Lipstick is something that so many of us love and wear every single day. It makes us feel good, makes out makeup look bolder and braver, helps us to stand out and can be a way of expressing our creativity and personality. To quote Julie Hewettla, “Colours and ingredients have changed over the centuries, but the purpose for wearing lipstick remains the same: to express inner beauty with outer self”. We’re spoilt for choice with so many variations of colour, shade and finishes available now, with new products becoming available all of the time too!

My favourite recent release is from Clarins, brand new finishes for their classic Joli Rouge Lipstick collection enriched with hydrating ingredients for 6 hours of hydration! It’s here to grow our lipstick obsession fill our makeup bags with upwards of 25 colours available.

There are now three different finishes, satin, shine and velvety-matte. The Satin finish is the original and timeless finish for the Joli Rouge collection. By bringing out the Velvet and Brilliant (shine) finishes, we have new and different ways to wear our favourite classic colours. The perfect lipstick for someone who isn’t too fussed about lipstick and it works perfectly for different occasions, fitting easily to everyone's personal preference!

Packaging

Golden and radiant, the packaging is sleek and minimal with a ‘CLARINS’ labelled chipped edge on the lid. Depends on how you keep your lipsticks but they look so pretty all together with the lids facing upwards. One thing that confuses me a little bit is the labelling on the base of the lipstick. Now with a lot of new shades and finishes, the numbers are pretty crazy and can be a challenge if you’re trying to order them by shade or by numbers. I guess this only affects you if you’re super organised with your makeup drawers!

The Finishes

Joli Rouge: This is the original lipstick with a satin finish. With a creamy texture, this lipstick will give you a medium-to-full coverage and you will have to reapply during the day as you eat. A combination of mango oil and organic salicornia extract is in the moisturising formula, you won’t dry your lips out with this collection!

Joli Rouge Velvet: A new addition and my personal favourite. I love the soft matte look from the Joli Rouge Velvet finish. I say soft matte because it doesn’t dry completely like a liquid lipstick. It’s still just as hydrating as the original Joli Rouge but with apricot matching with the marsh samphire extract this time. I feel like these hydrate my lips as well as a lip balm!

Joli Rouge Brilliant: If you love a sheer lipstick finish, Joli Rouge Brilliant is for you! A pigmented swipe of sheer colour is perfect for warming up a makeup look or adding a finishing touch without feeling too overdone. The more product you use, the brighter the shades are! I love that I can wear this as a muted tone or as a radiant colour. Again, Brilliant finishes are formulated with mango oil similarly to the Velvet finishes but paired with organic samphire extract.

It’s so easy to apply these lipsticks on the go because of their soft and creamy texture. I love when I can throw a lipstick in my purse and not have to worry about carrying a lip brush with me. Although if you’re looking for a more defined line or bolder look, I would use a lip liner first or use a lip brush to get that perfect edge before applying the Joli Rouge Lipstick.

Products gifted by MaxMediaLab for review.