Product Review: L'Oreal Paris Shine Caresse Lip Colours.

Hello lovelies!

I've got a special post to share today and that's the gorgeous new L'Oreal Paris Shine Caresse Lip Colours! Now, not only is it a bit of a mouthful, but I've heard these called everything from stains to balms to glosses, so let's just call these glosses for the sake of this review! To add to the confusion, these glosses also appear to have different names/numbers in different countries!

I first came across them while I was recovering in Malaysia at the start of the year, they literally came out a day or two before I was due to fly back to Australia. I couldn't resist and picked up two shades, Bella (#604) and Princess (#801). My lovely friend Ling (from The Best Beauty Blog - check her out, she's awesome) was on holiday in Hong Kong and kindly offered to bring me back another shade, so I picked Milady (#603).

L'Oreal were then kind enough to send me the shades I was missing from the Australian collection, which had eight shades in total (including Princess and Milady, but sadly, not Bella), so they sent me Lolita (#101), Romy (#102), Marilyn (#103), Juliet (#300), Eve (400) and Bonnie (#501), which brings me up to nine shades in total! If I haven't lost you yet, please read on for more details. :D

L'Oreal Paris Shine Caresse Lip Colours.
L-R: Lolita, Romy, Marilyn, Juliet, Eve, Bonnie, Milady, Princess &
Bella (unavailable in Australia).

First up, let's talk about the packaging. I love the sleek, silver packaging, although fingerprints show up all too easily, but that's a minor issue (unless you're trying to photograph these, in which case it's a fingerprint party!). I love the little window in the neck of the bottle that makes it easy to identify which shade you've picked up. I also like that the lids screw tightly into the neck, so there's no chance of it accidentally coming open in your handbag.

L'Oreal Paris Shine Caresse Lip Colours.
All 9 pretty ladies lined up in a row!

The applicator is quite unique, and caught my attention immediately! It comes with a little teardrop shaped sponge applicator, with a hollow in the centre, which is where the bulk of the gloss gathers. I really like it as it helps spread the colour evenly over my lips without streaking. It also fits very well around the contours of my mouth. These glosses have a faint, floral scent that I find quite pleasant, but this does fade away on application.

L'Oreal Paris Shine Caresse Lip Colours Applicator (Juliet).

The texture of the gloss is also very interesting. It's quite a thin, cool and watery consistency, so you almost feel like you're spreading water over your lips! This then dries a little on your lips but still retains its moist and glossy sheen. L'Oreal claim that these glosses ''combine the texture and shine of a gloss with the long wear of a stain''. Let's see if these live up to the promise, shall we?

I decided to swatch lightly first, so these are two light swipes of the wand over my arm.

L-R: Lolita, Romy, Marilyn & Juliet.

L-R: Eve, Bonnie, Milady, Princess & Bella.

As you can see from the photos above, the pigmentation varies a little, with the lighter shades (Lolita, Romy and Eve, for instance) looking more like a gloss while the darker shades (Juliet, Bonnie and Princess, for instance) appear more like liquid lipstick. 

I then swatched a bit more heavily, applying a couple more swipes of the wand to each swatch, to see how buildable the colour is from these glosses.

L-R: Lolita, Romy, Marilyn & Juliet.

L-R: Eve, Bonnie, Milady, Princess & Bella.
(no idea why they are in ascending order, I think I got tired) :P

The result? Very buildable! I love the colour intensity you get when you layer these heavily, it's something that us girls with naturally pigmented lips really welcome! It also makes the product more versatile, you can wear a thin layer to university/work for a more subtle look, and really build it up for a night out! These glosses also retain their glossy nature for hours after application, I was quite impressed!

I was a little unconvinced in the beginning, but after playing with these a bit and wearing them a few times, I got to really like them. My favourite way to wear the lighter shades are on top of a nude lip liner, or over another colour for added dimension! I have a soft spot for the deeper shades like Marilyn, Princess and Juliet, they are a very easy way to a statement lip!

I did note that some of the shades are very similar, Romy/Marilyn, for one, and Eve/Milady for another. It really is a shame that Bella isn't available here in Australia, as it's a really gorgeous colour.

L-R: Lolita, Romy, Marilyn, Juliet, Eve, Bonnie, Milady, Princess & Bella
 (heavily swatched).

Last but not least, I leave you with a photo of what my arm looked like post-swatching, even after scrubbing at it with makeup remover wipes...

L-R: Lolita, Romy, Marilyn, Juliet, Eve, Bonnie, Milady, Princess and
Bella

I think this proves that the Shine Caresse Lip Colours do leave a stain! It's more evident with the darker colours, but I find that it does wear away very evenly even with the lighter shades. They are also very comfortable to wear, I find that they get a little tacky after a few hours but that's nothing another coat won't fix, and best of all, they don't leave my lips feeling dry by the end of the day!

The L'Oreal Shine Caresse Lip Colours are available at RRP $23.95 from most L'Oreal stockists like Priceline, Myer, David Jones and selected pharmacies, but it's usually quite easy to find them on special (Priceline for instance, has them at 20% off at the time of writing). You can also purchase online by clicking here.

What do you think, lovelies, do you like the sound of these? Which shades do you love the most?

Much love,
MM
x


Note: Bella, Princess and Milady were paid for by me, while the remaining six glosses were kindly provided for my consideration. This has not affected my opinion in any way. For more information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.