Cle de Peau Radiant Liquid Rouge

Shiseido's just launched a new series of Radiant Liquid Rouges in their prestige Clé de Peau line, and I was very happy to see that these are beautifully pigmented.

I have two shades here to try out and swatch, 15 and 17.

15 is a soft violet-pink. A shade which I find quite atypical of a brand like Clé de Peau, which usually avoids the less "mainstream" tones. But the average consumer is (finally) becoming more experimental with their lip colors, and this shade of violet is as wearable as they come.

I remember in the good ol' days, when there were only a few brands selling this type of pinky-violet hue, including MAC and Lime Crime. And in those days, it was more the young and funky that would gravitate towards this sort of shade, despite the fact that it is surprisingly flattering on many skin tones.

If you're on the market for a bit of a change, make sure you try this out. You could be pleasantly surprised.

For those who want more classic glamour, there is always 15, which is a red which manages to be both soft and rich at the same time. It's not a deep dark scarlet. I like to call it a luminous red, because there is a hint of milky orange, as well as a hint of blue-undertone to it at the same time. 

Compared to sister brands Shiseido and ZA, the Cle de Peau Radiant Liquid Rouges are noticeably more balmy and plush feeling. There is more of a cushiony thickness to the product, although it's not sticky or gloopy. The texture just melts in and lips feel instantly nourished, which is nothing short of what you'd expect from a prestige line like this.

Color stays quite even on the surface of the lips although with all liquid rouges, you will need to touch up after awhile, no matter what. I was pretty surprised how little bleeding and feathering I got with these. Something about the formula does reduce the appearance of color bleeding into fine lines around the lips, even without liner or lipstick beneath. These work great over lipsticks as well, if you want to intensify both color and shine.

I would say these are not as intensely pigmented as the ZA Vibrant Moist Lacquers, but then those are meant to be eye-catching "pop" colors anyway. Radiant Liquid Rouge is more forgiving and comes in softer tones as wll, and you can wear them opaque or just as a very light coat for a more traditional "sheer gloss" look without it looking patchy or streaky.