NOTO Botanics - Organic Multi-Benne Stain Stick (For Lips + Cheeks) | Clean, Natural, Non-Toxic Beauty (FIVE, 0.9 oz | 2.6 ml)

I saw a video with the founder of Noto using this stick as cheek contour and blush, and it looked so good. So I tried it, and sure enough it’s better than any bronzer or contour stick I’ve tried. It defines my cheekbones with just one light line blended upward, and gives color when applied to the apples of my cheeks. It’s also a super lipstick. LOVE LOVE LOVE

So, I wanted to love this because it’s listed amongst the many lip stains in the EWG Cosmetics Database as NOT being toxic. Everything else I searched was sketch! re: toxicity, like cancer causing, reproductive health and immunity affecting, as are most mainstream cosmetics. However, I was specifically looking for a STAIN, not a lipstick, which this is. It tingles, seems moisturizing enough, but the color that I got made me & my skin tone (light-medium neutral olive) look goth instead of vibrant. I rubbed it off hoping to see a stain after leaving on for about 5-10 minutes (applied twice) and I got a greyer, more dull version of my own lip color. I ‘overlined’ but got nothing. So if you’re looking for a STAIN, sadly, this product is NOT it! I’m only writing this review because I hope the company will actually come up with a real stain that lasts all day if at all scientifically possible (without being toxic) because I would DEFINITELY try again. I hope they do well and go on to create ALL the products that we need and want. Cheers!