Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains

I have wanted to try Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains for a while now.

I've read and heard so many good things about them that my curiosity was definitely piqued, and the name of the product itself is beyond intriguing - the idea of a stain that still feels moisturizing and looks shiny on the lips (well, at least, that's my interpretation of "balm stain") is certainly novel.

So when I stopped in Walgreen's the other day to pick up a few 12 packs of Diet Coke (my most serious addiction this side of makeup) and I saw that Revlon was on sale BOGO half-off, I finally indulged. 

The stains come in a variety of gorgeous colors, many of which are really bright or dark.  I debated for a bit about which shades to choose, and finally settled on Precious and Charm, two of the lightest shades available.

Revlon Balm Stains - Precious (top) & Charm (bottom)

And kind of boring, I know, since I'm all about peachy/nude lip products.

But the thing is, these are the kinds of shades I wear most of the time and whenever I'm shelling out money for any makeup product, I always sort of determine its worth based on how often I'll wear it. 

Now, after trying the stains and really liking them (spoiler alert!), I may get daring and pick up a bold shade (or two)...

The balm stains are crayon like lip products that feature a twist-up bottom.  They have a minty scent and taste, but it doesn't last very long.  On the lips, they feel very smooth - I wouldn't say they're super hydrating but compared to other stain products, they definitely have a slightly moisturizing feel. 

Revlon's Just Bitten Balm Stains have twist up bottoms.

What makes them really neat in my opinion is that they actually do work as a stain.

When you first apply them, they give your lips really nice color and shine.  But when the shine wears off, the color actually stays - not as opaque or obvious as when freshly applied but enough that you don't have touch up your lip product. 

I really like the idea of stains, but I find that I rarely wear them because I hate the drying effect that they always seem to have.

The Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains aren't drying in the least - they actually feel good on the lips.

These stains are similar to Tarte's LipSurgence products.  In fact, when that line first came out, Tarte called the pencils "natural lip stains" and the first one I ever bought, Joy, feels almost exactly like the Revlon ones, right down to the minty scent and taste.

Tarte seems to have change the formula since then - they now have three categories of LipSurgence products - lip tints, matte lip tints, and lip lusters. The lip tints and lip lusters don't last as long as the Revlon Just Bitten stains, but the Tarte matte lip tints are similar.

It's worth nothing that the Tarte LipSurgence products retail for $24, while the full retail price for the Revlon Just Bitten stains at my Walgreen's was $8.99. The Tarte products are definitely nice, but I think this is definitely an instance where you can save money and still get the same quality from a drugstore product.

As far as the colors I choose go, I really like both of them.

Both are nude shades, I'd say, though Precious is a pink or rosy nude while Charm is a peachy nude.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in Charm (l.) & Precious (r.)

Now, I just have to try Revlon's Whipped Creme Foundation and Maybelline's BB Cream and I'll have satisfied all my recent drugstore lemmings.

What drugstore store products have you tried recently and loved?