I’ve been ogling for weeks to finally get a lip and cheek tint since I can’t manage to put and fix my lip gloss or lipstick without getting my hair stuck onto it. I guess that’s the downside of MAC lipglasses–they’re so sticky; they make my hair stick on my lips. Applying lipstick gives me more effort into putting the just-enough hue without making me look like I’m ready to par-tay.

So, for a natural and effortless look, I resolved to get back to the basics. When I was in high school, I ought to use a lip balm. Yet, lip balms don’t give enough hue for my pucker. I want to have a low maintenance lip color without sacrificing the glamorous, just bitten look of rouge on my lips–making it a notch more luscious!

When The Body Shop introduced their Lip and Cheek tint, I know it was the answer to my prayers. I often used it until I misplaced the thingy since it was too long to fit in my pocket. The Body Shop, however, made several changes on the product consistency (from the runny fluid type to gel type), packaging and even the product name itself (From Lip and Cheek Tint to Lip and Cheek Stain), but still it won’t fit my pocket.

That’s why, at the very last minute, I decided to get The Balm Stainiac. Both almost have the same price (about 600 something pesos) here in the Philippines, but Stainiac is kind of more expensive in the States. However, an 8.5g (0.2 fl oz) of Stainiac is a tad more than that of TBS Lip Stain’s 5.6g (0.3 fl oz). So, I guess, that justifies the price difference!

It works well like The Body Shop’s. But this time, its diminutive packaging gives me the liberty stash this on my trouser’s side pocket sans worrying that it may drop on the floor anytime. It also has a gel-like consistency, so it gives me more time to blend the color on my pucker (and if I have time, I also put this on my cheeks) and prevents the product from dripping out of the bottle.

Unlike other lip colors, a noticeable downside for most lip and cheek stains or tints falls on the unevenness of color, particularly when applied on the lips. My lower lip is redder than my livid upper, and putting on the lip stain won’t do the remedy for making my lower and upper lip colors the same.

So, if you wanna bring more color on your lips, making it kiss-worthy (read: kissable) yet still giving off a “natural color” effect, then the lip and cheek stain/tint is your best bet.

Nevertheless, I’m still looking forward to try BeneFit’s Benetint or Pocketpal. Maybe, these will give me the right, balanced tinge I’m craving looking for! Sadly, the latter’s price makes my jaw drop…since a bottle of Benetint costs $28 for a wee bit of 4 fl oz.

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