Love It or Hate It?

I couldn't really decide on whether to pick something that I love, or something that I hate...How about we go with both? His weekend I'm going to go grand spectrum and pick lip stains. Now, you need to go into this knowing that I'm not a fan of lipstick. I don't like the feel and texture of it. It feels like it's smothering my lips.

Here are the candidates:

Now, before we get to the stains, let's skip all of the awkwardness and admit about how awesome this bear is. He is adorable and a great little helper.

From left to right:

Too Faced Lip Injection: We've already established that I love this! It's smooth, moisturizing, and comes in great colors.

Tarte LipSurgence: I've heard all kind of praise about this one, which is why I bought it. Personally, I just don't like it. It just feels wrong. Too thick, maybe? It also does nothing to prevent dry lips. I actually thought that it seemed to contribute to it. It does stain your lips, but not very evenly. I guess I just don't see in this what all of the great reviews are about.

Revlon Just Bitten Balm: I've found this to be alright, but is also too thick for my liking. It's more of a lite lipstick than a stain. In the stain department, it's a huge fail. As a balm with color, it's pretty good.

Sephora Gel Stain: This goes on kind of sticky, but once you let it settle on, you can't feel it at all. One downfall is that you will need to reapply this repeatedly throughout the day. However, I still recommend it. It's a great stain, for how much you pay for it.

Revlon Just Bitten (Roller): I love this product and can't imagine why it got discontinued. Other than the roller ball being an awkward way to apply it (not very accurate), it felt light on the lips, didn't dry them out, and stayed put all day. If you see this on Amazon or EBay, give it a try. The tube lasts forever, but you need to apply it with a brush. An added bonus is that most of the staining function comes from fruit concentrates. Imagine how great that is for the flavor and smell. I simply loved this product. It worked and only cost between $6-8.

Maybelline Color Sensational: I'm not sure that they still make this & hope that they don't. I think that it was replaced with the 10 Hour Wear (a product I don't have pictured, because I used it once and threw it out). The applicator means well and by all rights should work. It's designed like a felt tipped marker. Unfortunately, it doesn't deliver the color to the tip quickly enough to apply nicely. I believe that Revlon tried this same thing after the stain of theirs that I loved. It stained ok, but was also drying. Overall, I give this a "no".

Also not pictured is Stila Lip and Cheek Stain: I purchased this and went through the entire tube in a week. Not because I loved it, but because I needed to use so much of it. It barely showed (admittedly, I got a light pink...but still) and needed to be applied frequently. I liked it, but would never buy it again. It just isn't nearly worth the amount of money it cost.

And now for my favorite straight up stain...

Urban Decay Lip Envy: Love, love, love this product! The applicator is great, it goes on tacky (but can't be felt once it sets), doesn't dry your lips, and stays on all day (even if you use a lip balm over it). I literally need to use my toothbrush to remove this stain. My only complaint about this product is that there are not more colors. However, you can change the shade by putting on more than one layer of it. I'd still like to see a lighter pinkish option.

If I had to pick my three favorites, they'd be the Urban Decay, Revlon (Roller Ball, not balm), and Too Faced Lip Injection...sometimes a combination of these products just for different looks.

• Well...that's that. Of course this is just my opinion and I'm sure that some people would disagree. Those people would probably be wrong, but whatever...Just kidding (kind of). Lol