PSA: Go to Marshall's to buy this before you go to Sephora or HauteLook! I got Beauty Queen, in a box along with a couple eye and lip products, for ten freaking dollars. TOTAL. For real, check Marshall's before anywhere else. Probably everyone else knew this already, but just in case, hopefully you can save a few dollars this way.

That said: I was initially disappointed with Beauty Queen because it made my lips feel sticky and gross without imparting much color at all (I guess my lips are naturally darkish? Beats me). Luckily, I happened to try it on my cheeks next, and sweet baby Jesus, the difference is so stark that they might as well be two different products! I am super-pale, and Beauty Queen gave me a really natural-looking pink flush that I'm in love with. (It's not as dark as it looks in the container, but you'll only need a single swipe/pat of this color, and you're good.) Unlike when I wore it on my lips, Beauty Queen lasted *all day* as a cheek stain, and it didn't even migrate anywhere else on my face! Surprisingly, it didn't feel sticky on my cheeks either.

This was actually my very first foray into a non-powder blush, and I think I might be hooked. Which is great, because my old Revlon blush (Wine With Everything) gave me a bit of acne due to its talc content. TheBalm seems to have pretty good ingredients in its products. If seeing castor oil in the ingredients list freaks you out a little -- don't worry, castor oil actually works to *dissolve* the bad stuff in your pores (or so the oil-cleansing-method people tell me). Even if that turns out to be a salacious lie, I can assure you that I have not yet had any problems with the Stainiac clogging my pores.

I'd rate this as a 1 if it were just a lip stain, but as a cheek stain it's a 5. I'm bumping it up to 4 because I got it so inexpensively at Marshall's, and because of the ingredients.

Happy hunting!

beautiful raspberry stain for a really natural summer's day flush! And lasts for ages on the face!

I got this as part of a kit at TJ Maxx, and the whole kit was $10.
First the pros: I love the color. It goes on extremely sheer, and provides a nice, barely noticeable flush on my cheeks, which is perfect for day. The color is surprisingly flattering on my pale skin.
Now the cons: I don't like it nearly as much for lips. The color went on a bit unevenly. On both the cheeks and lips, it doesn't last very long. Maybe an hour on each. While I expect that from a lip product, I'd like my blush to last longer. Also, the smell is DISGUSTING. I couldn't believe it when other reviews said this product smelled good. I'm wondering if the product somehow changes after time - so those who got it at full price actually got a better product?

This is very different than any lip color I've ever used. If you want a buildable lip color that doesn't feel like you are wearing anything this would be it. I feel like you can barel tell you are wearing anything with one application but for that, it's great. It has a nice fruity but natural scent to it. I was lucky enough to purchase this in a set for super cheap at Marshall's so as soon as I tried it and realized I like it I ran out to buy another set that was different but also had this in it.
I wouldn't use this on an occasion that I wanted my lip color to really stand out or pop but more give a natural tint to them.

I bought this a couple of months ago. At first I wasn't crazy about it. It was only acceptable and too expensive for how seldom I was using it. Boy, was I wrong.
I've come to love this little lip stain. I only use it for my lips because the thought of putting something liquid-y on my cheeks after my sunscreen and makeup kinda freaks me out.
It's a nice subtle colour that lasts for simply ages. You can actually (actually!) (literally!!) drink a "hot beverage" (as Sheldon Cooper would say) and not have your lipstick staring at you from the rim of the cup!
The way you put it on is, you put it at the center of your top and bottom lips, allow it to dry a liiiiitttttlllleeee bit (30 seconds or so) and then use your pinkie to blend it in. Put a little bit of chapstick on top and your good for the whole morning.
At first I thought the colour was too fuschia and way too cool for my warm caramel skin-tone, but now I like it. If I blend well, the colour really doesn't look too fuschia.

Subtle, gel based lip stain. I love love love the formula, the packaging, and the smell. It smells like delicious tart raspberries, I find myself putting it on just to smell it! This stain is quite natural looking, unlike other stains I've found (ahem, NYC smooch proof).
Wear could be better. To build color, I've found the best way to use it is to put on one layer, let it dry, then add another. If I apply it "correctly" I can get about four hours wear, but lip balm really kills the wear time. Also, the color is a bit deceptive - - color in bottle is deep red, but applies a bright fuchsia.
I like the formula, but the color doesn't look great on me, so I'll be purchasing homecoming queen and prom queen instead.

