Hello friends!
I am of the opinion that theBalm is a pretty underrated brand in the beauty sphere! They have their popular products like the Mary-Loumanizer or their eyeshadow palettes, but everything else doesn’t seem to get quite the same hype. Today I’m sharing my review on one of their lip products; their creamy lip stain.
Color: Namaste is a deep, warm pink. It looks slightly more neutral upon application, but wears into a fuchsia throughout the day.
Finish: As the name suggests, this lip stain’s finish is definitely a cream, similar to that of a bullet lipstick but with less opacity. It’s not quite shiny like many glosses, but does hold a similar vibe to one.
Packaging: theBalm is definitely known for their cute, vintage looking packaging featuring various people, and this isn’t an exception. The tube is a matte grey plastic, with a cute sticker in it featuring a red head saying the shade name. Each shade has a different character on it, which is a nice touch.
Applicator: The applicator is your standard doefoot. I didn’t feel like the shape helped or hindered in applying this product.
Application: I found getting an even application with this color to be a bit tricky, as it’s not fully opaque. I had to be careful to not swipe back and forth too much, or I would risk pulling up the product I’d already put on my lips and making it look patchy. One layer was the best bet for getting an even application, however I still wasn’t completely happy with the evenness of it.
I also had a bit of difficulty with getting the edges of my lips, as product would want to bunch up and leave a thick line – with many other products it’s easy to fix, but with this one I had to carefully dab it away or risk a more patchy appearance. I found it easiest to press and rub my lips together to disperse excess product.
Transfer: As with most lip stains I’ve tried, if you do not blot the excess off you will get lots of transfer in the initial hour of application. This product, however, isn’t one that you’d really want to blot as the selling point with it is the creaminess. When blotting, it removes the creamy look and makes it more matte.
I believe that the formula never truly set like a traditional lip stain, so the transfer never stopped until the product was nearly completely worn off and needed to be reapplied or removed.
Fading: I disagree wholeheartedly with this being considered a lip stain. I found that it wore more like a liquified lipstick; there was some staying power, but it didn’t last anywhere like you would expect a stain to. In addition to the color fading, it sank into my lip lines pretty quickly and left dark lines of pink.
Comfort: I didn’t find this formula particularly drying or hydrating – it was pretty neutral for me. I had been hoping that because it was a cream, it would feel more comfortable. Instead, it felt like any liquid lipstick would.
Overall: Unfortunately this is not a product for me. Between the color changing and the formula not lasting the way I want, I’ll never reach for it again and will be decluttering. I’ve never been a fan of lip stains no matter the brand, but this one was an especially negative experience for me.
Price Point: There is absolutely a chance that this product just didn’t work for me, but seems in general to have pretty high ratings on theBalm’s website. If you’re interested in trying for yourself, you can purchase this lip product on theBalm’s website for $14 – a very reasonable price for a midrange brand. I couldn’t find it online at Kohl’s, but there might be some stock in store!
Karissa Talks Beauty 