Over a two-week period, staffers tried four long-lasting lip colors.
Panelists tried out "Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Lip Duo" ($24), which says it will "last up to eight hours." There were three less-expensive brands tested: "L'Oreal Infallible Never Fail Lipcolour," "Cover Girl Outlast All-Day Lipcolor" and "Maybelline Superstay Lipcolor." All claim to last up to 16 hours.
"First you apply the color, and then you apply the gloss. And you can continue to reapply the gloss throughout the day," said Lisa Lee Freeman, Consumer Reports ShopSmart.
"You had to be very careful because it was hard to blot away if it went over or under your lip," said panelist Elizabeth Duque.
"I had to reapply the gloss often because my lips felt really dry," said panelist Rachel Zuckerman.
Testers used photos with "5" being best and "1" the worst to train staffers on how to grade coverage. There was also the dreaded "lipliner effect."
In ShopSmart's tests, none of the lip colors consistently delivered on the 16-hour claim, but they did have staying power.
"All of the lipsticks had great color intensity for at least four hours," said Freeman.
If you're interested in trying one of these, you can save some money. Skip the $24 Estée Lauder lip color and opt for any of the others that have a $9 price tag.
The experts at ShopSmart say the colors on display rarely look like what is in the actual lipstick tube. The magazine editors polled readers and found that 20 percent return lipsticks for that very reason.
Consumer experts recommend shoppers check out the store's return policy before buying that long-lasting color.
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