Revlon - Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey & Rendezvous

The blogging world has been full of chat about these since they launched in the US and now they are available here too, currently on offer at £5.99 in Superdrug (normally £7.99) or on 3 for 2 in Boots which works out cheaper if you will definitely use three shades, in hindsight I should probably have waited and gone to Boots to buy three but I was too excited when I saw them and had to grab a couple to try.

I chose Rendezvous, a bright coral orange, and Honey, a nudey pink: 

Since I've only had these in my grubby paws for just over an hour I can't give you an extensively tested view just yet but so far the colour pay off seems good.  I'm not sure how much of a stain they leave but there is a good strong colour on the lips when they're applied and Rendezvous is bright!

One thing I found slightly off putting was the smell, it's minty which I was hoping would be a nice change from all the flowery sweet scents that have been in lip products recently, unfortunately this mint smells very much like it's still growing in the ground rather than being a clean medicinal mint scent.  It's not horribly over powering but it's also not as nice as I was hoping it would be.  I assume they contain some sort of menthol as there is definitely a slight tingle when these are applied.

Here are some on the arm swatches of my two:

I found both of the colours I have to be a similar opacity to Revlon Lip Butters, so not as full as a regular lipstick but pretty highly pigmented for something called a balm.  Overall I'm please, these are a nice looking, quality feeling product and don't require a sharpener which is a bonus.  As a poor man (or lady)'s Chubby Stick they are a great alternative and definitely worthy of a spot in my make up bag, whether I'll like them enough to go back for other shades remains to be seen.

No7 Poppy King Lip Crayon - Raindrops Collection (Smiling & Skipping)

As suspected, the lure of a 3 for 2 and the No7 £5 off voucher was too much, I had to go back for the other 2 Crayons in the Raindrops collection.  You can see my first post on them here.

This time I picked up Smiling and Skipping; a bright, blue based red and a very sheer berry colour. Skipping is definitely the least pigmented from the collection and leaves just a hint of subtle colour on the lips whereas Smiling is as punchy and bright as the previous 3 I've tried.

Not much more to say on these other than to echo what I said in my last post about them.  I really like the texture and wear of the Crayons and after having tried them out some more over the weekend I am really pleased with them, they're very wearable colours, look great on the lips and last surprisingly well for this sort of product.

Finally, here are a couple of swatches of my two newest editions:

No7 Poppy King Lip Crayon - Raindrops Collection (Singing, Dancing & Playing)

I seem to be utterly obsessed with buying lip products at the moment.  The Poppy King Lip Crayons for No7 are the latest thing to be added to my collection.

Previously I purchased some Stila Lip Glaze Sticks as I liked the idea of a lip gloss in pencil form, unfortunately I never really got much wear out of them as I found them too sheer and, more annoyingly, very glittery.  I am really not a fan of glitter on my lips and the Stila version has glitter through pretty much every colour.

So, when I saw the No7 versions, which looked a lot more glitter free, I decided to give them a try.  I almost picked them up on Tuesday but decided to hold off as I was sure we must be due another £5 No7 voucher soon, and I was right, I went back in yesterday and, not only were the £5 off No7 vouchers back on, it's 3 for 2 on No7 too.  So I bagged three of the Lip Crayons for £18!

I chose Singing, Dancing and Playing (although I am very tempted to go back for the other 2).  Singing is a bright fuchsia leaning pink, Dancing is a more subtle pink shade and Playing is a peachy coral.  All three colours I have are lovely and very wearable.

The Lip Crayons feel great on, they're pretty long lasting and non sticky.  Although you can feel them on your lips they are not annoying and feel nice and light.  They have quite a high end feel to them, as they should retailing at £11.50 each, and I was pleasantly surprised at the length of time they lasted on my lips - longer than the Rouge Caresse lipsticks I have been wearing a lot lately.

They also appear to have a slight staining effect so even once the more obvious glossy colour has worn off you are left with a tint to your lips which I rather like, it prolongs the wear and makes them feel more practical than something like the Stila Lip Glaze Sticks which disappeared in a matter of minutes leaving only sharp glitter behind.

One slight downside to the Lip Crayons is that they seem rather soft, especially when warm, Playing's tip broke / got very smooshed as soon as I tested it after getting it back from Boots and I wasn't particularly rough with it.  This may be in part due to them having been stored under the hot lights in store, it remains to be seen I they behave better out and about.

I love that there is a sharpener included in the cap of each pencil, another downside of my Stila Glazes was that you had to carry a sharpener with you if you were going to be topping up your lips during the day.  With the Poppy King Crayons you simply use the lid of the pencil to sharpen them, so handy!

The sharpener is covered by a lid so won't catch on anything in your make up bag or leave product over everything else, this is definitely a huge bonus with these Crayons.

I am really pleased with the Lip Crayons, enough to be considering going back in to buy the other two colours very soon, however, the chances of me paying £11.50 for one is slim. 

That seems to be the case with almost all No7 products I have tried.  I love their quick dry top coat and nail varnishes but I would never pay £7 for them which means that all my No7 purchases happen during the £5 off voucher offers.  I know a lot of people are the same and I'm also sure No7 are aware of this, I'd love to see the leap in their sales figure when the vouchers come out, I bet it's substantial!

I'll leave you with a final couple of (bad, must get a decent camera) photos.