L’Oreal La Lacque & Le Matte

So Canada completely missed out on the first (LE) launch of 8 L’Oreal Colour Riche Le Matte and La Lacque full coverage lip colours back in the Fall of 2013.

The original lineup (I got 3, on the top, through a US friend, marked with a *):

– 4 La Lacques: Never-Laque-ing*, Laquer-ized*, Laque-onic* and I Laque You a Lot
– 4 Le Mattes: No Matte-r What, Matte-r of Fact, She’s So Matte and Matte for Me.

The brand relaunched the line with 10 shades in the US in June and now Canada receives 8. Heads up: some shade names are recycled from the first launch but for totally different colours, as noted below with the swatches.

Again, the ones I got are marked with the * sign:
– 3 La Lacques: Lacque-y Charm*, Lacque-y You* and Lacquerized (recycled name)
No Lacque and Roll nor Choco-Lacque for Canada 🙁
– 5 Le Mattes: She’s so Matte*, Matter-r of Fact*, Matte for Me (3 recycle names), Game Set & Matte and Mad for Matte.

The caps are now clear but tinted, and the tubes only have one gold “ribbon” wrapped around near the bottom instead of 2.

The La Lacque finish is probably what sets these apart from Maybelline Color Blurs, and generally with slightly less product (0.03oz/ 0.9g vs. 0.04oz/ 1.25g) and without the smudgers, retail about the same price ($10 – $12).

Blog reviews of the first launch favoured the Le Lacque formula. I am glad I got some to try for myself and found the formula that great.

Here are (LE) 2013 Lacquer-ized (a purple tinted pink vs. a red in 2015 release), Never Lacque-ing and Lacque-onic.

From the 2015 line, L-R: Lacque-y Charm, Lacque-y You, She’s so Matte (a nude vs. a coral red in 2013 release) and Matte-r of Fact (a dark fuchsia pink vs. a dark red in 2013).

What caught me by surprise the most was how much smoother the Le Mattes go on compared to the (new) La Lacques. And since the finish is more of a satin matte, they are so easy to wear and not drying.

Colour wise, Lacque-y Charm (far left) is just a tiny bit more red than She’s so Matte (second from right), so pick the better formula one (Le Matte).

The colours are not super long wearing but last a few hours, through breakfast and a few tea. Both La Lacque and Le Matte lines do have a candy-like scent, which is noticeable at application but does not linger.

If you prefer no scents, go for the Maybelline Color Blurs.