StyleLab Loves… L’Oréal Color Riche l’Extraordinaire

Before I dig into the Autumn collections and bid summer farewell, I have one last summery post for you. They have been around since the beginning of the year and you might’ve seen them pop up in some of my posts already. Now the time has come for them to star in a post of their own.. of course I’m talking about the L’Oréal Color Riche Extraordinaire Lipsticks! Now 2014 has been a really good year when it comes to exciting new lip product releases and these beauties are definitely part of that group. 

First, let’s rewind for a bit. Those of you who follow me on instagram, might remember me posting about these in February when they just hit the shelves. My local drugstore was one of the first to have them and out of pure curiosity I picked up 2 colours, Nude Vibrato and Rose Melody , not knowing what kind of madness I would unchain. Months and a few trips (Breda, NYC & Barcelona) later, this is the result; 9 beautiful liquid lipsticks and – dare I say it- I still feel hungry for more. Yep, you might’ve guessed it; I’m over the moon with these.

Not sure why they called them ‘lipsticks’ though, to me a lipstick is still the classic bullet lip product. The Color Riche l’ Extraordinaire is more of a hybrid formula; the intense colour of a lipstick, mixed with the high shine of a gloss and the comfort of a balm. In other words, music to my ears.

I think the gold packaging looks luxurious for a drugstore product, but the sound, look and feel of the plastic bottom kind of gives it away that it’s not high-end. Although you can’t see the actual product through the ‘window’, the colours give a pretty good indication of what the content looks like. It does show all of the fingerprints though. Also, I had such a hard time remembering what the product was called, since there’s no trace of any product name (except the colour shade) on the packaging. The doe-foot applicator is broad and flat, making it easy to cover the entire surface of the lip at once.

The colour range is amazing, although unfortunately not all colours are available in each country *sad face*. Belgium has a range of 7 shades, of which 3 are shown here (Nude Vibrato, Rose Melody and Molto Mauve). The others I picked up during my trip to NYC where they have 16 (!) shades. In Barcelona I picked up Rose Finale, a shade I hadn’t seen anywhere else. So yeah, lot’s of colours, just not always lots to choose from. Most colours I picked up are nudes and pinks, since I’ll be wearing those the most, but there’s also some coral red, old pink and mauve in there too. Since we’re heading towards Fall, I’m now tempted to go check out the darker reds too since I’ve been wanting to try some burgundy lip products.

So here they are, in all their glory. As you can see from the swatches, they do look a lot like what is shown on the packaging.

My lip swatches didn’t turn out so well as I was in a hurry because the sunlight kept on getting more orange, but these give a pretty good idea of what the colours look like.

F.l.t.r.: 101 Rose Melody – 103 Blushing Harmony – 104 Dancing Rose – 201 Rose Symphony
202 Coral Encore – 500 Molto Mauve – 600 Nude Vibrato – 601 Nude Ballet

 So why do I love these so much? First of all, there’s the incredible colour pay-off. Although not as opaque as another one of my faves, the Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers,  these still manage to offer good coverage while being super glossy and hydrating. They are incredibly comfortable to wear, almost like cushions, and you can almost feel the nourishing oils working. Unlike the Rimmel ones, these won’t show dry patches, but they won’t last as long too, so keep that in mind. If you’re looking for a non-sticky, hydrating formula in beautiful colours then this is worth looking into. If you’re more of  a person that doesn’t like to reapply during the day, you might want to look elsewhere. Another ‘issue’ perhaps for me is the price. Even though I think they’re great, they’re also really expensive for a drugstore product.

For me, these are absolute winners and I’ve been (s)talking my friends into trying them out. My faves are still the ones I started out with, Nude Vibrato and Rose Melody. The perfect colours for everyday wear. But I would like to see some more colours coming our way, L’Oréal! *hint hint wink wink*

L’Oréal Color Riche Extraordinaire Lipstick € 15 / £ 9 / $ 10.
Available at the drugstore (colours differ per country).

What is your favourite type of lip product? (Liquid) Lipstick/Gloss/Balm/…
Have you tried one of these before?

Disclaimer: The products in this post were purchased.