NYC New York Color Smooch Proof 16HR Lip Stain

I have only recently tried lip stains. For a while, I felt intimidated by the idea of staining my lips a color – what if I chose the wrong color for myself and it looks obnoxious?! What if I screwed up in application and it stained…and I had trouble wiping it off?!

But I got over my fear, and picked up one of the Revlon lip stains. Then I tried a Josie Maran lip stain. Both of these come with lip balm on the other end of the stain.

I fell in love with not having to worry all morning what my lip color looks like, and only having to touch-up at lunch time, instead of in between meetings.

I got the chance to try a new lip stain, NYC New York Color’s new Smooch Proof 16HR Lip Stain, and I’ve got swatches and a review for you today!

Smooch Proof 16HR Lip Stain comes in 10 shades. I have nine of those to share with you today:

From L to R: Persistent Pink, Forever Mine Wine, Forever Fuchsia, Rock on Ruby, Never Ending Nude, Forever Freesia, Berry Long Time, Smooch Proof and Champagne Stain. Missing is Endless Spice.

These lip stains have a felt-tip applicator, like a fine permanent marker:

The tube is fairly comfortable to hold, and the tip is great for lining your lips before filling them in!

I wore a different lip stain everyday for nine days. I was pleased that they delivered on staying power, lasting well into the early afternoon for me on a typical day! Here’s Persistent Pink in the morning, around 7:15 a.m. when I applied it – there’s lip balm over it:

Here’s Persistent Pink around 12:30 in the afternoon:

It’s faded, but more than five hours into wear, it still has pigmentation, and all I need is my lip balm to make it look like a natural flush on my lips.

Here’s Forever Mine Wine, at around 7:30 a.m.:

And here is Forever Mine Wine around 1 p.m. that afternoon:

Again, it’s faded, but probably a little more friendly for my skin tone by this point, and all it needs is some lip balm.

Notice how there’s no ugly feathering? LOVE that!

Here’s lip swatches and face shots of the other seven I tried! There were some days I was rushing out the door and my hair was wet and I looked like a mess…

Forever Fuchsia:

Rock on Ruby:

Never Ending Nude:

Forever Freesia:

Berry Long Time:

Smooch Proof:

(Note, Smooch Proof is for some reason the only one of the bunch that I found myself repeatedly reapplying. For some reason, it didn’t want to stay!)

Champagne Stain:

Overall, I was pleased with these lip stains! I like how others have lip balm at the other end of the tube, but they’re slightly more expensive – if you are like me and carry lip balm with you every where anyway, then save yourself the coin on the combos. These are only $4.99 a piece!

Something I noticed with all of them, but I can’t quite tell if it varies between them, is that they all smell subtley sweet, almost fruity, but I can’t figure out what the scent is. It’s very light and pleasant.

I would advise that if you apply these after you do the rest of your makeup, like I do (I always do lips last!), make sure you don’t get foundation or powder on your lips. It tends to dry the tip, and makes it harder to apply color.

Also, if you make a mistake in application, maybe go outside the lines while lining your pucker, you will be able to swipe away the mistake if you act quickly! I use my fingers, but find I have the stain stuck on my fingers for hours after – actually all day. So have a tissue handy if you are worried about your application technique!

 I think there’s a nice range of shades in this collection of stains, and I’m pleased with all of them! I especially love Rock on Ruby, Forever Fuchsia, Persistent Pink and Forever Freesia. Rock on Ruby was a great choice Saturday night – I wore it out that night for birthday festivities - I touched it up after dinner and before the bar – and as I sipped my drinks that night, I didn’t worry about my lips fading, or feathering. I wore red, and rocked it (until about 10 p.m….because I’m old and lame LOL)

 Anyway. What do you think of these?! Have you tried lip stains yet? If not, is it something you want to try? Leave your thoughts in the comments below

 Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review by the PR Firm/Manufacturer