Monday 21 January 2013

Review: Revlon Kissable Balm Stain - 'Love Sick'

 
Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - RRP £7.99
*currently on offer at all Revlon retailers for just £5.00 

As usual I am one of the last people to the party and have well and truly taken my time with hopping onto the bandwagon with the hype for this product. I dismissed these Chubby Stick rip-offs (and the Chubby Sticks themselves) for a long time and expected them to be nothing more than an over-priced fad. After caving and splashing out a full £16.00 on a Chubby Stick Intense and LOVING it (review to come in a couple of days) I thought that I had better test out Revlon's apparent dupes for them before contemplating buying another, and what better time to try them out than when they have nearly £3 off! 

To cut straight to the chase, I'm on the fence. I don't dislike it by any means but I'm not falling over myself in love with it either. I love the colour and I love the formula too - 'balm stain' describes it to a T -  but I personally think the reason that I'm not crazy over it is because I tried the high end version first.. maybe it's just me but if you try 'the best' first then nothing else can ever live up it! These and the Chubby Sticks are so highly comparable (like I said, review to come), but my preference is with Clinique's original take!

I will of course still get regular use from this and more than likely buy another shade too because they're just so easy to use and have an adorable packaging. It's like a chunky little crayon that just effortlessly glides onto your lips lovely and smoothly, much like a balm, and with quite a sheer coverage that can be built up with a couple of layers and the colour, i.e. 'stain', fares well with the test of time and fades gradually over the hours. 


It doesn't look like much really, and they are not as pigmented as your regular lipsticks, but nor do they claim to be. Revlon describes these as 'a pampering balm with a flush of colour that lasts hour after hour' which is a very accurate description. The finish is quite glossy but it feels smooth and nourishing on the lips and with a couple of layers the colour payoff is very good and lasts for hours. Even after the initial glossiness and the balm-like qualities have worn away the colour still remains and it is super quick and easy to touch up throughout the day.


Not the clearest of pictures in the world, but you can hopefully tell that the shade I got was 'Lovesick', a very vibrant hot pink - my favourite lip colour. The colour range that Revlon offer for this is pretty damn good with 12 shades overall, ranging from your nudes (Honey), to your brights (this one, Lovesick) and all the way to your vampy darks (Crush) and I am quite eager to try out Rendezvous next, a coral-y orange colour. 

Although I've mentioned above that I prefer the Clinique Chubby Stick Intense to this, I would purchase another of these Revlon balm stains and try out some more shades, but would not buy another of the Chubby Sticks despite preferring them, and this is mainly due to the price difference. Clinique's version is 3 times the price (when Revlon is on offer), but is not 3 times the quality and that much of a difference between two very similar products seems unjustifiable to me!

22 comments:

  1. I like to wear the kissable lip balm's in summer especially this colour its my favourite x

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  2. I have one of these in Cherish but I just don't find myself reaching for it. Great review x
    lifeandlipsticks.blogspot.co.uk/

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  3. Love this shade!!! and what a bargain at £5!! so tempted to get one!xx

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  4. I love the color and thats the only reason I wear it..dsnt do much of a job as a balm though

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  5. i have Lovesick and Crush, i think they're both really good products, but if i tried the Chubby Sticks too i would probably prefer them just like you!xx

    vintage teapot//fashion, beauty & life

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  6. This colour looks so pretty i want to try one of these out so i hope that i like it :) lovely post!!

    Love Emily xx

    http://love-x-beauty.blogspot.co.uk/

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  7. I haven't tried these yet but the colour is so pretty :) xx

    http://belle-amiebeauty.blogspot.co.uk

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  8. this is such a gorgeous shade! :D

    http://georgialouisee.blogspot.co.uk/

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  9. aaahhh! I wish they were availiable in my country!

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  10. I have this shade! It's gorgeous!! :)

    egtx3.blogspot.co.uk
    xo

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  11. I have this shade :) its my favourite! Love how minty they are too!


    Lindsay Frances | UK Beauty & Fashion Blog

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  12. This is such a lovely shade but I own too many hot pinks! Crush sounds like it's amazing- I'm definitely going to keep my eye out for these! xx

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  13. Overall i prefer the clinique versions too, but that is a gorgeous shade :)

    Sophierosehearts x

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  14. I have this in two colors and love it!

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  15. I've wanted to try the Chubby Sticks for a while, but I have two of the balm stains already and like them well enough.

    This color is now on my list! Thanks for the review :)

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  16. I've always wanted to try lip products like this, I like that its a lip stain so it means the colour stays on. Plus for five pound can you really complain? xx

    www.charissarae.blogspot.co.uk

    p.s i'm currently hosting a giveaway for reaching 500 followers, you can win goodies such as laura mercier and lush. check it out if you'd like:)

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  17. thanks so much for this post! i haven't heard of these balm stains yet but i really want to try it now esp. since i sometimes have a few complications when using regular stains. too bad the clinique version is so much more money. i guess i will try the revlon version first and if i really like it, i might try the clinique one.

    http://www.lovefromberlin.net/
    xx rae

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  18. I really like these but haven't tried the chubby sticks to compare them to! x

    http://thebeautyvisual.blogspot.com

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  19. I recently reviewed this lip stain as well. I LOVE the colour! It really is beautiful.

    www.slingback-scandal.blogspot.co.uk

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  20. lovely lip color I love the color so nice and glitter…we can also use this as lip balm..very nice review,,I love the color.


    Joint Replacement India

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