Makeup Geek Foxtrot, Jitterbug, Tango Showstopper Crème Stains

Foxtrot

Makeup Geek Foxtrot Showstopper Creme Stain ($12.00 for 0.19 fl. oz.) is a medium, peachy pink with warm undertones and a matte finish. It had semi-opaque color coverage that didn’t look too patchy, but it was noticeably streaky, even after it had fully dried down. The consistency was thin, watery, and dried down very quickly, so it was hard to correct any mistakes. It lasted for four hours on me and was slightly drying.

The Showstopper Creme Stain formula is supposed to be “long-lasting” and “highly pigmented and offers effortless, buildable coverage.” Highly pigmented and buildable make it confusing what the coverage actually is, since something that is buildable means that it is less pigmented but can be layered for greater coverage. The majority of shades were medium to semi-opaque in coverage, hard to build as they often pulled up the first layer and shifted color around. The formula rarely applied well; it was streaky, dried so fast that there was no time for corrections (and attempts to correct just made it worse), and clingy. I found the applicator rougher, and the packaging made it seem that sometimes it was more like I wasn’t getting enough product on the wand to even coverage half of a lip (it seemed like the opening was wiping away too much product from the doefoot applicator). For every single swatch, I had to dip and pull the wand two to three times just to get enough product to cover my lips (it was impossible to stretch out the product very far as it dried as I was spreading it). It did dry to a transfer-resistant finish, but it did not survive eating well (most liquid lipstick formulas have survived better for me). Though transfer-resistant, it remained slightly tacky for one to two hours–and if you use more than one to one and a half layers, it often lifted and separated the color.

The brand’s swatches and lip swatches showcase a seemingly opaque product, but I could not achieve opaque coverage with several shades, even trying four or five layers, and the result after five layers of product was uneven, patchy, and cakey. The wear was average–four to six hours with significant fading from the center, which is more what I’d experience with a typical lipstick and a liquid lipstick–and surprisingly, little staining, even with deeper shades. So far, they have been slightly drying to somewhat drying. There are so many high-performing liquid lipsticks on the marketplace already, so I was caught off guard by the poor application and performance of this formula.

Top Dupes

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NARS Bolero (P, $27.00) is lighter, cooler (90% similar).
Marc Jacobs Beauty Flirt (144) (LE, $30.00) is glossier (90% similar).
MAC The Fashion Flock (LE, $17.00) is cooler (85% similar).
Colour Pop Donut (P, $6.00) is darker, cooler (80% similar).
Too Faced Feelin' Myself (P, $21.00) is darker, warmer (80% similar).

Makeup Geek Showstopper Crème Stain Foxtrot

Foxtrot

Temptalia

C+

Limited Edition

7.5

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

3.5

Application

78%

Total

Jitterbug

Makeup Geek Jitterbug Showstopper Creme Stain ($12.00 for 0.19 fl. oz.) is a bright, medium coral-orange with warm undertones and a matte finish. It had semi-opaque pigmentation that applied unevenly and had noticeable streakiness. After it dried down, it looked “cracked” when I smiled, and this one flaked off within an hour of wear. There were just large chunks of product that came away, and I hadn’t had anything to eat or drink, so it was unexpected. It wore for two and a half hours before it had just looked horrendous, and it was extremely drying and tight to wear.

Top Dupes

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Too Faced Feelin' Myself (P, $21.00) is warmer (90% similar).
Kat Von D L'Ecole des Femmes (P, $21.00) is brighter, cooler, glossier (90% similar).
Makeup Geek Smarty Pants (P, $12.00) is glossier (90% similar).
MAC Rich & Restless (P, $21.00) is darker, warmer (85% similar).
MAC Tropic Tonic (P, $17.00) is darker, warmer, glossier (85% similar).
Smashbox Pinch Me (P, $21.00) is darker, glossier (85% similar).

Makeup Geek Showstopper Crème Stain Jitterbug

Jitterbug

Temptalia

Limited Edition

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

51%

Total

Tango

Makeup Geek Tango Showstopper Creme Stain ($12.00 for 0.19 fl. oz.) is a bright, medium coral-red with warm undertones and a matte finish. It had semi-opaque color coverage that applied decently, though there was a bit of streaking and some unevenness–the brightness of the color helped distract from those things, though. The texture was thinner, very quick to dry, and clingy on the lips. This shade lasted for five hours and was drying over time.