Changes to Revlon Balm Stain, Lacquer Balm, and Matte Balm Lineups

After reviewing Revlon's newish Matte Balm in Fierce, I realized that I hadn't yet seen a comprehensive roundup of the recent changes to the popular Balm Stain, Lacquer Balm, and Matte Balm lines. So I returned to my local CVS today to do some reconnaissance, and here's what I discovered:


Revlon is now referring to its Colorburst Balm Stains, Lacquer Balms, and Matte Balms as the "Revlon Crayon Collection." Instead of being separated by finish, the three lipstick ranges are all jumbled together on the shelf and arranged roughly by color instead. There are now ten Matte Balms, eight Balm Stains, and just four Lacquer Balms. That "new shades" boast is hilariously misleading—far more shades have been discontinued than added, and the new additions are all in the Matte Balm line.

The current lineup of nudes and pinks (again, these are the Balm Stains, Lacquer Balms, and Matte Balms):

L-R: Enchanting, Demure, Elusive, Honey, Cherish, Sweetheart, Showy.

The current lineup of plums, oranges, reds, and browns:

L-R: Passionate, Smitten, Crush (though that's actually a tube of Unapologetic), Fiery, Sultry, Standout, Rendezvous, Unapologetic, Striking, Provocateur, Romantic, Enticing, Adore, Fierce, Coy.

The shades that have escaped the purge, listed by finish:

Balm Stains:
Adore
Cherish
Crush
Honey
Rendezvous
Romantic
Smitten
Sweetheart

Lacquer Balms:
Coy
Demure
Enticing
Provocateur

Matte Balms:
Elusive
Enchanting (new)
Fierce (new)
Fiery (new)
Passionate (new)
Showy
Standout
Striking
Sultry
Unapologetic

This means that Revlon has discontinued the following shades:

Balm Stains: Charm, Darling, Lovesick, Precious (I know some of these were discontinued less recently, but I'm not sure which ones)

Lacquer Balms: Coquette, Flirtatious, Ingenue, Tease, Vivacious, Whimsical

Matte Balms: Audacious, Complex, Mischievous, Shameless

Why the sudden changes? Well, here's a clue. Revlon has been struggling financially for years. The brand expanded into China in 2013 (thus losing its longtime cruelty-free status), but pulled out of the Chinese market by the end of the year. This Forbes article notes that Revlon reported revenues of $2 billion in 2014, as opposed to $10 billion for Estee Lauder and $30 billion for L'Oreal. Color cosmetics is not Revlon's only concern, but it's the most public, and we've seen Revlon introducing and discontinuing products like mad in the last year or two. The Matte and Lacquer Balms were only just released in the fall of 2013! Every beauty brand does this sort of thing occasionally (Bite Beauty has just discontinued its entire Luminous Creme line, for instance), but Revlon's products have seemed particularly prone to upheaval recently. I'm curious what will happen to the brand going forward, and whether we'll see more discontinuations this year. I'm not above stockpiling Sultry if I have to.

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