There's something fascinating about watching a beauty industry behemoth that used to be relegated to the makeup collections of the wealthy (or maybe just your mom) successfully infiltrate the younger stratas of the beauty buying pyramid, without making any concession for quality or style. This, of course, is how I feel about Lancome and their trajectory since I've been aware of them as a brand.
Women who are of a certain age (read, people who were teens in the late 90s/early 00s) may also share this fascination with Lancome, PROBABLY due to the populatity of Lancome's Juicy Tube lip glosses which were LITERALLY the lip product du jour. I didn't actually own one myself, but I clearly remember having at least one or two of their ads stuck up on my wall. (Yeah, I was that kid.) But colour me surprised when their Juicy Shakers took OVER last year, reselling the idea that gloss wasn't just for teens anymore, it as back in a big way.
Lancome Matte Shakers (top-bottom) Yummy Pink, Pink Power, Kiss Me Cherie, Magic Orange
Fast-forward to this year, and hot on the heels of 2016's Juicy Shaker launch, Lancome's new Matte Shakers take the no-muss, no-fuss applicator from the Juicy Shaker and re-envision it as the matte lipstick of the future. Instead of caking product onto your lip with a wand, you give the little cocktail-shaker-looking lippie a good shake to soak the product into the applicator sponge, and stroke and dab your lips with the little cushioned nub to get a light or thicker look depending on your mood. One swift application leaves more of a stain, reminiscent of Korean lip tints that people clamour for from Etude House and more, while a few careful applications work to create a matte, highly pigmented finish.
Because Lancome is Lancome, the creation of these lip products was pretty intensive and the result is that they don't really resemble ANY other matte liquid lipstick I've seen before. To take their word for it "An intelligent bi-phasic formula which emulsion separates on application so the pigmented phase can fuse with lips while the glossy film rises to the surface to sublimely coat lips." And I can attest, this product does NOT sink into your lip lines, it doesn't move, and it fades gracefully and subtly as the day progresses. I can wear these at the top of the day and not worry that I'll look crazy at 2pm. AND THERE IS NO FLAKING. NONE. I don't have to worry about chunks of colour just falling off throughout the day leaving me patchy. (I'm looking at you Nyx.) And to top it off, my lips don't feel parched or dry at the end of the day, which is wild. And even if they do, a tap of gloss on top of whatever is left of the stain just looks so darned nice.
Close-up of Yummy Pink and the 'nubbin' applicator!
When I got this set to test out, I naturally found myself drawn to Magic Orange and Yummy Pink at first, as I usually reach for boldier, edgier colours. But Pink Power surprised me. It looks darker in the bottle but it's actually a very fun and very wearable magenta that easily turned into my favourite of the bunch! Kiss Me Cherie is a little middle of the road for me, but I'm not super partial to reds so that's probably why.
The initial launch came with seven colours, one of which, Beige Vintage is the one I see mentioned the most (Magic Orange probably squeaks in as the runner-up here) as it looks like a perfect 'My Lips But Better' for so many people, so it's safe to say it's been a popular product so far this year. I do have my eye on 'Energy Peach' which is another of their launch colours, and I'm excited to see what new batch of shades they come out with next!
Have you tried this new line from Lancome? Which is your favourite of the four I tried?
You can find Lancome's Matte Shakers online at Sephora, BeautyBoutique.ca and other major beauty retailers.
These products were supplied for review but all opinions are my own.
