Guerlain Galia Rouge G Lipstick
The Spring Season: Guerlain Galia Rouge G Lipstick
Guerlain Galia (#03) Rouge G Lipstick
is a pinked-beige nude lipstick with a creamy, lightly glossy look. It has no real detectable shimmer, but it has this soft sheen that makes it look like you’re almost wearing a gloss but not quite. I found this to be a hard-to-describe color, just because it’s not quite a nude yet it’s not beige nor pink nor peach. It’s like a triple threat combo! Rouge G lipsticks are soft, creamy, and wear beautifully with a solid four to six hours of wear and always feel lightweight while giving full color coverage. They are, however, scented with a sweet strawberry-ish scent (more subtle than the typical Guerlain lip color scent, but it’s the same).
Is this the right nude lipstick for you? Would you wear it?
The Spring Season is a series of posts featuring my favorite soft beige, coral, and pink lipsticks and lipglosses — all perfect for the first blossom of spring — that runs through March 2010.
Lancome Color Design Matte Lipstick: Stylista, Plum Show, Posh Pink, Red Haute
Lancome Mix & Matte Collection: Matte Lipsticks
For a complete review, please read part one, which goes over the features of the lipstick and all that jazz! 
- Stylista is a softened coral-peach with full color coverage.
- Plum Show is a darkened, slightly vampy red that applies smoothly and opaquely.
- Posh Pink is a brightened pink with just a smidgen of coral-ness to it.
- Red Haute is a fierce, bright tomato red that applies beautifully and has rich color payoff.
This month, Lancome launches Mix & Matte, a collection of eight matte Lancome Color Design Matte Lipstick
($22 each, available in Bronze Show, Corset, Lucky Kiss, Pink Preview, Plum Show, Posh Pink, Stylista, and Red Haute) and eight Color Design Eye Shadow Matte
($16.50, available in Chic, Daylight, Fashion Label, It List, Successorize, Sultry Mauve, Vintage, and Wear It Well). This collection is available exclusively at Macy’s and Lancome’s website.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 29/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you’ve hated the way matte lipsticks have felt in the past, you may find Lancome’s version of matte a wonderful experience!
See more photos, swatches, & lip swatches! Continue reading →
Lancome Color Design Matte Lipstick: Bronze Show, Corset
Lucky Kiss, Pink Preview
Lancome Mix & Matte Collection: Matte Lipsticks
This month, Lancome launches Mix & Matte, a collection of eight matte Lancome Color Design Matte Lipstick ($22 each, available in Bronze Show, Corset, Lucky Kiss, Pink Preview, Plum Show, Posh Pink, Stylista, and Red Haute) and eight Color Design Eye Shadow Matte ($16.50, available in Chic, Daylight, Fashion Label, It List, Successorize, Sultry Mauve, Vintage, and Wear It Well). This collection is available exclusively at Macy’s and Lancome’s website. Today, I’m reviewing the more interesting part of the launch–the lipsticks.
There’s only one word to sum up how I felt about Lancome’s new matte lipsticks: SURPRISED BEYOND BELIEF.
Pleasantly, fabulously surprised! Matte lipsticks have a reputation for being chalky, drying, and difficult to work with. Lancome has reinvented the feel and touch and play of a matte lipstick and modernized it in a way that works. I would describe the finish of these new lipsticks as more of a semi-matte or demi-matte. In natural light, they look like a more traditional matte lipstick, but in the sunlight, they have a subtle sheen.
However, regardless of how they look, they feel nothing like matte lipsticks. Nothing. At. All. (That’s where the pleasantly surprised bit comes in!) Like it was love at first swipe. My mouth formed an “O” as soon as I applied Bronze Show. I was like, “What? No way.”
These matte lipsticks are soft, creamy, and glide on smoothly. There’s no pulling or draggint to get even, opaque coverage. Every single shade in the matte lipstick line-up is consistent in its finish, feel, texture, and pigmentation. These are lightly moisturizing and have a bit of slip, which is so out-of-the-realm of matte lipsticks in my world. Lancome attributes this to “soft waxes and emollients” for “modern glide and slip” as well as a “light-diffusing gel” as a mattifying agent (as opposed to a dull powder).
Though there is some slip, I wouldn’t describe these as slippery. They’re creamy without being all over the place. The color clings to lips well so wear-time is improved (I found myself getting around five hours with these) and fades in a way that doesn’t leave a ring of color on the outskirts of your lips.
- Bronze Show is an opaque, orange-toned brown.
- Corset is a richly pigmented, creamy coral-pink.
- Lucky Kiss is a smooth, softened plummed-down pink.
- Pink Preview is a creamy, blue-based light pink.
