Lancome Shine Lover Vibrant Shine Lipstick Review & Swatches

Funny story for you! I purchased five shades of Lancome Shine Lover Vibrant Shine Lipstick ($25) and all but one went back to Sephora.

Why?

Find out below.

Lancome Shine Lover Vibrant Shine Lipstick was released for Spring 2015 as a permanent collection to the Lancome Lipstick range. It’s a lipstick infused with hyaluronic acid and rose de muscat oil to smooth and condition lips. The idea of the formula is to offer sheer coverage with a balmy texture that keeps lips smooth and softened while offering a high shine finish.

Technically it sounds like the perfect lipstick formula but after trying it I felt it was too much of a try hard. For me, I think the Shine Lover Lipstick was heavily influenced and inspired by Japanese lipsticks yet fails miserably at being as good or as cheap.

Lancome Shine Lover Vibrant Shine Lipstick

Lancome Shine Lover Vibrant Shine Lipstick Swatches (Inattendue-Core Star)

I understand where Lancome is going with this formula. They wanted sheer color with a high shine and a nice hydrating texture. Awesome! But they are charging you $25 per shade for a very basically packaged lipstick with a mediocre formula. I just felt like I could get a nice Japanese lipstick from brands like Aube or Coffret D’Or with a far superior formula at this price. For those sensitive, these do have a floral rose flavor and fragrance.

I didn’t this formula had any real shine. The texture is nice enough with a creamy balminess which applies easily and has a sheen finish with a nice dash of color. The formula is ok but it doesn’t really capture the melty texture or glossiness of a Japanese lipstick. Granted, Lancome never said that’s what they were aiming for but I do feel like that’s where Shine Lover was going and also to name something “Shine Lover” but only get a very basic sheen finish does disappoint.

I expected these to have a more melty, lightweight consistency with a shiny finish. Mostly they feel like an overpriced tinted balm! I like the idea and the theory behind the product, I just don’t like the formula all that much and felt it grossly overpriced when there are so many better, cheaper options available. I’m not scared of mid or high range prices and if I like something I’m more than willing to pay big bucks to get it. However, at $25 I do expect more.

On the upside, the shade range is actually really lovely. They created the colors to enhance the natural lip tone so all the shades give a healthy, natural lip look!

Lancome Shine Lover Vibrant Shine Lipstick is a nice idea but Japanese brands have already done it better and cheaper. And even the drugstore at the moment has many lip products that have launched with nicer formulations at a way more budget friendly price. If I’m paying $25 or more for a lipstick I do expect more and I just felt like Shine Lover didn’t quite deliver more. That’s why the other shades I purchased are headed back to where they came!

Lancome Shine Lover Vibrant Shine Lipstick is available now on counters or grab them at Sephora.com.

Tried Shine Lover?

What did you think?