Lancome - The Seventh Sphinx

As far as I’m concerned, Sephora has always been about play. Play and skincare. Makeup for me is about playing, fiddling, experimenting. Trying.

This I think is part of why I was interested when I heard they were launching a subscription box, though I have not purchased any of the myriad boxes on the market (popular for years now), nor do I feel any inclination to do so. Boxes have the appeal of presenting you with (potentially) new products and brands but, after watching/reading dozens of reviews, they are full of random junk, too. I have enough random junk, thanks, I prefer to be more discerning in my acquisitions. [Or, I like to imagine I am. I mostly am, with lapses.] In the main I like the process of research, reading reviews, comparing swatches, thinking, deciding. I don’t want that done for me, and I certainly don’t want it done for me for $20, $30 a month, and I certainly don’t want it done worse than I could do it for $20, $30 a month.

The beauty of the Sephora Play! subscription box is that it is $10. It’s breezy of me but this seems like an easy risk. A mere $10! At even $15 I might begin to squint and doubt, but $10, it might as well be $5 in my mind. Marketing geniuses. Earlier today I was at a shop selling cookies for 50¢. Who even sees that symbol anymore?! Damn straight I bought a cookie.

While Sephora carries dozens of brands, there is a comforting sense of curation in the chaos; I am confident of recognizing the brands represented and likely to be interested in them. Then, too, as it’s obvious how many eyes will be on the box, and how many brands eager to participate, they are fools if they don’t make it solidly good. And the machine behind Sephora…it is no fool.

This is the February 2016 box, the program launched last September. I’m not exactly blown away by this stuff but I’m not disappointed, either. The Tom Ford perfume is a little trendy/obvious/boring but not bad, the MUFE lipstick is a crowd pleasing rosy nude shade, the Tarte mascara I’ve been curious to try, the Lancome eye pencil I don’t care about but don’t mind, would happily give away to someone who uses eyeliner more (or maybe I’ll try it?), and the BareMinerals lip oil balm thing* is the surprise favorite here, a creamy, sheer pigment that gives a luscious, semi-glossy, balmy look to the lips. Oh, there was a Bumble and Bumble dry shampoo, too, which I will gladly give away. Dry shampoo, it is not for the likes of me.

*I am also really liking the new YSL tint-in-oil, which leaves a plush, soft look to the lips while being so sheer as to allow the true sense, the natural shape and texture of the lips to come through. A lovely, sensual effect. More liquid than the BareMinerals one, which is more like a lip balm and more opaque…maybe I am slightly preferring the YSL one but it’s close, I like both. The YSL smells like ultra tropical guava candy, which could put some off on application, but that doesn’t linger.

For me the more lip products the better, but just being pleased with 3 out of 6 I’m feeling I got my money’s worth. Am I being too generous? This is partly because I have a system in place for diverting beauty stuffs that won’t work for me to better homes (everyone must have such a system, no?), and partly because I have a play budget, in my mind, which this does not exceed.

Not planning to cancel anytime soon, even if it is annoying to have punctuation built into a product name/title.

If you’re in the mood for a luxurious lipstick, you might consider the Kyoto Red Silk Lipstick from Tatcha. An ancient shade with a modern formula and beautiful presentation. This is a limited edition offering but currently available. Observe the handwritten note on my packing slip!

The color is the traditional geisha shade of shu-iro, which translates to vermilion or scarlet in English; an orange-toned red. This, though, is a red that can present as a true balanced red, a cool rosy red, or a warm red depending on the context. Quite a wily shade, and hard to pin it down. Or, easy to pin it down at any given moment but then always changing on you. It’s clearly warm toned when put against a distinctly ruby/cool shade, but has a deep rosy red color on the cotton round when I’m removing it…perhaps it is warmer on the lips than in the bullet? I don’t know. Good luck.

The concept is that it gives radiance to any complexion. I’m not guaranteeing it would do that but I’m pleased with its chameleon-like nature, and—however it reads—I really like the effect.

Swatches in daylight, L to R (Kyoto Red in the center): Lancome Rouge in Love 181, Tom Ford Narcotic Rouge, Tom Ford Cherry Lush, Tatcha Kyoto Red, MAC Russian Red, MAC RiRiWoo, MAC Lady Danger

It’s not a sheer formula but it’s the sheerest of what I’ve swatched here. Lady Danger is more orange, Russian Red is darker and more blue-toned, Cherry Lush is brighter and rosier. I don’t find it as creamy as any of these formulas, actually, despite Tatcha’s silky promises, but it’s good for a matte formula (it’s more matte than the other matte formulas above, as well), and the fact that it isn’t crazy opaque makes the formula friendlier, in my opinion. I do an initial application to get a general shape, blot, and do a second application to refine the shape. Could use a lip pencil beforehand to make the edges more crisp but I tend to prefer softer edges anyway, so direct from the bullet is fine, with maybe a little help from my best friend, the cotton bud.

Wearing it in the previous post, doesn’t really come across as orange-ey here, I wouldn’t say.

If I had to choose between these formulas I’d probably go with Tom Ford’s matte over this one…(that is, if I wanted to spend ~$50) but this is a unique color to my eye, and that is in its favor. I also really appreciate the fact that this is almost exclusively a skincare brand that released just one shade of one formula of lipstick, and this is it. Thus saying, this is the only lipstick you need.* Rather, this is the only shade of lipstick a geisha needs, and don’t we all want to channel her intrinsic elegance and impeccable taste? I like this brand.

*Though, we know that is not the case here…

[My name is Meghan. If you’re new to my blog, welcome!]

The lipstick is faceted at the tip, creating a distinctive silhouette that reminds me of Charlotte Tilbury’s lipsticks and some of Tom Ford’s new releases but which is its own creature. I wouldn’t say this makes application more precise but it looks really pretty. Also, I’m confident that this is the heaviest lipstick I own. Luxe points.

Here I’ve just drawn on the booklet that accompanies the product. Doesn’t look orange here at all to me!

Tag: Lancome

playtime with Sephora

luxe lip: Tatcha Kyoto Red Silk Lipstick