Product Review! Jordana Twist & Shine Moisturizing Balm Stain in Sweet Pink and Terra Crave

It's NO secret that I'm addicted to chubby lip pencils! At any given time I have 2 (or more) on me. The obsession with these easy-as-pie and perfectly on-the-go products started when Revlon launched their Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains and it just took off from there! Why? Because I'm lazy and these are a lazy girl's best friend. So when I learned that Jordana was releasing a collection of them, I just had to bite because a) I hadn't used anything from the brand before and wanted to see how well this budget brand performed, and b) a cubby lip pencil for only $2.99? Sign me up! I honestly would have gotten more than these two, but the display was already pretty picked through and I decided to go with the two that spoke to me the most, a.k.a a nude (duh), and the one that looked most like my coveted Revlon Honey.

I'm gonna go ahead and spoil the whole post for you right now by saying that if you can find these, you REALLY need to buy them. 

Why? Well find out after the jump:

The packaging, as seen above, is the standard plastic, twist-up sticks with coordinating colors. There isn't anything super special about it. Thankfully though, the names of the products are idiot proof since they're written on the packaging in fairly large shiny letters... unlike some brands who only have the shade names on the shrink wrap. *Ahem, CoverGirl*

These squat little pencils have a fair amount of product in them, but at 0.095 oz, this brand seems to be trailing behind similar products from other brands since most have 0.10 ounces of product or more. But let's be real here; $2.99 for 0.095 oz of product vs. 0.10 oz for $17 (Clinique Chubby Stick) or even 0.11 oz for $5.00 (Hard Candy All Glossed Up)? It's pretty obvious who the winner is.

What really sets these chubby pencils apart from all the others I've used is that instead of being just a balm and a gloss, or being just a balm and a stain, it's a staining gloss balm. Sure, Hard Candy makes a similar product (reviewed HERE), but these babies take the cake! They're very comfortable on the lips, they're a decent balm, they maintain a bit of a glossy sheen that dries down to a gorgeous stain, and the color lasts for hours after the stain sets in. 

Sweet Pink is... well... very pink. It's honestly not what I was hoping for since straight up pinks generally don't appeal to me. I was hoping for the more subdued and neutral pink that I get from Revlon's Honey, but c'est la vie. Not exactly my cup of tea since it makes me look like a cheap trollop, but a great product none the less. 

Terra Crave, on the other hand, is right up my alley! It's a darker terra cotta pink that gives a lovely flush to my lips upon application and then dries down to be a more intense shade as the day wears on. The swatch doesn't show this, and honestly the lips hardly do either, but there are little flecks of silver glitter in this guy. Sounds mildly terrifying, I know... but if I hadn't zoned out while staring at the product in the tube, I never would have noticed. 

Since a single pass of these leaves a semi-sheer wash of color, these pencils can either be worn as a whisper of color, or they can be seriously amped up if applied multiple times. Fair warning though; these shades can warp if reapplied too many times and they are, after all, stains so only put on what you're willing to take off. 

TL;DR Section:

Size: 0.095 oz/2.7 g

Availability: Walgreens and jordanacosmetics.com

Pros:

• Smooth fomula
• Wears comfortably
• Easy application
• Can be a subtle color or built up for more pop
• Lovely glossy sheen that lasts a decent amount of time
• Long lasting stain

Cons:

• None

Cruelty Free: Unknown. I emailed Jordana PR several days ago about their animal testing policy and I've yet to get a reply. I'm gonna say no until I get any other information.

GRAB THEM IF YOU CAN! Seriously, they're the cheapest and the best chubby lip pencils that I've found so far. 

Overall Rating: 10/10

4 comments Drugstore, Jordana, Makeup, Review