To nitpick, I don’t love the packaging of the Color Design Lipsticks. They’re a glimmering, almost metal-looking plastic, but you can only stand them label-side down. Even though the tops of most Color Design lipsticks has a colored top (to “match” the shade itself), I prefer names (because I remember those more!). The Matte lipsticks have a clear top, though, which makes it a little more annoying when you’re trying to find the shade you want. But that’s really the only part that I didn’t like about these. The price is right, and I’m glad these aren’t Absolu Rouges (they’d be $30 then!).
Kudos, Lancome! This is probably one of the best Lancome products I’ve tried–to date–and an incredibly well-done take on the matte lipstick.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 29/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you’ve wanted to get down with matte lipsticks, but you couldn’t get down with the drying texture, give Lancome’s latest take on the matte lipstick a try.
See more photos, swatches, & lip swatches! Continue reading →
Shiseido Sugar Babe PK 224 Lipstick
The Spring Season: Shiseido PK 224 “Sugar Babe” Lipstick
Shiseido PK224 Perfect Rouge Glowing Matte Lip Color
($25.00) is a softened pink with a yellow undertone. It has a very glossy look to it in the light–completely the opposite of matte, despite the product name–and is incredibly creamy. In more natural/darker lighting, it has a semi-matte appearance. It’s moisturizing and fairly long-wearing, too–I get about three to four hours of wear in this particular shade.
Is this the right pink lipstick for you? Would you wear it?
The Spring Season is a series of posts featuring my favorite soft beige, coral, and pink lipsticks and lipglosses — all perfect for the first blossom of spring — that runs through March 2010.
Chanel Rouge Coco: Organdi Rose (09), Ruban Rose (15), Orchidee (157)
Chanel Rouge Coco: Organdi Rose (09), Ruban Rose (15), Orchidee (17)
Chanel’s Rouge Coco made quite a splash last week with its debut of thirty shades in Chanel’s newest lipstick formula. Here are photos, swatches, and lip swatches for three more of the thirty shades currently available (at least, stateside).
You can check out full reviews for Perle (02), Mademoiselle (05), La Pausa (08), Legende (11), and Cambon (31) here. You can view swatches for the thirty shades here, too.
Bobbi Brown Color Strips: Bonfire Palette
Bobbi Brown Bonfire Palette ($60.00) is an eye, cheek, and lip palette from Bobbi Brown’s Color Strips Collection, which [again] includes three palette variations. Bonfire is more my style than the other two variations. By the by, Aquamarine is the third variation, which I won’t be reviewing at this time! It does, however, have the same Pot Rouges as Orchid Sparkle, which I reviewed earlier, so it’s like… half reviewed
Pot Rouge
- Tawny is a brownish-red–it’s not a brick red, and it certainly doesn’t scream “RED!” but it’s in there. Creamy, opaque, and smooth.
- Fresh Melon is a brightened coral-peach with a creamy and opaque look. This can be worn as a very subtle blush or lip.
- Calypso Coral is a bold, tropical orange-coral with the same creaminess of the other shades of Pot Rouge. This is definitely a more fearless coral, though, because it is fairly bright. You can pat less on to get a less intense look, though, which is nice.
Eyeshadow
- Bone is a softened white-beige with a matte finish. Kind of a classic shade–easier for me to wear with my warmer skin tone than whites.
- Cafe Cream (Sparkle) is a shimmered medium coffee brown with an almost taupe-gray tone to it. It looks almost wet when used, and the fall out isn’t too bad.
- Bonfire is a rich copper with a metallic finish. Think MAC Amber Lights with a smoother finish. This is the “bright” shade in the palette, while the other shades are designed to coordinate with this one.
- Cognac is an intense shade of coppered chocolate brown with an almost burgundy sheen. This shade is truly lovely–I fell completely in love at first swatch. It’s one of those shades that I could see myself buying the palette for.
- Caviar is a dark black-brown with a matte finish. I like this more with the Bonfire palette than the Orchid palette, but I also wish they varied it, so there wouldn’t be any repeats between the three palettes!
It has the same sleek packaging as Orchid, so my thoughts remain the same on that: well-done, practical, and keeps everything as clean as can be in a palette.
I think these eyeshadows work better together than the ones chosen for the Orchid palette as well. I can definitely see many different combinations with these five shades. I also like the shades swatched smoother and more pigmented–there was only one iffy shade (Cafe Cream), but it was still decent and not so troublesome (unlike Orchid Sparkle).
I know that I’m personally more drawn to Bonfire (hey, I like me some warm shades!), so I’m definitely going to try to do a look with this palette later this week or next!
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 28/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you’ve wanted to try Pot Rouges, this is one way to try three at once… and get some eyeshadows as a bonus!
Availability: BobbiBrown.com, Nordstrom
See more photos & swatches! Continue reading →
