Thursday, June 27, 2013

Chanel Aqualumière Savage Grace Review and Swatches

This was the other lip gloss I picked up from Nordstrom, having heard good things about the Aqualumiere formula and falling in love with the way it looked in the tube and "needing" a fuchsia lip gloss.
Before I go further, I want to point out something very important: THE SHIMMERS ARE DUOCHROME. I was not at all able to capture it on film, but they shift from orange to red to purple, though it's not really noticeable on the lips. It makes playing with the tube really fun, which is...probably something normal people don't do, but I have never claimed to be normal.

left to right: Shu Uemura PK 375, L'Oreal Infinite Fuchsia, Chanel Savage Grace, Becca Berry Twist

It's quite opaque, but unfortunately the texture (comfortable, non-sticky, somewhat thin) means it slips into my lip lines something terrible. Wearing it over a lip primer (I use Becca's, which I should probably review but have so far been too lazy) solves the problem, but it's just too much effing work, plus you have to carry around 2 tubes for reapplying.
over lip primer; you wouldn't want to see the picture of it on its own

With proper prep, I get about 2 hours from it, though less if I eat, and it does have a bit of the ring-around-the-mouth. The shade is very pretty, bright but not too bold, and the shimmers are nice in the sun but quite uninspiring otherwise.
Oh hai sunshine

I appreciate the lack of scent and taste, and unlike the Armani, the shimmer in this one is of the non-gritty variety, but it is also going back. The uneven application and wear are just too much effort for the price (actually, too much effort, period, but especially for the price), and I suspect it's due to the opacity of the shade––something sheerer likely wouldn't have such noticeable liplining/fading. Dior and Guerlain are up next, but if they fail, I can always just buy more Burberry glosses to get my luxury fix!

Overview
$29.50 for 0.19 oz, available from Nordstrom and department stores

Quality: 7.5
Effectiveness: 4 (prettily shimmery, wear is short of "long")
Ease of Use: 2.5
Senses: 5
Pigmentation: 4 (definitely pigmented enough to be worn alone, but formula is such that it is somewhat uneven)
Duration: 4.25
Consistency: 4
Price: 1.5
Value: 4 (at 0.026 g and $0.143/application, a tube contains 207 applications and lasts 1.75 months at $0.572/day, applying every 2.5 hours; this is less time and more money than other high-end lip glosses)
Packaging: +0.5 (don't like it quite as much as Armani's, but has good heft and it looks quality)
Grade: C

Have you tried any Aqualumieres? What do you think of Savage Grace?
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