Girl-Woman-Beauty-Brains-Blog

Beauty Product Review: Stila Cherry Crush Lip and Cheek Stain ($24 Only at Sephora.)

If you looked up "life is a bowl of cherries" -- crushed cherries, that is -- in the beauty cliché dictionary, you would find a picture of Stila Cherry Crush Lip and Cheek Stain. I might have named the product "Cherry Popcicle Lip and Cheek Stain." Very yummy either way.

What it is?

A multi-tasking lip and cheek stain. What it is formulated to do: This revolutionary makeup stain moisturizes, provides antioxidant protection and has a unique look on each person's skin, creating the perfect shade every time. Housed in a berry red click pen adorned with a silver cherry blossom design, Cherry Crush reacts to the pH levels in the cheeks and lips creating a personalized blush and pout.

In addition to being scented and flavored like a just-picked cherry, Cherry Crush contains cherry and pomegranate extracts to provide skin and lips with antioxidant protection. Vitamins A, C & E are the cherry on top, as they provide further antioxidant protection and drench the skin in moisture, ensuring skin and lips never feel dry or tight.

Here is a swatch of the color on my pale arm skin:

Here is a swatch of the color as shown on Sephora's site:

The "just picked cherry" scent is not in the least overpowering.

Most stains I have tried are very drying, but with the added antioxidants and vitamins, this one provides a lot of moisture. Unlike Benetint, which I used for a couple of years, Stila Cherry Crush doesn't seep into the fine lines on your lips or accentuate wrinkles. The applicator is much easier to use than Benetint, too. (I have spilled and splattered Benetint on every conceivable surface.)

Like most stains, the staying power is superior to that of lip liners or lipsticks. Although the color faded as the day wore on, the swatch that I applied to my arm remained even after showering! Cherry Crush overstayed its visit. I was ready for a new guest on my lips.

Because the color reacts with the skin's pH and is supposed to "have a unique color on each person's skin," I honestly can't predict how well it will work with your chemistry. As you can see from the swatch above, on my skin it is more sunburn rosy pink than red cherry pink.


Quote du jour: "When a girl ceases to blush, she has lost the most powerful charm of her beauty.” - Gregory

1. 
   
2. If your lipstick breaks like mine always does, light a match under the broken part. When the lipstick melts, stick it on the base. Rotate the lipstick back into the tube and store it in the refrigerator until cool.
   
3. Speaking of refrigerators, storing any of your lippies in the fridge will make them last longer.
   
4. To keep lipstick off your teeth, once your have applied lipstick, put a little Vaseline on your teeth.
   
   
5. Lipstick can be used as blush, but do not use blush as lipstick, unless you are using Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for Lips and Cheeks ($22).
   

   5. If you use lip liner, apply lip liner first so that you can follow the natural line of your lips. Lancome Le Crayon Lip Contour ($22) keeps your crayon color inside the lines.

   6. If you do not like a shade of lipstick, do not throw it out. Just mix it with other shades of lipstick and create your own shade. These small containers are perfect for holding your own natural lip gloss or lip balm creations.

   7. Click here for a DIY lip gel recipe, or combine lipstick and Vaseline in a container (6 for $1.10).

   8. Orange lipstick shades make your teeth appear yellow.

   9. To create a cool blue based tone, apply a navy blue eyeshadow on lips and apply your lipstick on top . Voila! Whiter looking teeth, too. I use Bobbi Brown eyeshadow in navy.

   1o. At parties, I always knew which glass was mine. The telltale sign was the lipstick was on the glass and not my lips. To prevent your lippie from transferring to the glass, lick the edge of the glass before you take a sippie.

   Smooches,