Swatch and Review: Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupté Shine in Rose Infinite 7

YSL is one of those brands that is just so classic and a must-have for any makeup lover. One of their more popular products is the Rouge Volupté Shine ($36), a lipstick with a sheer and moisturizing finish.

I've been really loving nude/rose/brown colors lately, and I went and got Rose Infinite (#7). I wanted to love this so bad. I tried so hard to love it, but it just didn't work out for me.

I mean, look at this packaging! It's so beautiful and luxurious and I feel like a million bucks just holding it in my hand.

Rose Infinite is so gorgeous in the tube, and even more so on other people. On me, it looks like clear chapstick. I love that you can see what color the lipstick is based on the panel behind the logo. 

When looking at the lipstick from the top, you can see that there is a lot more packaging than there is product. The size of the tube is quite decent, and it's hefty as well, but the lipstick itself is much thinner than what I expected from a high end brand like YSL. But then again, it's a high end brand, so of course they'd charge a disproportionate amount. At $36, this is the most expensive lipstick I've ever bought. Which I then returned (first return to Sephora, ever) because it just was not what I expected.

This is a really sheer lip color. It takes me three or four swipes on my lips to get a decent color payoff. It's described as a shady taupe pink, which is why it didn't show up as well on my lips since they're quite pink already. The texture is amazing - probably the best I've ever used. It's extremely moisturizing and non-sticky. However, my personal preferences lean toward matte finishes, and this is is Volupté Shine, so that didn't work for me. I wore this color out one day, and my hair kept getting stuck to my lips. 

Where is the color?? I looked through all the photos I took, thinking that this couldn't possibly be YSL, but alas. I don't remember how many swipes I used for this picture, but it hardly shows on my lips at all. It's like a clear gloss on me. Sure I could use more, but at $36 a pop, I'd be better of getting a more pigmented product. Also, the staying power of this is terrible. Maybe it's because this color is so sheer, but whatever payoff I could get from this didn't last very long at all. Overall, this is such a hyped product, and it just didn't meet my expectations - partly because of my own preferences. I think I'll try YSL's new Rouge Pur Couture next time and see if it works better for me.

3/5