Stila Convertible Color Dual Lip & Cheek Cream

Any beauty product addict knows that many items can do double-duty. Using lipstick as blush is one of the better-known tricks and it’s this one that Stila’s used to create its Convertible Color Dual Lip & Cheek Cream.

According to the write-up that accompanied my free sample (thanks Sephora!) of this product, “Stila’s multi-tasking convertible color is creamy, sheer tint that adds an inherent glow to the cheeks, while lips bloom with fresh, radiant color.” This “winner of numerous beauty awards” also contains vitamin E, is supposedly non-greasy and somehow provides color that is both “rich” and “translucent.”

I started by using this product on my cheeks. I’m not normally a fan of cream blushes, I find them a pain to apply and often too bright for my pasty face, but this one went on silky smooth. I could easily blend it into my cheeks and position it where I wanted it to go.

Convertible Color is available in 10 shades. I received Peony, a “brownish rose” colour that did indeed go on sheer and provided just a pinkish tint to my cheeks. The results were subtle but flattering, and made me look like I’d just returned from a refreshing walk outside.

I can easily see why InStyle named this item a Best Beauty Buy for the past nine years. It’s a great product for anyone looking for a blush that provides just a hint of colour and that goes on quickly and cleanly.

But while I love this product as a blush, I don’t like it as a lip colour. It goes on easily enough, thanks to its creamy texture, and once on, it feels quite moisturizing however, it doesn’t look that good on. The problem is the colour.

Now, lip colour is one of those things that really depends on the person and I’m sure that Peony looks great on someone’s lips. But on mine the colour looked too muted. Neither “translucent” nor “rich,” this colour just looked blah on my lips.

It didn’t help that this product is very matte. I get why that is; if this cream is to double as a blush, it needs to be matte. And, as Stila suggests, if you want to shine things up on your lips, you can top it with a gloss. But even with a gloss over this colour, the results still weren’t pretty.

They also weren’t very durable. While the blush held its own for multiple hours, the lip colour disappeared as soon as I started eating or drinking.

This value set comes in Peony

This product does come in nine other colours, and I suspect that one of those other options would probably look great on my lips. But would it look as pretty and natural as Peony on my cheeks? I guess I’ll just have to see if I can get another sample and find out.

Sephora.ca currently sells this product for $33 though interestingly not the Peony shade. It can though be purchased in a smaller size as a part of a $22 value set (maybe I’m wrong about that colour working for someone’s lips and now it’s being discounted).

Would I buy this product: I’m torn on how to answer this. I really do like how the blush side of this product looks and feels but I’m disappointed that it doesn’t double (for me anyway) as a lip colour. But, like I said earlier, that might just be an issue of finding the right colour.

Should you buy this product: If there is a colour that works for you, the answer is an easy yes. Okay, yes, the lip colour side is quite matte and doesn’t have the greatest staying power but at least this product is easy to reapply as well as gloss up.