Guerlain Shalimar (166) Rouge Automatique Lipstick

Guerlain Shalimar (166) Rouge Automatique Lipstick ($35.00 for 0.12 oz.) is a bright pop of strawberry pink with subtle pink and gold micro-shimmer. It’s slightly cool-toned with a subtle blue-base, but on me, it reads almost warm, which works out better for my skin tone. Shalimar is mostly opaque on lips with a rather slick finish that looks almost wet.  This is easily one of the best–in terms of quality–Rouge Automatiques I’ve tried so far.  It glides on like balm-meets-butter, but it doesn’t bleed or slide away.  It wears so well (five to six hours) and hangs on through drinks and lunch.

The formula is creamy without being thick or heavy, and it is actually a moisturizing formula.   It’s soft and feels like silk when applied.  I find these comparable to the Rouge G lipstick, though not as thick or as opaque, but still similar enough.  They’re $11 cheaper than the Rouge Gs, but the colors still have the same depth and nuanced shade range that makes Guerlain lipstick always standout to me.  To see more photos of the packaging, check out this post.

At first glance, it seems like this should be a relatively easy shade to dupe, but there is something about the luminosity and clarity of the color that makes it more difficult. I also think that the subtle blue-base, as opposed to a very blue-base, adds to that difficulty. Shades like MAC Gulabi (or Girl About Town) are brighter pinks with a bluer base. I thought MAC Full Fuchsia seemed more similar, because of the fuchsia sheen, but ultimately it is brighter and redder. MAC Pink Burst comes even closer in color–just more of a frosted finish. I am reminded of NARS Carthage, but when you compare them side-by-side, you can see that it’s clearly brighter, bluer, and doesn’t have the gold shimmer.

Guerlain Shalimar (166) Rouge Automatique Lipstick

Guerlain Shalimar (166) Rouge Automatique Lipstick

Guerlain Shalimar (166) Rouge Automatique Lipstick