This Lip Tint Will Leave A Stain On Your Heart
Not too long ago a Sephora opened up very close to my house. How close? Well, I'm not about to give you detailed directions to my apartment, but I'll just say: SUPES CLOSE.
I was meandering through this very Sephora when I spotted Chosungah 22's Dual Lip Tint & Gloss in the danger zone that is the Sephora checkout line - All those tiny little things that you suddenly HAVE TO HAVE. I was already enamored with Chosungah 22's oddball-yet-lovely Brow Maker, and I felt compelled to swatch every one of their lip tints. As you can see from the Instagram evidence, some shades were more suited to me than others (also, who is suited to that orange one? I'm honestly intrigued.) Before I left the store I did a quick swipe of my hand with some makeup remover, which did basically nothing to remove the lip stain, and later that night I used an oil cleanser on it before hopping in the shower, where I also scrubbed my hand. No matter what I did, I still had shades of lip stain on the back of my hand for about a day and a half after swatching. That's when I knew this stain was something special.
About a month later, I was planning my makeup for a wedding, and I was thinking of all the lip color options and their various lasting abilities. No matter who in my army I called upon (Yes, I personify all my makeup. Yes, they are little soldiers.) I'd have to worry about them holding up to the trials of an outdoor wedding in the South, complete with dinner and dancing and drinking and socializing and who knows how many hours of who knows what. No one was up to the task at hand. Then I remembered the insane staying power of Chosungah 22's Dual Lip Tint Gloss, and I went out and bought myself a tube in the shade Cashmere.
The tint end of the Tint & Gloss is incredibly pigmented and liquid-y, so it can seem a bit intimidating for a lipcolor newbie. I'm not a lipcolor newbie, and I was a little intimidated when I first applied it. But, like I said in my other review of a Chosungah 22 product: There's a slight learning curve, but once you get accustomed to it, it's actually very simple and you'll easily cut your application time in half. (For me, this meant applying the tint a few times before the wedding, so I didn't have to deal with any surprises on the big day.) It has a doe foot applicator that's very firm, which is good, because when I say the tint is a liquid, I mean it's a liquid. You may even want to wipe off a little on the side before you apply so you don't end up looking like you got your makeup done by the Joker. I found it was best to work in light layers too, so until you're used to the consistency, give yourself plenty of time to apply 2-3 light coats until you get the look you want from the stain and not go outside the lines and end up with one and a half days of JOKER MOUTH.
As we well know, the thing about lip stains is that they suck the moisture out of your lips like you wouldn't believe. This is the price we pay for long lasting lip color. This is also why it's so convenient that Chosungah 22 Dual Lip Tint & Gloss is a dual lip tint and gloss. The gloss is right there! While the stain is a bit unwieldily at first, but once you get used to it will become your bosom friend, the gloss isn't necessarily my cup of tea. It is, however, still worth your time. I'm not into tacky, sticky lip gloss. So the fact that this gloss is tacky and sticky makes it undesirable to me. I'm also into a matte look for bold lips, so when I'm wearing this lip stain, which on my ultra-pale skin is rather bold, I don't want my lips to also be super shiny, so I'm not eager to throw on a lot of gloss over it. All that being said, a teensy bit of gloss, I have found, is necessary to keep my lips from feeling completely dried out. I like to take the little gloss brush, wipe off a fair amount of the gloss, and dab it across my bottom lip. Then I blot my two lips together. This applies a very minimal amount of gloss so that my lips feel moisturized, but I don't have to deal with glossy, sticky lips.
The overall look is not just one that I not only liked (and that lasted) for a wedding, but that can be worn for all kinds of occasions. The tube is small enough that you can toss it in your bag for touch ups, but that will only be necessary in dire circumstances.
