Review: YSL Volupte Tint-in-Oil in Oh My Gold

Sometimes your lips deserve a break from color and from lipsticks. Sometimes they just want to be drenched in a fancy tinted oil from a fancy luxury brand. Sometimes that sometime can turn into a daily thing because your lips get used to all this fanciness.

The packaging: This comes in the standard YSL lip product packaging. The tube is silver (not gold) with a colored band that shows the color of the product inside. The applicator is the lip-shaped YSL applicator that follows the shape of your lips for easy application.

The scent: The trademark YSL mango-ish scent is here, and it lingers for awhile after application. 

The product: Oh My Gold is a gold-tinted oil. Once applied on my lips, it turns to a lighter, natural pink tint with very, very tiny flecks of shimmer. As it is an oil, it glides on so smoothly. It's non-sticky and lasts FOREVER. After 5 hours, my lips were still covered in this oil...and they felt so soft and plump. 

Cost: $32

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Review: YSL Rouge Volupte Shine in Coral Incandescent (12)

Who can ever resist anything coral? Not me! If the word "coral" is in the name, I can't help buying it. 

The packaging: This came in its own box. The tube is the standard YSL tube - gold with the logo cut-out in the center to allow the color of the product to peek through. 

The scent: The same mango scent as all the other YSL lip products. Heavy at first, but disappears after applying.

The product: Coral Incandescent (12) is a bright coral that tends to lean more pink. Like all the other Rouge Volupte Shines, this goes on effortlessly with no tugging. It's sheer, but buildable (about 3-4 swipes will give a more semi-opaque coverage). It's incredibly creamy and hydrating, and lasts for about 3-4 hours on me. Reapplying is a cinch since it's so smooth. 

Cost: $35 - great shade for summer!

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Review: YSL's Rouge Pur Couture in 52 Rosy Coral

It takes a lot for me to get into Korean dramas. I've never been the type to watch a lot of Korean dramas, which puts me at the odd end of most Korean girls. I happened to be shopping with my girlfriends at Nordstrom one Sunday after brunch and made my way to the makeup counters to browse. The YSL rep ended up showing me some lip products and then asked if I was Korean. When I said I was, she said that the products she was showing me was selling out due to a Korean drama. My friend C who is my guru for all things Korean told me it was due to a drama called My Love from Another Star starring Jeon Ji Hyun. Long story short, the lip products the YSL rep showed me were the wrong ones...but I researched when I got home, and ended up ordering the correct YSL lipstick! 

Apparently due to Jeon Ji Hyun's popularity, YSL sold out of this lipstick WORLDWIDE. I checked today, and it's again sold out on the YSL website, so maybe the frenzy still hasn't settled.

The packaging: This comes in its own box. The tube itself is the YSL standard gold tube with the logo stamped on the front. It has a nice dense weight to it, so it feels nice in my hands.

The scent: This has a sweet mango-ish scent to it. You can smell it when you first apply it, but it fades quickly.
 

Rosy Coral - blotted on softly

The product: 52 Rosy Coral is a BRIGHT, HOT, in-your-face pink. It looks like it has more coral in the tube, but when I applied it, it was almost neon pink on my lips. With this shade, I definitely had to meticulously exfoliate my lips. It settled into every crack/line/crevice, so it does show every little imperfection. It wasn't very hydrating, so I had to reach for lip balm after a couple hours. It lasted about 3 hours on me. One swipe was pretty heavily saturated, but with this shade, I prefer blotting it on with my finger to give my lips a more natural pink flush. 
 

Rosy Coral - applied directly from tube

This isn't a shade I would repurchase again, but it's a fun shade to have in my lipstick stash. While I don't think I would ever apply it directly onto my lips, it is VERY pretty when blotted on. 

Cost: $35 

Review: YSL's Gloss Volupte in Rose Satine (102)

If you're been reading my blog, you know I'm not a big fan of lip glosses. After brunch last weekend, my girlfriends and I did what we love to do - shop. Honestly, is there anything better than some light shopping after brunch with your favorite girlfriends? I wasn't looking to buy anything in particular, but one stop at the makeup counters led to some lightning-fast purchases, including this lip gloss. 

The packaging: This comes in a standard lip gloss tube, but of course, it's all gussied-up and made fancy because it's YSL. The applicator is the real star here though. It's shaped like a tiny pair of lips, so that you can evenly apply the product over your lips. The applicator is incredibly soft and really does make applying very, very easy. 

The scent: Like most of their lip products, this has a mango scent to it. It is pretty strong, but does eventually fade after some time. Again, if you are sensitive to smells, smell before you buy.

The product: This gloss goes on smoothly without tugging (huge in my book!). It applied almost like a gel on my lips, so I was impressed. There was no clumping or stickiness when applying (like those darn Mac lipglasses). It wasn't hydrating (what gloss is?), but didn't completely dry out my lips either. This lasted about 2 hours on me, which is normal for a gloss of my lips. There was some slight tackiness at the end, but it was much less than any other gloss I've tried. Rose Satine (102) is a very sheer light rosy pink with fine gold shimmer. On my bare lips, it accentuated my natural lip color and provided a nice shine. The big pay-off to this shade comes when it's layered on top of other colors though. 

Cost: $32 for 0.2 oz.

Questions? Comments? Let me know!

Review: YSL's Glossy Stain Rebel Nudes in Fuschia Tomboy (104)

The packaging: I love YSL's packaging because the combo of black and gold never fails. This comes in a rectangular shaped lip gloss tube with a small window where you can see the color of the product. The applicator is bent at an angle and is wider than most applicators. I love the feel of the applicator because it is infinitely softer and delivers the perfect amount of product each time. 

