Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2017 Beauty Exclusives: Laura Mercier Read My Lips Collection- Roses

Today we have the next lip kit that I purchased during the Early Access at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2017: Laura Mercier's Read My Lips Duo -Roses. No Glitter Tuesday while I work my way through the Nordstrom Beauty Exclusives. I want to get everything reviewed during Early Access, if possible. (That might not happen, but I'm trying!)

Here's the basics: there are two versions of this lip kit from Laura Mercier, both retailing for $28 (a $50 value). There is the roses kit that I picked up and a nude kit that I passed on since I'd already purchased the Bobbi Brown Nudes kit. For $28, you receive two full-sized products: a Plumberry lip pencil (which I hadn't tried before) and a Velour Lovers Lip color in Aphrodisiac. I've been familiar with the Velour Lovers line for awhile- I previously reviewed two of the shades here.

That's why I chose this kit to be review #2- I knew I could test on Sunday since I know and like the formula already. What I wasn't expecting was to get multiple compliments on the shade- so your girl knows her colors I guess.

Let's start with the Plumberry Lip Liner. This is a wooden pencil liner (which I don't prefer these days and find a bit dry, to be honest... but that's all wooden liners). These contain 1.49g of product and normally retail for $25 each. Plumberry is a permanent collection item, so you don't need to purchase the kit to get the shade.

It's a lovely light berry liner. I'll swatch both at the end of the post, but for now, let's just see what my lips look like filled in with it:

I see that bit that's not perfect, but neither am I.

Let's move onto the Velour Lovers lipstick in Aphrodisiac. These normally retail for $28 each, and this shade may be exclusive to the kit. I didn't see it on the brand's website, on Nordstrom's site, or at Sephora, Macy's, Blue Mercury, Neiman Marcus, or Bloomingdales. This shade is a gorgeous rose that's slightly darker than mid-toned yet not overly dark. I had a feeling that this wouldn't go goth on my pigmented lips and was in my sweet spot.

Overall, I like the formula on these lipsticks. They're not as drying as the average matte shade but have good longevity. I find my prior purchase to be comfortable for a matte. That said, I'm putting my lips through a lot recently so they're not in great shape in terms of hydration (I need some By Terry back in my life apparently).

Let's take a look at what this looks like on my lips, without the liner (this is important):

See, these aren't 100% matte- which I adore. This is an easy-to-wear shade that I can reach for year-round. I really like it.

Now, let's put that lipstick over the liner. Wait until you see the difference!

That's the same lighting conditions!

Let's take a look at the hand swatch (Liner, lipstick, both):

So, despite the somewhat similar appearance, you've got a number of looks in this kit. I really appreciate when brands give me choices in just two products.

Laura Mercier is one of those quietly good brands. I don't gravitate towards the line for most things (setting powder noted as an exception), but I usually like everything I try from the line. Perhaps it's product overload or the lack of in-your-face marketing, but I really should make an effort to try more.

Bottom Line: This is a good deal for a slightly-drying but lovely matte lipstick that doesn't fail me often. I mentioned my other review earlier; I passed one of the two shades onto a friend but still reach for the other quite often. It's my continued love of that lipstick that convinced me to grab this set after initially passing. This formula is fairly long wearing- and I may have to revisit it in the future.