Vincent Longo Rejuvenating Velvet Riche Lipstick

Over the past weekend, I decided to go through my entire traincase and see if there is anything that I could purge to save a bit of room.  I pulled out a pile of products that I put on the chopping block and made individual decisions on whether or not I would ever use them again.  Well, on the plus side, I refound some products and shades that I had forgotten about but I didn't end up purging anything.  Every single product I decided that I would use again sometime soon or that I really loved when I first bought it.  I am so bad with throwing beauty products away, I always remember how much I loved the product when I bought it and decide that I will somehow use it again in the near future...

One of the products that was on my "throw away" pile were two shades of Vincent Longo Rejuvenating Velvet Riche Lipstick, both shades are reds and these are among the first reds that I ever bought soon after I started wearing more color on my face.  I kept these shades to add my collection of red lip shades, a collection that continues to grow and grow with every passing season.  Velvet Riche is a very unique formula of lipstick so these two shades should hold a special place in my lipstick collection.  I bought these way back when Bath and Body Works still offered the Vincent Longo line at some of it's stores and I used them once or twice but then became afraid of the colors and they found their way to the bottom of my traincase.  I guess that my first reds shouldn't have been full pigment cream finishes...

I got all of my information about this product from the Vincent Longo website since this brand is getting harder and harder to find in most major retailers.  "Now with lip firming and anti-aging ingredients that protect and plump lips.  Our version of the classic 1950's cream lipstick, our luxurious lotion-like formula caresses and contours lips with full-color, soft luster finish.  Sophisticated, refined, and provocative, Velvet Riche Lipstick looks professional in the board room and glamourous on the red carpet.  Contains collagen and hyaluronic acid filling spheres to firm lips and keep them youthful looking.  Essential oils, Vitamin E, and Aloe Vera protect and moisturize lip tissue.  A beeswax base keeps color vibrant and ensures a long lasting wear.  The lotion-like texture clings to the lips and prevents color from bleeding over the lip line."

This lipstick formula has very precise application instructions, when I bought this the company's rep told me that it can't even be applied straight from the tube.  Apparently the lipstick itself is so delicate that it can broken with any type of application straight from the tube.  The company recommends the following mode of application, "Velvet Riche Lipstick should be applied over defined lips.  Use our Lip Pencil in a coordinating shade to shape and contour your mouth.  Beginning in the center of your lips, use VL Brush #5 or #6 to paint a thin layer of Velvet Riche color.  Completely paint lips up to and including the lip line.  Blot and paint a second layer of Velvet Riche."  Of course I would purchase a lip formula that is so high maintence for one of my first lipstick purchases, no wonder this product was only used once or twice...

The formula is a hydrating cream formula, it has no added shimmer to it.  This is the exact same look that was seen on Marilyn Monroe and so many actresses in the 1950s and early 1960s and is not for someone trying to pull of a natural look or who does not love the look of lipstick.  I apply this lipstick in accordance with some of the company's instructions, I don't use the lip pencil first.  However, I do use the lip brush (I have one from Origins) and while it takes a bit of work to get it perfect, it will last well over the next few hours.  This formula is best for dramatic shades, since it takes time to get the application perfect but it will stay all day.  This formula stays on after light drinking and wears like most longwearing lip formulas.  I am aware that I could get an all day wear from this formula if I used the lip pencil underneath but this is one of the few products that I have never tried and honestly never really plan on it...

The shades that are currently available in this formula...

- Carnelian Whisper - rich strawberry red cream
- Dakota Red - medum neutral brick red cream
- Grace - light cool blue pink cream
- Hush Delight - warm light peach cream
- Ignition - bright cherry red cream
- Indie Rose - medium cool pink cream
- La Prima - medium warm coral pink cream
- Ouch - bright medium cool pink cream
- Pure Demure - light neutral nude cream
- Rain Dance - cool dusty rose cream
- Ravish Sin - medium warm raisin cream
- Sexy Lady - light nude pink cream
- Sweet Caberet - deep cool plum cream

I own two of the red shades from this product, Dakota Red and Ignition.  Dakota Red is a deep brick red, Ignition is a true cherry red.  I find Dakota Red easier to wear however Ignition is my favorite since I love the bright cherry red shades.  Dakota Red lasts about five hours on me before it fades down into a deep red stain, this one wears off the nicest which is why I find it to be the easier of the two to wear during the day.  Ignition is the better shade for going out, it wears off in gthree or four hours and the stain that it leaves is more of a subtle red.  This one needs to be reapplied more often than Dakota Red. 

I retried both of these colors in order to write this review, I didn't really remember much about them from my first experience with this formula.  The formula is very nice if you like a full pigment cream lipstick, I would purchase more shades in it if it wasn't so difficult to find.  I am considering ordering two of the pinks from this formula, Sexy Lady (light blue pink) and Rain Dance (cool dusty rose).  I am looking for pink shades that will last all day since the ones that I have from MAC last two hours or less.

photo courtesy of Vincent Longo