Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stain Swatches

Veering off the track of nail polish, today I am reviewing the Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stains.  I picked up four shades yesterday at Ulta, where I found Revlon products were on sale buy one get one 50% off.  They retail for $9.99 at Ulta (I am sure the price point varies a bit depending on your location), so I pretty much got four for $30.  Picture-heavy review after the jump!

 

The packaging is a rectangular tube with black edges and a black lid.  I like the look of the packaging, but as others have noted, it does seem a bit bulky.  I only carry a small clutch, and while this tube is not too "fat" to fit into it (for reference, I usually carry a Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment, which comes in a round tube of about the same width), it's too tall.

These have sort of a spade-shaped doe foot-type applicator that I really liked.  It holds a fair amount of product, and the shape lends itself well to precise application.

I picked two bright colors and two that were more neutral.  Barcelona Nights, a fuchsia pink; London Posh, a shimmery champagne; Milan Moment, a brick red; and Miami Fever, a bright tangerine.  As you can see, they all stained my hand a little, but the two brighter shades left more color behind.

Barcelona Nights

 London Posh

 Milan Moment

Miami Fever

These all have a smell that's akin to tacky glue, which I don't care for.  It does fade quickly, but I do wish they had a nicer scent.  Shortly after putting them on, I noticed kind of a burning sensation, for lack of a better word.  It's not tingly, and I've heard others refer to this as a cooling sensation, but that's not what it felt like to me.  It faded after a minute or so, but I didn't find it pleasant.  The formula was fairly consistent between the four shades I selected.  They aren't slick, but they aren't sticky, either.  It was a nice in-between that I was pleasantly surprised by.  Though not particularly moisturizing, they definitely didn't feel drying.  They all had good color payoff (better than comes through in the swatches), and were very workable and buildable.  I know with some stains I've used, attempting to add more will just strip away what you've already applied, but that was not the case with these.  With the exception of London Posh, I don't really notice any settling, and with the exception of Miami Fever, which looks more pink on the lips, they are all pretty true to color.  I did notice transfer while eating and drinking wearing Miami Fever yesterday, but it fades evenly and it does leave a softer color behind.  I also noticed some feathering after a few hours, something I haven't seen anybody else mention, but I intend to try it with a clear lip liner to see if that helps.  Overall, I do like these quite a bit.  The smell and the burning/cooling/whatever sensation aren't enough to turn me off to the things I did like about them.  They are brighter than what I would normally wear, but for those of you who are more adventurous with your colors, I'd recommend you give them a try!