FINALLY! These L'oreal Collection Privee liptsicks (around $10 each) have been raved on about in the UK blogosphere for so long that I almost wet myself when I saw it at my local Rite Aid. I also found matching nail polishes to go along with these but weren't inspired to make the purchase.
I picked up the three most flattering "nudes" for me out of the 6 available in the line. Eva's is a warm red brown which is very similar to Too Faced Spice Spice Baby. Julianne's nude is a lovely mid toned pink. Doutzen's nude is a sheer cool pink with shimmer. I found the rest of the line too dark to be wearable, at least with my skintone.
As common sense goes, the shade's name will be the most flattering on women who share similar coloring to the celebrities. I'm neither very pale nor very tan and the colors will flatter a large range of people in general.
The packaging is outstanding for drugstore lipsticks. They are rubberized on the inside with a nice snap closure and a great heft in your hands. The top of the bullet has a slight slant but can still be stood up on the table as shown. I find that these are even fancier than MAC lipsticks in terms of packaging.
Here are swatches underneath natural lighting. Though Eva's nude looks very dark it still translates to a wearable nude that isn't concealer-lips. It also has the best opacity. My personal favorite is Julianne's because it is actually the closest to my natural lip color. Doutzen's may have to wait until winter for me to wear it, but I think a pale milky lip in contrast to a tan looks amazing.
All of these wear very nicely on my sensitive lips and don't accentuate flakes or dryness. They don't last particularly long (around 4 hours before reapplication.) I don't have a problem with lipsticks that don't wear for long if they don't upset my lips.
They have a faint "grandma Play Doh" scent if you're sensitive to fragrances. I find that most drugstore lipsticks don't smell particularly lovely, but these weren't odious or offensive to me. They aren't as bad as Revlon lipsticks which smell absolutely disgusting and taste even worse. (Not that I eat lipsticks, come on people...)
I'm not sure if these are permanent or limited edition, but I would suggest snagging a couple of them up in the chance that they disappear from shelves. I'm very impressed with their color suggestions and overall wear and may purchase JLo's nude in the near future.
xo Be
