My enduring love for KAJA continues! These lip stains were the gateway products into KAJA for me. I bought them a few months after they were released, tried them out and reach for them quite often.
If you are looking for a matte, buildable and incredibly long-lasting lip stain, you have to try these out. They’re so pigmented and long-lasting that I don’t use them when I have to work that evening or the next morning because the stain remains. It will pull a Rick Astley on you and never desert you. Cheesy but I had to say it.
The shade range is pretty solid, the colours go from nudes to bolds so you can definitely find a shade that suits you and your needs. That being said, I do wish KAJA would increase their shades; I would love to see darker reds, blood reds, pinks and oranges. Please, KAJA, can you do this for me? Please? Love, your enduring fan.
Onto the review!
The Specifics:
Lip condition: I’ve used these lip stains when my lips were dry, chapped, and hydrated. They work perfectly on every lip condition, as long as you use a gloss as a topper if your lips are on the drier side.
Lip prep: Laneige’s Lip Sleeping Mask as I do my makeup and then wiped off before using the lip stain.
What is it?: “A highly-pigmented lip stain that provides a comfy, cushion finish [and] features water capture technology to help retain lip’s moisture for matte colour that actually feels comfortable all day.”–KAJA
Ingredients: Here.
Packaging: The product comes in a cute and pastel box but the actual tube is matte and corresponds to the shade of the product. I’ve said it before but I love, love, love simplicity in my packaging. KAJA and Bite Beauty do minimalism to perfection.
Affordability: I paid $24 CDN (5.5 ml) for each lip stain. I do think it’s worth it! This product is extremely versatile. You can create a gradient look, opt for a sheer or an opaque look and you can wear it matte or top it with a lip gloss. It’s also incredibly long-lasting. These are easily my favourite lip stains ever (and this is coming from someone that has all of Etude House’s Dear Darling Darling Water Tints and uses them often).
Smell: The smell is so addictive! KAJA products have the best scents and these lip stains are no different. They have a light, fruity, candied peach scent that is subtle and delicious.
Texture: The texture of the stain is a velvet, whipped mousse. It is on the thicker side and I did find it harder to apply the stain because of the density. The applicator is also flat so when you pull the wand from the tube, there is a lot of product on the wand. I’ve learned to use a disposable lip wand to create sheer and gradient looks. For an opaque look, I use the stain’s wand.
On the lips, the texture is extremely lightweight, velvety, smooth and matte. However, they aren’t drying and even if your lips aren’t in stellar condition, the stains don’t accentuate or dry out your lips. They retain their moisture and natural plumpness. The stains also don’t seep or settle into your lip lines or smear onto your teeth. Once they’re on the lips, they stay on the lips, so you do have to work carefully and efficiently.
Finish: The finish is matte! This definitely has a matte liquid lipstick look which I don’t mind because it’s not drying and if I want a glossier finish, I can put lip gloss on top and the stain doesn’t budge or shift.
Colour intensity + pigmentation: The colours tend to look a little muted depending on the layers; opaque will give you a more intense and brighter colour but a sheerer layer will tend to mute the intensity (by a very small amount). Don’t get me wrong, even as a sheer amount, the colour intensity is still there.
The pigmentation for all of the colours I bought was outstanding and long-lasting. These are pigmented. Even with a sheer wash of colour, the pigmentation is there, bright and in your face.
Top to bottom: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05. Top left to right: natural lighting, outside lighting. Bottom left to right: outside lighting and inside lighting.
01 Satin Sheets is a blue-based red (finally, a true red that doesn’t lean pink. I’m looking at you, Bite Beauty!) This is the brightest and most intense of the shades available. Even as a sheer layer, the colour stays true to its blue base and doesn’t lean pink (which I’m so happy about).
02 Velvet is a rich berry wine. This shade doesn’t change depending on the layers; it stays true to the berry wine colour. The only difference is, as an opaque look, the colour is darker. I do love this colour to create a rich lip gradient look and I top the stain with a lip gloss that is bold but wearable. This is definitely a darker, deep shade that still retains its brightness. How does KAJA create this magic?
03 Silk Robe is a rose mauve. This shade is a gorgeous nude and is a ‘your lips but better’ when worn as a sheer layer. Even though this is a nude shade, the pigmentation and colour intensity is still there.
