You always want what you can’t have — especially when it comes to beauty products. That’s why we’re getting the inside scoop from your favorite retailers on what’s selling out right now, how to sign up for waitlists, and where to go to find the next best thing. Because if everyone’s buying it, you know it has to be good.A coworker of mine once described that effortless stain that's left on your lips after you've, say, kissed a stranger or polished off a popsicle, as Lipstick Nirvana. "It's that moment when the pigment on your lips has faded quite a bit...[and] leaves behind a ghostly stain that looks amazing," she said. There are many lipsticks on the market today that claim to produce those coveted results, but none are quite so compelling as the color-adapting ones — or, mood-changing lipsticks, as we like to call them.
Lipstick Queen's Frog Prince is one of those chameleon-like products. Yes, it looks ghastly green in the bullet, but once slicked on, it turns into a beautiful, rosy pink. As it turns out, this lipstick is one of Birchbox's most popular products. In fact, since the retailer introduced it to virtual shelves in July 2015, it has become one of the store's five best-selling lippies.
If you're wondering how that green bullet manifests as a romantic tint, I'll give you a mini science lesson. A dye called Red 27 is behind the magical green-to-pink transformation. "[It's] a red dye which is colorless when dissolved in a waterless base," explains The Beauty Brains, a website run by cosmetic chemists Randy Schueller and Perry Romanowski. "When it comes in contact with moisture, the change in solubility and pH causes the dye to turn bright-pink," the site reads. "The product appears to change with your personal chemistry because the color changes when it comes in contact with moisture, [which] can come from your skin or even just the humidity in the air."
Okay, so these lippies may not technically be adapting to our moods, but the results are still gorgeous enough to boost our spirits. If the stock of Frog Prince is wiped clean before you can click "buy," we've tried a number of other color-enhancing lipsticks with similar attributes. Check out Frog Prince and a few of its sisters in the following slides. Hop to!
Frog Prince is packed full of vitamin E and shea butter to hydrate your lips as it imparts a beautiful, rosy stain that lasts for hours.
Lipstick Queen Lipstick in Frog Prince, $25, available at Birchbox.
London-based brand Barry M has come out with a green lipstick that offers a similarly transformative pinky hue with a touch more shine.
Barry M Genie Color Change Lip Paint, $8, available at ASOS.
Lipstick Queen's Hello Sailor is another one of the brand's color-changing innovations. What may seem like a bold blue shade in the bullet becomes a gorgeous berry tint when applied to the lips.
Lipstick Queen Hello Sailor Lipstick, $25, available at Birchbox.
Korean brand Too Cool For School's shade-changing lipstick comes in crayon form, which makes it super easy to scribble on. The formula feels like balm and leaves a sheer layer of pinky-lavender color on the lips.
Too Cool For School Dinoplatz Lost Identity Lip Tint in Lost In Dinoplatz, $18, available at Sephora.
Birchbox's foray into the cosmetics game has yielded some pretty fruitful results, including this lip balm. Upon first glance, it may look as though it would offer little to no color, but once it's on the lips, it transforms into a soft, baby-pink hue.
Arrow Boost Color Enhancing Lip balm, $14, available at Birchbox.
Dior Lip Glow's original formula (a sheer pink balm) has become a cult classic. Now, the brand has introduced a coral iteration, which goes on sheer but gradually strengthens into a deeper hue the longer you wear it.
Dior Lip Glow Color Reviver Balm in Coral, $33, available at Nordstrom.
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