Hope springs eternal every time I peal the plastic guard off a new beauty product.

Especially one I’ve read about or heard others rave over, by the time the wrapper’s in the trash I’m convinced that I’m holding a magic wand.

As was the case for Maybelline’s Super Stay Stain Gloss. I first heard about it from a beauty editor who got me excited not only about the staining power of this stuff, but also convinced me that this was the exact shade of fushia I had been searching for.

I didn’t wait long after my purchase to slather it on my lips and…wait.

One thing to keep in mind, when you’re trying a very vibrant lip color for the first time it’s best if you try it first at home. More specifically if you’re trying a stain or something that promises to stay on your lips through the apocalypse and beyond, make sure that you test run it while you’re eating at home.  What you want to do is see how it wears.

If you test drive a lip stick in private you’ll know whether or not it’s wearable on days you’re eating in public. What you definitely don’t want is that dreaded mess of what looks like bloody lip all over your face in the middle of lunch with your coworkers.

That being said, I slathered it all over my lips and waiting for the next meal.  My first impression was two fold: I was pleased with the texture, and the applicator. It went on very smoothly and very much like a gloss. It didn’t require a lot of touch up work that some vibrant lipsticks do.  However, I was very disappointed with the color. I’m craving more of a pink on my lips and this still looked red to me. Even though the color is “fresh fushia” it just didn’t deliver enough fushia as far as I’m concerned.

Moving on…while the gloss part of this lip stick is true to form, the stain portion is not. It doesn’t really stain at all. The beauty editor promised that after the gloss wears off you’re left with this gorgeous stain that lasts all day, and I just didn’t see it. In fact I’ve tried stains before (the right one is out there, I know you are!!) and this didn’t have staining power at all.

Thankfully it doesn’t “stain” everything your lips come in contact with, but I would prefer there to be longer contact on my lips. 

Oh well. Hope is now sitting in the trash next to the plastic wrapper. But there’s always a new day, and a new product out there to try!