When it comes to makeup, lipstick has (& will always be!) my first love. And the fact that I’ve been wearing less makeup in 2017 compared to years prior, has just helped reinforced how important makeup basics are for me – I’ve fully stepped away from quantity & wanting to have multiples of everything to having fewer products that I really love & prefer to use often.
Guerlain is a luxury French beauty brand known both for their skincare & makeup. I still remember the first time I got to try Guerlain Beauty products at an event maybe four or five years ago; I tried the Lingerie de Peau foundation & the cult Rouge G lipsticks. The experience was, something else! Definitely one of those memorable beauty moments for me. I did go to a beauty counter a few weeks later to buy my own bottle of foundation but sadly didn’t get a good shade match. Then Guerlain seemed to disappear from India for a while, but now they’re back & bigger than ever.
A few months ago I attended their grand relaunch event where they introduced us to two new products, the Abeille Royale skincare line & KissKiss Matte range of lipsticks. I’ve been trying this lipstick since September & I’m finally ready to talk about it!
Guerlain KissKiss Matte Lipstick Review
About: Guerlain imagines KissKiss Matte, a hydrating and plumping matte lipstick, intense like a lipstick and comfortable like a balm! The subtle spice extract it contains gives the impression of voluminous lips while the precious oils and the hyaluronic acid smooth and hydrate them. KissKiss Matte offers 9 captivating shades for all special occasions. The iconic packaging is adorned with a golden matte veil.
Packaging: This is definitely the first thing that attracts me to a product & it gains even more importance. Do you think people would bother buying Chanel or Jimmy Choo nail polishes if they came in standard bottles? I’ve heard time & again that Guerlain (along with fellow French brand, YSL) does the nicest luxe packaging & I have to agree.
The lipstick tube is shaped like rectangular & shaped like gold bricks, I often find metallic gold makeup packaging can look a little over the top but the muted colour & matte finish of the packaging keeps it understated & classy. The bullet itself is a pretty standard shape but it does have KISS KISS engraved on the side of it.
Shade / Colour Payoff: The 9 shades available in India run from daily wear nudes to reds, plums & even some vampy evening shades. Zesty Orange is a deep orange shade that doesn’t scream ORANGE but it leans pretty red, I’d say it’s better classified as an orange-red shade (one of my all time favorite kind of colours to wear!) Orange reds suit Indians skin tones so well (because of our warm undertones) & would look great with a slightly orange toned blush or even bronzer. I’d classify it as more of a daytime colour but you can easily wear it at night with, say, heavier eye makeup.
You get a lot of coverage with just one swipe but (which you can even wear as a stain after muting with your fingers) but I’d say it takes about two swipes for full coverage.
Formula: Guerlain waxes eloquent about how this is supposed to be a hydrating matte lipstick (which is so rare, as mattes tend to be very drying). It does have a lot of nourishing ingredients & goes on semi creamy. It does even have a little bit of reflective sheen for a while (which helps your lips look plumper), it’s definitely not a flat matte. It was definitely more nourishing & comfortable to wear than a lot of mattes out there & also very light, I wasn’t aware of a layer of paint on my lips, unlike with a lot of other mattes. Like with all matte products though, it helps to have nourishes lips, if you haven’t been regular with lip balm this does have a tendency to start feeling slightly dry a few hours in & it’s also more prone to settle into lines on dry lips.
Wear Time: For how comfortable it is, it’s also really long lasting. You’ll get 6-8 hours of wear easily. It does disappear a bit if you eat a meal, thankfully without leaving a mess.
In Conclusion
I’ve really enjoyed everything about the Guerlain KissKiss Matte lipstick. It’s gorgeous to look at, comfortable to wear & I find myself reaching for it very often. While hydrating matte doesn’t mean it’ll take the place of a lip balm, it is the perfect lipstick for folks who like how most matte lipstick look but not how they feel – I think I’ve made a convert of my mom, who usually yells something on the lines of NO MATTES!! every time I ask her to wear any of my lipsticks. So all in all, no complains really.
Cost & Availability in India
The lipstick costs ₹2,775 in India (for 3.5gms of product) which is quite fair considering the international prices, it’s also in line with products by other luxury brands in India like Estee Lauder.
Availability is still slightly limited, you can purchase from Guerlain counters at Shopper’s Stop Outlets across India. Apparently they should be on everyone’s favorite beauty ecommerce website soon, I’ll update you folks once that happens.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below! x
