Givenchy Le Rouge Swatches and 201 Rose Taffetas Comparison

I haven't explored Givenchy much -- the powder products tend to be too dry or crumbly for me, while the lip products wafted such a strong, sickly cough-syrupy scent that it drove all bloggy duties to try ALL the things clean out of my head....
But! They have just launched a new, pigmented, modern demi-mattelipstick formula with a sweet floral scent and a sexy-as-all-get-out black nubbly leather-trimmed bullet. I went, I swatched, I totally came home with one.

in weak London winter sun

overcast -- this gives a truer idea of the colour saturation

[I apologise for the goose pimples -- it was below 0 that day and seriously windy.]
For product pics and swatches on a different skintone, see Mostly Sunny.

These lipsticks are extremely smooth and hug the lips in a flattering way, filling in lip lines without that slightly plasticky 'hi, I'm a plumping product' look. For me, they are most similar to the By Terry Rouge Terrybly formula in their satin-matte finish, lightweight feel, high pigmentation and slip (silky rather than creamy), and boast impressive lastingpower (pristine for at least 6 hours, through drinks, fading to an even stain after a greedy meal). On my extremely dry lips, they do require balm underneath, but I would call them neutral rather than positively drying.

....yeah, I may not depot this right away. *strokes packaging*

Chamade has the strongest rosy-red tones and is noticeably in a different family once on my lips. The other four shades are definitely kissing cousins, though in my defence they look more distinct from each other on my lips than on my arm. Shumomo sits at lighter end, with clear yellow tones [perfect for enlivening my naturally corpse-mauve lips]; Darling and Confidence add a deeper rose and slight brown tones to the mix. Rose Taffetas is balanced between and clearly the most opaque; its demi-matte finish proves surprisingly flattering -- dare I say, 'fresh' and/or 'modern' -- in this kind of tone.

Shamelessly reposting two recent looks:





Givenchy "Le Rouge" retail for £24 each and are a permanent addition to the core line.