Review: L'Oreal laLaque / leMatte

There has been a lot of buzz in the beauty community about L'Oreal's newest addition to the Colour Riche line; the laLaque and leMatte lipcolours.  I had seen some rave reviews on these lipsticks and decided to try them out for myself.  I didn't have too much trouble finding them - I was able to find the four colors that I wanted between Target and Harmon's.

There are eight shades in the line; four matte colors and four lacquer colors.  They are long pencil like lipsticks that twist up out of their packaging. I ended up buying two of each finish:

- laLaque Lacque-onic: a true red perfect for that classic red lip look
- laLaque Never Lacque-ing: a very pretty nude mauve
- leMatte Matte-R of Fact: a deep brown red
- leMatte Matte for Me: a bright orange red

Unfortunately, I am not as in love with these as the rest of the beauty community seems to be.  While they are extremely full color lipsticks and provide vibrant color I don't think they are anything special.  I do prefer the laLaque shades over the leMatte as I found the leMatte shades to be very drying.  The laLaque colors glide on smoothly and have a slightly glossy finish. They are by no means a long wearing lip color.  They transfer easily to glasses, mugs and wear off when eating.  The leMatte shades were just painful to wear.  They also apply pretty smoothly but quickly start to dry to their promised matte finish.  I found the matte finish to be very drying and wear unevenly.  The dark shade (Matte-R of Fact) was blotchy and never looked to be evenly applied.

Claims: "Shiny/velvety full coverage lipcolour"
Finish/Texture:  The laLaque colors have a slightly glossy finish / the leMatte colors have a very dry matte finish
Scent:  A pretty strong perfume scent that I don't find pleasant at all
Long Wearing:  Not at all
Packaging:  Long, slim pencil type that twist up
Price:  $5.99
Availability:  Limited availability - I found displays at Target and Harmon's but have not seen them at drugstores yet
Limited Edition:  Unsure

Pros:

• Beautiful, full, rich color

Cons:

• Unpleasant strong scent
•  Matte shades drying
• Not very long wearing
• Transfers easily

Overall: This is a miss for me.  If these lip colors become part of L'Oreal's permanent line I doubt that I would repurchase. The only one that I might consider repurchasing is the nude mauve color.