[Review] YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis À Lèvres Glossy Stain

I’m back with another lip product review. I rarely do review for lip products. In general, I think most of them, whether drugstore and high end, deliver pretty much the same performance. I mean we’re talking about lipstick and lipgloss. In the middle of the day, they will fade. And I don’t want to end up with a bunch of reviews saying just about the same thing. However, if I ever decided to write a review about lip products, there must be something special about it.

Enter my current favorite, Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Vernis À Lèvres Glossy Stain. Wow that’s mouthful! The product just launched in Indonesia recently and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it, given the reviews it received around blogosphere. I have two of those, which are #6 (Camel Croisiere) and #9 (Rouge Laque).

In my eyes, #9 is an intense warm red. The usual shade of red that I’d easily fall for. While #6 is a reddish orange.

Based on the information on YSL’s website, they describe this as a mix between gloss ad stain. It gives ‘the texture and shine of a gloss with the long-wear of a stain’. Lip products these days, they’re hybrid of everything, it’s kinda hard to draw a firm definition. However, YSL described this as stain, then lip stain it is.

Speaking about the packaging, I think it’s ‘blah’ looking. I mean come one, if they could come up with luxurious packaging like Rouge Volupte, why can’t they do the same with this one? It’s a plain black square with gold lid. There’s a window on the tube so you can see how much product you have left inside. However, I love the applicator. It’s wide and has pointy tip. Perfect for fast and precise application.

The texture is watery the way lip stain usually is. It glides easily on the lips and delivers medium coverage, more than the coverage lip gloss usually gives. You can wear it in layers too. I usually apply one layer, wait until it dries and sets on the lips, and then add another layer for more opacity. Or wear it like lip gloss and just apply it at the center of the lips. I still have to get used to the scent that this product has. It’s this sort of fruity slash chemical kind of scent which I don’t really prefer. It doesn’t linger, thankfully, but I could do without it.

I went to this Beauty Workshop held by YSL when they were introducing this lip stain and the recently launched Forever Youth Liberator.  There I was told that this lip stain is absolutely transfer-free which I think is an overrated statement. After it sets, it does transfer a little but the majority of the pigments stay on the lips. After meal, I found the lip stain in the inner past of my lips fades while the rest stays vibrant. I really appreciate that, but wearing vibrant lip color with fading shade in the inner part would look ridiculous so I always touch up after meal. However, without meal – and maybe, smooching – the color does last long. Even after the gloss disappeared, it leaves stain that gives enough color on the lips. Now the long lasting part might scared people thinking it would be drying. And I’m so glad that I get to tell you that this product feels really comfortable as long as I have it on my lips, it doesn’t feel drying at all. Excellent!

Despite some mundane flaws, like the packaging and the weird scent, overall I’m crazy about this product. Even for a moment I had this idea to throw away all my lip gloss and replace it with YSL Vernis à Lèvres Glossy Stain. Unfortunately, that’s not possible. And here’s one thing that really irritates me, and please correct me if I’m wrong, but up until now I still couldn’t find an MLBB shade in the collection. The color runs more opaque than it shows in the little window, which is the case with #6. And thanks to the harsh lighting at the mall, I thought the shade would look tame but I left the mall and realized that it is more intense than I thought it would be. If you happen to know any nude-ish / MLBB shade in this collection please recommend me. Because it’s getting embarrassing to visit the counter back and forth, just to convince myself that I couldn’t find what I’m looking for.

YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres Glossy Stain available at YSL counters and retails for IDR 285k.