Lipproducts and me, we’ve got this on-off relationship thing going on. The bad boy of my make up relationships, it’s the product I cannot resist but that almost never ends well, and that Ikeep vowing to give up on. After a wild, heated phase full of unbrideld passion, red and dark lips leaving it’s mark everywhere, the love took a nosedive and fizzled out before Christmas…

One of the things that soured the romance was how my previous attempts for long lasting colour completely dried out my lips. As much as I love a strong lip, I hate feeling that I have something on my lips (contradictory, I know…), and even more so, I hate dry lips with a passion. When the new Givenchy Rouge Interdit Vinyl collection came onto my radar, I read “hydrating, nourishing lipsticks”, and thought “Mmmmmm, maybe….” Shortly put, the back story sounds great: 12 lipsticks, ranging from soft nudes to a bright fuchsia and even a deep black, enhanced with black rose oil for deep moisture, a silicon resin for a plumping effect and dazzling shine, and a soft focus effect, blurring out imperfections. With a brief like that, I was persuaded to put aside my reservations and give lipsticks another go. Out came the 07 Fuchsia Illicite and 16. Noir Révélateur to play, and my lips became their playmates of choice.

The first thing I notice is the scent, it’ s rather strong compared to other lipsticks. Once you get past the scent, the lipstick itself applies relatively easily, with one layer enough for a gentle but visble wash of colour, and two layers really make those lips pop, especially the 07 Fuchsia Illicite, which is a perfect example of what fuchsia ought to be. Not too rosy pink, not too purple. Pink with a punch! 16 Noir Révélateur is a bit of a different story. more an oddity than a normal lipstick, this may look dark and gloomy in the tube, but is in fact a balm that adapts to the pH levels in your lips. The shade differs from mouth to mouth, on me it is a deep, soft berry, whereas my one friend gets a lovely plum shade, and my other friend’s lips colour a brownish pink. You can also apply it over another lipstick to deepen the colour, but I don’t really like the hassle of mixing two colours, so I haven’t really tried that trick just yet…

Thumbs up for the nourishing part of this collection. Both lipsticks keep my lips smooth, supple and above all, not feeling dried out at all, so that to me is a huge plus over all my other lipsticks. The shine is visible but, luckily, not too much so that your lips don’t look like they have been laminated. Staying power, I hear you ask? This won’t take you through an 8 hour work day or an afternoon shopping session, though the colour does stain your lips gently, so even after the lipstick itself has disappeared, you’re still good in terms of colour.

Maybe it’s time to the this bad boy another try…

 

Givenchy Rouge Interdit Vinyl – €33