Product Review: Covergirl Outlast Lipstain

Covergirl Outlast Lipstain
Price: $7.99
Store: Target
Overall Rating: 1 out of 5


Marketed to be a long-wearing stain for the lips that wont rub off and doesn't cover up your lip's natural texture. Apply to clean dry lips.





The Good: Decent transparent color, easy application, colors as well and lasts as long as my $30 lipsticks. Acceptable scent/flavoring (sweet and berry-like). It seems to do just as well with lip gloss over it as without.

The Bad: Contains a half dozen toxic/semi-toxic ingredients. Did not stain all parts of my lips evenly. Some areas dried stubbornly pale even with repeat applications.  Only lasts as long as normal stick-lipstick does, and does still rub off on coffee cups and napkins. No matter which color I tried, they all look much more red/magenta on the lips than they do from the packaging.  I tried 3 colors:

Saucy Plum (450, far left) is not a neutral color but a fairly dark red. Against pale skin, it looks rather severe.
Flirty Nude (435, middle left) gave the most natural color of the three I tried. Softer pinky red, not neon or dark.
Wild Berry Wink (440, far right) looked exactly like the stain I used to get from drinking fruit punch Koolaid.

Durability: My experience with the other Covergirl Outlast products in the distant and recent past has been poor.  The "8 hour lipstick" usually lasts around 20 minutes before wearing thin, so I didn't have high expectations for the lipstain's longevity. And in fact, Outlast's lipstain lived up to my low expectation for longevity and durability. Green = Low risk, Yellow = Sensitivity or allergen risk, Red = Toxic to humans,  ** ingredients are Red and at least moderately toxic, with supporting links. Ingredients:  Water, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Sorbitol, Polysorbate 80, PEG 150, Phenoxyethanol, Flavor, PVP, Potassium Sorbate, Triethanolamine**, Acacia Gum (Acacia Senegal) Extract, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Ammonium Glycyrrhizate, Benzophenone 4, Sodium Saccharin, Propylparaben**, Sodium Hyaluronate, May Contain: Red 28, Yellow 5, Red 33, Blue 1 (CI 42090), Yellow 6, Red 40

Covergirl isn't exactly one of the high end brands in the world of cosmetics. In fact, it's one of the lowest-end brands.   However, they do sometimes surprise me by being the first big brand to bring great ideas into the general marketplace for shoppers every price level.  Outlast Lipstain was one of the first to enter the drugstore market in a long time, and there have been several brands entered into the same market since.  Unfortunately, they have not done a good enough job with this product's quality to merit risking exposure to the toxins it contains, even for special occasions.