Got this in a set at TJ Maxx for 10 bucks. Nice! I love the gel consistency. It's a flattering raspberry tint on my pale skin. I like the doe foot applicator, though I need to blend it out a bit with my finger. I'd like to try the other tints. If i see it cheap again, I'll rebuy.

This product was everything I wanted from Benetint and more. In fact, this brand is everything I wanted from Benefit and more.
Color is flattering on my warm-toned, pale skin.
Consistency is lovely: applies smoothly, blends easily, not drying.
Staying power is decent on lips (wears off only after meals), indeterminate on cheeks, as I tend to flush a similar shade as the day wears on and my foundation wears off.
Excellent amount of product for the price.

I really like this alot. I am not a fan of stains that are marker-like (it seems like a lot are). I must have not very pigmented lips naturally, because this shows up well on me. It is a great color on me, but not over the top. Just flushed-like. Very work-appropriate. And it is build able too.
The best feature, however, is that IT DOESN'T DRY MY LIPS OUT! YAY!!

I purchased this after discovering that Sephora, at least in my area, will no longer be carrying Lorac. I'm a major, major fan of the Lorac stain. The packaging is horrible, but the colour (sheer emotion) is gorgeous. With Beauty Queen by TheBalm, it's exactly the reverse. Far superior packaging in terms of minimizing the messiness and stained fingers you can get with a stain, but the colour is kind of mediocre. If you're looking for a really, really subtle alteration to your lips, this might be a good product for you. I find I have to layer this at least 3 times to get any kind of look that I'm going for. Just one layer, and I may as well have put nothing on. In the future I think I'll just order Lorac online or seek it at other retailers.
UPDATE: Stainiac has won me over after I took it with me while traveling for three weeks. I didn't want to risk messing up my MAC 138 blush brush, so I brought this to use in place of my typical powder blush since I don't need an extra tool for application.
Used as blush, the staying powder was truly all-day, and the colour was gorgeous and natural. I will be re-buying this. This product on the lips and cheeks along with just Missha bb cream and a Clinique creamshaper eye pencil resulted in the best prettiness+convenience outcome of any routine I've experimented with.

I love lip/cheek stains, so I thought of trying out this product after running out of my usual brand. I mostly use it for my cheeks, as it tastes somewhat bad when applied on the lips. In both cases, whether you apply it on the lips or on the cheeks, it takes a lot of time to build up on the color you want. It goes on really subtle, and one swipe has no effect at all. I think it's because it turns into a "gel"-like consistency, which is the part that I hate. Most stains that come in tubes are liquid, and easier to put on. In fact, a little usually goes a long way. But this one, I hate how it wastes a lot of time just to put it on. But the color stays on for the whole day and isn't drying on the skin. I just really hate the application. For now, I have it in my purse for emergency touch-ups, and still trying to finish it. Definitely won't buy it again, there are better stains out there.

I bought this product based on (a) good reviews on here and (b) an inability to get some stila cheek gel in cherry flush (have now managed to!).
I have used this on my lips and cheeks. I wear Chanel Clair/20 and suit cool tones and this works well as a color on me. It is pinker than I would normally wear but it looks very natural on the cheeks and gives the lips a bit of color. Staying power on the lips is only OK, cheeks last all day.
I had no problem blending this on my cheeks - couple of dots on the apple, rub it and it is fine. Yes, my finger gets a little stained but I wash my hands after applying make up so it is not an issue for me.
Only reason I would not repurchase is I think it will last an age, the lip staying power is not good enough for me and I think I have better lip stains. That said, if again run out of stila cherry flush will need to repurchase.

This was a product of pros and cons for me.

