Sephora First Date & Rose Redux Cream Lip Stains Reviews, Photos, Swatches

First Date (70)

Sephora First Date (70) Cream Lip Stain ($14.00 for 0.17 oz.) is a rich, medium pink-coral with warm undertones and a matte finish. The pigmentation was nearly opaque in a single layer, while the consistency was lightweight, fluid, and thin without being watery and had a little creaminess to it, which helped it spread evenly across my lips. It dried down within 30 seconds to a mostly matte finish, but there was a touch of tackiness present for the next few hours of wear, though I didn’t have issues with the color lifting up when I pressed my lips together. This shade lasted well for seven hours and was slightly drying after five and a half hours of wear.

Top Dupes

View Swatches View All Dupes

Too Faced Feelin' Myself (P, $21.00) is lighter, brighter (90% similar).
Makeup Geek Jitterbug (LE, $12.00) is brighter (90% similar).
Smashbox Pinch Me (P, $21.00) is darker (85% similar).
Makeup Geek Smarty Pants (P, $12.00) is darker, brighter (85% similar).
Kat Von D Double Dare (P, $20.00) is darker, more muted (85% similar).
Kat Von D L'Ecole des Femmes (DC, $21.00) is brighter, cooler (85% similar).
Tom Ford Beauty Universal Appeal (P, $54.00) is lighter (80% similar).
Kat Von D Beloved (P, $20.00) is darker, cooler (80% similar).
Colour Pop Donut (P, $6.50) is lighter, cooler (80% similar).
More dupes -- click to see the full list!

Formula Overview

$14.00/0.17 oz. - $82.35 Per Ounce

The formula is supposed to have "high-coverage" that goes on "smooth" and yields a "silky, lightweight stain" that is "long-lasting" and "never sticky" and "won't dry out lips." One of the signature traits for the formula is that it is a thinner (and yet somehow creamy) texture that does spread well but feels thin and very lightweight on the lips. It dries down quickly, but I never felt like it was troublesome to apply, even if I needed an extra moment to get around the edges of my lips, so it was a more forgiving formula despite setting more quickly. Once it set, the color did stay locked on for hours--I tested shades for around eight hours and many were still going strong. The formula was non-drying to slightly drying to me. They had a moderately strong, sweet scent (almost like burnt sugar) that also smelled just slightly "perfume-y" to me, but it seemed to dissipate after an hour of wear.

The pigmentation varied from shade to shade, but it did seem that the more shimmery and metallic shades often were less pigmented and did not always apply as evenly and sometimes seemed to sit in my lip lines. The cream/matte shades applied more evenly and had more opaque coverage on average.

Browse all of our Sephora Cream Lip Stain swatches.

Ingredients

Isododecane, Dimethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Polybutene, Petrolatum, Cyclohexasiloxane, Kaolin, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Aroma (Flavor), Glyceryl Behenate/Eicosadioate, Propylene Carbonate, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Tocopherol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Benzyl Alcohol. May or may not contain (+/-): Mica, CI 15850 (Red 7 Lake), CI 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491 (Iron Oxides), CI 77492 (Iron Oxides), CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 15850 (Red 6), CI 42090 (Blue 1 Lake), CI 75470 (Carmine).

First Date (70)

A-

Permanent

8.5

Product

9.5

Pigmentation

8.5

Texture

Longevity

Application

92%

Total

Rose Redux (84)

Sephora Rose Redux (84) Cream Lip Stain ($14.00 for 0.17 oz.) is a slightly muted, medium plum with warm, red undertones and a matte finish. It was richly pigmented with a smooth, fluid consistency that was creamy enough to spread well without losing coverage but thin enough not to feel heavy and to dry down quickly (but not too quickly!). Once dry, it was transfer-resistant but had a little tackiness to it that I could feel when I pressed my lips together, but the color didn’t move around or lift away when I did that. It wore well for almost eight hours and was non-drying.