e.l.f. Lip Stain, Berry Bush

I picked this up at Walmart with little expectation. It turned out to be one of the best lip products I've ever bought. The color itself is just okay, but I top it with other red/burgundy shades of lipstick/gloss depending on the event and it holds color all night. It can be a little dry but as a base coat, it's more than worth the money!

I bought my first one a few months ago and didn't really use it at first, but then I dug it out and realized wow!! You have to know how to use a lip stain - as other have said, make sure your lips are clean, dry and exfoliated (a light swoosh with a wet washcloth will do). Then apply the stain with the side of the marker and use the tip if you want to line a bit. Let it dry well and then simply apply a balm over it throughout the day. I've had it last through multiple meals and drinks and woken up the next morning with fresh looking lips still. Also make sure you cap it tightly and it will last for a long time.

The application of the product is the most difficult. Allow yourself plenty of time to perfect it otherwise you'll end up with some not so lovely lines that you can not remove for the life of you. Color was nice and did last, but I didn't like the hard tip and found myself frustrated over trying to fix errors in its application. It doesn't play nicely with other lip product. Not a blendable product and can leave your lips feeling dry, however I personally don't mind that as I dislike the feeling of product on my lips.

I bought this lip stain in berry blush YEARS ago, and recently found it digging through some old makeup, so I decided to give it a try. Of course, since it was old, it took a little bit of warming up, but it still worked wonderfully for me. It was a little wet upon application, but dried and stained my lips. I have very dry cracked lips, and the color did settle into the cracks, but that's more of a "me" problem. I applied it several times to get the bold color pictured below and it did dry a little more matte than in the picture. It lasted me just about all day, through eating and kissing. By the end of the day, it had lifted a little, but just barely; I still had a great stain of color.

I know that this lip stain does not moisturize the lips, it's because it's a stain not a lipstick. But I am glad that I purchased this lip stain, I love using pink petal on a daily basis and then putting a clear gloss over it to keep it moisturized. I will definitely be buying these in all the colors.