Review: Lancôme Hypnôse Star mascara and L'Absolu Rouge lipstick (190 Rouge Eternel) + my birthday!

Yes, it's official, I turned 25 yesterday. I had a great day, made extra special by all the sweet birthday greetings I've gotten. I received a small haul of presents too, all beauty products to boot, and I'm planning to do a full review on each one of them since they're all so lovely! In fact, here's the first one already...

One of my most favorite presents is definitely from a good family friend who gave me both the Hypnôse Star mascara and a L'Absolu Rouge lipstick from Lancôme!

The mascara was actually introduced last year with the classic Betty Boop character who became popular around the time the Lancôme brand started in the 1930's (you can read about it here), that's why it came with a super cute Betty Boop pouch which is currently my new makeup pouch already!

Just click below to find out my thoughts and the full review about both!

The mascara comes in one shade, which is "01 - Noir Midnight" and promises to give "intense volume" and "curled lashes", the latter I suppose means helping to hold the curl of your lashes.

From the Lancôme USA website:

Get your star lash look with the new dual-sided brush. Lashes are enhanced with a liner effect, looking thick at the lashline, long and luscious through the tips.

I prefer volume over length when it comes to my lashes, and this claims to do both already. It's also waterproof, which is a must for me when it comes to mascara. But now I'm curious about its additional claim to hold for 24 hours!

I don't know how anyone can not find the tube of this mascara absolutely gorgeous. It's certainly the prettiest one I now own! The cluster of glitter at the end is eye-catching and I love the color combination of purple and black.

The mascara wand itself seems fairly ordinary at first, but it's actually a dual-sided brush which is also slightly tapered. Make sure to wipe off the excess from the tip and it's great for reaching the smaller, inner and outer lashes.

Without mascara (natural lashes)

After curling and applying two coats of the Hypnôse Star mascara on both upper and lower lashes

Sorry if my camera isn't the best at capturing the effects, but as you can see, it added some obvious volume and appeared to lengthen both my upper and lower lashes. I like how this mascara doesn't clump easily too. I could have easily applied a third or even fourth coat.

More pics to show how it lengthens. It doesn't give me spider lashes either, which is a plus. As for water-proof, it most definitely is! I tried washing my face without removing my mascara first and none of it ran/flaked off and gave me panda eyes. It didn't budge! As for how well it holds a curl, this is where it flops because by the end of the day it (the curl) was almost gone. So yes, the mascara will most likely stay put for 24 hours, but don't except your lashes to keep their va-va-voom curl for too long!

The L'Absolu Rouge lipstick line is a classic from Lancôme and boasts a number of benefits aside from its wide range of luxurious shades.

From the Lancôme (USA) website:

Infused with moisture-boosting Pro-Xylane™, lips stay moist, soft and comfortable for up to 8 hours. Antioxidant-rich Vitamin E and SPF 12 help keep lips safe from environmental aggressors, so they’ll look and feel healthier day after day. The stay true color won’t feather, flake or fade, so your pout will always look picture-perfect.

Moisturizing? Vitamin E-infused? Added SPF? I don't think anyone can say no to that, especially for someone like me with my dry lips who also lives in a hot, tropical climate.

Sleek and sophisticated looking, Lancôme never disappoints with packaging. And the best thing about this lipstick tube is that it's magnetic. Yes, magnetic! When you close it again, it practically snaps back together thanks to the magnet at the base of the lipstick and the cover.

The shade I received is in "190 - Rouge Eternel". I did some research and can't seem to find the shade anymore, on both the US and UK Lancôme website for example, and presume it's been discontinued already. But since this lipstick was made in Japan, as labeled, it may be still available there.

190 is a gorgeous, bright almost fire engine red and a particular shade of red that should suit most skin tones out there.

Swatched under natural light

Swatched under artificial light

On my lips (used with Nichido lip pencil in "LP03 Blaze")

I love the shade of this lippie! It's definitely a nice, bright red that you can wear for both day or night. It goes on really smoothly, and even though I always smear on some lip balm prior to applying any lipstick, I find the formula really creamy and hydrating.

The only 'con' I'd have to point out is that application was tricky for me at first since I'm used to lipsticks with a more pointed or tapered end. Since I have a very defined lip shape, I always need to be precise in my application or it looks like a mess. Tapered lipsticks help me best with that and I usually don't need a lip brush. For this lippie, I most definitely do!

Lasting power is great. It pulled through a snack of a cream cheese sandwich (that involved me licking my lips a lot too to get rid of the filling from them) and banana smoothie (no straw to really test it out) with minimal fading. You'll only need minimal touch ups throughout the day for this one.

Lancôme Hypnôse Star mascara
Pros:

• Waterproof, as well as smudge proof. Even after rubbing my eyes accidentally, none of the mascara transferred to my fingers or anywhere else.
• Lengthens lashes
• Lasts the whole day
• Doesn't clump easily

Cons:

• Doesn't provide a lot of volume

L'Absolu Rouge lipstick (190 Rouge Eternel)

Pros:

• Moisturizing
• Added SPF
• Creamy, easy to apply formula
• A wide range of other shades available
• Great lasting power

Cons:

• Lipstick doesn't have a tapered end (personal downside, don't be discouraged by this)
• Shade may be discontinued

Since this was a gift, I don't know how much these products retail for, but since it's Lancôme I don't expect them to come cheap! According to the USA website, the L'Absolu Rouge lipstick is priced at $30 (around PHP1,200+) and the Hypnôse Star mascara at $28 (around PHP1,100+).

If any Philippine-based readers/subscribers really want to know the actual price, just comment and tell me and I'll do my best to check it out for you!