Review: Clarins Rouge Eclat Satin Finish Age-Defying Lipstick in Chocolate Rose 14

Clarins sure love naming their products with super long names! Lately I have been lusting over Clarins' range of lipsticks, admiring its gorgeous gold packaging along with swatching the testers offered at the stand every time I walked past. I typically associate Clarins to be a brand that generally targets more mature women, however there is no age factor when it comes to makeup! The more I swatched the beautiful Rouge Eclat Satin Finish Age-Defying Lipsticks, the more I fell in love with its creamy and easy to apply formula. After one stressful day, I parted with my money and came home with the Rouge Eclat in Chocolate Rose.

I've always been a lover of French skincare, but Clarins definitely shows that they do luxurious makeup products too. At $38 a pop, by no means is it affordable, however compared to the likes of Chanel and YSL, it is significantly less expensive. It definitely doesn't hurt as much when I am able to get a 25% discount on it too! The beautifully luxe lipstick case doesn't compromise on quality; it weighs nicely in the hand and its golden exterior looks indulgent thrown into my handbag. Clarins describes the Rouge Eclat as a lipstick with intense long-lasting colour, while boosting collagen and protecting lips from dehydration- absolutely what I would look for in a lipstick. 

The colour choice is so typical "me"; I adore a more warm, browny pink/nude shade as it is perfect for everyday wear, which can never go wrong (although I seem to have plenty of lipsticks with a similar shade oops!). The Rouge Eclat applies on so smoothly and effortlessly, with a beautiful satin finish that is absolutely plush. My lips are quite pigmented and many lipsticks struggle to show up, but the Rouge Eclat performs excellently, coating my lips with a lovely colour. The swatch on my arm came out a little more orange-leaning than its true colour, however my lip swatch gives a better representation of this demure shade. I love how hydrating the lipstick is, and you can see just by the shine that appears on my lips! 

My first ever lip swatch!

I am very impressed with how the Rouge Eclat performed in terms of colour and application, and its longevity wasn't too shabby either. The colour wore away evenly which was a plus- patchy lip colour is not the look I'm after! The Rouge Eclat is also one of the most comfortable lipsticks I have worn and I highly praise its formula. I won't hesitate to buy more Clarins lipsticks, although my wallet might start to complain if I keep this a habit!

Have you tried any lipsticks from Clarins before?

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Bronzed Up!

Perhaps this post would have been better suited for when summer was starting instead of ending, but then I thought of all of you in the Northern Hemisphere who are approaching spring and summer- so I guess I am not completely out of sync! I dug out all the products I could think of that had to do with bronze, and yes, it's not a huge collection. And how is it that I do not have a powder bronzer in my makeup collection? I am looking at the Bourjois Delice de Soleil Bronzing Powder but any other suggestions are welcome. Anyways, here we have my bronze coloured products.

Dove Summer Glow Body Lotion, Bonne Bell Sunblush Bronze in Sunkissed Copper, Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze, Korres Sunflower & Evening Primrose Eyeshadow in Bronze Brown,  Australis 10 Hour Wear Pencil in Bombastic Bronze, L'oreal Studio Secrets Eye Pencil in 531 Brown, Clarins Crayon Yeux in 02 Brun

I'm very certain that the Bonne Bell Sunblush Bronze cream and L'Oreal Studio Secrets Eye Pencil are discontinued, hence it is hard to find much information on them now. I did get the Sunblush Bronze 8 years ago, so perhaps it shouldn't still be my collection... oh well. Moving onto the products themselves now.

L-R: Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze, Korres Sunflower & Evening Primrose Eyeshadow in Bronze Brown

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze $11.95
Not much needs to be said about this cult favourite eyeshadow cream gel. With a creamy and smooth texture, this is a beautiful everyday shade which applies nicely and stays on the eyelids. The colour is longlasting and intense and I absolutely love it. Quality is very high with a very affordable price, and these little jars of colour have even been dubbed as having a formulation comparable to MAC's Paint Pots. Definitely one of my favourite eye products.

