Revlon Colorstay Matte & Lacquer Balms : Product Review

I try to be as timely as possible when it comes to limited edition items since time is of the essence for those sorts of products. Hopefully, I'm catching this at a time when most of you can still find these in stores should you choose to purchase them. I'm not 100% sure that they are LE, because there hasn't been anything released by Revlon stating either way. I just found them at the Walgreens near my house last weekend, but I live in the midwest and things get here a bit slower than the rest of the country. Anyhow, the two products that I will be reviewing today are the Revlon Colorstay Lacquer Balm and Matte Balm in shades Flirtatious and Unapologetic (respectively).

The Facts

Price: $8.99/each (this was at Walgreens in Kansas)
Amount of Product: .095 oz
Number of Shades: 10 in each formulation; 20 overall

Shade(s) that I used: Flirtatious and Unapologetic
Coverage: Light/Medium (Lacquer) and Full (Matte)
Application: Tube to lips!

Wear Time: The wear time for the Matte Balm is about 4 hours with eating included. I think that the Lacquer Balm can easily be worn for four hours as well, but only if you aren't eating or drinking. The first swipe with a napkin and that sucker will be down to super light coverage. 

Flirtatious - Lacquer Balm

I think that the packaging is very pretty; it's metallic, it's a gorgeous color, and fingerprints aside, I like it. Like the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, these balms twist up from the bottom, so a sharpener isn't necessary. The Lacquer Balm glides on just like the Balm Stains... and looks almost exactly like the Balm Stains, which is disappointing. This product doesn't even come close to the shine that I would have expected for something described as a lacquer. Quite honestly, it's barely shiny; it has some glitter in it, is that what they meant by lacquer? Which brings me to my next point: glitter. I'm not sure if all of the lacquer shades have glitter in them, but Flirtatious definitely does and after a short time, you can feel the glitter grits on your lips (à la Peach Parfait from the Lip Butters line).

The color that I got in the Lacquer Balm is gorgeous and is really the only thing special about this particular product. If you have been searching for these in hopes of something new and exciting, I wouldn't continue; it's not worth it. The Lacquer Balms are almost exactly the same as the Kissable Balm Stains except that they don't really stain. Meh.

Unapologetic - Matte Balm

And then we get to the Matte Balm. Again, I really like the packaging; good color, it's a matte package, and it's not rubbery, so it doesn't attract every piece of dust and dirt (I'm looking at you NARS and Lorac). I was so incredibly excited for this product, even after swatching it, because it looks awesome on my hand, texture and color wise. However, as soon as I put it on my lips, my excitement started to dissipate. I think I've been spoiled by high end lipstick, which can deliver full opacity and manage not to look cakey; something that the Matte Balm cannot deliver. Unfortunately, as soon as I put this on my lips, it started to look heavy. It can be blended out with my finger, so if that were the only issue, it wouldn't have been a dealbreaker, but it wasn't the only issue.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned on this blog, but my lips can be a bit finicky. After spending about a year looking for a balm that would help my continually chapped lips, I found that Vaseline is the only thing that makes them not chapped (I think I mentioned this in my last review...). One coat of Vaseline in the morning and I am a-ok for the rest of the day, that's how magical the crap is for my lips. I applied the Matte Balm to my lips a few hours after I had applied the Vaseline, so everything should have been ok. I applied around noon and planned on doing a 4 hour test, which I did, but by the time 4:30 rolled around, I didn't want to do anything other than wipe this stuff off my lips. The balm was very slick when I applied and slipped around my lips for a solid 30 minutes, but it completely dried my lips out and made very visible little flakes all over my lips. It also started to do what long wear lipsticks typically do and peeled off from the center of my lips due to saliva...

All around, the Matte Balm was basically what lip nightmares are made of. It just pains me to write it because I am so in love with the color! I'm sure I can find something from Sephora that is very similar, but you know, it's always nice to be able to get a killer product for $7.

I loved the L'Oréal LeMatte and LaLacque line and I was hoping that this was going to be very similar, but it isn't in the slightest. If you want to see my review on those, you can click here AND check out your local Target since they seem to be on clearance right now.

I did this photo with less lighting with the hope that you could see the glitter particles better... you kind of can.

Full Flash

Final Verdict: As much as I love Revlon's lip products and it pains me to write this, skip these. There are much better products available from Revlon and other drugstore brands.