Category Archives: Lip – jumbo lip pencil

NYC City Proof Twistable Intense Lip Color Crayons Swatches & Review

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NYC lip crayons

NYC Ballroom Blush & Riverside Rose City Proof Twistable Intense Lip Colors

NYC has released a few new products for 2014, including the Expert Last Lipsticks which I reviewed a little over a week ago. I had intended to post this review of the new lip crayons the next day, but somehow it fell off my radar.  So, today I have swatches and a review of two of the shades of the lip crayons, which are called the City Proof Twistable Intense Lip Colors (quite a long name).

The lip crayons come in -->twelve colors --> and retail for $3.99 each.  They are housed in a plastic casing with a clear lid that looks and feels a bit cheap, but that’s okay with me given the price. They are fairly slippery feeling – more like the Hard Candy All Glossed Up pencils and Wet n Wild Megaslicks Balm Stains than the Revlon Balm Stains or Jordana Balm Stains. They’re less sheer than the NYC Sweet Splash Gloss Sticks from last summer – these are quite opaque.  Unfortunately, they have a fairly strong sweet-chemical smell that I find quite offputting, though it does fade quickly.

Ballroom Blush // Riverside Rose

The good news is that both colors are really lovely and the product looks, I think, very nice when applied – the texture doesn’t feel great to me (though it’s acceptable), but it does look nice!

Ballroom Blush

Ballroom Blush is an opaque bright pink. I don’t have any similar lip crayons, but I don’t buy pinks very often.

Riverside Rose

Riverside Rose is a rosy neutral. It’s quite close in color to Wet n Wild Rico Mauve (swatched), but since the Wet n Wild has no scent, I prefer that.

There has certainly been an explosion of chubby pencils / lip crayons lately at the drugstore – probably due to the success of the Revlon balm stains (which I bet were influenced by the Clinique Chubby Sticks & Tarte LipSurgence pencils).  Are you a fan of the lip crayon trend, or do you prefer traditional lipsticks?

Wet n Wild MegaSlicks Balm Stains Review & Swatches

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Wet n Wild Lady and the Vamp Red-dy or Not Rico Mauve Balm Stains

Good morning! Today I have swatches of three of Wet n Wild’s new MegaSlicks Balm Stains.  As you can see, these are packaged like all the other twist up lip pencils — RevlonKissable Balm Stains, Jordana balm stains, Hard Candy All Glossed Up pencils, Covergirl Gloss Balms, Tarte Lipsurgence pencils, etc.

The Wet n Wild balm stains are a permanent addition to the line, and come in six colors. I have Lady and the Vamp, Red-dy or Not, and Rico Mauve. The other shades are named A Stiff Pink, Pinky Promise, and Nudist Colony.

Red-dy or Not // Rico Mauve // Lady and the Vamp

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Jordana Balm Stain Swatches, Review, Comparison

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Happy Black Friday! Have you bought anything today? Last year, the -->Jordana website --> did a 50% off everything sale for Cyber Monday.  I don’t know if they are going to do it again this year, but just in case they do I thought it would be a good time to share some swatches of the new (-ish) Jordana Twist & Shine Moisturizing Balm Stains that have been sitting on my computer for a while.

There are -->eight shades available -->, and I bought four of them: Nude Chic, Honey Love, Cranberry Crush, and Rock N Rouge.  Nude Chic has silver glitter, and the other three have no shimmer or sparkle.

As you can tell from the name, these are twist-up pencils; no need to sharpen. Like the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains, they are quite pigmented with a slightly glossy finish; unlike the Revlons, they don’t leave a bright, long-lasting, somewhat artificial stain after wearing off.  They do fade evenly, much like the similarly packaged Tarte Lipsurgence pencils.  I’ve read that other people find the Jordana pencils very moisturizing, but I find them neither moisturizing nor drying. Continue reading →

Revlon Shameless Matte Balm Swatches & Quick Review

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Revlon recently released two permanent additions to the Colorburst line – Matte Balms and Lacquer Balms (links go to Target, where both are now available to purchase online). I’m still loving my Revlon Balm Stains, so I was initially quite intrigued. However, as the reviews started rolling in, I got more skeptical. Although some loved the matte balms, some found them patchy. And, most shades of the lacquer balms have glitter, which is not my preference for lip products.  However, the matte balm in Shameless looked like such a gorgeous color that I decided to go for it.

The verdict? Pretty color, too patchy to be worth it. In the lip swatch, I had to smooth it out with my finger to make it wearable at all. I am probably going to return this.

*I purchased the product(s) featured in this post.   This post contains one or more affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

NYC Sweet Splash Gloss Sticks Review & Swatches

Purchased

 As promised, here is my review of NYC’s Sweet Splash Gloss Sticks! These are from the Rooftop Party display and they are a new product.  According to NYC’s facebook page, they are limited edition. They were $3.99 each at my CVS.

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Hard Candy Love Bite All Glossed Up Hydrating Lip Stain Review & Swatches

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Hard Candy All Glossed Up Lip Stain Love Bite

Hard Candy (which is exclusively available in Walmart stores and on -->Walmart.com -->) recently released several new products, including the “ -->All Glossed Up -->” jumbo lip pencil, which is described as a hydrating lip stain. I purchased one in the color “Love Bite” – a pinky-purple.

I always have trouble photographing purples, so this swatch is not as color accurate as I would like; the pencil is actual a bit more purple.  Still, you can see that the pencil has translucent-but-pigmented glossy color.  I found it very comfortable to wear; neither moisturizing nor drying.

The lip swatch photograph is also a touch too pink.  You can see how glossy and smooth my lips look, however! As promised, the pencil left a stain, though the stain was not particularly long-lasting.

I did not notice any smell or taste; unlike the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains, these do not have a peppermint scent, which I was half expecting just because these are similarly packaged.

Overall, I like this product – it is glossy and comfortable to wear, and because of the stain, reasonably long wearing. I do wish that the shade I picked, Love Bite, was more purple and less pink, but it’s still a nice shade (and is more purple than appears in the photos).  For $5, I’d say that it’s worth purchasing one to try out if it looks appealing to you!

*I purchased the product(s) featured in this post.   This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.