04 Cashmere is a deep berry plum. Finally, a lip stain that is dark, deep and gorgeous. This is the colour I’ve been looking for (though I would love to see more options for darker lip stains!) and never knew I wanted. Even though this is deep and plummy, don’t be intimidated by this shade. When worn as a sheer lip gradient, the colour is accessible and wearable without looking stark or gothic.
05 Chiffon is a muted rose raspberry that changes depending on the opaqueness. As I’m writing this review, I’m very confused by this shade. On Sephora, the image looks brighter and more raspberry but the tube I have, the colour is a very muted rose. As an opaque layer, the colour is a muted, nude rose but when sheered out, it becomes a cool raspberry. I wonder if the colour changes depending on how old the product is. I remember the colour being brighter but I could be confusing this shade with Chiffon. Either way, I love the versatility of the colour, even though mine definitely doesn’t match the pictures on Sephora or KAJA’s site.
I didn’t buy 06 (which is a true, vivid purple as I’m not sure I would wear the colour. However, that being said, I do have plans on buying the shade in the future.)
Wear test: Dang, I did everything when testing these lip stains out. Ate and drank coffee, iced tea, water, ate greasy foods (chill, I also ate healthy food too), hanging out with friends, went shopping (chill, I shockingly didn’t buy anything). The wear of these lip stains are impressive, they follow you all day and leave behind a very slight stain even after washing my face. I had to use an oil-based makeup remover and a little scrubbing to remove the stain at the end of the night.
Surprisingly, I wasn’t expecting these lip stains to wear as perfectly as they did. I’m very wary of velvet lip stains as most of the time, they are just fancy velvet lipsticks. I have a few Missha velvet lip tints and they just rub off and don’t actually leave a stain behind. I was expecting the same result with these stains because of the texture.
But wow, I was surprised to find that they are, indeed, a true stain. Be warned, because they dry down quickly and stain the lips with intense colour and pigmentation, you have to work quickly and precisely.
They don’t:
- settle into lip lines,
- accentuate any dryness or flakiness,
- wear and leave behind a weird ring towards your inner mouth like most liquid lipsticks
- flake
- aren’t patchy and you can layer on the product during the day without the product becoming heavy or patchy.
This is after I reallllyyy scrubbed my hand to remove the stains.
Longevity: Obviously, opaqueness is a factor, as the stains last longer but that is like any lip stain/tint. However, even as a sheer layer, the longevity is there and doesn’t disappear under lip gloss or wear. They lasted 5 to 8 hours, depending on the opaqueness.
What I love: From the minimalistic packaging, the peachy delicious scent (that had me craving those sweet and sour sugary peach candies), the shade range and versatility of the stains, I love these lip stains so much.
What I don’t love: I don’t love the flat applicator but that’s my personal preference. With the velvet and mousse-like texture, a lot of product comes out when the wand is pulled from the tube which I don’t like at all (so I use cotton swabs/disposable lip wands instead).
I would like to see KAJA offer more shades to the Cushy Stain line such as oranges and brighter colours like Bite Beauty offers.
Possible dupe: I can’t think of any lip stain that is matte, velvety but long lasting and doesn’t dry out the lips. If I can think of any, I’ll update this post and add it here.
Repurchase: Yes but there is so much product in the tube and I use them to create sheer and gradient looks so these will last me a while.
Recommend: Yes, if you are looking for lip stains that won’t give up on you or disappoint you, you have to try these out. I guarantee you will find a shade you like (and I think all shades available will flatter any skin tone).
Final thoughts: For me, KAJA has a history of releasing stellar products and these are no different. I don’t wear them every day as they are so long lasting and I do not wear these if I have to work that evening or the next day as the stain remains there for a while. But if I’m going out and I don’t want to do touch ups or worry about fading or smearing, I use these lip stains. They would be good for events and night outs–I’m guessing, I don’t go out all that much (cue self-deprecating laughter).
Rating: 5/5
- long lasting
- versatile
- pigmented and intense
- doesn’t flake, smear or fade
- can be topped with lip gloss or lip oil without shifting around the lips
- is matte but not drying
- doesn’t accentuate any dryness
- smells fantastic
- has a great shade range that offers nudes, a bright blue-based red and deeper shades (though I would like to see brighter colours added)
- has a flat applicator
- is quick drying which means you have to work quickly but carefully
- lots of product will be on the wand when pulled out because of the texture
Thanks for checking out my review!
Honeysuckle Haiku 