Hey lovelies,
Don't you hate when Blogger eats your post? I meant to have this review up a few days ago but Blogger ate it, auto-save feature be damned, and I had to start again. Garrrr. ANYWAY. I have one of my oldest lemmings to show you today!
When I first moved out of my hometown, from Palmerston North to Hamilton, one of the things I was most excited to discover was that suddenly I was living in a city with Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent counters. Palmy has since caught up in that department, but in 2008 I was starry eyed with excitement at all the pretties. I'd go to both counters regularly to fawn over their offerings, but YSL was my favourite. I never bought anything though, until one day, one of the MUAs invited me to a collection launch party for Summer 2009 Treasures of Africa.
I gleefully accepted and trotted along to the launch party, where I and other make up junkies were plied with wine and nibbles. We were shown the new collection, free make overs and goodie bags were had AND there were freebies with purchases over a certain value. Being fresh out of home and with my first full time 'grown up' job, I had a shiny new credit card I was ready to use and abuse and did so with gusto. I picked up the Couleurs D'Afrique palette, the Faux Cils mascara and a Touche Brilliance gloss and received a free brush set - I still have the gloss, brushes and the palette, and I've replaced the Faux Cils mascara several times. It's one of my favourite high end mascaras. And in the goodie bag, there were skincare and fragrance samples aaaaaand (was this the most drawn out intro or what?) a sample pack of Rouge Volupte lipsticks. It contained #1 Nude Beige, #10 Provocative Pink and #17 Red Muse and I immediately fell in love. I wore those wee samples often (I actually still have them too!) but my favourite was Red Muse.
Here I am wearing Red Muse for a photo shoot mid 2009. Seriously, dem brows. Anyway, I became a student in 2010 so my make up spending went down and Red Muse hovered on my wishlist for years. Rouge Voluptes retail for $65 in NZ, so I always hesitated to pull the trigger. I bought another Rouge Volupte, #27 Rose Paris, with gift cards on my 21st birthday, choosing coral over red because 'I had enough red lipsticks'. I know. WHAT WAS I THINKING. YOU NEVER HAVE ENOUGH REDS. But choosing between Rouge Voluptes is hard, guys!
But evidently I did eventually get my paws on it, or you wouldn't be reading what may be my most rambly post to date :D This happens when I am super excited.
So how did I finally get it? Well, I was browsing Fresh, drooling over the pretties, when I spotted an ad for their beauty blogger programme. If you're an Australasian beauty blogger, you pretty much NEED to know about this. Here's what Fresh says:
Fresh understands that Beauty Bloggers love reviewing products but it can be a costly exercise to keep up with the trends in the beauty & makeup industry. That's why we want to make sure all beauty bloggers have the opportunity to access products at cost price and do what you guys do best, REVIEW it.
Pretty cool, huh? Fresh will give you a lifetime 25% discount on all products and $50 free credit to make your first haul. Needless to say, I was super keen! I spent ages planning my purchase before finally selecting the long awaited Red Muse and a Philosophy highlighter, which you'll see soon.
Red Muse is everything I dreamed it would be. A glossy red in luxe weighted gold packaging. Rouge Volupte lipsticks are hefty, which I like, and certainly look their price!
Bonus extra Rouge Volupte swatches!
The colour pay off is fantastic. #17 Red Muse delivers rich, glossy colour and lasts well. I do have some feathering if I wear this without lip liner, which is normal for me - your mileage may vary. The formula has quite a bit of slip and my lips feel hydrated while wearing the Rouge Volupte formula.
For the rest of the make up used in this look, click here :)
What I liked:
- Mango scent
- Luxe packaging
- Stellar colour pay off
- Silky formula with a bit of slip
- Some hydration
What I didn't like:
- Prone to feathering if lip liner isn't used.
- Hefty price tag!
Where to buy:
- Fresh - $51NZD and free shipping
- YSL counters and stockists (retails $65NZD here)
Thanks for stopping by!
X
Lani
Provided for review as part of the Fresh Beauty Bloggers Programme. Click here for more information. My opinions are honest and are my own.
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