Welcome to my first beauty post of 2018 showcasing the Givenchy Lunar New Year Collection! I always find it a difficult transition from December to January. In December, there were so many gift sets, new releases and everyone is in a spending mood that it was easy to have tons to write about. I always find it a bit hard to get back started in January especially since I try to think of what new series to write about for the year! For today, I have a very exciting collection to share from Givenchy to celebrate Lunar New Year!
The Givenchy Lunar New Year collection includes a limited edition lipstick and a limited edition powder, both of which have a beautiful Chinese inspired floral design. I think it’s so great that a large international brand is choosing to do this. When I was younger, I tried very hard to be “Canadian” and didn’t want to display my heritage. I think as we get older, many of us start appreciating our families and cultures more. This collection would be the perfect gift to give to your older relatives to show your appreciation of the culture. I definitely think my mom would be very pleased if she was able to receive one of these beautiful pieces.
Le Rouge #305
Sappiness aside, let’s get into looking at the two items. The first is Le Rouge in Shade #305 ($45) in the signature Givenchy casing. The outside design is actually on genuine red leather with a gold floral embossing.
The bullet pulls out to reveal a very vibrant red. I’m very happy with the color choice that Givenchy made for this collection. I think it could have been very easy to just go with a true red (think red envelopes), but the color they chose is more modern, bold, and striking. The color is very fresh and swatches a bit more pink and less orange than it appears in the tube. The color is extremely pigmented and the formula glides on in a thin layer but fully covers the lips. It doesn’t hide flaky lips though so make sure to have a smooth surface!
Here is a good look at how it appears when worn. It helps to brighten up the complexion and actually doesn’t look too bold. I like that the lipstick tube has details on the top, on the side, and on the actual bullet. There’s definitely a lot of thought and care in the design of this lipstick that help justify its high price tag.
Prism Libre
The second item in the collection is the Prism Libre ($69). Upon first glance, I thought this is a definite collector’s item and there’s no way it actually does anything as makeup. There are four sections to the powder (blue, pink, green, and purple). When mixed together, i think it’s suppose to give all the benefits of color correcting. The powder has a very light rose scent to it which makes it feel luxurious.
Instructions for application is on the box, but I didn’t want to dirty this beautiful cushion so I opted to use a foundation brush. I was really pleasantly surprised at the results! I thought I would end up with a white ashy film over my skin. But the powder was quite transparent and didn’t really alter the color of my skin tone. The powder helped to provide a very smooth feel to the skin and also maybe it’s my brain tricking me but I thought my skin looked smoother too.
It definitely does cling to dry skin though so I had some trouble with it on my forehead area. But I love how it looked around my cheeks. Pictured below is me using the powder on a foundation brush across my cheeks and on my forehead. I think it gives a really smooth look, but my camera’s Portrait function also does blur out the skin so I’m not too sure how big of a difference you can see!
I thought the products would end at the beautiful packaging but actually both performed quite well. Yes the price is pretty hefty, but I would say some of that should be allocated to sentimental value. I think these are great quality items to gift to relatives. You will also notice detail in every corner from the logo on the lipstick tube to the logo on the powder holes.
The two items are both now available at Sephora for a limited time, also see the new Couture Edition collection.