YSL Beauté Rouge Pur Couture Vernis À Lèvres Glossy Stain

YSL Beauté's Rouge Pur Couture Vernis À Lèvres Glossy Stain ($32) is a revolutionary new lip product that YSL says combines the texture and shine of a gloss with the long wear of a stain. YSL created Glossy Stain to coat the lips with color, offering a lightweight texture that immediately melts into lips upon application. "Glossy Stain delivers intense, glossy color for an extremely long-lasting shine."

Glossy Shine is shipping to the YSL counters at our department stores on March 1. I discovered that it was launched exclusively at Sephora. I ordered four shades in my first order to see how the little color swatches online represent the shades and their intensity. They arrived the week before last, but I wasn't able to get swatch photos until this past weekend.

My reaction isn't as breathless as I expected it to be. Vernis À Lèvres Glossy Stain is nice, but it's not exactly what I expected. Based on the description at Sephora and the name, I expected more shine than I got. You'll see shine in my full-sun swatch photos, but on my lips there is a gleam at best. The color is long-lasting; any shine you may see isn't. If you don't eat and drink, the stain color can last a half-day. That's noteworthy. Long-lasting color? Yes. Long-lasting shine? Not on me.

Let's take a look at the four shades. It's too bad I started testing with #19, Beige Aquarelle, shown above. If I had seen #19 on my lips before I ordered it, I wouldn't have. It's way too light. It doesn't show up on my lips, even though it looks lovely on my arm above. My lips are just a tad too pigmented for this sheer shade to work for me. I was bummed. Fortunately, I found the other three shades I ordered in my first round to be pretty on me - and add enough color.

The shades in my second photo were much more satisfactory. From top to bottom immediately above they are #7, Corail Aquatique; #3, Brun Cachemire; and #15, Rose Vinyl. I think the name of the game is, "Buy the shades that look darker in Sephora's online swatches. Corail Aquatique looks orange on my arm; it's peach on my lips. Brun Cachemire is drop-dead gorgeous - much more rosy on my lips than it looks on my arm. Rose Vinyl is a bright pink that's very pretty.

Here's the rub. These stains are not at all hydrating to my moisture-starved lips. I was hoping for everything - sheerness, shine, and color. Rather than hydration, I got long-lasting, sheer color. I can't wear them unless I put a balm underneath or top them with a hydrating lip gloss. That's a bummer. I'm not sure why I expected hydration. Maybe it was a dream.

The curved applicator makes the task of swiping on the color fast and easy. It may be a gimmick, but I like it. I also like the little windows that show the product inside the tube. I don't have to guess to know which shade I'm grabbing from the four.

Here's my dilemma. I ordered five more shades before I received the first four. At one point, there was an error on Sephora's Web site, and five shades were listed at $25, not the $32 price. I ordered them all. I seemed like a too-good-to-be-true bargain. It was. The prices have now been corrected at Sephora. All the shades are $32, so I got a deal. I'm not sure I want the deal, so I haven't damaged them by opening them. I'm seriously considering a return of my deal shades. Vernis À Lèvres Glossy Stain feels drying on my lips. On you, they may be fine. My lips are exceptionally dry, and I feel it when a lip product doesn't offer extra moisture.

I leave you with a mixed verdict. If you want a lip stain that provides semi-glossy, long-lasting, gorgeous color, YSL's Vernis À Lèvres Glossy Stain could be your favorite new lip color. If you look for the same qualities I do, you may not be happy with it. You'll have to know your priorities to decide whether to try/order this innovative new lip stain.

Until March, Sephora is the exclusive supplier for Rouge Pur Couture Vernis À Lèvres Glossy Stain. You can see it at this Sephora link. I've been assured that we'll be able to purchase them at YSL counters in March.

P.S. Those little spots on my product photo are fingerprints. I tried to get them off, but each time I would position one of the tubes, I left my mark. I finally gave up.

Photo at top courtesy of YSL Beauté; other photos by Best Things in Beauty