Celebrity Advertising Works: Lancome Lip Lover in Framboise Etoile

(Product was purchased by me.)

Especially if that celebrity has Lily Collins's face.

(image source: Sephora)
Lancôme has never been one of my go-to brands, mostly because it reminds me of my mom's insufferably snobby friends, who are all die-hard fans of the brand and thus are all apparently "too good for makeup" because their (very expensively pampered) skin is too beautiful on its own. (You can't make this stuff up, I'm not even kidding.)

But Tracy said these were good, so I stopped to take a look while I was in Sephora, spritzing all the smells (holy cow, Alien is one scary beast - killer jasmine plants ftw) and wringing my hands over the price tags on Shiseido skincare. My eye was immediately drawn to Framboise Étoile for reasons unknown to me (fuchsia? Raspberries!), and then I realized that it was the shade on the advert plastered so helpfully on the rack. I.e., the one Lily Collins was rocking. OK FINE.

Framboise Etoile on bare lips. It is shiny. Gives off a reflection like you see in cartoons or comics.
It has the faintest scent that I can't detect once I put it on my lips, and it's initially lightweight, though it hugs the surface of lips. It gets tackier with wear, but it's not uncomfortable. Reminds me of Shiseido's Lacquer Rouges, although those are a teensy bit tackier (reapplying usually remedies this). The nice thing is that with reasonable reapplication (~2 hours, more often if eating/drinking), lips aren't left dry or flaking at the end of the day.

I need to go back to my Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Eye cream for PM. EYE BAGS BEGONE.
I don't have a Dior Fluid doohickey, so I can't tell you how those compare. (I stopped to look at the Dior counter in a Macy's, but fled after an overly aggressive SA wanted to put me down for credit cards and mailing lists and shook my hand even after I said I was just looking. Seriously. What.) The Maybelline Lip Elixirs are also comparable (though they are slightly stickier and not as vinyl-shiny). These are $23, which surprised me for some reason.

I like the formula but haven't fallen in love with any other shades (and I am completely done buying lip products for the next millennia). If you are looking to try one of the new liquid-gloss-balm-lipstick-shiny-things, though, this one ranks up there!

Other makeup worn:
Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach
MAC Strut Brow Pencil
NARS Smudge-proof Eye Shadow Base
Shiseido RD299 (middle shade), VI308 (middle shade) trios
Sephora Long-Lasting Liquid Liner in Glitter Brown (old formula)
Senna Cosmetics Clarity
Laura Mercier Rose Rendezvous*

*was a gift from a friend