Review: L'Oreal Colour Caresse Shine Stain

So I was pretty excited hearing that L'Oreal introduced a shine gloss that was a near dupe to the coveted and expensive YSL Rouge Pur Couture glossy stains. I already owned two of the YSL glossy stains but at $32 USD a pop, purchasing more could get quite pricey so I thought the L'Oreal version would be a great alternative. I picked up three colors from the L'Oreal line and ran home to try them.

For the review I have included the two YSL Rouge Pur Couture glossy stains I have. I have them in numbers 7 and 15. The L'Oreal glosses I purchased were Pink Perseverance, Rose On and On and Pink Rebellion. Depending on which country you reside in, the names of the L'Oreal glosses may be different.

I have to say, I'm sorely disappointed. While they do have similarities to the YSL version, I had a terrible reaction on my lips to these. Besides the reaction, I wasn't impressed with the color payoff of these either. Out of the three I picked up, two of them looked almost the same on my lips. The other color was too sheer and applied clear with shimmers on my lips. Maybe if I tried different colors, like the reds or coral colors in the line I would have had a better experience with the color payoff.

Pink Perseverance, Rose On and On, Pink Rebellion

YSL Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain in Corail Aquatique and Rose Vinyl

As you can see with the color payoff is quite different. I only need one layer for my YSL while the L'Oreal I need to layer at least two times for the color presented.

As for the texture, these glosses are slightly tackier compared to the YSL and left a "wet" sort of feel which I thought was helping to moisturize my lips, I guess I was wrong there! It was as if the product sucked all the moisture out of my lips. I take great care to nourish my lips with my Hourglass lip oil and Dior balm so they were in pretty great shape until I used this. I don't know what they put in it to make it do this considering this is made by the same company! The next day after a whole day of just using the L'Oreal Shine Stain, my lips felt tight and parched with a rough surface. I was pretty livid. The scents are pretty comparable, except the L'Oreal version smells a bit more synthetic while the YSL smells just strongly of rose perfume.

For the L'Oreal products, I layered it twice on my lips. The YSL products was one layer.

As for the stain part of these glosses, each color left my lips a deeper color than normal, which left me with a bitten lip look, cool right? The only problem was the uneven-ness of the stain. I want to say the color was still there, but it was rather patchy and not very flattering. I have to state that I am very particular with the way my lips look with certain colors and felt conscious with the way these looked on my lips. Sorry for no swatches on my lips when it comes to the stain, I totally didn't want to go through that funny reaction again.

I did love the luxe packaging of these glosses. They felt high-end and quite chic to whip out of my purse. I do also like the fact the parent company decided to produce a drugstore version of the YSL glossy stains. Just because these glosses did not work in my favor does not mean they won't work for you or any one. Many of the bloggers I know love this gloss so I may just be one of the few. If you can't afford to purchase the YSL version, try these out, if it doesn't work out, return policies are always there!

Pros:
-Fairly priced, between $7 USD to $10 USD depending on where you go (and sales!)
-Luxe packaging
-Variety of colors
-Good for those who enjoy gloss and stains

Cons:
-Seems to suck moisture from lips
-Can leave uneven, patchy stains
-Smell may seem synthetic to those sensitive
-Color payoff is pretty sheer
-Tacky, but watery feeling