Anticlockwise from left:
Addiction Lip Gloss Miss You More and Psychadelic
Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait De Gloss Fatale
*Coffret D'Or Rouge Essence RD198
*Maquillage True Rouge RD382
Guerlain Rouge Automatique Liu
Sonia Rykiel Sublime Lipstick 24
*Lunasol Full Glamour Lips 02
*Coffret D'Or Bright Up Rouge (Creamy Liquid) PK270
Chicca Enticing Lip Stain 02
i.e. what I wore this summer, because
...such as the new Lipstick Queen Sinner formula. Imagine my dismay when the brand new Bright Rose Sinner I'd just bought in London sank into, deepened, and generally fomented discord within every single lip line, even applied over a generous helping of lipbalm:
Fortunately some of the things I'd packed did work in even these inclement conditions, and are shown above [unpictured, Guerlain Rouge G, Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment, and Suqqu Creamy Glow formulas also made the cut], but once I'd twigged that a jelly finish was the common denominator, I purchased the *asterixed items to round out my selection of shades. Also, For Science.
And now for some highly unscientific (by which I mean inadvertently pornographic as well as variable with the natural lighting XD) lipswatches! Going from most translucent to most opaque, up to the crelly (cream-jelly) end of the spectrum.
Control: Bare
My lips are a very cool mauve-tinged pink and unevenly pigmented -- rosier towards the centre of my mouth -- any formula which fails to camouflage this I consider too sheer. And of course, there are those vertical liplines, which become more visible with dehydration, though as they're are also structural (consequence of full lips on a small mouth) they never entirely vanish.
SHEERS
Addiction Lip GlossMiss You More
A cool but clear (zero pastel milky barbie tones here) pink which thankfully reads slightly warmer once it 'sets' on my lips than in the tube. While a light shade, and a translucent jelly finish (it's definitely more 'squishy' than lacquered, shiny or wet-looking, as you might expect a gloss to be) it's pigmented enough to even out my lips' pigmentation.
The formula is a weightless, utterly unsticky, scentless, cushiony and moisturising joy and is the best I've ever found for camouflaging vertical liplines and actively diminishing them over time by keeping my lips in top, soft condition. Wear-time is average (not a gloss expert), requiring a touch-up after a cup of coffee, and reapplication after a meal, but the formula's balminess (neither gloopy nor liquid) means I never have to worry about it migrating, feathering or fading patchily.
The doe-foot applicator is a typical example of Japanese attention to detail, slightly tapered and curved to hug the lips beautifully, and with the ideal amount of fuzz to pick up and dispense product evenly -- you may know of my addiction to lip brushes, even with balms, but I really am happy applying straight from the tube with these, even over another lipcolour.
Addiction Lip Gloss Psychadelic
Another warmer-on-lips-than-in-tube shade (and as someone who pulls all lip colours cooler and pinker, man, is that weird but refreshing), though having bought this while looking for an editorial purple, it continues to puzzle me that this sets to a very wearable neutral rose. So wearable that I'm about halfway through my tube, while if it had been true-to-colour I would have worn it only three times a year, most likely....
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| just applied -- some plum tones visible |
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| 5 minutes after application -- warmer and rosier |
Full face context here (fourth look).
Lunasol Full Glamour Lips 02 Cherry Red
As the flagship lip formula of a flagship brand, Lunasol's Full Glamour Lips lipsticks typify the recent Japanese beauty trends -- scent-free, sheerish jellies which feel like the best kind of lipbalm going on -- neither waxy nor too creamy/messy. As Lunasol is aimed at slightly older, working women, the result is plump, moisturised (through many hours) and dewy lips but not all-out attention-seekingly glossy ones. 02 Cherry Red is one of the brightest, clearest shades in the core line, and is so easy and flattering I'd recommend it to any red 'beginner'.
Wear-time is slightly above average for a sheer -- I only need to reapply after meals, as it leaves behind a soft pink-red stain after several drinks.
