No-Budge Bold Lips: Sephora Cream Lip Stain
Lipstick and I have a complicated relationship. Because of years spent feeling self-conscious about my prominent pout I was always averse to making it MORE prominent by adding bold lipcolor. The most I'd go for was a tinted balm or maybe, if I was feeling like a real fancy-pants, I'd bust out Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey. But as I mentioned in my post on Nuxe Rêve de Miel Lip Balm, I am now officially declaring myself a lipstick lover. No longer am I afraid of a bold lip! In fact, a bold lip is just the look that's been floating by boat lately. OBSERVE:
That's right. I'm breaking out of my comfort zone and I'm LOVIN' IT. I own a couple of red lipsticks, but it was more of a "I can't call myself a beauty addict and not own a red lipstick" kind of thing. Plus I'm always ready to try new beauty products, and if they're lip products then I'm double ready. But I never actually wore my red lipsticks. I'd try them on, decide it was just too much, and wipe them off. Then I saw a million and one beauty bloggers raving about Sephora's Cream Lip Stain and I thought, "Well, now I've gotta try it."
Those myriad beauty bloggers were raving about the Cream Lip Stain in the shade Always Red. However, when I went to my local Sephora and swatched the colors I decided I was more of a Strawberry Kissed kind of gal. Always Red is a true, true red, while Strawberry Kissed is more of a pinky-red, which helped me avoid that Eastern European Prostitute look I'm so prone to when wearing red lipstick.
The formula goes on super smooth and liquid-y, but dries to a completely matte, not-gonna-budge stain. When I say this stuff has staying power, I mean it is not going anywhere. I wore this to a 4th of July party and only had to touch it up once in six hours, and that was after I ate a cheeseburger IN THE DARK. AND I only had to do minor touchups on the center of my lips. Later, in the elevator, a girl told me she loved my lip color, and asked what shade it was. She thought it was NARS, and when I said, "Nope, it's the Sephora in-house brand." Her eyes got wide and I was like, "I KNOW, RIGHT?" I whipped out my tube and showed her the amazing formula. I did not add that it lasted through me eating a sloppy meal on the most dimly lit rooftop in Los Angeles, but I did tell her she needed to book it to Sephora ASAP and get a piece of this lip stain action. (She assured me she would.)
The other great thing about this Little Tube of Awesome is the price point. $13! For comparison, the NARS lip pencil Elevator Girl assumed I was wearing is $25, and while it also has cult status, based on the reviews I've read it doesn't necessarily have the incredible staying power of Sephora's Cream Lip Stain. What I'm saying is I haven't seen anyone say it lasted through a cheeseburger. Now that I think of it, maybe it was my love of cheeseburgers that kept me from rocking a bold lip all this time. BUT NO LONGER. Looks like I really can have it all.
