Revlon Rendezvous Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain

By now, most of you should be quite familiar with Revlon Balm Stain. In a nut shell, the Tarte Lipsurgence lookalike is long-lasting lip stain in a "moisturizing" stick balm. There are 12 shades just released this summer and each of them retails for around 8-10 dollars. Of course, I had to pick up the (slightly reddish) orange coral called Rendezvous.
orange lipstick, balm, lip stain
Despite the similarity in packaging and the faint minty scent, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain is nothing like the Tarte Lip Stain (or any other lipstick/balm in chubby pencil I have swatched) - Instead of being glossy, sheer and balmy, it has a hard, waxy texture that reminds me of EOS balm in Summer Fruit (or any solid wax-based chapstick).  Each swipe leaves a subtle shine, semi-sheer, even and thin layer that's easily buildable, while letting your natural lip color peek through.
 
Side notes about the packaging - Each tube of the stain balm contains 2.7g of products (not a hell lot but it won't get used up as quickly as the lip butter) so instead of taking up the entire cavity of the jumbo pencil, the balm actually is pretty short, with the base located at the "l" of "Kissable". Anyway, the stick twists up and down easily there is no problem if you want to use up the last bit.
Now back to the lipstick/balm stain (I am giving all the details here so I won't have to mention those in my future reviews). Orange coral side by side: Maybelline Coral Lustre, Rendezvous, Continuous Coral Mineral Lip Glaze, Tutti Frutti Lip Butter.
Rendezvous has more pink tinge compared to straight on orange like Tutti Frutti and Siren. Once layered up and applied on the lips, the shade I get is actually quite similar to the mineral lip glaze in Continuous Coral (sacked in CVS but still available at Walgreens, Target and Wal-Mart), a bright reddish orange coral. The color would varies depends on the pigmentation, color of your lips as well as undertone.
Siren, Coral Reef, Coral, Peach Crystal -One thing about Revlon orange/coral lippy is that, they are all very wearable (no clown orange that makes my skin look porky) and appear quite different on the lips. (Reads: Get all of them!)
Revlon Rendezvous Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain (by itself), the golden shimmer is not detectable on the lips and the bright orange enhances dry flakes that I don't know I have (every orange lipstick does that to me anyway). As with most stick waxy balm, this is neither drying nor moisturizing but overall it feels weightless and comfortable.
Revlon Rendezvous Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain with a smile - Now comes the stain part of the review:  This is indeed one of the longer-lasting lip products I have tried. The color, once dried down, becomes transfer-proof and stays vibrant for at least two hours but as soon as the wax wear off (with drinking), I get a bold punchy pink stain underneath that's very drying (something expected).
When I was trying to tackle the drying problem, I found out the Revlon Balm Stain is the perfect companion for the lip butter (here I am layering Rendezvous with Tutti Frutti) . Not only it provides a pigmented, sticky base for the otherwise sheer/slippery lip butter, Tutti Frutti (which looks greasy at first but dries down to a stain anyway) also stops the stain from being too drying, without sacrificing the long wear time.

Overall: Finally a product that fulfills what it claims: Giving beautiful color, lasting wear (as long as I don't look closely at/get disturbed by my dried lips...the stain stays on for 4 hours by itself) and doing exactly what a wax lip balm does (Urgh... Nothing?). I would say it's a great product even at regular US retails price, as I have yet to see something like this at the 10-dollar price point.

P.S. Mini rant on the price - Since these are rather new (just landed in CVS last week) so the best deal I can find is 4 extra bucks with every $10 Revlon purchase...And guess how much it costs ?  $9.79...Even at a particular branch that normally charges 50 cents more on various beauty brands (jerk)...

Comments

  1. wow it looks so nice!! thanks for the review! i was a little skeptic that it wont show any color

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  2. I have tried the Revlon Lip Stain (pentel pen type of packaging) and I'm getting a bit excited hoping this product will arrive our shores! The color looks lovely on you!!!

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  3. That looks great! I hope to see this here soon, I'd love to try it.

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  4. yay! if citrine says it is good it must be good! gonna get it!:)

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  5. yay! i'm glad i bought this color ^.^

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  6. Great review! I, too, like this product, and I love the color. And I have to say: you have gorgeous lips and teeth! I'm jealous :)

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