Dolce & Gabbana Smeraldo Classic Cream Lipstick ($36.00 for 0.12 oz.) is described as an “ice-cold, luminous green.” It’s a cool-toned, emerald green with fine emerald green shimmer. Illamasqua Violate (P, $24.00) is cooler-toned. See comparison swatches.

The color payoff was sheer; no matter how many layers I attempted to apply, whether I used a lip brush or not, it was always sheer, streaky, and all in all, horrible. If Dolce & Gabbana are going to take the time to put out a green-hued lipstick and then charge $36 for it, the least they could do was pack it with pigment, least of all by making it apply smoothly (I would settle for mostly even at this point).  The shimmer and color tended to bunch up, too, so it was streaky, crumbly, and patchy. The only nice thing I can say about this shade was that it was hydrating for the three hours it lasted for–it did stain my lips a sort of green-ish-gray. This is a product that made me see red as soon as I applied it, and I was just in total disbelief as to why they would let this go into production. The formula is rose-scented with a slight floral taste at times.

Dolce & Gabbana Ametista Classic Cream Lipstick ($36.00 for 0.12 oz.) is described as an “bright purple.” Less bright purple, more fuchsia-tinted lavender with iridescent purple shimmer. NYX Castle (P, $4.00) is more lavender, less shimmery. NARS Tender Night (LE, $25.00) is similar but sheerer. MAC Pink Popcorn (LE, $15.00) is pinker. See comparison swatches.

Though both of these lipsticks are part of the Classic Cream range, and these specific shades are touted as “bold, rich color inspired by the stones they are named after” and neither of these fit the bill. Ametista is semi-sheer, and as it is closer to the natural lip color, the sheerness doesn’t look as patchy or streaky, but it’s not a lipstick that deposits color very evenly. It wears two and a half hours on me, though it was moisturizing while I wore it.

Dolce & Gabbana Smeraldo Classic Cream Lipstick

Dolce & Gabbana Smeraldo Classic Cream Lipstick

Dolce & Gabbana Smeraldo Classic Cream Lipstick

Dolce & Gabbana Smeraldo Classic Cream Lipstick

Dolce & Gabbana Smeraldo Classic Cream Lipstick

Dolce & Gabbana Smeraldo Classic Cream Lipstick

Dolce & Gabbana Smeraldo Classic Cream Lipstick

Dolce & Gabbana Ametista Classic Cream Lipstick

Dolce & Gabbana Ametista Classic Cream Lipstick

Dolce & Gabbana Ametista Classic Cream Lipstick

Dolce & Gabbana Ametista Classic Cream Lipstick

Dolce & Gabbana Ametista Classic Cream Lipstick

Dolce & Gabbana Ametista Classic Cream Lipstick

Dolce & Gabbana Ametista Classic Cream Lipstick