Laura Mercier Velour Lovers Lip Colour: Aroused & French Kiss

If there's one thing that you've come to expect from me: I'll always go for a glossy lip over matte lips. It's mostly because my lips are very sensitive and most mattes tend to be drying.

We're living in a great era, my friends. You can now have pigmentation, longevity, and your choice of finish in lipstick. The newest generation of mattes are somewhat friendly to my sensitive lips.

Laura Mercier Velour Lovers Lip Colour ($28, 3.6g) are one of those newest generation of lipsticks. I stumbled onto the formula at my local Sephora after one of those trips where I felt like I needed to buy something but I didn't know what. As it turns out, I loved my original purchase so much that I went back for a second lipstick so I could review a pair (that's my preference so I can tell if certain things are a quirk of a certain shade or a line's trend.

According to the brand's website, this is what the line is supposed to be:
 
"A highly pigmented, moisturizing lip color with a satin matte finish. Velour Lovers Lip Lover is a revolution in matte lipstick that couples delicate mattifying powders with moisturizing mango butter that creates a velvety texture that is smooth, creamy and long-wearing. Formula is buildable, offering medium to high coverage with a matte, sateen finish"

Let's talk packaging for a moment.

These are in matte dark brown rectangular packaging with the brand name on the cap. Shade information is on the bottom.

Let's start with my original purchase, Aroused. Sephora lists this as an exclusive shade on their website. I didn't notice it at Nordstrom, so I'll take Sephora at their word.

Although I really don't like the shade name (seriously, Laura Mercier, I thought you were classy!), I love the lipstick. It's called a "pink coral". I agree. Here's how it looks on my lips inside:

I think this is such a pretty color to pair with a neutral eye that I've been reaching for it frequently. Here's a look at Aroused on my pigmented lips outside:

Gorgeous, right?

Next, let's get a little more innocent.

The other shade that I selected was teased in my Sunday Dreaming section: French Kiss.

French Kiss is described as "Bubblegum pink."  It's a mid-toned, cool pink that instantly brightens up your complexion. My first thought upon looking in the mirror after putting it on was "fresh pink."

Here it is, on my lips:

 And here it is, outside (on a rare sunny day):

While I was admiring the shade in the rearview mirror at a red light, the shade NARS Marisa popped into my mind. It also made me wonder if my definition of bubblegum is different than Laura Mercier. I'd call French Kiss more of a milder hot pink.

Just for comparison, here's a swatch of both shades together:

Overall, this is one of the most moisturizing mattes that I've tried. It plays with my lips far nicer than say, Chanel's Rouge Allure Velvet formula or any MAC Matte. Wear time is excellent- probably 6 hours or so before fading. I never make it that long without sipping on something during the day anyhow.

 I can see myself continuing to explore this line since they appear to be sensitive lip-friendly mattes.