Korres Sunflower & Evening Primrose Eyeshadow in Bronze Brown $29.95
I got this little cute eyeshadow from a part of my Korres Smoky Bronze Antioxidant Eye Collection which I reviewed here and bought for only $10 from StrawberryNET. Bronze Brown is a very wearable shade, and I absolutely love nude and brown eyeshadows (yes I am boring). Pigmentation is decent but nothing amazing, and does apply well. To the naked eye the Korres Eyeshadow and Maybelline Color Tattoo shades are very similar, but when swatched (see below) they are quite different.

Bonne Bell Sunblush Bronze in Sunkissed Copper $N/A
As I mentioned earlier, this is a very old product, roughly 8 years old. Since this was a product I didn't use very often, it still looks like it is in good condition! The packaging is quite practical, as it allows just the right amount of product to be dispensed out of the soft tube which is easy to squeeze. The bronzer cream is very pigmented, and a little goes a long way. This definitely has orange undertones so it is best used for a nice sunkissed look.

Top to bottom: Australis 10 Hour Wear Pencil in Bombastic Bronze, L'Oreal Studio Secrets Eye Pencil in 531 Brown, Clarins Crayon Yeux in 02 Brun

Australis 10 Hour Wear Pencil in Bombastic Bronze $9.95
One of my favourite eye pencils ever, I am so glad it is so accessible and affordable! I reviewed this here last year. Absolutely amazing texture, smooth and creamy and such a breeze to apply. Smudgeproof and stays on for the day! I love the colour as I'm not a huge fan of black eyeliner, and I find that brown and bronze shades are very natural looking. I find that its formulation and colour are extraordinarily similar to the Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner in Bronze (oh what a mouthful!). The Australis pencil rivals my Clarins Crayon Yeux in Brun for my favourite eyeliner, yet at a fraction of its cost. My only qualm? That it runs out too quickly and needs to be sharpened regularly (mainly due to its creaminess).

L'Oreal Studio Secrets Eye Pencil in 531 Brown $N/A
I purchased this from a clearance bin at Priceline for $4. I wasn't sure what to expect from it but it did impress me with its colour. This is a very neutral and modest shade, I can even use it for a "no makeup" look as it is very subtle. Doesn't apply as smooth as the Australis pencil but does the job. Not very longlasting and does fade throughout the day.

Clarins Crayon Yeux in Brun $36
I got this eyeliner free from work so calm down, I didn't buy it for the exuberant $36! Creamy, pigmented and glides on beautifully- what could I not like? It is slightly less shimmery than the Australis 10 Hour Wear Pencil so it makes it perfect for everyday wear. It also doesn't run down as fast as the Australis, which is something you'd hope for, especially in a high end pencil. To be honest I don't use the foam end at all for smudging, but being a smudgeable pencil, it isn't smudgeproof like the Australis. Phew that was a lot of "smudge" in one sentence.

Dove Summer Glow Beauty Body Lotion in Medium to Dark $6.95
Lastly, here is the Dove's offering for a gradual tan moisturiser. Easy to apply, smells a treat and gets the job done. Just make sure you exfoliate and don't pack on the lotion thickly... as you can get orange patches! Back in the day when gradual tan lotions were very popular, I remember the Johnson's Holiday Skin Lotion which was the leader in its market. I'm not sure what has happened to it, as a Google search doesn't bring much up. I haven't used this lotion in years, and don't plan to. Not sure what to do with it...

L-R swatches: Maybelline Bad to the Bronze, Korres Bronze Brown, Bonne Bell Sunblush Bronze, L'Oreal Studio Secrets Eye Pencil Brown, Clarins Crayon Yeux Brun and Australis Bombastic Bronze

After these swatches, I'm thinking that this post shouldn't even be called "Bronzed Up"! Oh well, too late now. Just look at Bad to the Bronze compared to Korres' Bronze Brown! What a huge difference. Bad to the Bronze looks more of a shimmery taupe than a bronze while the Korres is more true to a bronze. Bonne Bell's Sunblush Bronze in Sunkissed Copper is the most bronze out of everything else! See what I mean about its pigmentation? That was only a very tiny dollop of product too. L'Oreal's Eye Pencil is far from bronze, Clarin's Brown is less bronze than Australis' Bombastic Bronze and is less shimmery too, although it isn't perfectly depicted in this photo. In reality, Bombastic Bronze looks more appealing than Clarin's Brown when swatched.

Phew what a post, I don't usually do "long" posts due to laziness. But there you have it, my bronze products.

Have you tried any of these products before? What do you think?

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