Sephora Purple Red (99) & Red Desert (97) Cream Lip Stains Reviews, Photos, Swatches

Purple Red (99)

Sephora Purple Red (99) Cream Lip Stain ($14.00 for 0.17 oz.) is a deep plum with subtle, cool undertones and a matte finish. It had semi-opaque pigmentation that covered my lips fairly evenly, but it wasn’t as pigmented nor did it go on as well as many other shades I’ve tried in the range. From afar, it’s not as noticeable, and a second layer would help improve coverage and evenness. The texture was slightly thin but still creamy and very fluid, so the color spread well. It lasted for seven hours but faded a bit more heavily from the center of my mouth than ideal. The formula was slightly drying.

Top Dupes

View Swatches View All Dupes

Colour Pop Moondancer (LE, $6.50) is lighter (95% similar).
NARS Rock with You (P, $26.00) is warmer (90% similar).
MAC Prince Noir (LE, $18.50) is glossier (90% similar).
Colour Pop Sashay (P, $7.00) is glossier (90% similar).
MAC Self Portrait (LE, $21.00) is warmer (90% similar).
MAC Beatrix (LE, $18.50) is glossier (90% similar).
Colour Pop Mamacita (P, $6.50) is warmer (90% similar).
Kat Von D Homegirl (P, $19.00) is darker, glossier (90% similar).
Fenty Beauty Griselda (P, $18.00) is warmer, glossier (90% 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).

Purple Red (99)

Permanent

Product

8.5

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

4.5

Application

84%

Total

Red Desert (97)

Sephora Red Desert (97) Cream Lip Stain ($14.00 for 0.17 oz.) is a rich, deep red with cool undertones and a matte finish. The consistency was more watery and almost runny, which I think contributed to the less-opaque coverage–it was almost a bit stain-like, but I could see some preferring the end result. It would have been easier to apply if it wasn’t quite as thin, and it seemed to take a little longer to dry down than other shades. It wore well for seven hours, left a stain behind, and was non-drying.