Aube Essence Lip Colour / BE01 3,200yen
If you ask me which lip product I've been using the most recently, this is the answer: Aube Essence Lip Colour which will be launched on 24th November in Japan. I was lucky enough to receive it to review a couple of weeks ago, and since then it hasn't left my handbag for once.
This is in between liquid lipstick and lipgloss. They claim it protects your lips from dryness as it prevents water evaporation. I didn't find anything special on their ingredient list, and the 2nd from the heaviest ingredient is mineral oil which doesn't sound hydrating. But for some reason, it does protect the lips and they never feel dry when this one is on.
As you know, I am not too fussy about ingredients. There was time I was checking all the ingredients in a product and judged whether it was usable or not. Paraben, silicone, mineral oil, polymer, sulphate...there were many ingredients I thought I had to avoid. But information online always confused me, that some claims mineral oil destroy the natural barrier of the skin, and some claims that happened a long time ago when mineral oil contained impurities. Some said silicone clogged pores on scalp, and some said the molecules are too big to be clogged inside of small pores. So about 3-4 years ago, I decided to give up on checking the list because everyone dies and being fussy about the ingredients of cosmetics won't elongate my life anyway, because I must be eating tons of food with additives anyway! So you do not need to leave a comment saying how terrible mineral oil is, I know what people say about it and I just don't care because beauty for me is something to enjoy. Not something to investigate and be sensitive about.
Back to the review. It's so dinky that it really surprised me when I opened the box. It's 3,200yen which is about $26 and £17. And is the smallest lip product ever! Considering the fact it's not a lip stain, you reapply it every couple of hours to be realistic, meaning this tiny tube won't last so long. But the good thing is that it's got this 'window' that you can see how much of the product is left. Thank you Aube for the consideration...
The sponge applicator is slightly bent which makes it fit perfectly on the lips. It tends to pick up too much product but besides that it works perfectly.
They have 12 shades in total including the clear one. Just like other Japanese makeup brands, they did not name each shade (boring). The shades with a number ends with 1 (e.g. 201, 401...) are the most natural ones, the numbers end with 2 are deeper I believe, and the ones end with 3 are bright and opaque.
My shade is BE801 which is a perfect shade for any makeup looks. BE stands for Beige, and I usually avoid beigy lip colour because I was afraid it would make me look washed out, but this one instantly brightens up my face and completes the whole look.
Apparently it contains small gold glitter particles but I cannot feel it at all. If it didn't say so on the box I would never have known. But the glitters do make my lips look fuller, so good job!
It doesn't have any scents which is great for those who are sensitive to fragrance. It's not sticky at all and is very comfortable on the lips. The lasting power isn't too good to be honest, I would say it lasts about 3 hours if you don't eat and drink much. It looks super pretty right after applied, and the shine goes away as time passes.
I love the shade, texture and how easy it is to carry around (which has the negative side of it too -I might use it up pretty soon). It compliments any eyeshadow shades, so whenever I am rushing to get out of the house, I grab this and apply on my lips. It always, always look beautiful.