Battle of the Lip Crayons

I know, I'm so cool with the names of my posts (you're going to have to imagine my sarcastic tone).

Recently, I've been noticing lip crayons popping up left, right and centre. Covergirl, Revlon, Clinique and others have all taken a stab at this trend and I have to say, some do it better than others.  

Today I'm focusing on Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains (which I talked about in my lipstick alternatives post) and Covergirl's Lip Perfection Jumbo Gloss Balm.  I picked a bright pink for both of them first of all because pink is fun and lovely, and also because I find it's easier to judge lasting power and wearability of something with a little more pigment to it.

Here we have Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Lovesick and Covergirl Lip Perfection Jumbo Gloss Balm in (215) Watermelon Twist (which I only picked up recently and mentioned in my last haul post)

Lovesick is a stunning fuchsia that I find very wearable.  I know a lot of beauty gurus really love these balm stains and I totally agree.  They have great staying power and you really do feel like you're wearing a lip balm for hours.

Watermelon Twist is a bit more of a strawberry, milky pink.  Covergirl's offering to the lip-crayon world makes no claims at being a stain, but I find it does last fairly long on the lip.  However, the reason I don't have lip-swatches is that this formula really clings to dry patches on the lip and I find it much more difficult to work with.  The idea behind the lip crayon is supposed to be easy application but Watermelon Twist might just be a bad colour for me.  I think in the summer, with well-moisturized lips and a clear gloss on top, this could look really beautiful.

Here is Lovesick (top) and Watermelon Twist swatched on my arm, then again after I wiped them with a tissue

You can probably see that neither of them are fantastic stains but for the amount of moisture you get with both of them, I'd sacrifice a bit of lasting power.

I apologize for not having lip-swatches but honestly, I just couldn't make the Covergirl one work well enough to look presentable which probably says enough right there.

Just to be clear, I don't hate the Covergirl product and I probably will try this in another colour.  Buuut I think the Revlon Balm Stains have a great formula that is really difficult to beat.

In the end, it all depends what you're looking for.  I think Covergirl has a wider selection of pinks but the formula isn't quite perfect.

I hope some of you found this little comparison helpful. If there's anything else along these lines you'd like to see, feel free to let me know in the comments.

Happy almost-Friday!

Kendall

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