REVIEW: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain

As you may have read a little while ago I was really lucky to receive four of Revlon's new Just Bitten Kissable balm stains as part of a care package from the wonderful Kaki of glitter obsession.  I couldn't wait to get into these as I'd seen rave reviews and they haven't yet launched in Australia.  The good news for Australian followers is their arrival is now just around the corner, launching around the middle of this month.  The "other" good news is after wearing these myself I'm about to add my rave review to the growing list...

First up the packaging of these crayons perfectly strikes the balance between cute and classy.  The vibrantly coloured chubbies do subtly remind me of the crayons I played with in kindergarten (OMG sooo long agooo...), but the silver capped bottom adds the grown up touch.  I love the colour coordinated packaging which gives a true indication of the colour of the balm inside and obviously makes the hunt for these in the depths of my makeup bag just that bit easier!  Also, these twist up (and retract) from the base just like traditional stick balms so they don't require sharpening.

The tapered crayon shaped bullet makes application easy as you don't need liner, just colour in and go - so simple for time-poor me in the morning!  The colour is very buildable so you can wear these as sheer or as pigmented as you want on your lips and it never feels heavy or cakey, and it does not bleed - I love that too!  These feel deceptively light on the lips and have a subtle sheen, which does fade away after a cup of coffee but the stain stays put for hours, yet my lips don't feel dry at all.  Therefore I can comfortably wear these as a stain alone and when I want to top up the sheen I just reapply over the top.  Because of the firm, gel formula of the product in the tube, there's no risk of overloading my lips.

The balms have a subtle "balmy", minty scent reminiscent of candy canes, which fades very quickly after application.  Are these actually a balm?  According to Revlon these are indeed moisurizing balms "...fused with a lightweight lipstain" and promise "...softer, smoother lips...".  

For those interested the ingredients are:

Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Bis Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate 2, Squalane, Bis Behenyl/Isostearyl/Phytosteryl Dimer Dilinoleyl Dilinoleate, Polyethylene, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Triisostearin, Diisostearyl Malate, Cera Microcrystallina (Microcrystalline Wax), Trimethylolpropane Triethylhexanoate, Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate, Polyalmide 3, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Propylene Carbonate, Pentaerylthrityl Tetra Di Butyl Hydroxyhdrocinnamate, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil (Mentha Peperita Oil), Limonene, Sorbic Acid, May Contain (+/-): Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, 77492, 77499), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Red 27 Lake (CI 45410), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Red 6 (CI 15850), Orange 5 (CI 45370), Red 21 (CI 45380), Red 33 (CI 17200), Red 28 Lake (CI 45410), Manganese Violet (CI 77742)

My colour selection L - R:

Smitten (vibrant raspberry pink)

Rendezvous (hot coral)

 Charm (peachy nude)

Darling (creamy lilac)

Swatched in same order as above:

What I love most about these balm stains is how they've streamlined my lip colour routine in the mornings.  Usually I go through the routine of priming, lining and powdering to hold my lip colour in place - not with these beauties!

Pros:

• Attractive (and cute), yet practical colour coordinated packaging
• Self sharpening and retracting
• No need for lipliner, just colour in and go
• Buildable colour with excellent pigmentation
• Balm formula moisturises lips
• Stain does not bleed or budge for hours
• Feels lightweight on lips
• Gel formula means no risk of caking on lip product
• 12 shades available

Cons:

• Price? Not really a con but an unknown at the moment. I don't yet know what Australian girls are going to pay for these although I'm guessing it will be somewhere around the $20AUD mark, obviously more than twice the US price.

Would I repurchase?
Absolutely!  I want need to add to my collection.

Are you looking forward to trying these balm stains?

That's it for tonight.

Vita :)