L'Oreal Tint Caresse Orchid Blossom: One of a range of Tint Caresse shades
The Tint Caresse seems to be developed out of Japan, or at least, the packaging and wrapping all has Japanese text. Sometimes L'Oreal does develop Asia-exclusive products, so perhaps this could be one of those - indeed, the idea of gradient lips is pretty much a Kbeauty/J-beauty sort of concept. I'm always pretty happy with such products though, as it often results in some pretty innovative and unique products. The shade I'm reviewing today is Orchid Blossom, which is one of several shades.
L'Oreal Tint Caresse Orchid Blossom: The Tint Caresse seem to be an Asia-only product
This is the first time I've seen a powder lip product before, so I have to admit, I had all sorts of curious questions about it. How did L'Oreal formulate a powder lip product? What does it feel like on lips? What does it look like? Well, let's find out, by starting at the ingredients list!
L'Oreal Tint Caresse Orchid Blossom Ingredients
The main ingredients are a couple of emollients (BIS-DIGLYCERYL POLYACYLADIPATE-2, DIISOSTEARYL MALATE, HYDROGENATED POLYISOBUTENE, ISOSTEARYL ISOSTEARATE), some silicones which have varying purposes as emollients and texture enhancers (DIMETHICONE, DIMETHICONE CROSSPOLYMER, PHENYL TRIMETHICONE) anti-caking agents (HDI/TRIMETHYLOL HEXYLLACTONE CROSSPOLYMER, VINYL DIMETHICONE/METHICONE SILSESQUIOXANE CROSSPOLYMER), powder (TALC), absorbent (ALUMINA, SILICA), a couple of preservatives with humectant properties (PENTYLENE GLYCOL, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN).
After that we have the rest of the ingredients which are present in small amounts, including a skin conditioning agent (LAUROYL LYSINE), bulking agents, which are common in powder products (CALCIUM SODIUM BOROSILICATE, CALCIUM ALUMINUM BOROSILICATE), an antioxidant, here probably to prevent the product from going bad (PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRA-DI-T-BUTYL HYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATE), shimmer (SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE), anti-caking agents (MAGNESIUM SILICATE), bulking agents/opacifiers (TIN OXIDE), and a couple more preservatives and fragrance (BENZYL ALCOHOL, PARFUM / FRAGRANCE). Lastly, there are also the pigments that give the colours of the product - because this is colour makeup, after all (MICA, TITANIUM DIOXIDE, RED/YELLOW/BLUE LAKES, IRON OXIDES, CARMINE).
L'Oreal Tint Caresse Orchid Blossom: A mix of powder and emollient ingredients help to prevent the product from being too drying
So from the ingredients list, we can see that although this is a powder-based product, with bulking agents, absorbents and the like, there is still effort put into the formula to make it as non-drying as a powder product for lips can be, with the addition of emollients. And of course, some of the ingredients, such as the anti-caking agents and the polymers are there to ensure that the product applies smoothly and looks nice on lips. It certainly is a very interesting formula, perhaps because I've never actually seen a powder product for lips before!
But now that we've looked at the ingredients list, how does the product actually perform on lips? One of the first things I noticed about this product is the sponge applicator tip, which you can see below. Basically it's a sponge with medium hardness, that you dab and apply onto the lips. The sponge is supposed to make blending the colour easier, so that you can achieve that ombre/gradient lips look.
L'Oreal Tint Caresse Orchid Blossom: The sponge applicator
The powder colour is actually stored in the cap of the product - so if you lose the cap, there goes your product, haha. The powder colour and the sponge applicator touch each other when the cap is closed, so when you twist open the cap, the sponge is already loaded with powder, so you don't have to dip the sponge to load it with powder.
L'Oreal Tint Caresse Orchid Blossom: The powder colour is actually stored in the cap of the product
Below is the shade Orchid Blossom swatched. I did a heavy swatch, as well as a blended out swatch, to see what it might look when you're doing gradient lips. It's actually pretty pigmented, and Orchid Blossom is a nice bright magenta pink shade.
L'Oreal Tint Caresse Orchid Blossom Swatch
And below, the swatches at an angle so you can see the finish. Despite some of the ingredients being micas and the like, you can see that the finish is actually pretty matte. It's not a flat, dull matte, though, as there's the slightest sheen of sorts to it, but it's mostly matte.
L'Oreal Tint Caresse Orchid Blossom Swatch
And, finally, a lip swatch. To be honest I sucked at trying the gradation lips, so I just did a full-on magenta pink lip instead. To be fair, I think using the sponge applicator does make getting a gradient lip easier than my previous attempts, but I'm just not good at doing gradients at all. The shade is a bit brighter and more intense in real life than in the photo - I think my photo just couldn't handle the brightness! As you can see, due to the powder finish, it has a matte finish.
L'Oreal Tint Caresse Orchid Blossom Swatch on lips
The only downside to this product is that it does feel pretty dry on lips, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it if you have flaky, chapped, or otherwise dry lips, as this does accentuate the lines and creases in lips. I know that L'Oreal added some emollients to the formula to make it as non-drying as possible, but it does still feel like you applied powder to your lips at the end of the day. In terms of lasting power, this was pretty decent. It doesn't smudge easily, and it pretty much stays on until I eat or drink something with oil inside, which is pretty good.
L'Oreal Tint Caresse Orchid Blossom: A pretty nice tint with good pigmentation and lasting power, but it's a bit on the dry side for me
So, would I recommend the L'Oreal Tint Caresse liptints? I like that there is no liquid in the product, so it's easier for travel, and I appreciate the novelty of a powder lip product. But I am not a fan of the dry feel on lips, and I don't think that anyone with dry or peeling lips would really like this product. Perhaps a balm under it would improve the feel on skin for such people. But if you don't mind the drier feel on the lips, and like a product with good pigmentation and lasting power, then this product might be worth checking out. At S$23.90, it's still a decent buy for the price.
| Recommended? | Pigmentation | Texture | Application | Colour | Lasting Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Only if you don't have dry lips | 8/10 | 4/10 | 7/10 | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| The Bottom Line: L'Oreal's Tint Caresse is pretty novel in its powder format, and has nice colour payoff and lasting power, but does feel a tad dry on lips. | |||||
The colour is so beautiful, such a sweet shade of pink! And the packaging is great :)
ReplyDeleteYiota
PinkDaisyLoves
This looks so pretty and I like that you can wear it non-ombre style too so it's not just a novelty. I probably wouldn't wear this a lot because it's so dry but for a special occasion it would be really nice!
ReplyDelete<a href="http://justj.ca>Just J <\a>
Oh, this is verrrry interesting. The texture does throw me off but I'm kind of interested to try it nonetheless. I haven't seen any here in Canada yet - fingers crossed it isn't one of the products that never makes its way here.
ReplyDeleteThis looks really nice, but I'm guessing you are not based in the US, because I haven't seen these at all.
ReplyDeleteI love the product since I'm not too fond of shiny lips covered with goo. I moisturise my lips very frequently so I can manage a matte look. I bought the Sakura Blossom and Peony Blossom. Shading isn't a problem for me since I love art and de-stress by doing coloring books for grownups.
ReplyDeleteOooooh so pretty... :O
ReplyDeleteAmazing color combination!!!
ReplyDelete