Laura Mercier Heartbreaker Gel Lip Color ($23.00 for 0.11 oz.) it’s a light-medium, rosy pink with subtle warm undertones and a luminous sheen. MAC Pinkfringe (LE, $16.00) is more frosted, lighter, cooler-toned. Bobbi Brown Pink Flush (LE, $25.00) is similar. YSL Opera Rose (29) (P, $34.00) is more opaque. YSL Caress Pink (9) (P, $34.00) is darker, more opaque. Buxom Mistress (LE, $21.00) is slightly darker. NYX Paparazzi (P, $4.00) is less glossy. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

For summer, Laura Mercier released four limited edition shades in a new formula, Gel Lip Colour, which is described as “comforting, sheer colour with a shine finish and subtle vanilla flavor,” and unsurprisingly, it’s also supposed to be hydrating. I’ve only tried one shade, so perhaps the others are better, but I didn’t love Heartbreaker. While the consistency was gel-like, felt smooth, and glided on easily, the resulting finish looked uneven, and it seemed to catch on every single imperfection on my lips. I would apply this, and it wouldn’t look right, so I’d apply something else, and that something else looked just fine. This just seemed to accentuate the texture of my lips, and it possibly also “balled” up on itself. It had semi-sheer color coverage, where it provided noticeable color but had a fair amount of translucency so the natural lip color would come through. If you pressed your lips together, it would create unevenness/lines. It had a very subtle vanilla scent that jockeyed with its waxy base, and it had a sweet taste. The color lasted two hours on me, and it was somewhat hydrating while worn.

Laura Mercier Heartbreaker Gel Lip Color

Laura Mercier Heartbreaker Gel Lip Color

Laura Mercier Heartbreaker Gel Lip Color

Laura Mercier Heartbreaker Gel Lip Color

Laura Mercier Heartbreaker Gel Lip Color

Laura Mercier Heartbreaker Gel Lip Color