I was looking at the Kat Von D liquid to matte lip stains, and I adored the purple colour, so I placed a swatch on my hand. I found the Sephora cream lip stains, and found one in the exact same colour (for less), and swatched it beside the other one. The Sephora lip stain was creamier, more pigmented and all around seemed better than Kat Von D's. I wear it as often as I can, it looks amazing (I prefer matte over liquid lip colours), it's creamy so it doesn't dry out my lips. My only issue is that if you eat or drink with it, it will come off - but aside from that it is by far my favourite brand of lip stain.

This is the ultimate lip product as far as I’m concerned! The colour stays on for HOURS, most impressively through eating and drinking and it doesn’t really smudge. I agree with previous reviews, that it is slightly drying but I find if you use a lip balm underneath it, it works well. A few times I used a clear gloss over top of it and I found that this prevented the stain from setting completely and it really smudged when I did this. I have 03 Strawberry Kissed (which is a “matte bright pinky red”) and 09 Endless Pink (bold satin fuchsia). Don’t be afraid of the ones that look shimmery, 09 Endless Pink looks like this but it’s not sparkly or shimmery on at all. I get so many compliments when I wear these two shades! Lastly, a little goes a long way so at 14 bucks, this product is a really great investment!

These mini magic sticks are my cheap&chic;go-to product!! Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical at first, a lip stain that promises both moisture and longevity seemed far too much like an oxymoron to me and reeked of a marketing gimmick...but still, I was intrigued. It took just one coat for me to fall in love! The highly pigmented, miraculously matte shades (of which there are 8) have the same texture of a creamy lipstick and is applied with an applicator wand. A single coat will cover the entirety of your lips like an opaque veil, and after 30 seconds of absolute stillness, the stain dries to a matte finish. In a few minutes the stain sets in and the colour is locked onto the lips refusing to budge. Fast track to 3 hours of wear and tear (morning coffee and bagel a mid-morning snack), the stain is still proudly on my lips! And what of dryness? There is none! My lips feel moisturized and the stain has not caked at all!

Result after a full 9 hour work day: reapplication needed once after lunch and a bevy of compliments on the shade! Not bad for a lip stain that costs a grand total of $14CAD and $12USD.