Benefit Lollitint Lip & Cheek Stain ($30.00 for 0.42 fl. oz.) is described as a “candy-orchid tint.” It’s a cool-toned, pinky-lavender with blue undertones and a satin sheen. Too Faced Jingle All the Way Blush (LE) is shimmery, powder. Urban Decay Quickie (LE) is a powder, lighter. NARS Angelika (P, $29.00) is shimmery, powder. MAC Peony Petal (LE, $21.00) is powder, lighter. MAC I’m the One (LE, $21.00) is powder. See comparison swatches. (Note, I couldn’t think of any dupes that mimiced the lip stain aspect.)

Lollitint applied to lips was horrific; my lips looked shriveled and terribly dry (I spared you the close-up–it was a total train-wreck). It’s something that I think could be worn as a base, but you’d need something nicely hydrating on top to bring back moisture and smoothness to the lip. It almost had a slightly stinging sensation for the first half a second it was applied, and I tried it on two separate occasions and had the same feeling and end results. It applied somewhat evenly, but it doesn’t stain the lips evenly–it absolutely stains, though. I don’t recommend swatching this on an area you don’t want pink-tinted for the next two days! On lips, the stain aspect seems to last four hours or so. It was unbearably drying, unfortunately. I’m not sure why, but the wear and feel of Benefit’s stains totally varies from shade to shade when it comes to wearing them on lips.

On cheeks, it was infinitely better, both in terms of application as well as the final result. It has a very thin consistency, but it’s not so thin that it’s water-like. You’ll want to work one cheek at a time, as it dries down fairly quickly and doesn’t remain blendable for long. I liked fingertips best for blending and maneuvering the color on the skin. It does apply more easily over bare skin, but I was still able to pat and blend over foundation. You can also apply this more heavily onto bare skin, then apply your foundation and use only light coverage on cheeks–the color will still come through! If you have a liquid foundation that takes a bit longer to dry, it’s particularly nice to apply this when your foundation is still slightly wet. It wore well for ten hours on bare cheeks–at the very least–and that was with a light-handed application.

Benefit Lollitint Lip & Cheek Stain

Benefit Lollitint Lip & Cheek Stain

Benefit Lollitint Lip & Cheek Stain

Benefit Lollitint Lip & Cheek Stain

Benefit Lollitint Lip & Cheek Stain

Benefit Lollitint Lip & Cheek Stain

Benefit Lollitint Lip & Cheek Stain (on right cheek and lip)