Review: Laura Mercier Gel Lip Colour in Poppy

Laura Mercier Gel Lip Colours from
the Sheer, Bold, Très Chic Collection

I don't have much previous experience with color products from Laura Mercier--everything I have from the brand is for the face: foundation, tinted moisturizer, translucent powder, etc. But when I saw pictures of the new shades of gel lip colour, from the Sheer, Bold, Très Chic Collection, I immediately wanted to check them out. Thus, I promptly ran to my local Nordstroms and tried on both Poppy and Rosette.

Many of the online swatches (like the ones here from Karla Sugar) had made Poppy and Rosette look remarkably similar, dare I say identical. So I asked the Sales Associate what the difference was and she told me that Poppy had more of a red tone, while Rosette was pinker. It made total sense given the names and I was fooled into seeing a difference by the store lighting and the euphoria I get whenever I am looking at pretty things! I ended up going with Poppy, the supposedly red-tone color. But once I tried it on at home, I realized that Poppy is definitely pink on me. Almost a bright, fuschia-tinged rose color on my lips.

Gel Lip Colour in Poppy

Nonetheless, despite the color confusion, I was determined to give this lipstick a fair test run. But after several applications over the course of a couple of days, something was just off with this lipstick. I suspect it all boils down to the gel formula. While it does feel very smooth and creamy when it applies, that is precisely the problem. The color never really sets on the lips and is forever sliding around. I got smudgy lines around the edges of my lips, the color never wanted to stay on the inner part of my lips (where they meet), and I just had this greasy feeling all day long. And while I am not one that is normally sensitive to smells, the cheap vanilla scent of this lipstick is certainly not doing it any favors.

Maybe if you have really dry lips and/or are willing to work with a lip base or liner to keep the lipstick in place, you may want to check out these Gel Lip Colours. But for me, they just weren't what I wanted them to be...not the right color, not the right texture, not the right look.