The scent: There is a weird sweet and tart scent when you sniff this product, but once applied, the scent disappears.

The product: This product is touted as a glossy stain that is supposed to be a combo of a lip gloss, lipstick, and lip stain all in one. It glides on smoothly with no tugging. Although it's not drying, it's not very hydrating either. After a couple of hours, my lips feel a bit tight, and I have to apply balm. The staining effect does last well over 5+ hours though, but the glossiness of this product begins to fade after a couple hours. Fuschia Tomboy (104) is a bright pink fuschia on me, but still very work-friendly (it's not neon/shocking fuschia). 

 Cost: $35, but with high-end products, isn't this price expected?

Questions? Comments? Let me know! 

Review: YSL's Rouge Volupté Shine

So the last post was on YSL's glossy balms, and today's will be on my other YSL love - the Rouge Volupté Shine line!

The packaging: Just like the glossy balms, these come in a reflective gold box and the tube is reflective gold. Again, these tubes have a very dense, heavy feel that invoke an old-school glamour. 

The scent: Again, if you have a sensitive nose, the mango scent of these will bother you because the smell does last. 

The product: These glide on smoothly, and no lip prep is necessary. The darker shades in this line are very pigmented, and you only need one swipe for full coverage. 

The first shade I chose was 09 - Nude in Private. It's a warm beige color, and a perfect nude shade. It lasted a couple hours on me, and was easy to apply without a mirror.

The second shade I chose was 04 - Rouge in Danger. This is a deep strawberry red, and it is very pigmented. I love this shade because if you're timid about going full-on red, this will help ease you there. It lasted about 4 hours on me without needing to reapply. This shade also leaves a beautiful stain after it wears off. 

The third shade I chose was 18 - Prune in Fire. It is a deep raspberry shade. It's almost the  color of crushed blueberries or blackberries on my lips. This is a great shade for fall. This one didn't evenly coat my lips, but I didn't prep my lips before applying. This lasted about 4 hours on me as well, and left a beautiful stain afterwards.

Favorites: Without a doubt, Rouge in Danger (04) would have to be my favorite because it packs the most punch in terms of pigmentation, and I wear it the most when I want a brighter shade than usual.

Cost: $34 - again, YSL's lip products are pricey but they're worth it. If you want to start off with just one, I would go with Nude in Private (09) which is the most wearable day-to-day shade out of this bunch. 

Questions? Comments? Let me know what you think!

Review: YSL's Volupté Sheer Candy (Glossy Balms)

Today's review will be on my favorite line of lip products. Honestly, you cannot go wrong with Yves Saint Laurent! I'll do a separate post on YSL's Rouge Volupté Shine, but for now, we'll focus on the Glossy balms.

The packaging: These come in a reflective gold box and the tube for the glossy balms is a reflective silver tube. I love, love, LOVE the feel of these. They invoke a very old-Hollywood glamour feel and the heaviness of the tube adds to this rich feeling. You'll just feel classy holding this in your hand.

The scent: Bad news for sensitive noses - this has a very distinctive mango smell. If smells bother you, there's no getting away from this. You'll smell it putting it on, you'll smell it when it's on, and it'll linger for awhile. I don't mind smells, and actually I love the smell of these.

The product: Every shade of these glossy balms glides on effortlessly. They don't tug or pull on your lips, you don't have to prep your lips beforehand, and you don't need a mirror for the lighter shades. When applied, the colors are true to what you see in the tube. 

The first shade I chose was 02 - Dewy Papaya. It's a very sheer, peachy tinted balm. It has a small amount of sparkle to it, but it's not too noticeable. This lasted about an hour or so on me. It's so sheer that after about an hour, I reapplied to get more color. However, if you like a very sheer shade that just adds a tiny bit of color to your lips, this is the shade you should start off with.

The second shade I chose was 04 - Succulent Pomegranate. I am in love with this shade - it's a very bright pink. I love this shade because at times when I feel like wearing hot pink on my lips, but don't want it to stand out too much (such as matte lipsticks or stains), this sheer wash of hot pink is perfect. This lasted longer than the first shade - a little over 2 hours (but during that time, I ate and drank). It's easy to reapply though - one swipe should give you a nice sheer wash of color while two swipes will give you a brighter, shinier pink.

The third shade I chose was 05 - Mouthwatering Berry. I was actually shopping for a thank you gift and chose this for the recipient...and ending up getting one for myself (this happens more frequently than it should)! This is a sheer reddish berry shade. The shade is similar to what you would look like after eating a bowl of blackberries. I like wearing this on nights when I know I'll be drinking red wine because if I have any wine stains on my lips, I can cover it up by using this! If you've always wanted to try a bit of a deeper berry shade, but feel nervous about going straight into lipsticks, try this first. It's sheer so you can build it up the saturation level to whatever makes you comfortable. This lasted about 2 hours as well.

Favorites: It's hard to choose because I love them all, but the one I wear most is Succulent Pomegranate (04). The shade of pink just makes me happier when I swipe it on, and I feel like it wakes my face up whenever I'm looking especially tired. 

Cost: $32 - very pricey. BUT I use at least one of these every day. Very worth it in my opinion, but choose your first shade wisely, so you'll get the most out of your money!

Natural lips

02 Dewy Papaya

04 Succulent Pomegranate

05 Mouthwatering Berry

Questions? Comments? Let me know what you think!