Impulse Buy Monday: Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain

It's that time of the week again, where Monday rears its ugly head and we must all return back to work (or school, or whatever you got going on!). This week, I bought and tried out Revlon's new Colorstay Moisture Stain from Ulta.

I've seen this new lipgloss popping up here and there on the beauty blogger radar, and not only was Ulta running a sale on Revlon lip products, but I also had two coupons so I decided to give it a try. Otherwise, I think its regular price point of $9.99 (Ulta) is a little steep for drugstore brand lipgloss. I picked out the shade Barcelona Nights, but right away I was unhappy with the shades offered at my local store. Barcelona Nights was the shade most appealing to me out of my choices, but I felt that the ones offered were just not attractive in general.

Barcelona Nights from the package is a reddish pink, bordering on magenta. It reminded me of

Cover Girl's Lipslicks Smoochies in Kiss & Tell, which I love, so that sealed the deal.

I had really high hopes for this lip gloss and stain. Generally, Revlon products are among my favorite drugstore brand finds. However, I'm not so thrilled with this one. I wouldn't call it a fail, necessarily, since it does have some awesome qualities, but I just don't think I would purchase this again.

I'll start with the pros: I love the applicator. I love the flatter sponge wands, I find that they give more product with better distribution and more precise control. The color is pretty true to the packaging, and the pigment is fantastic. The staying power of the gloss is impressive.

However, the first thing that struck me was the smell. It has a very chemical smell, and I was turned off right away. I don't want to put anything on my skin, especially my lips, that smells like it's straight out of the lab. Mix a mint scent in with it at least!

Next, when I applied it, it felt awful. It was cold, greasy, and slippery. I'm not sure why but it reminded me of what a snake's skin would feel like (if I was brave enough to touch a snake, which I'm not!). It was uncomfortable to put on, and with the addition of the awful smell I was very unhappy.

I also felt the stain aspect of the gloss was lacking. Although the lip gloss lasted really well through eating and drinking, once the gloss was gone I expected to see the stain. However, I was surprised to find that the stain of color was slight at best. With such a bright color I hoped for more.

I know a lot of beauty bloggers out there are in love with the Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain, but I am just not impressed. Would I purchase again? Let's just say that I'm glad I got a great discount on it.

Impulse Buy Verdict: If you're looking for an affordable stain/gloss combo, try Revlon's Colorstay Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain instead. There are more diverse colors, they smell minty fresh, the balm is very moisturizing, and the stain actually stains.