Pros:
- nice color
- I really do like how it looks on my cheeks
- more blending time than most stains
- subtle color (makes it less scary to use on my cheeks)
- not drying

Cons:
- stains fingers better than lips or cheeks (it just doesn't want to stain my lips much unless I use a lot and layer it on, which is time-consuming, and leads to the stained fingers)
- bad taste
- not moisturizing

I have indicated that I would not buy this product again, and that's mainly because I am convinced that there are better stains out there. I was pleasantly surprised for how this looks on my cheeks, but disappointed for lips. It's odd, because usually stains work the opposite way for me - I like them on my lips, but they're awful on my cheeks.
I'd like to find a nice stain that works great for both! continued >>

This is my FAVORITE favorite favorite makeup item now. I love it. It last all day and dont dry my lips out. It stays put very well. im buying more. the only bad part was its $17.00 on sephora.com. And it gets a bit gel like after a few uses. Its still a good one though. I dont use it much so i most likely wont repurchase

This is my FAVORITE favorite favorite makeup item now, both for a lippie and blush! Beauty Queen makes my lips that perfect color, as if I had just eaten red berries that naturally stained my lips :). It enhances my own natural lip color, so it looks like I have those natural red lips you hear about in fairy tale princesses :). On my lips, it lasts ALL DAY. this is amazing. no need to reapply lipstick? why, thank you! I do however put a sheer gloss over this which I reapply. On my cheeks, it looks better than any blush I have owned. It spreads easily, and it doesn't stain until a few seconds after application, so it is plenty of time to spread it evenly on the cheeks. It gives me a healthy rosy flush - it makes me look as if I have a natural healthy glow, not that I have blush on. When I use this on my lips and cheeks, I do feel like a naturally pretty fairy tale princess :). I'm going to order all the colors now - Prom, Homecoming, and Beauty Queen.

I'm pretty happy with this product, even though the colour was not what I expected.
In the tube, it looks like a really dark red, but it's actually dark pink. Luckily, the colour looks nice on my skin tone (I'm brown, with yellow undertones...)
The product is easy to use too, just use like a lip gloss and build up to the colour you want. It applied evenly over my lip balm. For cheeks, I had to use more than I thought I would need in order to see the colour, but at least it doesn't look clown-like.
EDIT: After eating dinner, the colour seemed to settle into parts of my mouth. There was no colour in some places and lots of colour in others. I didn't have it with me to re-apply but that would have helped I'm sure.

this was my first ever cheek stain and oh my goodness how i love it! i guess what should be a testament to this stain is that it made me, a very anti blush girl on me love a simple pop of pink on my cheeks! i never liked how powder blush looked on me, i felt it was unnatural and in my experience it was hard to find matte blushes i liked. so i gave up for awhile. then after researching, i took my butt out to sephora and bought this after comparing it to others. this was the most sheer of the brands i looked at and that is what i like the best. it is so easy to blend in, but i do not use my bare fingers, i wrap them in a plastic baggie before blending. this really looks like i just stepped inside from the cold, its a bright but natural pink and what i like is you can completely control how bright or subtle you want it to be! if natural look, fresh, glowy cheeks is your kinda look, go out and get this!

This is review is only for the product as a lip stain. I can't do cheek stains, I always screw it up!
This is by far my favorite lip stain. I've tried tons, and although this one doesn't explicitly market itself as a lip moisturizer, it always makes my lips pretty soft. The other lip stains tend to dry out my lips and make the color feather. The only complaint I have is that when I have a drink, the color wears off in the middle of my lips and then there's a ring around them. Yuck.
You can control how much color you want to slather on. If you put one coat on, it'll look flushed. If you put 2-3 coats, it'll look like Snow White-ish, without the lipstick wax. I really like the applicator, it's soft (it feels a little slimy at first, but I'm used to it) and the amount that comes out of the tube is the perfect amount for my lips. Score!

I love lip/cheek stains, and this one ranks right up there as "does what it's supposed to do"! I have Benetint, Vincent Longo stains, etc and what I love most about Stainiac in comparison is the gel formula. It allows for an extra few seconds before drying, so you get superior blending ability. I also like the doe foot applicator - so much nicer than Benetint's nail polish-esque applicator, and you can apply much more precisely than you can with the big Tarte sticks. The Beauty Queen color is nothing unique, just a natural, berryish flush. It's nice to throw this in my bad with atube of mascara and be able to create a simple finished face :)

This is my go to blush!I am PPP/Nw05 and this is perfect when I don't feel like reaching for my powder blush and brushes, or if I'm in a rush - I can just bring this with me. Using the doefoot applicator, I just swipe a line across the apple of my cheek and rub it in - creating a natural looking pinky hue. The color is buildable - but one little line is good enough to leave color for me.
I've used this as a lip stain and it's 'okay.' It didn't really show up on my purple-ish lips. I am giving it a 5 because it is an absolute HG as a blush.
It has a smell that reminds me of apple cider.. I like that for some reason.