Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick Review

New launches are always exciting, particularly so when they're from a high street favourite but even more so when they're as good as this. My ordinary Wednesday was transformed when these turned up at my doorstep (thank you so much Bourjois for giving me the chance to sample your new delights) and I am absolutely thrilled to be reviewing them for you. I am currently in Vietnam as I'm sure you're aware (so many Instagrams oops) but I've scheduled this for you as obviously whilst I'm loving writing about my travels, I still adore beauty too and couldn't not share this with you! I wanted to kind of do this as a date night theme post because these truly are the dream date night lipsticks, however, as you read on, you'll see that these are more than just 'night out lipsticks'. I am so excited to introduce you to Bourjois' new Rouge Edition Velvet Lipsticks... you really are in for a treat.

If you follow me on instagram (@emshelx) then you'll have seen me post a photograph of these beauties already. I instantly fell in love with the vibrancy of these lipsticks, I've never owned such perfectly bright lip colours and I really do think these are perfect for Summer - they're just what I was looking for, but these lipsticks are so much more than your average lipstick...

The Packaging: I instantly fell in love with the packaging of these lipsticks, they're more like lip glosses as rather than being a stick, you paint it on with a little wand like you would if you were applying a lipgloss. These are little teeny glass bottles and I love the high-end look of them, there's nothing high-street about these lipsticks apart from the price (£8.99). These look so gorgeous in my make up bag, I can't get enough of the see-through effect, I love minimal packaging when it comes to beauty products, simplicity always wins for me.

Application: I find it really weird calling these lipsticks because whilst they give the amazing, dramatic colour of a lipstick, they give the shine and moisture of a gloss and as mentioned, are applied like a gloss however, after a few seconds, like magic, they do turn into a matte finish with a velvet texture - if you miss having shiny lips, simply add a clear gloss over the top. These are really easy to apply, fool proof in fact and much easier than your standard lipstick. They use a flocked applicator which has a bevelled tip making it easy and quick to apply, but this also helps with precise application - perfect for me because I'm not the neatest person when it comes to lipstick. 

Colours: I was lucky enough to try out 4 shades: (from left to right) Pink pong, Peach Club,  Frambourjoise and Hot pepper. These are available in 8 shades and these are just 4 of them. A personal favourite is Peach Club, I have been wearing it a lot recently and to tone it down, I have been applying an Urban Decay Naked Gloss over the top for more of a day-time friendly look, blended together this gives such a beautiful finish for an every day look. All of these colours are buildable though and that's something I noticed immediately, you can go as bright or as neutral as you like and as mentioned, add a lip gloss if you're wanting more of a shiny finish. I love the versatility of these colours, perfect for a picnic in the park, a night out or a dinner date!

Here are some examples from my Instagram: above I am wearing the Peach Club with an Urban Decay Naked Gloss over the top for more of a day time shine, as you can see, it's still got a lovely peachy colour but it isn't too vibrant for a day to day look.

Above I am wearing the Frambourjoise, I applied two coats as I wanted it to be vibrant for a date night, I feel like this fuschia shade suits my face a lot more than a bright red - it makes my lips look really full too which is always a bonus! I think this is the ultimate date night lipstick, it says 'kiss me' but it is just a flirtatious colour rather than being too much.

It's my goal to own all 8 of these beauties as they just look so beautiful in my make up drawer.

What they say: Bourjois explain that maintaining moisturised lips is a major focus of their lipsticks (this is a major focus for me too as I hate having dry lips) and to be honest, when I saw how matte these go once they dry, I didn't think my lips would feel moisturised at all but they really do, I'm not sure how, but trust me, these keep my lips perfectly moisturised and kissable (they even taste incredible too), this feels like a gloss but the final result is a pretty matte finish. I didn't think I'd like a matte finish on my lips but I couldn't love it more. My usual problem with lipsticks is that they really badly dry out my lips, obviously not this one, these are enriched with pure pigments and oils to give long lasting wear and extreme comfort and I really didn't feel like my lips were dry whatsoever whilst wearing this.

Wearability: I found that these did last all day, it was actually quite hard to remove with just face wipes and I did have to grab a proper cleanser to take it off, unlike some lipsticks which literally fade in the first hour of wear, these stay firm on the lips, they have a '24-hour hold'. This didn't smudge at all and I really did think that I'd be left looking like a clown but nope, not one bit of smudging, once they're on your lips, they're well and truly set - perfect for nights out. I wore this on a date night with my boyfriend and even though we were drinking cocktails, my lipstick didn't all come off around the glass like it usually does, proving that this is a great first date lipstick, according to Ladbrokes 45.5% of people would prefer to go out for drinks on a first date, I can verify that this lipstick is first-date-proof.

The swatches: 

1. Pink Pong -  Pink pong is described as an edgy, incredibly post-modern fuchsia and I have to agree. For some strange reason, fuchsia isn't a colour that I've ever gone for before, I truly have no idea why because I am now hooked to wearing this super vibrant take on pink on both nights out and in the day. I find that baby pink and bright pink is sometimes a little too girlie for me, it tends to make me look like a Barbie but I feel like this is more of a fun, feminine pink - one of my favourites and a lipstick I won't be putting down for quite some time. I love it.

2. Frambourjoise - This is described as being slightly bleached, as if by the sun, a red berry with a pink tone, perfect for those who want to try red without giving up pink (or a nice vice versa). I really like this, I think it's really fruity and exotic but not too harsh, sometimes bright red can look really harsh (my Grandma kindly told me that I look too harsh with a bright red) but this is actually a nice take on a standard red, it's pretty and soft whilst managing to still be extremely vibrant.

3. Hot Pepper - Hot pepper is described as a striking orangey-red, modern, elegant, a true contemporary poppy red. This really is a poppy red, the colour truly does just 'pop', I do like Morange by MAC which is super orange but because it's orange, it tends to make my teeth look less white, I prefer this because it has orange tones in it but these tones just add to the red and make it more vibrant without making my teeth look discoloured.

4. Peach Club - I've saved my favourite until last. Peach Club is described as a discreet, pale orange, perfect for the sixties look. I have been wearing this a lot recently, for nights out, it's the perfect peachy shade, I still can't decide whether I suit red or pink, so by opting for Peach, I still have a bright colour on my lips, but it isn't as harsh as red or as girlie as pink. On a day to day basis, I have been applying this and then putting my favourite Urban Decay Naked Lipglosses over the top to tone it down and it's crazy how well this tones down, with it being so vibrant you'd expect it to just stay extremely bright, but if you dab some lipgloss over the top, it's perfect for a day time look and actually, my favourite ever day time colour now. I love Peach Club so much, expect to see me wearing this on my Instagram selfies a lot more in the future!

You can get your hands on Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipsticks from Mid April 2014 at Boots and Superdrug and they will cost £8.99 - I want to get my hands on 'Nude-ist' next as I'm also a big lover of nude lipsticks. One final first date result which I found interesting from Ladbrokes is that 62.75% of people expect to kiss on a first date, so if you are going to be wearing this on a first date, fear not, the lipstick will not smudge. Thank you to Bourjois who kindly sent me their new lipsticks to try, as always, my opinions are always 100% honest, if you don't believe me, go and try these for yourself and I promise you will also fall madly in love. 

Which Bourjois products do you like? Do you like the look of these lipsticks? Have you ever seen anything similar? Which colour do you like the best?

Don't forget to follow my travel updates on my blog and Instagram! @emshelx www.instagram.com/emshelx

Lots of love, Em x

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