Makeup Geek Arabesque, Grapevine, Charleston Showstopper Crème Stains Reviews, Photos, Swatches

Formula Overview

$12.00/0.19 oz. - $63.16 Per Ounce

The Showstopper Creme Stain formula is supposed to be “long-lasting” and “highly pigmented and offers effortless, buildable coverage.” Highly pigmented and buildable make it confusing what the coverage actually is, since something that is buildable means that it is less pigmented but can be layered for greater coverage. The majority of shades were medium to semi-opaque in coverage, hard to build as they often pulled up the first layer and shifted color around. The formula rarely applied well; it was streaky, dried so fast that there was no time for corrections (and attempts to correct just made it worse), and clingy.

I found the applicator rougher, and the packaging made it seem that sometimes it was more like I wasn’t getting enough product on the wand to even coverage half of a lip (it seemed like the opening was wiping away too much product from the doefoot applicator). For every single swatch, I had to dip and pull the wand two to three times just to get enough product to cover my lips (it was impossible to stretch out the product very far as it dried as I was spreading it).

It did dry to a transfer-resistant finish, but it did not survive eating well (most liquid lipstick formulas have survived better for me). Though transfer-resistant, it remained slightly tacky for one to two hours–and if you use more than one to one and a half layers, it often lifted and separated the color.

The brand’s swatches and lip swatches showcase a seemingly opaque product, but I could not achieve opaque coverage with several shades, even trying four or five layers, and the result after five layers of product was uneven, patchy, and cakey. The wear was average–four to six hours with significant fading from the center, which is more what I’d experience with a typical lipstick and a liquid lipstick–and surprisingly, little staining, even with deeper shades. So far, they have been slightly drying to somewhat drying. There are so many high-performing liquid lipsticks on the marketplace already, so I was caught off guard by the poor application and performance of this formula.

Browse all of our Makeup Geek Showstopper Crème Stain swatches.

Ingredients

Polybutene, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Polyethylene, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Microcrystalline WaxCera MicrocristallinaCire Microcristalline, Dipentaerythrityl Hexahydroxystearate, Octyldodecanol, Dicalcium Phosphate, WaterAquaEau, Alumina, Tin Oxide, Silica, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Aluminum Calcium Sodium Silicate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Alcohol, Fragrance (Parfum), Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, [+/- Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Bismuth Oxychloride (Ci 77163), Blue 1 Lake (Ci 42090), Bronze Powder (Ci 77400), Carmine (Ci 75470), Copper Powder (Ci 77400), Manganese Violet (Ci 77742), Orange 5 (Ci 45370), Red 6 (Ci 15850), Red 7 (Ci 15850), Red 21 (Ci 45380), Red 27 (Ci 45410), Red 7 Lake (Ci 15850), Red 22 Lake (Ci 45380), Red 28 Lake (Ci 45410), Red 30 Lake (Ci 73360), Red 33 Lake (Ci 17200), Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140), Yellow 6 Lake (Ci 15985)]

Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.

Formula Overview

$12.00/0.19 oz. - $63.16 Per Ounce

The Showstopper Creme Stain formula is supposed to be “long-lasting” and “highly pigmented and offers effortless, buildable coverage.” Highly pigmented and buildable make it confusing what the coverage actually is, since something that is buildable means that it is less pigmented but can be layered for greater coverage. The majority of shades were medium to semi-opaque in coverage, hard to build as they often pulled up the first layer and shifted color around. The formula rarely applied well; it was streaky, dried so fast that there was no time for corrections (and attempts to correct just made it worse), and clingy.

I found the applicator rougher, and the packaging made it seem that sometimes it was more like I wasn’t getting enough product on the wand to even coverage half of a lip (it seemed like the opening was wiping away too much product from the doefoot applicator). For every single swatch, I had to dip and pull the wand two to three times just to get enough product to cover my lips (it was impossible to stretch out the product very far as it dried as I was spreading it).

It did dry to a transfer-resistant finish, but it did not survive eating well (most liquid lipstick formulas have survived better for me). Though transfer-resistant, it remained slightly tacky for one to two hours–and if you use more than one to one and a half layers, it often lifted and separated the color.

