L’Oreal Paris Limited Edition Pure Red Star Collection: Review & Swatches [Shade: Pure Amaranthe & Pure Scarlet]

What do Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Frieda Pinto, Gong Li, Blake Lively, Sonam Kapoor, Fan Bingbing and Li Bingbing have in common?

I see some of you smiling there:  Yes, yes, yes!  You are right - I am referring to their perfect red pouts!!
And if you are one of those who haven’t guessed it yet – well, all this hype is about the latest ‘Limited Edition Pure Red Star Collection Lipsticks by Loreal Paris’ ….Ta da..!!
 You can find all these beauties together in one frame in the recent L’Oreal Paris advert flaunting their flawlessly done up red lips against a milky white contrast. I personally think it is a beautifully shot ad and would encourage a lot of women, who shy away from bright shades from the red/orange/pink family, to try out these beautiful reds. I was one such person myself – but long before this ad, I was introduced to my first ever red lip shade (Revlon Wine with Everything) on a lazy Saturday afternoon in one of the cosmetic counters in a mall. The SA was very kind to me with her compliments, although I know she had her own axe to grind, but somehow I couldn’t stop myself from buying the lippy even though I knew I may not wear it. But since then, there hasn’t been no looking back.
I plan to do a post exclusively on red lipsticks, so stay tuned.

 Coming back to this post - here I am with two brand new lippies from this very classy collection of lip colors. Much has been already written about these beauties, but no harm in doing it another time with some generous sprinkling of my personal views. So let’s get you started.
L’Oreal has recently launched 7 shades under this brand new collection and these shades are being marketed as the signature style of the actors wearing them in the ad. They claim to have covered a wide range where every woman is bound to find her shade of red, no matter what the skin tone.

The 7 shades are as follows:

1.        Pure Fire worn by Li Bingbing

2.       Pure Vermeil worn by Fan Bingbing

3.       Pure Amaranthe worn by Gong Li

4.      Pure Garnet   worn by Sonam Kapoor

5.       Pure Scarleto worn by Blake Lively

6.      Pure Rouge worn by Frieda Pinto

7.       Pure Brick  worn by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Of these 7, I am going to review shades Pure Amarathe and Pure Scarleto today.

Moolah involved: They are priced at INR 950 a pop. (However, I bought my shades at a discounted rate of INR 760 online)

Packaging: The lipstick comes in an all-black packaging with the bullet and the cap in glossy black color.  The shade identifier is embossed in the bullet which stands out and makes it easy to spot in your purse while the cap is embossed with the star signature in gold – which makes it look very classy.  Overall the packaging feels rich and safe in your purse. I cannot help comparing them with L’Oreal Moist Matte range collection – however these lippies stand out in their black coats.

 

 

And boy, once you remove the cap and twist up the lipstick -  the solid color bullet just takes your breath away!!

 

 

Pure Amaranthe

 

 

Pure Scarleto

 

 

Pure Amaranthe (Left); Pure Scarleto (Right)

 

Shade Pure Amaranthe : “Amaranthe” means unfading and true to its name – the shade is very much capable of brightening up a dull day. It is a dark pink color, which makes it sort of a misfit in the whole collection of pure reds. But given that how lovely the shade looks, I am definitely not the one complaining. My feeling is, it would look great on medium to light skin tones. All the dusky beauties out there, hold on for some lovelier shades from this collection

Shade Pure Scarleto: On the other hand, Pure Scarleto is a color to die for. It is a perfectly balanced red with no hints of orange or brown. It is right at the middle. As red as one can get and suit all skin tones. I was a bit confused between Pure Rouge and Pure Scarleto – finally gave in to Pure scarlet as I already have a shade similar to Pure Rouge (Mac Ruby Woo, review coming up soon).

 

You don’t really have to take my word for it. Presenting to you some exciting swatches:

 

In Artificial Light [Pure Amaranthe (Left), Pure Scarleto (Right)]

 

 

In Natural Light [Pure Amaranthe (Left), Pure Scarleto (Right)]

  

Formula: This is being marketed as a satin matte collection and feels very light on the lips but I have experienced a bit of dryness after wearing it for 2-3 hours. At the time of application it feels like satin but may feel dry after it’s set. Although, when I wore it the second time after having moisturized my lips – it felt like a dream. Also, if your city gets too hot and dry during the summers (like Hyderabad) you may have to be extra careful about moistening your lips before wearing these shade. Despite the matte effect, it applies pretty smooth on the lip.

Color Pay Off: These are very intense shades and show their color right at the first application. You may have to swatch it more than once to cover all corners, but as far as coverage is concerned the color does full justice at the first application itself.
Staying Power: Since both of these are bright shades in their own Pink and Red worlds, they stay on for a good 5 – 6 hours with light meals. With heavy (read : greasy) meals , it may not stay that long.  But even after it fades it doesn’t really look dull.

Here’s how Pure Amaranthe looks on me:

 

My natural lip color

 

 

Pure Amaranthe on my lips.... 

 

 

  

And here’s how Pure Scarleto looks on me:

 

 

 

 

 

Summary:  Overall a good buy given the shades available and also if you are considering a red lipstick for the very first time.  I highly recommend to own at least one from this range. It would be best to try them out at the store to see which shade suits you the best.  

Thumps up:

1.    Lovely shades and a wide range to choose from

2.    Very light on the lips

3.    A great start to wearing red lipsticks

4.    Impressive color pay off and staying power

 

 

Thumps down:

1.    Not so light on the pocket

2.    May feel dry if lips are not moisturized

 

Final Verdict : On a scale of 5, 5 being the highest, I would rate these lippies at 4 and a half. Half points deducted for the price.

Hope this review was helpful to you – I shall see you all soon, until then - Stay gorgeous J

Get Gorgeous!

I grew up in the 80s and the 90s with massive influence of Hindi/English movies from the 70s. At an impressionable age that I was at, at that time – there were two things that inspired me the most about these movies. One, I loved the fact that all the leading ladies, in these movies,  were working women who left work at 5 and went out to enjoy their evenings after a hard day’s work. Also that they earned their own money to buy all that they fancied for themselves like going traveling or shopping which perhaps made their evenings all the more enjoyable.

And secondly, I adored the way they dressed and wore make up and chic jewelry. 

Well, I am a working woman now (even though don’t always get to leave at 5.00 but I still keep my evenings free) and earning my own dough to do my own things.  So, there is no stopping me from practicing the second thing that I adored so much – dressing up for the love of it.

And out of that love, I have garnered quite a few items that can encourage anyone to try their hand (and face) at makeup. Here’s putting them to good use (apart from using them on me, of course!) – presenting to you my brand new makeup and beauty blog section:  Gorgeousness at your fingertips

I plan to review all the make and beauty products that I own and also any future purchases that I may make. You will get to see swatches, compare products and read my honest opinion on these products.

Here’s a sneak peek into my vanity bag -

 

 

So, brace yourselves ladies and stay tuned for some pearls of wisdom before you order away that Lip shade!

Until then, stay happy :)