Maquillage Dramatic Rouge

4 Reviews

1. 

   guiltyBobolink8

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   When will I learn? I should not buy fragrance or lipstick online if I have never experienced it in real life. I am reminded of this often, and this product is a perfect example. I got this in PK 227 after seeing a glowing review where it looked stunning in photos. On me, not so much. To be fair, the formula is 5-lippie perfection: moist, glossy finish, subtle sparkles, great color payoff without heaviness, and truly exactly what I hoped for because my lips are really dry and can’t handle matte lipsticks. Note that this has an almost greasy texture (just like a balm) that some people might not appreciate. Now for the bad: Unfortunately the color is hideous on me so I will be tossing this. PK 227 is a bright, cheap medium pink that leans warm – it almost has a peachy quality on my NC15 skin. The shade reminds me of my first pink lipstick (CoverGirl, naturally) that I wore in the 80s in junior high. It looked bad then and even worse now that I have rosacea and wrinkles. Not good. Because I love the formula so much I will be getting this in a few other colors – not quite ready to give up yet.

2. 

   pridefulApricots5

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   I noticed on MUA that the picture for Dramatic Rouge and the Dual Color Rouge are the same – however Dramatic Rouge is the bottom right lipstick (with the flat round top). The Dual Color Rouge is the top one that’s in the typical lipstick shape and looks like it’s got 2 sides that are in two different color. There’s also a liquid lipstick/gloss version (forgot the name), that’s the left one with the gloss applicator. EDIT: the gloss is called Essence Glamorous Rouge NEO.

   All three of these products, I believe, are in a set/series and often has matching colors? I’m not 100% sure of all of the base/permanent colors, however this is true for the very gorgeous, very special, very “I MUST HAVE IT” #10 Lady Red.

   Recently (end of the year 2015 beginning of the year 2016) Maquillage has been running a long promotion compaigne for Lady Red – a rather uncommon (for Japan) stunning bright red lipstick. Red lipstick, while common in the west and everyone women is supposed to have at least one single red lipstick (like the little black dress), in Japan the ladies there have always been more toward the light pink, nude pink, peach kind of shades. In other words, more natural type of color that tends to be juicy/glossy than shocking amount of color. In fact, a popular brand called Ettuise was advertising about having purunpurun baby lips. So this red, bright red series from Maquillage is pretty uncommon and special!

   I don’t think I own any of the other Dramatic Rouges but I do own one Dual Color Rouge and I think one of the lipgloss as well (though it’s a much older version). I bought Lady Red Dramatic Rouge on a whim at duty free on the way back home from Japan – it is sooooooooooooooooooooooooo perfect!!!

   First let’s talk about the color. This is a gorgeous, gorgeous, slightly orange/warm pulling red. It’s bright but not over done, with no blue undertone. This works fantastic for the Asian skintone which is generally yellow/warm tinged. It’s got tiny gold shimmer in it but that doesn’t really show up on the lip – which i actually really like because most of the drugstore lipsticks in US tends to be shimmery and I really dislike shimmer of the western makeup type – they tend to make my lip look very flat somehow. Instead, Lady Red has this lovely glossy shine that doesn’t look like you have a layer of gloss on – it’s more like somehow your lips are just juicy and glossy. The color stays very long without giving up much of the shine – it actually reminds me a lot of the YSL glossy stains except it’s not quite as staining, and it doesn’t have that cushy feel, and have just a little less staying power.

   The texture is sooooo amazing as well, it’s soft without being overly soft, i can swipe it and there’s almost full color in just one swipe – second swipe makes it perfect (you can apply with light pressure on the first swipe for a softer look). You can also pat it on a little at a time if you’re scared of committing your full lip to it. It’s got zero stickiness, no traveling/spreading, and doesn’t get on my hair and stick to my hair and transfer to the rest of my face like most glosses do. A very very irritating thing that I find with western d/s lipsticks, especially when they’re this red, is that they easily transfer to my teeth. even when I do the finger trick to get rid of the excess at the center of my mouth, it STILL gets on my teeth. This though, for all that it’s glossy and long lasting and red, doesn’t seem to come off on my teeth! it comes off on the bottle but not my teeth!!!!! THAT’S VERY IMPORTANT!!! I stays glossy for a long time, but I do believe it transfers easily to bottles and cups when you drink – YSL glossy stains are better in this regard.

   Finally, staying power – it stays pretty long if you don’t eat! It lasts quite well through drinking from bottle and cup for me, and it stays glossy for a surprising amount of time for there being no cushiness (YSL glossy stains for example, last really long because 1) it’s a stain and 2) the glossy part has this cushiness that kinda traps the gloss and staying power in). It does transfer easily to the bottle/cup but somehow the color and shine stays on my lip as well.

   The only down side to this lipstick is the price – at 3000yen it’s around $26 to $28 with the current exchange rate – not terrible but still pretty damned expensive for a lipstick! The first time I bought maquillage lip products was back when exchange rate was terrible too, so yeah, depending on exchange rate, this line’s price becomes either “okay fine, i’ll pay up if I have to because it’s that gorgeous and amazing” to “omfg there’s nothing that’s worth this price.”

   So #10 Lady Red is apparently limited edition (though it’s been selling for quite a few months now), and all three types comes in a #10 Lady Red version – however having tried/used the other two in the past, I really do think Dramatic Rouge is the version with the best performance, the most special of the lot. This is particularly perfect for Asian skintone, particularly if you’ve been having issues with finding the perfect, non scary red lipstick that has no blue base.

   I personally plan on nabbing a backup of this on the way out of Tokyo at the duty free shops!

3. 

   dopeyDoves7

   Reply

   The RD351 lipstick completely changed my view about lipstick and instantly became a HG product. All my life I regarded lipstick and lip gloss as something you “have” to wear in order to finish a makeup look, and I wore it rarely, reluctantly, and half-heartedly because it was uncomfortable and never looked right. This summer I went shopping unhappily for a new lipstick because lipstick is fashionable, and I expected that wearing it would continue to be a chore. This line of Shiseido’s had a cutout sign advertising that it was receiving outstanding reviews on Japanese makeup review sites, so I asked to try some of them on. It was a revelation. The texture feels like a high quality moisturizing oily lip balm. It’s sheer and glossy. The RD351 shade (a warm berry red) was gorgeous and perfect on me. It’s a magical color that makes my skin look even and radiant in every lighting situation. I suddenly realized that the reason why I had never looked good in lipstick before is just that I’d never found a color that worked with my coloring. Unfortunately this shade is a limited edition. I’m planning to check out the other colors on my next trip to Japan.

4. 

   kindTortoise4

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   This is a review for the Spring 2015 Maquillage lipsticks. I own three colors Pink (PK201), Red (RD425), and Beige (BE322). These lipsticks are heavily oil-based, so as advertised they are INCREDIBLY moisturizing. I often forget to add a balm in the morning or to take my lip balm with me at the office, but with these I`ve found I don`t have to moisturize as the day wears on. The colors are much more pigmented than you would expect from this type of product and they really do not bleed outside the lips. The Beige is a perfect dupe for Bobbi Brown`s Pot Rouge in Powder Pink. Just for fun, I`ve tried wearing the lipstick as a cheek product, but while the effect is natural-looking blush, it is not incredibly lasting. I adore the Pink, it is by far the nicest peony pink in my collection. The Red is a very Japanese style red, not too dramatic, just sheer enough for day wear, but not “showy” enough for evening. They last about 2-3 hours before fading, but they`re easy enough to reapply straight from the bullet.