I've bought into the Balm Stain craze & as you'll see in this post I've collected way too many. I've been collecting these over the past few months and try to grab them when there is a sale. I did however go crazy with the Revlon Matte & Laquer Balms because I knew I wanted them and didn't want them to sell out so as soon as I saw them in October I grabbed them (luckily at buy 1, get 1 50% off). Then the Sally Hansen balms were (and still are) on 75% clearance at CVS, so go snatch those up! They are something like $1.25 or $1.75 each - are you kidding? This post is going to be a review of these three brands & four types of balms with a focus on my five favorite colors for the fall/winter:
Sally Hansen Colorlast Tint + Moisture Balms
Um....soooo...yeah....I bought all of them. For %75 off though its like 4 for the price of 1 so, there's that. Now I realize that this post is just going to make me look like a crazy lip balm hoarder because really, when will I use all of these up? But anyway, on to the lip balms. First I really like these! They are more balm than color though & rather glossy. For being in this crayon shape I really like the way they hydrate my lips & the glossiness isn't sticky. You can build up the color but they are still on the sheer side of color. If you're looking for a crayon style lipstick, these aren't it. Obviously I have 10 colors and they range from nudes to pinks to darker mauves. The color on the tube isn't necessarily the color of the product. For example I thought the deeper red/mauve one would be really deep but it sort of pulls a bit brown. This is perfect to wear over you lips after you've lined them & filled them in with your liner if you're looking for a richer look. They also look great just to give you a hint of color & shine. The smell on these is kind of weird - they almost smell like a sweet cookie or like a pastry. I don't quite like it. These balms are my new favorite to give color & to hydrate - replacing the Jordana ones I used to use!
My favorite color is the deeper shade I mentioned in Blackberry Honey (pictured below). It's a deep, yet sheer mauve/brown. In the swatch you can see that the color on the tube, the color of the product, and the color on your skin are totally different. If these hadn't been on sale I think I would have been very disappointed in the color pay off of this one. The nudes are more true to what you'd expect. Other colors I love are Spirited Spice, a really nice nude pink that is a my-lips-but-better shade, Get Mauve'n, a nice deeper nude color, & Nude N'Natural, a seriously sheer glossy nude color with just a hint of pink.
Jordana Twist & Shine Moisturizing Balm Stains
These used to blow my mind for the price, until I found the Sally Hansen balms (so seriously, pick them up on clearance at CVS!) These are hydrating, but not all the same texture/finish. They are all pretty glossy but some of them have glitter in them - like Nude Chic (second from the left) - and some of them are close to the color on the tube - like Rock n Rouge (first on the left). These are rather glossy & just like the Sally Hansen balms, are great everyday moisture tints. They give you shine with out the stickiness. I think that the darker colors like Rock n Rouge & Cranberry Crush live up to the stain claims. These also give you bit of color & a lot of moisture but they aren't crayon lipsticks so they are great for throwing in your purse. These are the most affordable balm crayons at the drugstore (but Wet n Wild is coming out with their own crayon balms that I think might rival these, you all know how awesome & affordable Wet n Wild is!). This was also my first dive into Jordana products. I don't think that these are the greatest representation of the quality of the brand because I'm very much more impressed with their lip liners! Oh, and these smell sweet like a hard candy, like a jolly rancher or something.
My favorite fall/winter color is Cranberry Crush. It really does stain & leave your lips with a hint of purply goodness after it wears down. These are also easy to apply with out a mirror (or in your rearview mirror after lunch like I do). You can also see the comparison between the Sally Hansen balm in Blackberry Honey. My other favorite colors are the nude pink color Honey Love & the red color Rock n Rouge.
Let's start with the Laquer Balms first though. The laquer balms are very shiny, yet long lasting. They too don't all have the same formula. I believe they all have a little bit of glitter in them but in some of the colors it's more apparent. As they wear down it just looks like you have silver glitter on your lips! I'd also suggest skipping the nude colors. The ones I grabbed are Ingenue & Coy. They pull really brown & remind me of the time I thought it was cool to wear copper lipstick in middle school. No. Of course there are a lot in the collection & I only have four colors so I don't know if I can assume which ones are the best. I feel like these all look different on different skin tones & some look better than others. I just know for my skin tone those two nudes are not right at all! The color on the tube & the color on your lips are all really close in this line, though the color of the actual product doesn't really match the tube. Does that make sense? Also they have a minty smell, I prefer this smell over the candy sweetness of the other two. These are also more like lipsticks than the other balms but could be used for a less polished look as well. Sometimes lipstick just look too put together, so if you're looking for a casual balm (lol) this still works.
My favorite color of the four laquers is definitely the deeper red color. The picture below shows the tube & product a bit darker & plumier than it is in real life but the color of the swatch (the bottoms swatch on my hand) is pretty true to color. You can also see the shininess of all the shiny balms in that photo.
Saving my favorite for last - the Revlon Matte Balms! If you are looking for a crayon style lipstick that lasts/stains this is it! These matte balms are rich & creamy and feel like a lipstick. They also don't dry your lips out, such a win. The colors are deep, match the product & the tube, and wear down rather nicely. Unlike the laquer balms & the glitter inside these wear down to a nice stain. I think these are the easiest, rich lip colors and can be a go to for an easy winter look. Of course you can wear these all year. For me, the nude color I have doesn't look good on me either. But I've seen the bright orange color look great on someone with red hair - there are so many colors you're bound to find one that suits you well.
My favorites for fall are Sultry (on top) and Standout (on bottom). They are just perfect for the season! I love the pluminess of Sultry, and I think it's a unique color. There's also a great red called Striking that is perfect for rocking the red lip!
Do you think I'm crazy now? I probably am. I am so late to the crayon balm/balm stain craze though I did get some in my Birchbox a for a few months. They were in colors I didn't like thought - bright, baby pink is not for me. But this past Ipsy bag I got a Be a Bombshell Lip Crayon in Hot Damn & love that too! I literally said out loud 'finally, a lip crayon in something other than baby pink!' even though Ipsy & Birchbox have nothing to do with each other!
What are your favorite lip colors for fall/winter?
xoxo, Moe
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