Review - Max Factor's Lipfinity Lasting Lip Tint

As someone who gets more excited about lip products than world peace, I was really eager to try a new stain out. The original reason why I bought Max Factor’s Lipfinity Lasting Lip Tint was because my Rimmel Moisture Renew seemed to be hypocritically drying my lips out, big time. Plus, I’m a single girl who could do without a transferable lip colour topped with a gloopy lip-gloss, as I’m sure no guy finds either of those attributes in the least bit attractive and let’s face it, I’m not getting any younger, so every appearance-related product needs to count!

My idea with stains is that I can paint them on then top them off with some smooth-making balm such as my Carmex Lip Balm in the strawberry flavour, which retails at Boots online for £2.69. Then it gives my lips that berry-bitten effect whilst also keeping them soft and kissable. Or that was the idea. Can you already hear my disappointment? Well, before we get into that, let’s see what Max Factor claims.

‘Lipfinity Lip Tint Pen has a non-transferable water based formula that doesn't just sit on top of your lips but permeates the upper layers for a stunning kiss-proof effect. And its nifty pen applicator is perfect for precise application so you can build up the colour as much as you dare or keep it light and simple – you're in control!’

How very promising, I mean, it sounds like genius. A felt tip pen for your lips which paints on a formula specifically designed to tattoo through the thin skin on lips, to leave them with a passionate looking, lasting bitten-lip effect. I even kind of hoped that after enough uses this product would create some sort of permanent stain so that my lips might always look like they’d been kissed so hard it had almost bruised them... talk about oozing sex appeal, right? Well, that’s not quite the way it worked out.

The thing we have to remember also is that perhaps my lips were not a perfect canvas. I bite my lips when I’m nervous. Any kind of change in the weather makes them drier than the Sahara. And they have never taken well to any kind of coloured lip product. But with all that in mind, I can still attest that this is the worst I have ever used in my decade or so of applying make-up.

This product was bought in yet another Boots online haul (seriously, I have an addiction to spending all my wages on beauty items for my reviews... perhaps I should see someone...) It retails at £5.99 and I chose Berry Burst because I liked the idea of the natural berry colour. I had a romanticised image of Amazonian tribal women crushing berries from trees before tattooing the colour onto their full, lush lips. Now, you know I don’t usually like to epically slander a brand or product. However, I cannot express how much of a waste of money this item was for me. Even if they’d given it to me for free I would probably never use it again.

So what’s the story? Well, I opened up the product for first use and immediately loved the idea of the pen. It was really precise to apply the product with and initially seemed like a better innovation than the wheel. However, after a couple of uses I noticed that in the same way as the felt on the tip of one of my multi-coloured Bic pens began to crumble off and flake across the page when I was a child, this Max Factor product began spreading tiny dark balls of fluff around my mouth. The tip of the pen is now ruined, not ten uses later and is, disappointingly, less precise than Max Factor’s description claims.

Now for the formula: horrendous. Actually, that’s too harsh. However, I really don’t like this formula. It’s very liquid-y and seems to gravitate towards any cracks or cuts which you may have on your lips, which is quite the inconvenience for me as it is exam time so my lips are ripped to shreds at the moment (a little exaggeration, but still the skin on my lips is uneven right now!) On the other hand, this formula smells a little like sweet cherries, and tastes faintly sugary too, which is a bonus. And yet after a few seconds it dries up on your lips looking very permanent... that is until you put some lip balm over the top at which point the colour no longer appears none transferable but is suddenly sliding all over your mouth in a messy looking red mess, more reminiscent of a naughty child who’s been eating poisonous berries from a bush than the romanticised image I had of the tribal babes. Gutted. The second time I used the product, despite keeping the top firmly secure when I was not using it (that’s a lesson I had to learn the hard way as a child with my Bic felt tips...) the nib was dry and next to no product was dispensed. I ended up having to shake the pen and dip it in a little water before a pitiful amount began to show on my lips.

I just find that this product was a massive let down, drying out my lips without Carmex, looking sloppy with it and not really living up to its claim at all. I’m sorry I can’t say anything more positive. To improve the product, Max Factor should start with the nib of the pen applicator and use a better quality material because as much as I enjoy the texture of fluffy pieces of felt hanging around my lips, I’m not sure how attractive it looks. I guess, ‘Not at all.’

If you’ve had a similar experience please let me know. Or better still, if you have something good to say about the product or any advice and tips to help me make this work for me, I would love for you to reply in the comments box below. Until such a time when I am aware of some sort of Miracle Method for using this product, it will stay in my make-up box... for a little while.

gabriellasofia