Bourjois Proves Sheer Matte Lip Color Can Exist.

I make it no secret how much I love Bourjois. How much it saddens me they have not yet made their way into the US drugstores. How I maybe kind of partially wanted to go to London recently to buy more products at Boots....

Anyways, I saw through a couple of blogs that they had introduced a sheer matte lip color version of the Rouge Velvets, Souffle de Velvet, and I was intrigued. While I like a lot of color depending on the day, sometimes for work I do prefer something more sheer but not necessarily glossy. It's a truth universally acknowledged that if it' a glossy texture my hair must be in want of sticking to it.

So I picked up two shades while in the UK, Orangelique and Ravie En Rose.

Much like the Rouge Velvet editions, these go on liquid and eventually dry down to a matte finish. Fans of instant dry-down might find these a bit challenging, though. I noticed that unless you lightly blot with a tissue between applications, it does take a while to dry down to matte. But that does mean you have more time to work with it if you're using a lip brush.

One thing that did sort of rustle my jimmies reading some other reviews about these were people complaining they were too sheer/not enough color pay off. They're marketed as sheer matte lip color soooooooo I'm not sure what was the expectation? I digress.

For me, they ultimately did what they say on the tin, provide a sheer wash of matte lip color. If you wanted to build it up more, I do suggest lightly blotting between coats to help keep it from coming off too patchy, or using a lip brush.

Ravie En Rose, being a light warm pink, ends up being a rosy 'my lips but better' shade on me. This would actually be a great color for fair skins looking for a hint of something or when the lips aren't the focus, like with a smoky eye or wing-heavy look.

Orangelique is perfect for people wanting to dip their toe into the orange lipstick trend but not go whole hog. It's a decent color payoff without being too much, and would go perfect with warm neutral eye looks or those golden/ochre/orange eyeshadow looks that scream autumn.

I won't say these aren't slightly drying, it's a matte liquid lip color so there's always going to be some dryness, but it's not that bad and I find them to be reasonably comfortable and last very well.

Overall, I think these are a cool addition their line up, and if you like the feel and look of the original Rouge Velvet, these are worth a go.

You can get these in the US via ASOS Online or if you happen to be in the UK, at Boots or Superdrug where Bourjois is almost always 3-for-2 on sale.