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Unlike the many Korean beauty trends that came and went over the years, the ombre lips never went out of style. I never quite jumped on the bandwagon as the I'm all about bold reds and vampy berries but after seeing the LANEIGE Two Tone Lipsticks ($35 CAD each), my interest in the look was definitely piqued! Each sporting two complementary colors fused into an oblique-shaped tip, the Two Tone Lipsticks promise a perfect and effortless ombre effect. To see some swatches of a few shades and read my review of the formulation, click......
Packaging:
The LANEIGE Two Tone Lipsticks are housed in a unique rectangular packaging with a convenient slide-to-dispense mechanism. Usually, lip products with this kind of packaging don't have a removable cap but a lid flap at the top that automatically opens up when the slide button is pushed down. Therefore, I was kind of confused and tried to slide the button while the cap was still on.
There is actually a little sticker on the lipstick advising you to remove the cap before pushing the slider but alas, I totally missed it and smudged the tip of one of the colors (*tears*).
As you can see, each shade consists of two colors. They are mashed together diagonally so by pointing the darker of the two color towards center of the lips, you can create the ever-so popular ombre lip design in just a few swipes. The design works pretty well as intended but I find that with the rectangular shape, the lipsticks are a little trickier to apply as compared to your regular teardrop-shaped bullets. Extra time is required to perfect everything, but nevertheless, the lipsticks certainly save you the trouble of finding complementary lip colors.
Formulation:
With a very slick and moisturizing formulation, the Two Tone Lipsticks are available in eight different shade combinations. There's some variation in the pigmentation so I will get into the details in the section below. The colors are not only light and hydrating but also provide a very beautiful sheen and a cushioning wear. The lipstick sits beautifully atop the lips and there is no creasing or settling into fine lines. In terms of wear, the Two Tone Lipsticks are just okay. The colors are prone to transferring so if you want your ombre effect to stay all day, you'll definitely need to reapply throughout the day.
For all my lip swatches, I applied the Two Tone Lipsticks over bare lips but in hind sight, I should have prepped with a heavy-duty concealer. As you can see, the lighter of the two colors in each lipstick is usually quite sheer, so the natural lip color still peeks through. If you want a more intense ombre effect, it's better to start with a blank canvas.
No. 2 Red Blossom: The most conventional color-duo out of the four shades here and my personal favorite, "Red Blossom" combines a beautiful pinky red and a natural rosy beige. This gives you the ultimate "just ate a popsicle" look. Both shades are pretty pigmented but using a concealer underneath will definitely intensify the ombre effect.
No. Pink Salmon: A combination of orange sherbet and a milky baby pink, "Pink Salmon" provides a very K-Pop, youthful effect. I'm not a big fan of orange lips but this combination actually looks really youthful and flattering!
No. 7 Cashmere Nude: With a soft rose and a neutral beige, this color combination is the subtlest out of the four. The pigmentation is actually very opaque considering that both shades are quite light but overall, I feel like this is not the one to pick if you are actuallinterestedng in creating a true ombre effect.
No. 11 Juicy Pop: With the most interesting color duo, "Juicy Pop" is a combination of a sheer coral red and what appears as a bright yellow. Interestingly, the yellow barely shows up on the lips so it works more like a transparent balm. Therefore, this is definitely a color I would recommend using a concealer undereath. It gives a really supple, natural gradient that's perfect if you are looking for something fresh and light for the summer time.
Overall, these Two Tone Lipsticks are very good! The unique packaging serves its purpose but I found the rectangular shape a bit clumsy to work with. Nevertheless, the formulation is hydrating and the color combinations make it easy to create the perfect ombre lips.
Availability:
LANEIGE is available
online and in stores at select Sephoras in Canada.
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