The Perfect Red

Let me start by telling you about my red lipstick quest. I feel like it has lasted years, most spent layering red lipstick and powder to ‘make it stick’. If you have tried this technique then you know what I am talking about, if you have not, then there is no longer a need for you to know.

I was introduced to lip stains by a co-worker after she caught me reapplying my red lipstick sixteen times (maybe not quite that many). She suggested Revlon Just Bitten, in Gothic color, which retails for around 8.99 depending on the store. I immediately loved it, took it to New York with me and maintained the perfect red lip color through all the drinking (and eating) for ten hours or more. It looks like a red marker and sure, it dried my lips out some, but it comes with a little balm stick at one end. Perfect until it ran out, one week later. After one week it’s similar to using a marker that’s on its last leg, layering the color over and over until it produces that dark red color you want so bad. After two weeks, three max, it’s over. I did use it every single day, but it seems like it should last longer.

So i moved on, at the suggestion of another friend I tried her old tried and true. Covergirl Outlast All-Day Lipcolor, in Eternal Flame color. This came out a little darker than I wanted it to, but the Ever Red-dy color seemed too bright red. This color promises 16 hours and was about the same price as the Revlon. I was on vacation when I bought this, I applied it in the car outside of the drug store and checked the time, I wanted to know how long it really lasted. I seriously woke up with it on the next morning, touched it up and wore it all day again. It comes with a little balm on the end just like the Revlon does, and doesn’t dry my lips out nearly as bad. Amazing, until a week later when it just started sliding off my lips. I don’t know if the lipstain goes bad after a week of opening and closing or if my lips built up some sort of resistance to it, but it was turning into goop a few hours after applying it and then smearing on my teeth. Gross.

So I moved on, this time I did my own research, and ended up with Maybelline Super Stay 24 Color, in All Day Cherry. This is now my favorite red lipstick. I have worn it every day for over a month and it seems as if there is no end to the little tube of stain. It costs around 9.99, and usually lasts around ten hours before I have to touch up the inside area from drinking (eating) etc. My advice to you though friend, is to follow the instructions completely. If you do not let this stuff dry for a full two minutes it will surely come off sooner than expected. It hardly dries my lips out at all so the little balm that is attached to the other side of it has lasted just as long as the stain itself. Perfect.

Tags: Covergirl Outlast All-Day Lipcolor, Lip Stains, Maybelline Super Stay 24 Color, Red Lipstick, Revlon Just Bitten