Review: Revlon's "Just Bitten" Lip Stain

Hey there!!  I'm sure many of you have seen the beautiful commercial for Revlon's new "Just Bitten" Lip Stain staring Jessica Biel. If not, here it is.



I love this commercial. The location looked beautiful and so did Miss Biel (and her man!). I ran out and picked up two shades of this lip stain, Passion and Twilight.

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain in Passion (top) and Twilight (Bottom)

Passion (Top) and Twilight (Bottom)

 The packaging is very similar to other drugstore lip stains on the market right now. Covergirl has had one out from their Outlast line for quite some time and Maybeline has just jumped on the lip stain trend as well. These all have the sharpie marker tip for application, but what separates Revlon's lip stain from the rest is the added lip balm on the other end of the product. This comes in handy since lip stains can be very drying. Also I feel like I will not be able to tell when I am running low until it is too late. Other than that the packaging is quite good. It's an all in one product which is always nice to have.

There are ten shades consisting of mostly  reds and pinks.

Swatches. Passion is on the left and Twilight is on the right. The swatches on the right have the balm over top of it

I loved the idea of being able to use these colors. Unfortunately, I did not realize how carefully I would have to apply these to avoid looking like a clown! These are EXTREMELY true to color. See how Passion's packaging is hot pink? That is how it is going to look on your lips if you are not careful! I should have known this, seeing as this is a lip STAIN and not a lipstick or a gloss. Stains are different from those in the way that they are more of a liquid, and they soak into your lips, thus staining them. It's like taking dye for tie dying, but putting it on your lips.

So the first time I applied Passion I took the sharpie marker-like applicator and just drew it on my lips. I did not think it looked like I had put it on right so I went over it again, pressing harder this time, but still no difference. I walked away from my mirror in disappointment. When my mom came home from work she took one look at me and asked what was wrong with my lips. I went to the mirror again and my lips were hot, barbie pink! Oopsie. Maybe appropriate for Halloween, but not for everyday.

As for Twilight, I actually enjoyed this color, but again not for daytime. It showed on my lips as a really romantic, slightly gothy blood red. I can definitely see myself using it for a fall/winter night look. However I did notice that even after I apply this stain, none really soaks into my upper lip except for the part closest to my bottom lip. I do not know if there is something wrong with my lip or if this is true for everyone. Either way it was a little troubling.

Sorry for the blurriness! Left is Passion, right is Twilight. Notice how there is no noticeable color on my top lip.

For its final grade I give this product a B-. Passing, but barely. While I love the concept of this and other lip stain marker pens, this product did not deliver for me. Yes it lasted for HOURS with no smudging or running like it promised(and like any lip stain should), but applying was a pain because I found myself having to shake the pen often to get the marker to work, and then obsessively check to make sure the product was not going to be too heavy in one spot and over dye it, or that any accidentally went outside my lips, thus redefining my natural lip line (in a bad way!). I have used lip stains before like Benefit Cosmetics "Benetint", and I never had the same issues I had with this marker. I believe it is because this product dries much faster than Benetint I have finally gotten the hang of this product after experimenting with it for about 2 weeks, but I have never really actually worn it out in public. I lightly applied Passion once and it did appear very natural looking and I wore it to work, but still at $8.99 I could find another drugstore lip product to give me a natural pink lip with a lot less stress of looking like a clown.

So have any of you tried this product? Were your experiences any different from mine? What about other lip stains? Any suggestions for another product to review or how I can make these better?

Thanks for reading!