Product Review: Tarte Natural Lip Stain Pencil

Tarte's new lip hybrid (It's a stain! It's a pencil! It has LipSurgence to increase moisture content!) has been racking up enough press to make me wander to the other end of town and into Sephora. I'm generally a fan of Tarte cosmetics — the cheek stain gives off a very natural, rosy flush and lasts FOREVER, and the lip balms are, well, the bomb. So, I expected big things from this little stain pencil ($24).

It's only available at Sephora and comes in six shades. The colors range from a muted pink to a deep berry-ish red, enough to give plenty of options. Particularly lovely was "Moody," the berry-red, "Lush" a true red and "Charmed," a light pink.

Now, even though Sephora is adequately air-conditioned, these pencils were so smooshy and squidgy that I don't think I could carry one around when the temps start topping 80.

The best part is the pencil point, which makes it easy to paint your lips. The soft formula rolls on easily and leaves a nice glossy finish. One pass leaves subtle color that just amplifies your own natural color. Keep layering for a deeper hue. The gloss dissipates pretty quickly, leaving behind a subtle, decent lasting stain. Did my lips feel especially hydrated? Not really.

For people who aren't good about re-applying lip color (moi), this is worth trying. It's a decent product. Again, I was disappointed that the glossiness wore off so quickly, but slicking on lip gloss would take care of that.