Lips, Reviews

Review: Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stains

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After the wildly popular YSL Glossy Stains, I guess everyone is getting on the uber-pigmented not-quite-a-gloss/not-quite-a-lipstick bandwagon. L’Oreal has had their Aqua Lacquers out for a while, Dior recently released their Addict Fluid Sticks, and Maybelline has a Color Elixir option (one of which I reviewed here). Next in the lineup is the new Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stain, which I was lucky enough to get a few of to try. They’re available to pre-order now from Walgreens, with a release date in mid-May, but displays have already been spotted in some places. You can see some more info on that from Nouveau Cheap. The pre-order price from Walgreens is $9.99, but as with all drugstore products, I’m sure the price will vary based on where you get it and what sort of sales they have running.

But let’s look at the goods, shall we?  I received eight(!) of the twelve shades, so prepare for an onslaught of photos. If a picture is actually worth a thousand words, this will at least qualify as novella.

Packaging

Revlon ColorStay Moisture StainThe packaging actually reminds me a bit of the YSL Glossy Stains, albeit a much less luxe version. The rectangular acrylic tubes are clear, so the color you see is actually the color of the product, which is always handy when you’re looking for a certain color in an overcrowded lipstick drawer (I know I can’t be the only one with that problem). Also, these do come sealed – there’s a sticker on the back side of the tube and cap – so you can tell if someone has opened it up. The stickers are kind of a pain to remove, honestly, but I’d much rather deal with that than wonder if I’m inadvertently swapping spit with some jerk who decides to make their own testers out of the products on the shelf.

Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stain

Revlon ColorStay Moisture StainThe applicator is also basically the same as the YSL version – an angled wedge shape. One dip into the tube pulls up about the right amount of product for each lip.

Colors

According to everything I’ve seen, there will be a dozen shades at launch, which is a pretty decent range. The ones I got all skew toward the bright/bold side of the spectrum. I haven’t seen the others in real life, but none of them really strike me as ‘my lips but better’ shades. Since this is a brand new product, I thought it would only be right for me to show you lip swatches of all of them.

001 India Intrigue

Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stain Lip Swatch 001 India IntrigueBright, cool blue-based pink

005 Parisian Passion

Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stain Lip Swatch 005 Parisian PassionDeep berry pink

010 LA Exclusive

Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stain Lip Swatch 010 LA ExclusivePale, icy Barbie pink

015 Barcelona Nights

Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stain Lip Swatch 015 Barcelona NightsCool fuchsia

025 Cannes Crush

Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stain Lip Swatch 025 Cannes CrushBright, warm pink.

030 Milan Moment

Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stain Lip Swatch 030 Milan MomentIf there was such a thing as pumpkin sherbet, I think it would be this color.

040 Shanghai Sizzle

Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stain Lip Swatch 040 Shanghai SizzleBold red

050 London Posh

Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stain Lip Swatch 050 London PoshLight pink/gold duochrome. Snarky editorial note: I honestly cannot think of any situation or skin tone where this would be a flattering color.

Texture, application & wear

Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stain Swatches

Left to right: India Intrigue, Parisian Passion, LA Exclusive, Barcelona Nights

Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stain Swatches

Left to right: Cannes Crush, Milan Moment, Shanghai Sizzle, London Posh

The formula of this product is a really mixed bag. On the bright side, the colors are all very pigmented, and the finish is very shiny and glossy. Most of the colors are really pretty and bold, and I wanted to love them. Unfortunately just about everything else was a bit of a let-down. The product is very thick, feels heavy on the lips, and doesn’t spread evenly. I had the most trouble with the lighter shades (LA Exclusive, London Posh, Milan Moment), which I think you can sort of tell from the lip swatches. The applicator drags the product along with it, making it pool in spots, so it’s tough to get a clean line. For whatever reason it only wanted to stick to the outer part of my bottom lip, which is totally fine if my mouth is closed, but the line is really visible if I, ya know, talk or anything like that.

I’ll admit I only tested a couple of them for wear time; Barcelona Nights and Cannes Crush, which were the easiest to apply and my favorite colors of the bunch. After two or three hours, most of the product migrated to the outer edge of my lip and to the point where my lips meet, making it look like some kind of bizarre liner. Drinking my usual two cups of coffee sped up that process to about 45 minutes. The weirdest thing about them, though, is how they made my lips stick together – to the point that there would be strings of product connecting my upper and lower lips while I was talking. It was tough to get a picture of, but you can kind of see it in the picture below, especially at the corners of my mouth.

