Hello, everyone! It’s been a while. I’m working on some skincare testing, but that takes longer than makeup testing. So to start out with, I’m going to talk about the Kaja Cushy Vibe lip stain.
I first heard about the Kaja brand when I watched the MV for (G)-IDLE’s Señorita. I really don’t have any particular thoughts about the song itself (it’ll take several listens before I form an opinion), but one thing that really struck me was that the MV seemed more like a commercial for Kaja had a baby with the Final Destination movies than an actual music video. Then I was on Sephora, shopping for a replacement eyeliner, and I saw that the brand was available, and went “sure, why not?”
You can watch the MV here, if you are interested. I purchased five colors: #1 Satin Sheets, #2 Velvet, #3 Silk Robe, #4 Cashmere, and #5 Chiffon.
Packaging
The boxes for the Cushy Vibe lip tint are feminine. The box itself is shaded in purple, pink and blue. The text on the front of the box is white, which I tend to dislike in packaging, and the product name itself is off-center on the box.
The text on the rest of the box is in black, which I admit is probably less cute but makes things easier to read.
Here’s the ingredient list:
(Ingredients taken from Velvet Cushy Vibe lip stain)
Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Water, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Dimer Dilinoleate, Cyclohexasiloxane, Dicalcium Phosphate, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Mica, Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Silica, Isotridecyl Isononanoate, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Pentylene Glycol, Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Red 33 Lake, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Phenoxyethanol, Diisostearyl Malate, Carnauba Wax, Titanium Dioxide, Red 28, Red 33, Yellow 6, Iron Oxides (CI 77499), Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Ceteareth-20, Iron Oxides (CI 77491), Fragrance, Ethylhexylglycerin, Steareth-100, Blue 1 Lake, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Tocopherol, Xylitylglucoside, Anhydroxylitol, Xylitol, Glucose.
The ingredients slightly differ between the colors based on the pigmentation components.
The Cushy Vibe (it sounds like a sex toy, that’s kind of unfortunate) itself is fairly plain and utilitarian. The finish doesn’t seem like it will mark up easily, which is nice, and it won’t catch on things or accidentally become uncapped.
The applicator is a typical doefoot wand, but both sides taper in to a point, which is interesting. It allows for a fairly precise application, although with some of the colors I think I would still personally use a lip brush of some kind to fill the smaller lip areas cleanly.
Swatches and Application
So the Cushy Vibe colors all have basically the same wear feel. They go on like a slightly softer liquid lipstick rather than the watery feel I associate with Korean lip tints.
Two more things about the application: the doefoot wands will take out significantly more product than you need, and these colors are all fairly vibrant. Those things kind of work together. If you overapply, the product will look kind of unpleasantly thick, so it’s better to either only apply to the insides of your lips with the product on one side of the wand and then blend it out, or to use only the actual tip of the wand instead of the sides, and then add product from the sides as you need it. Unless you are trying to mix colors for a gradient look, I can’t imagine you will need to use a second layer of this product at all.
I prefer a lighter application, so I tend to sheer these out a little. Obviously there isn’t a whole lot of sheering you can do with a bright red, but please keep that in mind when you look at these swatches.
Let me take a second to talk about Chiffon. Chiffon is the lightest swatch here, but it is not actually the lightest tube or even really the lightest product. Chiffon is, however, by far the most sheerable of all of the Cushy Vibe lip tints. To kind of compensate for this, I’ve got additional swatches for Chiffon. On the left, you’ll see a sheerout of Chiffon; on the right is just a straight out application.
Of all the Cushy Vibe lip tints, I think that Chiffon is really the most flexible.
Wear
The wear differs drastically between the colors that I purchased. I didn’t take timing pictures throughout the days I tested these colors, but I will show you some testing so you can get an idea. Remember the fresh swatches of the cushy vibe colors?
Here’s what happens after I press a tissue over them.
All of the colors produce some transfer at first. They do not set entirely.
Here’s what happens after I washed my arm with just cool water.
As you can see, Satin Sheets, Velvet, and Cashmere left the most stain behind. Silk Robe left a slight stain, and Chiffon disappeared almost entirely. I was fairly surprised by how similar the stains left behind were, which is kind of disappointing.
Here’s what happens after, finishing all those steps, I attempted to use oil to get the stains off.
As you can see, they’re all mostly gone. On the one hand, this is good, because you won’t still have yesterday’s lip stain in the morning even after your double cleanse. On the other hand, what this says to me is “Oh, you’re eating something a little bit greasy or oily tonight? This stain is gone.” This is not a lip color that will survive a meal. In fact, while I was testing the Cushy Vibe lip stains, I ate an apple towards the end of the day. It killed the stain. So you’re likely to need to reapply after every meal.
If you apply heavily, the extra product will wear off within about an hour or two, leaving a stain behind. As you can see, the darker cushy vibe colors both leave more of a stain and leave a longer-lasting stain. If you are looking for something with a middling feel between a water tint and a liquid lipstick, and you don’t mind reapplying, you will be fine with the two lighter colors. If you’re looking for a longer-lasting stain, though, Velvet and Silk Robe are not for you. And if you want something that will last you through the apocalypse, the Cushy Vibe lip stain is not it.
You can find the Kaja Cushy Vibe lip stains at Sephora for $18 each. Personally, I think that price is more than the product is worth, but then I’m really finicky with my lip products. And cheap. Also cheap.
Have you tried any new lip products lately that you love?
Actually I highly disagree with this review. I own every color of these and 1) they do last through a meal. I once ate two full course meals with shade “Satin Sheets”, and one of the meals included soup and noodles, and it lasted through both meals with no touch ups. In fact I didn’t have to touch it up until 10 hours after the initial application. 2) The lipsticks DO dry matte. The tissue photo there is what happens when you either put way too much or don’t let it dry. If you let it dry it will not transfer at all, whatsoever. 3) The stains are not at all similar. I don’t know why you said they are, there’s very visible differences. The stain also comes out fairly easy with micellar water alone, and any remaining unwanted staining can be removed with an oil cleanser.