A Few of My Favorite Things from Lancome
This week I decided to finally organize the folders on my laptop and found a whole bunch of unpublished Lancome photos while going through my archives. Sometimes I test things out, photograph them, but never end up publishing my reviews for whatever reason. Considering I still use all of these products, I might as well share my current thoughts on them.
Three L’Absolu Rouge Hydrating Lipsticks ($32) featured here are:
- 359 Hypnotique – sheer finish
- 397 Berry Noir – matte finish
- 399 Secrete – satin finish
Honestly, Lancome always had great lipsticks. Although I like all three of these, after months of use 397 Berry Noir is probably the one I reach for most often. It has a rich, creamy formula that feels very buttery and balmy on the lips. The finish is more of a luminous matte rather than a true matte that can look dry sometimes. The packaging of L’Absolu Rouge is absolutely beautiful too, these bullets feel very luxurious – they are weighty and have a nice heft to them.
Lancome L’Absolu Rouge Hydrating Lipsticks come in a variety of different finishes, so coverage and wear time will vary depending on the shade you choose. On me, 359 Hypnotique – which has a sheer finish – wore off the quickest, probably within an hour or two; followed by the creamy satin 399 Secrete that held on for about 3 hours before starting to fade. 397 Berry Noir with matte finish always lasts the longest on my lips. I can easily get a solid 6 hours out of it if I don’t eat anything greasy and drink carefully. So my advice is – stick with the mattes if you want longevity without dryness. Other two formulas are nice for what they are, but mattes are the most impressive IMO. By the way, Sephora organized available shades by finish, which makes it so much easier to figure out what’s what.
I love brow mascaras in general, and I do still enjoy using my Lancome Sourcils Styler Brow Gel ($26.50), although I should probably toss it at this point – it’s been a year, hehe. I have mine in 03 Brun, which is like a nice, natural dark brown color that’s not too warm and not too ashy – right in the middle. When I use it my eyebrows always look defined and full, and the color actually stays pug even in the summer. I am not the biggest fan of the wand itself though, I find the plastic bristles too pokey. It’s almost impossible to avoid an unpleasant scratching sensation during the application. Otherwise, this brow gel is pretty stellar, but if Lancome replaced the wand with an actual brush with hairs instead, I would like it even more.
Swatches L to R: Lancome L’Absolu Rouge Hydrating Lipstick 359 Hypnotique, 399 Secrete, 397 Berry Noir; Sourcils Styler Brow Gel 03 Brun; Teint Idole Ultra Long Wear Foundation 090 Ivoire N.
And finally, I already reviewed two shades of Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Long Wear Foundation ($47) on this blog, but I wanted to share a quick swatch of my most worn one 090 Ivoire N so you could see how good of a match it turned out to be. My opinion is the same as it was back when I originally reviewed these – I still love the formula and still use this foundation regularly on days when I am looking for a little more coverage with a glowy finish. The finish is what really does it for me. I have combination skin so it can be tricky to find balance with non-matte foundations – a lot of them end up looking too shiny a few hours after the application. This formula stays luminous throughout the day, but not overly so. It looks like an intentional, healthy glow rather than an oily shine, which is exactly what I’m going for. Bottom line: I can’t recommend it enough!
Lancome offers so many different items, and some of them are better than others. I hope this short list at least gives you a few pointers on products that are well worth a try, in my opinion.
