REVLON COLORBURST BALM STAINS

Since my early days of blogging, the Revlon Colorburst Balm Stains (previously known as the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains) were a firm favourite of mine, with Honey even reaching a holy grail status at one point. I treated myself to a trio on my flight home from Madrid for £16 (bargain)  and so thought I would revisit them for a full review.

I have three shades; Sweetheart, Rendezvous and Honey, all of which have become staple colours for me. Sweetheart is a bright pink, one I will be getting a ton of use out of in the summer months, and Rendezvous is a classic orange colour that actually suits me really well and fulfills my wants of an orange lip colour. Honey is a classic neutral mauve pink colour, that if applied too generously can look a bit ancient but with experience you get the right balance.

The formula is what I love, they apply so easily to the lips, and I never have any trouble with bleeding or uneven fading. These really do stain, so when that slight glossiness (which can be blotted down if you aren't feeling the sheen) has faded, you are still left with the strong colour - even my holy grail eye makeup remover struggles to get this off my lips sometimes.

I am looking to get my mitts on the rest of the collection, as well as trying out the Matte and Lacquer offerings which I am leaving too late to purchase (note: must go to Boots), so that I can compare the formulas...

HOLIDAY BEAUTY HAULING

First thing first (I'm the realest - I joke), you may be wondering why I haven't posted for almost a week, well, I was in Madrid soaking up the sun and hitting up the sights (as well as the shops), and now I am reporting back with a haul whilst trying to inspect whether I tanned or not.

Megan and I were on the hunt for a Sephora from day one and although I didn't get too much it was nice to experience a Sephora for the first time and pick a few bits. The first was the Sephora Honey Fiber Mask which I used the day I got it, and really want to try more sheet masks now. I also picked out a Soothing Facial Mist for the face as it was very hot which kind of made me buy it immediately, as well as buying the Waterproof Eye Maker Remover as the one I took with me on the trip was frankly awful. Last but not at all least from Sephora was Nails Inc Porchester Square, the cult classic, or 'hero shade' which cost me a tiny 6 euros - it would be stupid to leave it.

In Zara I got the Woman Cherry Perfume which smells so good, and for a 50ml bottle it only cost me 4.95 euro, and yet again it was a bargainous find. In a shop called Tiger which I think is in the UK too, I got some eyelash curlers and a spoolie for a euro a piece so I look forward to giving them a go. The rings aren't beauty but I got them from Bershka (as well as some other clothing... fashion haul?)

Finally, I spent the some left over money from the In Flight magazine, and chose the Revlon Colorburst Balm Stain/Just Bitten Kissable trio, containing Honey, Sweetheart and Rendezvous. I already had Honey but it was looking a little worse for wear and in need of a replacement, and I previously had my eye on one called Lovesick but Sweetheart is fairly similar and Rendezvous is just a nice summer addition to the lip collection and I don't really own many orange lip colours.

So, perhaps I need to refrain from spending for a while, as I do need to save for a trip to America later this year (hitting up the makeup shops once again), so perhaps a full spending ban is on the cards...

BEST 5 OF 2013: LIPS

Once again, I am sitting at the laptop screen, typing up the (last) installment of the 'best of 2013' series going on here on my blog, and many others too. Today we are talking lips, and I have nudes, brights and some moisture going on in this post.

The first one is MAC Faux Lipstick which isn't one that gets a whole lot of fame in the blogging world, but I blimmin' love it, just the perfect your lips but better shade. Being a satin finish, it isn't too glossy, neither is it so matte it totally deprives your lips of either. Just a nice in between semi-matte. Lovely.

Second on the menu is the Revlon Lip Butter in Sweet Tart which was the lip colour that I guess took me through that transition into wearing brights in the past few months. This is balmy, slightly sheerer that other lipsticks, and the formulation is perfecto. I seriously love this one, and just writing this gives me the urge to go and purchase the entire range.

The Maybelline Baby Lips made their way onto the shelves this year in the UK and although we have limited shades, I have all 3 tinted ones and also one of the hydrating ones (the other two are on my wishlist, I promise), and although for moisture they don't do all good for me, the shade Cherry Me has has a good lot of wear this past half a year.

Then, the GOSH Soft n' Shine Lip Balm in Scarlet. How long am I going to ramble on and on about this one? This is one of the first neutral lip products I really became loyal too, and I still love it now. Basically, a glossy, balmy, sweet smelling, pink/plummy nude which is my go-to on an everyday basis. I would compare the formula to the Revlon Lip Butters just not as thick, and perhaps the colour doesn't stick around for as long, but I adore this nonetheless.

Finally, another one I bang on about, and wear on probably a weekly basis. Yes, it is the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey the perfect pink colour which is toned down so I feel like I can wear this everyday. To show how much I love it, the bullet now resembles some kind of stump, lacking in its pointed crayon-like tip. And yes, I have definitely gone a little cray-cray. 

Oh how I love lip products, and I expect I will be trying a lot more in the upcoming year.

 

THE BATTLE OF THE BALM STAINS

Balms, Stains, Chubby Sticks, Crayons, whatever you want to call them - they are everywhere.

I've tried my share, across 3 brands, and it would be rude not to compare them. They are all over a range of prices, starting at £3 up to £7.99, ticking everyone's boxes.

Starting off, we have the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey - £7.99. My first ever balm stain product was this, and I fell in love with it - as demonstrated by the 'nub' stage I have on this one. This is the wearable option of them all, as these balm stains are meant to be long lasting, and 'stain' the lips, a quality we all desire in a bright. I wear this at least once a week, I am in love. Lasting power wise, this does stain, but isn't drying, and fades naturally so you don't have that dodgy-lip-liner-style pout.

Second, we have the Rimmel Colour Rush in On Fire - £5.99. This is the most recent purchase of the chubby sticks. I am a little bit scared of red lips, but the cherry tone in this one is gorgeous. I have been wearing this lots on the weekends, I adore it for a bright. The texture and lasting power side of things, this is the closest I have gotten to a Revlon one, and they are £2 cheaper, not a major saving, but I will definitely be getting more. They smell nicer too, I used to be a fan of the Revlon scent...but now it has dawned on me that there is nicer.

Finally, we have the MUA Power Pout in Justify - £3. I have another one of these, but they aren't my favourite. They don't stain like the Revlon or Rimmel, as they wear off a lot and are more like a lip balm. They are quite pigmented, but not so much as the others. They taste a bit funny too, like the Sleek Pout Polish I own, the vanilla is almost a bit plastic tasting. If you want something that isn't going to break the bank, the colour selection is nice too, then these are an option if you want to try out the (not so)new lip crayon trend. 

Lip crayons play a big part in my lip product collection, and they are the easiest thing to use when you want to be quick and long lasting. After writing this, I am very tempted to run to Boots and try some other brands, Bourjois, 17, and even the Clinique Chubby Sticks if I can fork out - or maybe I can divert to the eye crayons.