Review, Swatches & Dupes: CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain in Plum Pout

As a beauty buff who technically lives on a fixed income, I try not to be a brand snob. But really, brand snobbery’s pretty much the first thing that happened to me, as soon as I became financially independent. If I pay my own bills and file my own taxes, I get to buy myself the occasional Chanel lipstick! Or so I tell myself.

In reality, my Nyx-to-NARS ratio is respectably high. And I do buy a lot of indie! But I can’t deny that one of my favorite pastimes is the Sephora splurge. As a result, I’ve been neglecting the cozy and inviting world of drugstore makeup.

But no more! This weekend I celebrated the end of Daylight Savings by buying all of the lip stains from every pharmacy within a one-mile radius. It was sort of an impulse buy– that cut across three brick-and-mortar establishments. What can I say? Long-wearing lip color is very important to me.

I’m still working my way through that rather immoderate haul– expect a lot of reviews in the weeks to come! But so far, that stuff is pretty great. As far as lip stains go, I’d take every drugstore find I’ve tried over the hallowed Benetint (which I quite like as a cheek product). Here’s one of the standout performers!

Availability: $7.84 from Walmart, $7.89 from Drugstore.com, $8.99 from ULTA, CVS, or Walgreen’s 

Quantity: 2.5 g

CoverGirl describes its Outlast Lipstain range as a series of “water-based colorants” able to “give lips a beautiful, lightweight flush of color”. The pigment’s dispensed via a marker that gives off a soft, amorphous scent, balanced somewhere between the candied and the medicinal. It had a barely discernible taste with that same Ricola quality– frankly I’m pleasantly surprised it didn’t taste like dry-erase marker!

I like actually the packaging a lot because it reminds me of highlighters– I’m a compulsive highlighter-er. Something about that glide of pigment on paper makes me really happy. Clearly I am Very Mature. Anyway, these lip stains are ace because I get to feel like I’m doing academic work when I’m really just primping. I highly recommend it– good for the self-esteem.

The shade I got, Plum Pout (425), is a heavily pigmented pinky berry– too exuberant to be deemed vampy. The color goes on completely matte. It’s slightly drying– not enough so that I ended up reaching for a balm, but you could definitely see some of that vertical segmentation in the texture of my lips. It sets pretty quickly, and it’s transfer-proof when dry. The color does rub away if you wet your lips, though. I had a bowl of soup after I applied, and by the last spoonful I’d achieved an ombre, with the fade radiating out from the center of my lips.

Plum Pout arm swatch.

Plum Pout on my face.

Plum pout lip swatch. Look how crisp those lines are!

Plum Pout comparisons and dupes. (L-R): Plum Pout, Too Faced Melted Berry, Make Up For Ever 19, Stila Amore, Milani Raspberry Tart, Urban Decay 69, Nyx Chic Red. The second row is just Plum Pout, for comparison.

As usual, I dragged out some of the other berries, plums, and pinky-reds in my stash for comparison’s sake. Too Faced Melted Berry was the closest, although it reads as slightly less red. Make Up For Ever 19, while tonally similar, is sheerer. Stila Amore is far browner, and shot through with gold microshimmer, while Milani Raspberry Tart was lighter, cooler, and sheerer. Urban Decay 69 and Nyx Chic Red, which are fair dupes for one another, ended up being lighter, brighter, and redder than Plum Pout.

Full Face:

Eyes: Too Faced Shadow Insurance Candelight, Too Faced Brow Envy, Benefit High Brow Glow, Cargo Shanghai Nights Eyeshadow Palette in Lychee, Ginger, Wai Tai, Hu, and Nightlife, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Desperation, Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes in 23L, Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Waterproof Mascara

Face: Nyx Angel Veil Skin Perfecting Primer, Skin79 Oriental Gold BB Cream Plus, Make Up For Ever 5 Cream Camouflage Palette in No.2, Benefit Rockateur, Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette in Dim Light and Incandescent Light, Urban Decay All-Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray