Other Make Up Worn - Nars Radiance Primer, Lisa Eldridge Foundation Shade 02, Bobbi Brown Light Bisque Corrector, Tart Shape Tape Concealer 8B Porcelain Beige, Chantecaille Highlight Perle Lumiere (Christmas 2021 Collection), Clinique Ginger Pop Blush, Gucci Floral 01 Eyeshadow Palette, Hourglass Caution Mascara, No. 7 Nude Eyeliner (discontinued), Colourpop Freckle Pen Soft Brown
When I went to Newcastle earlier this year I was absolutely thrilled to see the beautiful Gucci counter in Fenwicks (this was before H Beauty opened in Edinburgh, giving me a slightly nearer to home option!) as Gucci Beauty is one of the few brands that really interests me at the moment. Their gorgeous vintage inspired, maximalist aesthetic in terms of their counters and product packaging is obviously a huge part of that draw but so far I've been pleased with the products I've tried and none more so than this lipstick, the shade 308 Lucy Dark Orange in their Rouge de Beaute Brilliant formula.
I am usually more of a fan of matte lipsticks, so when I saw these launching online I really wasn't interested but in person I couldn't get over this colour. Anything in the orange-rust-gingerbread end of the spectrum is right up my street and this shade had me swooning.
I decided I would give this high shine, short wearing formula a go, my heart's hook, line and sinker seduction by the colour outweighing my head's more logical argument that I don't like wet lipsticks thanks to their propensity to migrate off my small lips, bunch in the corners of my awkwardly shaped mouth and capture strands of my hair, holding them prisoner to the goop.
But none of my usual concerns have manifested with this formula. It's shiny without being heavy, wet or sticky. In fact I forget its on my lips and although it is definitely there, shining away, it stays there! It doesn't move about as I've often found high shine lipsticks to do, even without any liner on the edges to fence it in. It doesn't coagulate into a solid ball of product in the corners of my mouth which then smooshes and pushes itself onto my skin whilst I speak. It glides on, is flatteringly lightweight on the lips, doesn't emphasise texture and has fast become one of my favourite lipsticks.
As you would expect with this type of formula, it is not a long wearing one. In fact within about an hour the lipstick has reduced to a tinted balmly slip, the original colour saturation and shine gone - but rather than disappearing patchily, the lipstick wears off very evenly, leaving no odd rings around the edges of your mouth and your bare lips exposed in the centre. The same is true in the opposite - in the swatches photographed above the top swatch is a single swipe whilst the below swatch is the shade built up. When the formula applied over itself it doesn't coagulate, streak, or otherwise start to look unappealing, it builds up evenly and well, though even built up with a few swipes for more colour impact doesn't give you any more wear time overall, it's still here for a good time, not a long time.
As you'd expect from a product marked 'glow and care' - the balmy texture feels hydrating and moisturising on the lips.
I had concerns too about this wet look formula that the stick itself would be melty (my fingers have been burned with many melted fresh lip balms over the years and somehow I still go back for more!) but I'm pleased to be able to report that after consistent use over the past few months the stick is intact and defined, not melting down like the Wicked Witch of the West and making a mess of the packaging.
I'm also pleased and not complaining, but absolutely gobsmacked, to be able to report that in spite of that consistent use, I also don't seem to be rushing through this product, watching it disappear before my eyes. You get 1.8g of product in the Rouge de Beaute Brilliant formula, as opposed to the 3.5g in the other bullet formulas offered by Gucci (and I find 3.5g is generally standard across most of the main brands as a lipstick bullet size) and I harboured suspicions that between the wet formula, the resulting need to top up more often and the meagre sounding amount of product on offer that this would be done within six months. I'm sure it will ultimately be something that needs replaced more often than a standard lipstick - but it doesn't seem that's going to be something I fire through at an angeringly alarming rate.
All in all, a surprising, but very welcome, hit from Gucci Beauty.
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