Revlon ColorStay Moisture StainMost of them have a bit of a vanilla-y scent, but there’s also a strong chemical undertone. It’s not nearly as overwhelming as the chemical smell of the Maybelline Color Elixir I have, and it wears off within 10-15 minutes, but I did find it sort of annoying. If you’re bothered by strong fragrances, I could see this being an issue.

In Short: With all the other highly-pigmented, glossy-finish lip options out there, you won’t be missing out if you skip this one.

Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stain ($9.99) will be available at walgreens.com starting May 10, and presumably will be available wherever Revlon products are sold soon after that.

Products in this post were provided free of charge for consideration. All opinions are 100% my own, because life is too short to waste your time and mine with less-than-honest reviews. 

 

14 Comments

  1. Chelle

    May 5, 2014 at 10:25 am

    lol – I had the same thought when I saw the London Posh one. No one needs NARS’ Orgasm all over their lips! Eeesh!

    And looking at your stringy lines between your lips, I can definitely say I’ll be avoiding these. Bit of a shame because you’re the first person I’ve seen to review these and I got so excited! Phooey.

    1. Nikki

      May 5, 2014 at 10:53 am

      Yeah, I was really excited to try them, but then I was kind of grossed out by the texture. If it helps, Ommorphia, ReallyRee and Project Swatch have reviewed them too, and seem to like them.

  2. Sen

    May 5, 2014 at 12:11 pm

    Aww these looked like they had so much potential, seeing how Revlon has been doing well in the lip department lately!

  3. Emi at Project Swatch

    May 5, 2014 at 2:01 pm

    Thank you for the swatches! I found these at Target and bought one, and it’s pretty nice – but, it is a darker color.

  4. Hao

    May 5, 2014 at 6:42 pm

    I was so excited over these, but now, not so much. I thought they would dry down to be a normal stain. Good to know that I can skip over these though.

  5. Chloe

    May 5, 2014 at 7:26 pm

    The colour selection is really pretty so it’s a shame these didn’t work out for you but the stringy lips thing is kinda gross :-/

    http://www.makeupmountain.blogspot.co.uk

  6. Elizadeath Taylor

    May 5, 2014 at 10:01 pm

    I’ve never even heard of or seen these before, but I really want them now! Especially Parisian Passion, thanks for the swatches!

  7. Heidi

    May 9, 2014 at 11:57 am

    Thanks for the review. I picked up Milan Moment and New York Scene. I tend to hate lip glosses and with these I finally found one I like. (I’m glad I didn’t get London Posh, though. That’s way too shimmery!)

  8. Joyce (bronzerbunny)

    May 15, 2014 at 10:19 pm

    i picked up barcelona nights the other day when i was buying bandaids lol. Now i’m not sure if I should even open it. Hmm! I do love how the color looks based on your swatch though. Perhaps i should return it and get my $8 back lol

    1. Nikki

      May 16, 2014 at 1:29 am

      Barcelona Nights was actually one of the better-behaved ones. I still don’t love it, but I think it’s possible to make it work if you want to. I’ve seen some folks that love these though, so definitely check around at other reviews before you give up on it :-)

      1. Joyce (bronzerbunny)

        May 16, 2014 at 7:46 pm

        Ok, sounds good! I’ll at least give it a try myself :) Though, if you don’t totally love it I’m not sure if I will tehe

  9. Miriam

    May 23, 2014 at 12:08 pm

    I bought a few of these the other day and actually really like them. They are a “tad” sticky, but I find that they are very comfortable as long as you don’t overload the product onto your lips. Unlike the reviewer, my favorite of the group was London Posh which is an absolutly beautiful neutral for my porcelain skin. For some reason the swatch looks completely different on me then in the pictures.

  10. Emma

    December 27, 2014 at 11:16 pm

    Thank you for the thorough swatching, but I have to say I disagree with your conclusion, and I would encourage readers to still try these glosses. I personally just love them, and they are basically a less expensive version of the YSL gloss stain: though maybe not quite as good, they are about 4 times cheaper. I have both: YSL for a classic red and the Revlon for a few other colours I don’t wear as often.

    The Revlon goes on a bit thicker, but it’s not at all drying, lasts very well, and has beautiful pigmentation. I would highly recommend it to anyone!

  11. Allie

    March 2, 2015 at 9:23 am

    I use, “London Posh” to finish off my base colors, “Miami Fever” or “Shanghai Sizzle” First apply base color and use pinky finger to smooth, let set a few moments, apply, “London Posh” and smooth; you will have a lovely finished look.

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