain posts guys, for now anyway. I thought I'd feature a different colour this time- we've had our fill of reds, haven't we? We have. Introducing the latest offering from Revlon: the colorstay moisture stain. I keep writing 'colour', with a U, then checking myself (before wrecking myself).

  Design-wise, this is a streetwise and funky version of the YSL. We still have the boxy rectangular packaging, but the rounded corners are replaced with unapologetic edges. It's not so posh, but I really like it. It's modern and cool and a bit different to the pretty curves that tend to grace the makeup aisles. Like the YSL too, the moisture stain also has a wide paddle-shaped applicator which handles well and distributes the perfect amount of product.

  As for texture, well, this is where it gets a little weird. It applies thick but really wet feeling, and it looks and feels like spreading a puréed slug over your lips. It's sort of plasticky and gooey and streaky. I was genuinely really disappointed, and was part hoping mine just happened to be dodgy one and that they weren't meant to be all icky. But then, relief! after a few seconds, all that plastic-ness seemed to melt away into a balmy, non-sticky, easy to spread texture, Hurrah! What an emotional whirlwind. I think I might need a lie down.

Revlon colorstay moisture stain - London posh 

  Anyway, yeah. The texture is lovely- just don't be deterred by the first spreadage of gunkery. It's actually really moisturising through wear. Now, onto the colour. London Posh is the palest of the (impressive) shade selection, and the closest to nude territory. It's a warm peach shade- it looks more pink in the tube- with subtle gold iridescence that adds luminosity and a rather glamorous perk to an otherwise unassuming shade. I really love it. Unfortunately, I can't comment on the staining properties of this as the shade is too light to really do anything to my pigmented lips, but some of the deeper shades look like they could pack a punch, or ten.  

    It's a thumbs up from me, and at £7.99, they're not gonna break the bank. If you've tried any other shades, let me know how they fared in the staining stakes yeah? Ta. x

topshop gloss ink relentless: review and swatches

It's another shade of red in gloss stain series! First up, we had a wine  red with the YSL glossy stain. Then it was an apple red with the Baviphat Urban Dollkiss. Now, we have jewel toned, ruby-esque, blue toned, brilliant red brought to us by Topshop, in their Gloss Ink stained gloss, in the shade 'relentless'. I'll tell you a secret. I thought I was buying an orange shade! Never mind though, because I'm finding this shade beautiful indeed. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

   Topshop's beauty line manages to combine 'minimalism' with 'cute' and 'cool'. Think spots and stripes. The gloss inks are no exception- with matte, rubber look packaging with shiney black detailing, it's classic Topshop goodness. Ok, it might be prone to catching dust, but it's no biggie. It comes with a standard doefoot which I found easy to use, and the formula is of a super glossy richly pigmented gloss which stains the lips. It does, and does so very well. Longevity, like the previous gloss stains reviewed, was impressive. 

    But. There is a but. The reason I can't completely gush about this product is because it has two flaws that the other products don't have. One, it's sticky. Not  pva glue-lipgloss-nightmare sticky, but there is a slight tackiness which just ain't as lovely as the sliky, creamy feel of its contenders. And, secondly, it feathers, Again, it's not a huge amount- in fact it's only noticeable up close, but it's strange for me as lip products very rarely feather on me. 

    I don't want to be too negative here because I do love the shade, and can in fact see my self finishing up the tube. But I would bear in mind that the formula isn't foolproof. That said, it's only £8, so beats the YSL and Baviphat in terms of affordability and availability. 

   Finally, some swatches. It looked way more vivid in real life. *shakes fist at camera*

what do you reckon? Will you be giving it a whirl?

x

Baviphat urban dollkiss I love tint gloss, a review and swatches.

Well, it's the second instalment of my gloss stain series. Bet you thought it'd be the L'oreal glam shine stain splash, huh? But that would be predictable, and I'm edgy and like to keep my readers on their toes. And, er, I don't own it. I do however own a little known product by Asian brand Baviphat. Introducing the Urban Dollkiss I Love Tint Gloss.

  Uwrapping my parcel, I was confronted a with cute and very ludicrously packaged thingamibob. It looked like something from the sugary girl's aisle in a toy shop.

 But, bless my socks, isn't it cute? In fact, I might even stretch to call it 'kawaii'. It's shaped like a little apple! The stem twists open to reveal a short, dinky little applicator with a groove in the paddle for getting the right amount of product on. It comes in a variety of shades- orange, peach, etc- but mine is in the shade 'cherry', which is bright happy red. Surely it could've just been called...apple? Humph. Whatever.

  I'm gonna say this now: I actually prefer this to the Yves Saint Laurent offering. Not only is it miles cheaper (I got mine for around a fiver on ebay), but its texture and appearance on the lips is better, I think. Though not as glossy as the YSL, and probably not as sophisticated, this apple gunk looks vibrant and youthful, and manages to last fairly well for a gloss product. The main difference between this baby and the YSL is the texture: The YSL is a true gloss that happens to stain, whereas this has more of a creamy liquid lipstick-ish consistency. It still has minor staining properties, but the finish is more of a sheen than out and out glossiness. Like the YSL though, it's not sticky at all.

  I tend to wear just this with one dip of the wand, and find it gives me enough product to spread all over my lips with sheer but still noticeably flushed coverage. This does layer really well though, so you could totally add on another coat if you want to amp up the vibrancy and glossiness.

Baviphat urban dollkiss I love tint gloss 

This was my first foray into the brand, and it was a positive one. Will you be trying this or other Baviphat products? Let me know! 

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Lip Stain (Vernis A Levres), review and swatches.

Right, so you know how I said I was gonna do some themed posts? I'm thinking of covering lip velvet products and lip and cheek products, but I'm gonna start off with some staining gloss products. And what better product to kick this off than the now cult status lippie, the YSL glossy stain. With a fluffy, ergonomically shaped paddle-style applicator that hugs the lip contour precisely, the brand's trademark gold casing embellished with the logo, and a handy little window to show the colour, this is well designed and looks as expensive as it is. £21.25 from feelunique.com, but usually at £25. Ouch. That said, it's not as show-off-ish as some other YSL offerings, and I know you know I'm thinking of the Rouge Voluptes, which are almost too beautiful to use.

    Now, I'm not much of a gloss fan. I don't like the stickiness or the transfer or the lack of wear time or the lack of pigment. That's why I'm loving this; It combines the best bits about gloss (er, glossiness) with the pigmentation of a lipstick and the hydration of a balm and the longevity of a stain. Pretty good, huh?

ysl rouge our couture glossy lip stain- shade 33

  Really, the texture and finish are great. The formula glides on and somehow manages to stay glossy for a long time, whilst magically locking the colour to your lips. If you've tried other felt pen type lip stains, you'll know that the fade is often unattractive and the finish is uneven, or they just don't last like they promise. So a fabulous stain formula is no small feat. And did I mention it's not sticky? It's not sticky.

   I have shade 33, Bourogne Artistique, which is a deep berry stain that looks lovely aound this time of year. I find it really brightens up my face.

So yeah, I like it. But hot damn is it pricey. And there are much cheaper products that promise similar things. But are they any good?

Ah. You'll just have to wait and see, won't you? :)