Lavshuca Moist Melting Rouge

Along with the Lavshuca Dramatic Memory Rouge (old packaging), these Moist Melting Rouge are more presents to myself prior to leaving Japan last fall. These two lipstick lines are some of the best rated drugstore lipsticks, and I figured I've been staying away from Japanese lipsticks for long enough ^.^ Not to mention I've read from several sources that these particular Moist Melting Rouge are better quality dupes for the much higher end Cle de Peau and Dior! That can't hurt ^.^

There were 12 colors available at the time, and again I picked up all 12. If the Dramatic Memory Rouges were tough for me to pick, these were almost impossible to choose from! See the very last swatch picture and you'll see why -.-' Unfortunately, these lipsticks have been discontinued since 2010, although I was able to buy from Rakuten JP sellers when I was still in Japan. You can almost certainly find them online still. 

From left to right: BE-4, BE-5, BE-6, BE-7, OR-2, OR-3, PK-5, PK-6, PK-7, RD-3, RD-4, and RS-2. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Unlike the Dramatic Memory Rouge which I can't find much to complain about, these Moist Melting Rouge do have good and bad points. In the end, I do think the goods outweigh the bads, and I do like these lipsticks very much. However, they are probably not for everyone, especially those who prefers more coverage, pigmentation, or even a firmer lipstick!

First the goods. These lipsticks are packaged in a twist up long, metallic-bodied pen with a clear maroon click cap that's snaps shut tightly. The twisting mechanism is retractible, and the bads below will explain why this is important. The lipsticks themselves are extremely soft and buttery and applies with lots of slip. They are unscented, have no taste, and are extremely moisturizing, more so than most lip glosses, even lip balms, I've tried! They leave a super glossy shine, pretty much lip gloss in a twist up stick! 

The colors are translucent and are sheerer but layer very well - a huge selling point for me as I much prefer the buildable colors for the control (control freak much?). All 12 colors are totally wearable, even though 10 are with shimmers and only 2 are without. I was wary of this until I actually wear the colors and see for myself that the shimmers pretty much disappear behind the glossiness. On me, these don't last as long as the Dramatic Memory Rouge. However, even as they wear they will not bleed beyond the lip line like many glosses and tinted balms do. The color will fade faster, but also evenly.

And of course, the bads. So these lipsticks are extremely soft and buttery, so soft they can only be twist up just a cinch, however much you think you need in one application. Any more and you can expect a broken, if not mushed, lipstick. This is the reason it's fortunate that the twisting mechanism is retractible, because otherwise I'd be breaking/mushing these with every application. Out of all 12 colors, I think only BE-7, OR-3, PK-5, RD-4, and RS-2 are distinctly different. The rest are too close to each other on the warm-cool scale in my opinion. They swatch slightly different, and this difference is also minimal on the lips - who needs a bunch of lipsticks that all look the same when applied? It's great that they're all wearable, but unless you're willing to collect them and put a small hole in the pocket, it's going to be quite frustrating to pick just a few.

- BE-4: shimmer free nude. This matches color matches my lips exactly, and with the sheerness and translucency it looks like I'm wearing glossy lip balm no matter how many time I layer. I applied this on one side of my lips leaving the other side completely bare, and other than the obvious glossiness, I could not tell any difference at all color wise! A good shade to tone down pigmented lips.

- BE-5: sheer and translucent coral pink with fine peachy gold shimmers, warmer than the above BE-4. Definitely a my-lips-but-better color despite the sheerness and translucency. I did the above test, applying this on one side of my lips leaving the other side bare, and again there is minimal color difference despite a few layers, only that the colored side looked glossy, more polished, and warm. The very definition of my-lips-but-better, no?

- BE-6: sheer and translucent orangey peach with gold micro shimmers but goes on my a warm peach nude. Thanks to the sheerness and translucency, it's super duper wearable even after layering several times! Love it! A good shade to tone down pigmented lips.

- BE-7: milky and warm fleshy pink that's shimmer free. A pretty pinky nude that's a shade lighter than my natural lip color, so the nude effect is pronounced. Still wearable, but I can't be as liberal with this color due to its milky, semi-opaqueness. Too many layers will emphasize lip lines and shift around in patches. A good shade if you have very pigmented lips.

From left to right: BE-4, BE-5, BE-6, and BE-7. Swatches were layered 2-3 times. Another minor annoyance is that the sticker on which the color name is printed doesn't stick very well and tends to peel off. This is if it isn't already torn off along with the seal it's attached to with a perforated line.

- OR-2: translucent and sheer peachy pink with gold shimmers. Turns a pinkier on my lips but still flattering and demure at the same time. Layers very well and is a lovely color!

- OR-3: translucent orange with gold shimmers. Turns peachy on my lips but is still gorgeous and again, layers very well!

- PK-5: cool shimmery rose pink that goes on a lighter shell pink on my lips. I wish it was more translucent but it still layers well and isn't frosty at all, so in the end it's still wearable for me. Phew.

- PK-6: warm shimmery petal pink but turns paler and peachier on my lips. Again, I wish this shade was more translucent like the others but since it layers well, I can still wear it without any problems.

From left to right: OR-2, OR-3, PK-5, and PK-6. Swatches were layered 2-3 times.

- PK-7: sheer and translucent pink with just a touch of coral and micro silver shimmers. This color goes on me much pinkier with the coral doing a total disappearing act! It's neat in that the micro silver shimmers give it a glistening semi-metallic sheen, versus the glossiness in the other colors. Layers very well!

- RD-3: a sheer and translucent shimmery rosy pink that leans warm. It's a my-lips-but-pinkier color and layers very well!

- RD-4: a translucent shimmery berry toned rose with the berry more evident on my lips than the swatch. It's the most pigmented color in the range, but due to its translucency it's probably still sheer for some gals. I prefer sheerer lip colors so I love it. Again, it layers very well!


- RS-2: a neutral shimmery tawny pink. The tawniness disappears and the color leans cool on my lips! That said, it also turns a tad lighter on my lips, and the cooler pink makes me look somewhat pale. The fine silver shimmer in this color turn flat for some reason, and the finish isn't glossy or even glistening semi-metallic like PK-7. I was expecting to like this color but it turns out to be my least favorite. It's still wearable though, even if I don't exactly love it. Can't love them all! ^.^

From left to right: PK-7, RD-3, RD-4, and RS-2. Swatches were layered 2-3 times.

See how only BE-7, OR-3, PK-5, RD-4, and RS-2 stand out? Take these 5 colors away and you'll have a bunch of similar looking colors on a warmer/cooler scale.