The brand’s swatches and lip swatches showcase a seemingly opaque product, but I could not achieve opaque coverage with several shades, even trying four or five layers, and the result after five layers of product was uneven, patchy, and cakey. The wear was average–four to six hours with significant fading from the center, which is more what I’d experience with a typical lipstick and a liquid lipstick–and surprisingly, little staining, even with deeper shades. So far, they have been slightly drying to somewhat drying. There are so many high-performing liquid lipsticks on the marketplace already, so I was caught off guard by the poor application and performance of this formula.

Browse all of our Makeup Geek Showstopper Crème Stain swatches.

Ingredients

Polybutene, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Polyethylene, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Microcrystalline WaxCera MicrocristallinaCire Microcristalline, Dipentaerythrityl Hexahydroxystearate, Octyldodecanol, Dicalcium Phosphate, WaterAquaEau, Alumina, Tin Oxide, Silica, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Aluminum Calcium Sodium Silicate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Alcohol, Fragrance (Parfum), Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, [+/- Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Bismuth Oxychloride (Ci 77163), Blue 1 Lake (Ci 42090), Bronze Powder (Ci 77400), Carmine (Ci 75470), Copper Powder (Ci 77400), Manganese Violet (Ci 77742), Orange 5 (Ci 45370), Red 6 (Ci 15850), Red 7 (Ci 15850), Red 21 (Ci 45380), Red 27 (Ci 45410), Red 7 Lake (Ci 15850), Red 22 Lake (Ci 45380), Red 28 Lake (Ci 45410), Red 30 Lake (Ci 73360), Red 33 Lake (Ci 17200), Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140), Yellow 6 Lake (Ci 15985)]

Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.

Formula Overview

$12.00/0.19 oz. - $63.16 Per Ounce

The Showstopper Creme Stain formula is supposed to be “long-lasting” and “highly pigmented and offers effortless, buildable coverage.” Highly pigmented and buildable make it confusing what the coverage actually is, since something that is buildable means that it is less pigmented but can be layered for greater coverage. The majority of shades were medium to semi-opaque in coverage, hard to build as they often pulled up the first layer and shifted color around. The formula rarely applied well; it was streaky, dried so fast that there was no time for corrections (and attempts to correct just made it worse), and clingy.

I found the applicator rougher, and the packaging made it seem that sometimes it was more like I wasn’t getting enough product on the wand to even coverage half of a lip (it seemed like the opening was wiping away too much product from the doefoot applicator). For every single swatch, I had to dip and pull the wand two to three times just to get enough product to cover my lips (it was impossible to stretch out the product very far as it dried as I was spreading it).

It did dry to a transfer-resistant finish, but it did not survive eating well (most liquid lipstick formulas have survived better for me). Though transfer-resistant, it remained slightly tacky for one to two hours–and if you use more than one to one and a half layers, it often lifted and separated the color.

The brand’s swatches and lip swatches showcase a seemingly opaque product, but I could not achieve opaque coverage with several shades, even trying four or five layers, and the result after five layers of product was uneven, patchy, and cakey. The wear was average–four to six hours with significant fading from the center, which is more what I’d experience with a typical lipstick and a liquid lipstick–and surprisingly, little staining, even with deeper shades. So far, they have been slightly drying to somewhat drying. There are so many high-performing liquid lipsticks on the marketplace already, so I was caught off guard by the poor application and performance of this formula.

Browse all of our Makeup Geek Showstopper Crème Stain swatches.

Ingredients

Polybutene, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Polyethylene, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Microcrystalline WaxCera MicrocristallinaCire Microcristalline, Dipentaerythrityl Hexahydroxystearate, Octyldodecanol, Dicalcium Phosphate, WaterAquaEau, Alumina, Tin Oxide, Silica, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Aluminum Calcium Sodium Silicate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Alcohol, Fragrance (Parfum), Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, [+/- Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Bismuth Oxychloride (Ci 77163), Blue 1 Lake (Ci 42090), Bronze Powder (Ci 77400), Carmine (Ci 75470), Copper Powder (Ci 77400), Manganese Violet (Ci 77742), Orange 5 (Ci 45370), Red 6 (Ci 15850), Red 7 (Ci 15850), Red 21 (Ci 45380), Red 27 (Ci 45410), Red 7 Lake (Ci 15850), Red 22 Lake (Ci 45380), Red 28 Lake (Ci 45410), Red 30 Lake (Ci 73360), Red 33 Lake (Ci 17200), Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140), Yellow 6 Lake (Ci 15985)]

Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.