Yves Saint Laurent Water Stain

I'd read lots of raves for these Yves Saint Laurent Water Stains and had been curious about them, so when Selfridges UK put them on sale (admittedly, a few years ago...), I picked up 3 colors to try: 605 Bain de Corail, 609 Submerged Coral, and 618 Wet Vermilion. 

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

 

I appreciated that these Water Stains came in clear square tubes so I could see exactly the color I was getting, although these tubes had been discontinued and the new packaging are all black, I think, which would be counterintuitive, like a step backwards rather than forward? Each tube contained a generous 5.9mL/0.2fl. oz., and the elongated hexagonal applicator tip dispensed more than enough product for each use that I never needed to re-dip.

 

The stain came out of the tube a light milk, yes milk, that was cooling to the touch (which probably meant lots of alcohol, urgh). The light milk wasn't at all runny, but it still felt like cold water going on--I guess this was where the "water stain" came from? It is scented, with a faint fruity scent that didn't bother me. 

 

The water stain was rather difficult to apply and required a very stable hand. Because of the light-milk-turned-cold-water texture, and the fact that the stain applied quite bright even when the finish was translucent, and, of course, it stained, the slightest tremble would result in a hard-to-correct mistake on my lips. 

However, here was where this water stain surprised me next: once it set--and it set rather quickly, like in a minute--it looked and felt like I'd just applied a brightly colored lip gloss, with a glassy finish and was quite moisturizing. Wow! I totally did not expect this and I loved it! Other than the tricky application that required a mirror, definitely not something I can apply on the go, once it was on, it felt lovely on my lips! So I'm happy to report that the formula was just as fantastic as folks said it is! 

The lip-stain-turned-lip-gloss lasted for several hours. The bright top-gloss faded in color after 2-3 hours, leaving a transparent tint that stayed on for another 3-4 hours, until I wiped it off to eat lunch. I did a shower test as well, and both the gloss and the stain was completely gone by the time I was out of the shower. I won't go back for more colors, for multiple reasons, first and foremost because of the difficulty in application. I'm always out and about and need something I can apply without having to sit very still in front of a mirror. Secondly, with the change in packaging, I'm not sure the formula had changed as well so I'm not going to buy anymore. 

- 605 Bain de Corail: set to a bright coral gloss with a pretty coral stain underneath.

- 609 Submerged Coral: set to a slightly deeper orange-coral, although the stain underneath looked pretty much the same as 605 above. 

- 618 Wet Vermilion: set to a  bright and fiery warm red gloss, with a redder stain underneath. 

Swatches from left to right: 605 Bain de Corail, 609 Submerged Coral, and 618 Wet Vermilion.

Left: stains after gently dabbing the gloss away. 

Right: stains after wiping all of the gloss away.