Tint | Girl Gloss

Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Stain Swatch

Lip stain is all the rage right now. I always loved using Benetint on my lips, and Revlon’s roller ball version of Just Bitten rocked. Now it seems like pens are the in thing,, which with multiple companies marketing them. I’ll be looking at Revlon’s Just Bitten Pen version pretty soon.

Maybelline has joined the fray with their own pen lip stain, Maybelline Color Sensational. Below is a swatch of the shade Feelin Rosy, which suits me pretty well.

Maybelline’s pen lip, stain fares much better than CoverGirl’s version for application and wear. It goes on pretty well, with the pen shape being nice for careful application,s and it stains quite well too. It also comes in multiple shades, which is nice. What it lacks, however, is the nice touch that Revlon gave to their new Just Bitten lip pen version, which is the addition of a built in balm. Lip stain needs to dry on the lips, and is not at all moisturizing, so applying a balm or gloss over it is a must. Of course, carrying a balm or clear gloss is no big deal—I often have both, but having it built in is nice. I will be reviewing the Revlon stain soon.

Maybelline is available at all drugstores and big box stores.

Popularity: 1% [?]

NARS Lip Treatments and NARS 2010 Summer Collection

I had the pleasure of meeting with representatives of NARS Cosmetics last week and viewing the new NARS Summer Collection for 2010. Among the lip items were a set of NARS Pure Sheer SPF Lip Treatments which are wonderful little tinted lip balms. These thin balms include sun protection and are made with Wild Mango Butter, Vitamin E, Polar Berries and Açai Oil. Texture is that of a medium balm. So it is buttery and lasts fairly well.

There are six shades—one clear and 5 tinted. The NARS Lip Treatment Balms are quite sheer, so they don’t all show well in my swatch below. However, they do build a bit, so if you get one of the highest tinted ones (such as Angelique), you will see more color from it. Swatches are below, but I lost track of which are which. Angelique is the brightest one to the right though.

New lip shades for the Summer Collection include NARS Lip Gloss Coup de Coeur and NARS Lipstick Love Devotion. The lipstick is a coral shade that is rather sheer. It can be built up for more color, but I prefer it on the sheer side. The gloss is a richer shade that pairs nicely with the lipstick to darken things up a bit. NARS’ gloss tends to wear well and is not sticky.

For more on the NAR Summer collection, head on over to Beauty and Fashion Tech to see eye shadow and blush swatches and the new NARS multiple: NARS Makeup Summer Collection. I will also be reviewing the new NARS Multiple Tints and new primers there over the next week or two.

Note, this review is based in part on products provided to me by a representative of the company and contains affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Lipology, Extraordinary High Pigment Tinted Lip Balm

Take note! This is flat out the best tinted lip balm that I have found to date! I am in love! I also can’t remember where I bought it! Ack!

Lipology tinted lip balm is so tinted that it perhaps it should be classified as a moisturizing lip stick, except that even the best moisturizing lippies do not feel truly conditioning like a balm. Lipology does. What is more, it included anti-aging peptides, broad spectrum sun protection, and it tastes fabulous. Below is a swatch of the shade Raspberry.

Like I mentioned, I can’t remember where I picked up my lipology balm, but I suspect it was at Ulta. Regardless, I can’t seem to find it online. It looks rather unassuming—just like a standard lipstick, and I initially thought that is what it was. When I wore it, however, I was immediately very happy with the balm’s texture. It feels akin to a medium balm that is just buttery/waxy enough to last for quite some time, but also very moisturizing. I would love it as a balm alone. But then it adds truly wonderful color that also wears very well. My Lipology tinted balm lasts longer than many balms do, and the color lasts longer than manylipsticks. This isn’t the wimpy color seen with most tinted balms either. It is a lipstick worthy pigment that can be worn for sheer (but not wimpy sheer) to medium coverage.

The Lipology tinted Lip Balm is also lightly flavored. It has a light mint taste that is not too strong. Instead, it is just enough to be pleasant and adds to the overall experience of the product being more like a balm than a lipstick.

Lipology makes a number of other lip products. If I can find them ,I’ll purchase some more to review. In the meantime if anyone comes across Lipology products please let us know where you found them! I am also sending an inquiry to the company about purchase locations.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Fresh Sugar Rose Lip Lip Treatment

In my opinion, Fresh Sugar Rose Lip Treatment SPF 15 is one of the absolute best lip balms out there. Unfortunately, at $22 it is also a bit pricey for a balm. However, it is a splurge that I find worthwhile, and I tend to buy one of the Fresh lip treatments every so often.

What I love best about Fresh Sugar Rose is the smell and taste. It is unique and lovely. The balm also packs in moisturizers, has a good medium texture that is not too waxy and not too oily, and includes a nice light tint.

Here are the product details:

Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15 delivers a hint of color while nourishing, softening, and protecting the lips.

Enriched with the same nourishing oils and hydrating butters as the best-selling Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15.
Soothes, softens, and protects while offering the look of a sexy, just-bitten pout.
Provides essential year-round protection from damaging UV rays.
The bright addictive citrus flavor is infused with a hint of rose for an ultra-feminine effect.

Key Ingredients::

Sugar is a natural humectant that ensures long-lasting moisture.
Meadowfoam seed oil and apricot kernel oil are rich in super moisturizing fatty acids and vitamin E.
Sweet and tart blackcurrant oil cushions the lips with plumping fatty acids.
Antioxidant grapeseed polyphenols and vitamins A, C, and E provide protection from wrinkle-causing free radicals.
Paraben-free.

Fresh also makes some great cosmetics and spa items. All tend to have a bit high of a price point, but they also tend to be very high quality.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Kevyn Aucoin Lipstick

Kevyn Aucoin The Expert Lip Tint , Enchantaberry (Berry Red) is probably the best berry red lipstick I have tried. I was uncertain of the splurge when I bought it, especially since I have to be careful with reds, or they look too garish. But it turned out to be perfect.

Kevyn Aucoin Enchantaberry is a very popular shade for a reason. It isn’t too orange or too blue. Instead it is a nice berry red that will work with a wider range of skin tones, making it a pretty safe selection in the red color range. It basically is a good neutral cranberry, and I love it! If you click through the link above to the Beauty.com site, you can some rave reviews of it there as well. Below is a swatch of Enchantaberry:

The lipstick itself is medium sheer, but yet has a good tint to it. So it feels light, but does not lack for color. It also has moisture and pretty good saying power. It is a bit pricey, but less than my beloved Dior and some other top brands and I find it worth the price tag.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Philosophy the Supernatural Collection Lip Gloss

Philosophy has a new makeup collection out and sent me a couple of Philosophy The Supernatural Superglossy™ Lip Glosses SPF 15 to try. Overall, this is a nice gloss if you want both pigment and a non-sticky moisturizing gloss. The SPF 15 is an added bonus

The gloss is flavored, and while I have seen one review that disliked the flavor, I was fine with it. It seemed to me like a mint based flavor with perhaps a hint of vanilla. The flavor is quite light. The gloss is decently pigmented and runs a bit to the sheer side, but is not near as sheer as say a light tinted squeeze tube type of gloss. The best part is that it is absolutely non-sticky and has a great moisturizing feel to it.

Below are swatches of the shades Live in the Moment and Share the Love.