As a jazz tap ballet child of the theatre from way back, I’m in two very different minds when faced with the prospect of glitter mascara and/or any lip colour that falls anywhere near “candy” on the pink spectrum. While part of me grapples with what I imagine dance-induced PTSD feels like, the other part of me is excited, like I’m visiting an old friend. On this occasion, the latter emotions have won out.
I want to start with the aforementioned lip colours because they’re unlike (read: superior to) so many other lippies that fall under the “liquid lipstick” umbrella. The YSL Tatouage Couture Liquid Matte Lip Stains are a hybrid liquid lipstick and lip stain- they’re as pigmented as a lipstick and dry matte as so many liquid lipsticks do, however the texture and level of comfort on the lips feels more like a lightweight stain. I tried three shades- Rouge Tatouage, a vibrant pink red, Rose Illicite, described as a nude rose but I found it to be more of a true rose pink, and Black Red Code, a deep burgundy. I found all three to be equally rich in pigment and as long wearing as each other. As with many deep lip colours, the Black Red Code was the most difficult to remove and actually left a nice wine stain on the lips after my first attempt at removal (all traces were removed after a second go). They didn’t dry out my lips at all and they felt more comfortable than almost every other matte liquid lipstick I’ve tried, so the ease of wear definitely erred more towards the lip stain side of the scale (this is very much a good thing).
Glitter mascara. Something I never thought I’d be reviewing, let alone endorsing. I tried the YSL Mascara Vinyl Couture in I’m The Storm, which is described as a “top coat” rather than a standard mascara. I applied it over the top of my usual black mascara, then layered a few coats to see how much sparkle I could get from it before it began to clump. I applied close to four coats before I needed to separate my lashes using my fingers (which is a good result by any standard). Because the glitter pigments here are more charcoal than silver, they aren’t as “showgirl” as I’d expected (thank Christ). The mascara lasted eight hours before I noticed any glitter fallout, which is an impressive length of time for anything with physical flecks of glitter. One coat will give you a really beautiful, almost subtle hint of shimmer that I actually think would be acceptable for the day time, where any additional coats are better suited to the evening.
YSL Mascara Vinyl Couture and Tatouage Couture Liquid Lipsticks are available now via Mecca Maxima, and will be available on all YSL counters from April 1.
