Sephora Cream Lip Stains swatches, review and photos

I first came across the Sephora Lip Cream Velvet Stains in 2011 and have been a fan ever since. These are good in terms of pigmentation and staying power and are great value for money. I'm surprised they get less love than several other lip stains or creamy colours that are more expensive and don't last as long.
I have no idea when they launched, though I can tell you they retail for $13 in the US and at varying exchange rates in Sephoras across the world. For the price, these are a steal - their performance is comparable to high-end lipcolours. I feel the term "cream" doesn't suit here, though - the Sephora stains dry to a non-creamy, matte finish and are nothing like NYX Matte Lip Creams and last longer. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Here's the review and swatches of the Sephora Cream Lip Stains.

Packaging of Sephora Cream Lip Stains

A no-nonsense tube. The body is transparent so you can see the colour, and the glossy black cap has "Sephora" printed on it in silver ink. No fuss at all. There is no external box.

The applicator is doe foot - sometimes you get a little too much product, though you only need very little.

Formula of Sephora Cream Lip Stains

These are incredibly opaque and super-pigmented in just one swipe. No feathering or bleeding. They apply creamy and dry to a matte finish. Some people may find these very drying, so a gloss on top or a lip balm would be a good idea. While they spread nicely on the lips, working fast before the product dries is a good idea.

Sephora calls them a "lip stain that provides beautiful, lasting colour". But these are not stains in the family of Benetint or theBalm's Staniac. They are proper lip colours. Less creamier than NYX, or the Bourjois So Delicat Lip Creams.

They are slightly more long-staying and less drying than the Lime Crime Velvetines. And, if, like me, you have a problem with all the sordid scandals surrounding Lime Crime - repackaging wholesale pigments and mark-ups, and vegan claims, the threats and letters to bloggers, and the kind of ad campaigns used - the Sephora Cream Lip Stains are definitely the better bet. See here and the links on that page, if you are new to the Lime Crime drama :)
No parabens in the ingredients - there's avocado oil and vitamin E to provide some TLC for the lips.

Staying power of Sephora Cream Lip Stains

Excellent. These stay on for longer than Max Factor Lipfinity or M.A.C. ProLongwear. And, they do not flake at all, or peel, like the Max F and M.A.C. do. Not as much as Chanel Rouge Double Intensite or Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-In-Place Lip Duo or MUFE Aqua Rouge or Jane Iredale Lip Fixation, though - I will do a post on all of these, you have to wrench them off your lips actually. The Sephora Cream Lip Stains are oil-soluble, so pizza might smear the colour a bit. Apart from that, these don't budge through food and drink or rain or shine. We are talking the whole day here, with no need to reapply at all. And fading is even.

Swatches of Sephora Cream Lip Stains

There are 10 shades in all, but the latter four come in other finishes (shimmery) while the first six are matte and are easily available in all Sephoras around the world, so I've got the first five to show you.
From left:
01 Always Red: Sephora calls it a "matte bold classic red".
02 Classic Beige: "Matte pinkish deep beige", according to Sephora. This is a very good neutral for everyday wear. It's more a beige-brown-based neutral than a pink-based one. I fail to spot the pink here.
03 Strawberry Kissed: "Matte bright pinky red", says Sephora. Spot on.
04 Endless Purple: "Matte mauve plum", according to Sephora. We have a problem here - read about it after the picture below.
05 Infinite Rose: Sephora calls it a "satin golden peach". I find it unsuitable for medium skintones unless you want your lips to disappear altogether.
06 Forever Fuchsia: Sephora calls it a "satin electric fuchsia" but it is more hot pink to me. 

The bad news is that 04 Endless Purple used to be a fuchsia-magenta-based purple shade and now they've made it an ashy deep violet with grey undertones. Yes, grey, you read that right. And it looks way too deep for my liking on the lips. The change was made in the second half of 2013. Here are the swatches of the older shade to the left, and the new, ashy violet to the left. You can see a picture of both old and new applicators above. The difference may be mild, but it is definitely visible, especially on the lips.

Bottom line
These aren't for everyone, especially not for those who don't like matte-finish lip products. But for those in search of an affordable long-staying highly pigmented lip colour, Sephora Cream Lip Stains are the answer.
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Disclaimer: My own money. If I do review a PR sample, I'll shout it out from the rooftops.