In July 2016 I went on a little shopping spree with two blogger buddies to Aberdeen Mall in Richmond (the Asian cosmetics mecca in Vancouver) to check out the newly opened Aritaum store. I picked up one Laneige Two Tone Lipstick in Pink Salmon and swore to myself that I would talk about this "brand new" lip product at some point. Then they launched in Sephora a year later, I received a press package and when I looked at it last December I realized I now had two Pink Salmons! I guess I made a good choice in selecting it the year before! Now, I have tried to achieve the Korean gradient lip and it felt like a lot of work with lipstick so having two seemingly perfect lip shades that I can apply in one swipe seems pretty awesome!
PR samples
When it comes to the gradient lip, the Koreans have it perfected. All of their makeup looks generally involve a lip tint or a gradient. You don't really see the pigmented full lip colours sought after in the North American beauty world and even though there are some fantastically pigmented Korean lip products out there, they are still treated like tints where a small amount of colour is placed in the center of the lip and blended out with a finger.
In the case of this lipstick, Laneige decided to provide one uniquely shaped lipstick bullet with two complimentary gradient colours with more than half of the bullet being the neutral shade and the rest being that "I sucked on a popsicle" pop of colour of the center lip.
Please excuse the look of the first lipstick as I accidentally pushed on the side lever causing the lipstick to mash itself into the cap...not one of my finer moments.
The formula of the lipstick itself reminded me more of a balm though it is described as cream and had a very smooth and comfortable glide across the lips. Wear time was not fantastic because of the balmy texture, but the pigmentation was not too shabby. The hard angles of the rectangular-shaped bullet also made it easy for me to get the gradient done on my angular cupid's bow.
While it seems natural to hold the lipstick a certain way when applying to the bottom lip, make sure that you flip the lipstick around when you do your top lip since you always want the more neutral shade on the outside of the lips! Then just mooosh your lips together to blend the gradient. I had to use my fingers for the more pigmented Red Blossom and Juicy Pop.
Cashmere Nude* was one of my favourites because it was so easy to wear. You can apply this shade in the dark and you know it will look good!
Pink Salmon* was more dramatic in its gradient, but still fairly natural looking. This is what I typically think of when I envision Korean makeup.
Red Blossom* was surprisingly pigmented after trying the previous two shades and required some finger blending to even out the brightness of colour. Still a very nice shade though.
Juicy Pop* was the most adventurous of the shades I received and I have concluded that because the colour difference between the yellow and the bright colour is so dramatic, I feel like I only look good in it when I am talking or have my mouth open. This is also the shade I envision when I think of typical Korean makeup. Maybe I just need to have coral makeup to match for me to feel comfortable with this lip gradient.
Like I said, wear-time is meh and if you don't eat you'll get maybe 3 hours instead of the likely 2 hours with normal talking and mouth motion. I also didn't find the formula on its own to be particularly hydrating, so a very light layer of lip balm or primer would be helpful. Despite all of this, I am still wearing Cashmere Nude and Pink Salmon to work because I like that I can achieve this look so quickly and effortlessly. Sure, I will have to reapply, but because I see this product more as a balm, my brain has reconciled that it's ok.
There are 8 shades of the Laneige Two Tone Lipstick available now at Sephora.
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