2014 seems to be all about the hybrid. Brands boasting of new innovative lip products that are pigmented, hydrating and long lasting. Am I the only one who thinks there are lipsticks or lip glosses that have always done that and this is just a new buzz word in the market to entice us to spend our hard earned pennies?
Cynicism over (because lets face it I did go out and buy them) there have been two major high end 'hybrid' lip products in the last couple of months-the Dior Fluid Sticks and the Lancome Lip Lover.
Yes the word 'hybrid' can mean a multitude of things so don't be fooled into thinking these two offerings, both branded as 'hybrids' are similar. The Dior Fluid Sticks market themselves as a 'fabulous wear, high impact, glossy colour lip hybrid' offering the pigmentation and lasting ability of a lipstick with the shine of a gloss-all in a water like formula on the lips. And in the main I have to agree. I like the Dior Fluid Sticks once the initially tackiness and tingle has subsided and you can read a more in depth review here
The 'Lip Lover' is Lancomes version and is available in 17 different shades (21 in the US I believe) and I bought two of them-Ambre Arabesque (320) and Lip Lover (337). The packaging is nice-a simple stubby silver bullet with a click button to release the lid. The applicator is an elongated doe foot that does the job well.
So what is the 'hybrid' in the Lancome offering? Well it claims to deliver three luxurious lip perfecting benefits in one-the hydration of a balm, the vivid shine of a gloss and the intense colour of a lipstick. It claims to have 'saturated pigments' (whilst the Dior offering has 'spheres of gloss') and a balmy base to make lips look flawless and perfected. 'Adjustable colour, buildable shine, lasting comfort.'
Maybe I am wrong to compare the two because I think Dior have gone for 'longevity' and Lancome have gone for 'hydration' but I can't help feeling the Lancome offering is the more disappointing of the two. First up the good points-it doesn't have the tingle or the stickiness of the Dior Fluid Sticks and does have a more water like, lightweight feel on the lips.
Sadly that's where my positivity ends. My main problem is that I really struggle to get even coverage of the Lip Lover formula on my lips-the colour just looks constantly streaky. Now don't get me wrong, one of the main complaints I have heard about the Dior Fluid Sticks is about the difficulty to get an even finish with some of the shades but I found the Lancome Lip Lover to be far more difficult to work with. Secondly, although they don't dry out the lips, they don't seem to offer any additional hydration benefits-in fact they seem to cling to and highlight every dry, flaky patch that suddenly appears.
Of the two, 'Lip Lover' is the better performer, I really love the colour and the high shine. Ambre Arabesque seemed to last less than an hour on my lips but I got about 3 hours out of Lip Lover.
I am disappointed as I am quite a fan of Lancome products usually. I am going to try and persevere with them but at the moment, this formula wouldn't be something I would rave about to my friends.
Isabelle from Nails and Cupcakes has a slighly more positive view and you can read her review here.
Have you tried the Lancome Lip Lover's? Or any of the new 'hybrid' formulas on the market?
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