So these glosses have been out for a while now. And I'm just a lazy sod. Because, well, I had actually taken the main pictures for this review and just never got around to swatching them on my lips. But I've finally gotten around to it and am now throwing my hat in the ring, along w/ the rest of the beauty blogosphere. As you can probably tell by the title and the picture, this is a review on some of the L'Oreal Colour Riche® Le Glosses. I have four shades and, while I do like them, I think they are a bit pricy. I know this sounds CRAZY, considering I just reviewed a $20 blush and a $95 face paint palette. But while these glosses are nice and all...I don't reach for them right off the bat. These are going to cost you around 8 dollars a pop for 0.40 oz of product, which is quite a lot.
I bought four different colors, in varying finishes. I tend towards brighter colors, so none of the more toned down ones appealed to me and, color me crazy, but I'm not going to pay $8+ for a clear gloss.
Decidedly, these are a much better deal than a Stila Lip Glaze ($22 for 0.8 oz) or a MAC Lipglass ($14.50 for 0.17 oz). Urban Decay's Lip Love is also going to run you - $16 for 0.34 oz. But there are tons of glosses that are cheaper, like the NYX Mega Shine lip glosses which are $5.99 at Ulta for a whopping 0.53 oz of gloss. Plus the NYX glosses come in an INSANE amount of colors...64 different shades? Holy crap, that blows L'Oreal's glosses out of the water! The Le Gloss glosses come in 16 shades, which is quite a lot for drugstore, especially when you consider that the NYX ones can be hard to get a hold of.
L'Oreal's website states:
Discover our richest shine indulgence for your lips. New Colour Riche® Le Gloss is infused with ultra-hydrating Omega 3, protective Vitamin E, and Argan Oil for our richest shine experience yet. Wear alone or over your favorite shade of Colour Riche® Lipcolour to customize your look.
Available in 16 sensual shades from our deepest plum to crystal clear."
Sounds amazing, right? These glosses don't feel like a lip balm to me. They sit on the lips a little bit more but they're definitely not drying at all. However, once you wear this gloss for a while, it does seem to sink in to your lips and disappear. I do like that they're ridiculously shiny. They're not sticky at all and, maybe because of this, they don't have a super long staying time. The first thing everyone notices is the scent - it's sweet and vanilla-ish and reminds me of cake batter, which is pretty amazing. You can also smell it on your lips. I wouldn't say these glosses have a super strong taste, which is probably a good thing (!!) but they smell great.
I was a teeny bit disappointed in the color payoff of these. It's definitely not horrible but it's also not "blow me away" amazing either. There seem to be three finishes - cream, shimmer, and a couple that look like they'd be sheerer tints. Out of the three, I definitely recommend the shimmer glosses. The one I bought had great color and the shimmer is rather fetching. The cream had okay pigmentation, but it also seemed to cling to the lines in my lips and appear a bit patchy. The sheerer ones, again, had the least amount of color and, considering they were brighter colors, was kind of a let-down. If you're looking for color, another great gloss is the e.l.f. Super Glossy Lip Shine glosses which are only a dollar but have a great appearance.
Now everyone knows how great Vitamin E and Omega 3 are for the skin, but what about Argan Oil? This stuff has been everywhere lately. This definition is from the Josie Maran Organic Argan Oil page (And FYI - if you "like" this page, a dollar will be donated to the Women's Earth Alliance© by Josie Maran Cosmetics. "The Women's Earth Alliance strengthens and unites grassroots women-led environmental initiatives around the world."):
Pure Argan Oil is a legendary oil that's rich in vitamin E and essential fatty acids, and grown organically in Morocco. With its multitasking benefits, Argan Oil can be used for many areas including hydrating and nourishing skin, as a daily moisturizer, skin treatment, treating spilt ends, and softening cuticles. It's gentle enough to use on all skin types and is believed to help with skin conditions including acne."
So, as you can tell, Argan Oil (I don't know why I keep capitalizing this, haha!) is quite the miracle worker. This gloss is definitely nice feeling on the lips. Overall, this is a nice gloss. I just wish the color payoff were a bit better and that the cream finishes didn't wear so wonky on me, especially since I tend to prefer that finish the most. The other thing that kind of irks me is the tube...I'm just not a big fan of slanted applicators like this. I think they're a bit messier and it's harder to get the gloss to go where you want it to. Also, I think it's a bit more difficult to get an even finish as opposed to a felt/sponge applicator or a brush tip. This is another reason why I don't often reach for these glosses, as petty as that is, but that's just personal preference and not a downside against the gloss.
Okay, let's get on w/ it. I'm going to start w/ the sheer glosses and finish up w/ my favorite gloss out of the bunch, but before I get to those wacky looking lip swatches, here are hand swatches, so you can see how the color should appear.
From L-R: "Plum Rush", "Watermelon Crush", "Violet Attitude", and "Peach Fuzz".
This is the first sheer gloss in "Watermelon Crush". It's a neon hot pink in the tube but it applies much sheerer on the lips. This is also the gloss the woman is wearing in the promotional picture on the displays, and that's why I wanted it. Of course, I look nothing like her and this gloss looks nothing like that on me. :(
This is the second sheer gloss in the color "Plum Rush". This is one of the darkest looking colors in the collection and, funnily enough, has the least color payoff out of all the lip glosses. I don't know why the flash caused it to photograph so gross and brown looking, but this gloss appears to be a deep purple-plummy color in the tube but you can tell by looking at it that it's going to be sheer. I just didn't realize HOW sheer.
Here is the only cream finish gloss I purchased. I love bright peaches, corals, and apricot colors so this ,most certainly, right up my alley. This is in "Peach Fuzz" and you can tell that I didn't apply it over my ENTIRE lip. I actually applied these straight from the tube even though I normally apply these types of glosses w/ my finger or a brush and I totally missed a patch. I love the color in the tube but again, it just doesn't have quite enough OOOMF for me. Also, the color settled into the lines on my lips and looked pretty wonky after a while.
This is "Violet Attitude" and this is my favorite out of the bunch. As you can tell, it's the most pigmented out of the four and the shimmer is lovely. It's more of a pink than a violet to me, but it's definitely got purple qualities to it. This color is one of those "your lips but better" glosses because, while it's fairly close to my natural lip color, it still has a bit of impact. If I buy more of these glosses, I would invest in more of the shimmery colors, for sure.
To wrap up, do I ♥ these glosses? No, not completely. I totally recommend checking them out if you can get them on sale. I'm not totally sold on the actual benefits of this gloss - it's not drying at all, but I've tried plenty of decently moisturizing glosses that were cheaper. $8 is a bit expensive, especially when you're not positive it'll look decent on you. To plug a friend of mine, and for another opinion and a look at a different gloss, check this out!
:)