Coffret D'Or Rouge Essence RD198
Coffret D'Or is Lunasol's little sister in the Kanebo stable, and their Rouge Essence lipstick formula is also just a little bit less than Lunasol's Full Glamour Lips' -- a little less moisturising, a little less long-lasting, the finish a little less elegant (more conventionally glossy than dewy-squishy), the formula slightly more prone to slip and liquify upon application (think of Chanel Rouge Coco or other gloss-stick formulas), the bullet a little wider and less precise, and let's not compare CD'Or's sparkle-glued black to Lunasol's bronze discretion (which even clicks open and closed with a more luxurious sound). That said, this Coffret D'Or formula is still very, very good, and this shade (RD198) is the bright coral I couldn't find in Lunasol's lineup without shimmer.
MEDIUM
Coffret D'Or Bright Up Rouge (Creamy Liquid) PK270
Now this is a truly stellar formula. The Japanese market is full of competing liquid lipstick formulas and having done the rounds of Maquillage, Aube Couture, Lunasol, Shiseido etc. Coffret D'Or Bright Up Rouge emerged as the clear winner. With invisibly fine microshimmer to add dimension, a cushiony, comfortable formula (which hugs the lips slightly closer than the Addiction glosses) and a refined glowy finish, I only wish the shade range wasn't so bloody soft and pretty -- PK270, a new release, is by far the brightest, clearest shade in the line, and it's already as soft a warm rose as I go.
Maquillage True Rouge RD382
Whereas the Lunasol testified to the recent past, Maquillage's True Rouge formula is a great example of the current comeback of stronger lips in Japanese makeup -- more pigmented and, if still nowhere near matte, at least less juicily translucent. Slightly more glowy than the Coffret D'Or liquid lipstick, it's a difference of degrees rather than types of finish -- neither one could be accurately described as glossy, but both retain a certain lush 'squishiness' along with their creamy smoothness characteristic of crellies. RD382 is a new shade for autumn 2013 and on my pale cool lips wears as a saturated, neutral pink-coral.
Maquillage's bevelled bullet is a very clever touch -- you'll always be able to find a surface or edge to use which perfectly fits around the cupid's bow, reaches into corners, and covers the fullest part of the lip with one smooth stroke.
Sonia Rykiel Sublime Lipstick 24
(The Sublime Lipstick line was reformulated and relaunched in 2012; mine is from 2011.)
Although as pigmented as the previous two items, this one is incontrovertibly a jelly, and while the colour gets bolder with each layer, the squishiness and translucency only increases. It's also the first scented product so far (fairly strong rose scent, faintly candied-floral taste), but like, the earlier 'purple' Addiction Psychadelic gloss, warms into a berried rose on my lips. (...Come to think of it, I experience much the same thing with Korres' 'purple' shades. Anyone else? Bueller?)
Scent aside, this is another excellent made-in-Japan product, and as kind to lips and easy to wear as any of the others I've shown you; the bullet also tapers at the top for neater application.
Original swatches of the line here and here; full face pic here (second look 'Smoke').
PIGMENTED
Chicca Enticing Lip Stain 02 Amaryllis
Full review, and full face pic both here. I'll just note that, while the driest in texture and least moisturising in practice of the formulas in this post, this Chicca stain, despite sitting closest of all to my lips, still diffuses my liplines very well. And it isn't actively drying either.
Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait De Gloss Fatale
Chanel's Extrait de Gloss has been thoroughly reviewed in the English-speaking blogosphere since its release; there's a reason I've owned four of these while maintaining my not-a-gloss-girl status, and retained Fatale in particular as a permanent part of my lipstash.
Less shiny than most glosses, its cushiony-gel feel and delicate balance of translucency and saturation edge it out of conventional gloss territory into jellydom for me.
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Full face pic here, look two.
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Less shiny than most glosses, its cushiony-gel feel and delicate balance of translucency and saturation edge it out of conventional gloss territory into jellydom for me.
Guerlain Rouge Automatique Liu
Another gorgeous Western formula, which I'm sure most of you are already familiar with. Of the shades I own (Chamade, Champs Élysées and Samsara being the others) Liu is actually the least jelly-like, but even worn at full whack (and it is well pigmented) it still gives my lips that squishable glowy halo that is the hallmark of a great jelly/crelly.
Full face pic in this post (second look), wher you can also see its jellier sister, Samsara, in action.