YSL Pop Water Collection for Summer 2015

This Summer, there is a new YSL Revolution unfolding… with the unveiling of the Pop Water Collection for Summer 2015. The main focus of the collection is a whole new 3^rd generation class of YSL’s cult-favorite Vernis à Lèvres and a brand new never seen before line-up of Full Metal Shadow.

YSL was the first to bring us bright, translucent glossy lip colors that last with its iconic Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres. Since then, that has always been my weapon of choice if I’m going to be out and about for long periods of time without an opportunity to touch up my lips. And now, they are getting a whole new lift with the Vernis à Lèvres Pop Water.

The new Vernis à Lèvres Pop Water is packaged in the same classic black flacon with an angled flattened sponge applicator that delivers the perfect dosage for a sheer wash of color all over the lips. It can be built up for much more opaque coverage with more coats. And as you might have guessed by now, these new VALs feature intense but sheer color with a watery finish. In fact, they were inspired by the irresistible draw of gummy bears with their bright colors and water translucency.

The new Vernis à Lèvres is formulated with the Lifeproof Colour Emulsion, which contains a blend of ethylcellulose that keeps the color pigment intact and various oils, emulsified in an aqueous base. It is coupled with a unique Aquatic Feel Boost technology that contains a high level of glycerine with a pH-activated gel to provide moisture and give a watery feel to the lips. And in place of traditional color pigments, YSL has turned to high-grade food colorants found in gummy bears to create a fluid dispersion of color that lasts even longer than before.

In celebration of the launch, YSL has introduced 12 shades of Vernis à Lèvres Pop Water, 8 are permanent and 4 are limited edition (shades 209-212). As you can see from the swatches above, there is a good range of warm to cool tones, covering the usual everyday wearable shades all the way to bolder reds and fuchsias. Personally, I found even the boldest hues to be incredibly wearable by simply sheering it out and wearing as a stain. The limited edition shades are really exciting to me, and my favorites are 210 and 212! For your information, the shades and their official descriptors are:

• 201 Dewy Red – fresh burst of red
• 202 Rouge Splash – streak of red to get you noticed
• 203 Eau De Corail – high summer aquatic hit
• 204 Onde Rose – wave of delicious pink
• 205 Pink Rain – burst of raspberry, irresistibly thirst-quenching
• 206 Misty Pink – refined, spray-on pink
• 207 Juicy Peach – succulent shot of peach
• 208 Wet Nude – sultry, mouthwatering beige
• 209 Aquatic Fuchsia (LE) – pop-art pink, tempered by cooling water
• 210 Steamy Violet (LE) – passionate purple, ardent yet cool
• 211 Rose Cascade (LE) – waterfall of pink rose petals
• 212 Orange Drop (LE) – bright tangerine, mouthwateringly vibrant

There is 1 very special, limited edition [update: this is actually permanent!] item in this collection that deserves special mention – Vernis à Lèvres Plump-Up. This is a new moisturizing lip volumizer with long-lasting wear. When first applied, it gives a slight warming effect to the lips followed by a cooling zingy feel. My lips look visibly fuller and lines are magically plumped up within seconds. It doesn’t feel at all uncomfortable, in fact it was quite refreshing! More importantly, it is formulated with squalane oil to reinforce the lips’ lipidic barrier and hyaluronic acid to moisturize and plump up those puckers. And just like all the other Vernis à Lèvres, it is incredibly long-lasting. Wear it on its own as a lip conditioner, or underneath a lip color to enhance the wear.

And to accompany those sexy new lips, YSL has released a limited edition range of liquid eyeshadows in vivid metallic hues. These are the Full Metal Shadow!

When I first heard about these metallic liquid eyeshadows earlier this year, I had my reservations. Who needs so much bling on the eyes, right? But who am I kidding?? I LOVE SHIMMERS!!

Each of the swatches above are single swipes of the applicator straight out from the tube – the color intensity is insane!  But these Full Metal Shadows sheer out easily when blended with either finger or brush. They contain extremely high concentration of color pigments and pearls to give that extraordinary intensity, but mixed in a high level of pure water to ensure your lids don’t dry out. In fact, it lasts all day on me, without ever budging. There is about a minute after application to blend and work them, and it is so easy! The applicator is designed to be used flat side on the lids for greater coverage and thinner edge along the lash line for lining.  I simply swipe it across my lids, then use a finger and gently blend in a dabbing motion. Thereafter I take a fluffy brush and blend out the harsh edges.

The shades and their official descriptors are:

• 1 Grey Splash – steel grey effusion
• 2 Eau d’Argent – purity of a white metal sea
• 3 Taupe Drop – deep taupe inundated with light
• 4 Onde Sable – wave of blazing sand
• 5 Steamy Coral – sparkling freshness of a flamboyant coral
• 6 Pink cascade – crystalline reflections of a petal pink
• 7 Aquatic Copper – shiny copper that springs from the depths of the sea
• 8 Dewy Gold – multifaceted geyser of gold
• 9 Misty Green – shimmering reflections of a powerful green
• 10 Wet Blue – ocean-like purity of a blue signature

Despite my initial reservations, most of the shades are actually very wearable once blended out.  The resultant look is a very lovely shimmery, complex color that takes no time at all to create!

Personally, I found No. 1 Grey Splash to be too cool-toned, my eyes simply can’t take cool silvers well.  Also, I didn’t feel like rocking the Fifth Element look with all silvery eyes to work, so I tried to balance things up a little bit by blending in just a dash of a warm olive bronze from this palette in the crease and outer corner.

One of my favorite looks from the line-up is No. 3 Taupe Drop sheered out for the eyes, coupled with a light single coat of Vernis à Lèvres 210 on the lips for a day at the office.

And close-up on the eyes… the multi-colored shimmers are even more noticeable under low light!

Then for an evening event, I deepened the eye look by patting on the black shadow with pink shimmers from this YSL palette for a full-on dark smoky eye!

This YSL Pop Water Collection is out now in Singapore and US!  Has anything caught your eye?

By now it is almost midnight, and i’m staying up in bed next to my 2-year old boy trying to get this review out in time for the long weekend mega sale.  I’d love to snuggle up and just go to sleep.  But something I heard over the radio earlier tonight is really eating away at me.  This (male) DJ was commenting about Bristol Palin’s recent wedding cancellation… something I really don’t care very much about… but it was his subsequent comment that stuck.  He said that if you are already a single mom (which I am not, but I know enough single moms for me to sit up), if you can find a man who can get along reasonably well with your kid, you should “grab the guy by the throat and marry him”!  I don’t know about you ladies, but that sounds appallingly misogynistic to me… please share your thoughts below!  I really want to know if I’m truly alone here!

_{^{This post featured some products that were kindly provided by YSL Singapore for my consideration.  Upon testing them out, I went back and bought 1 more of each in the limited edition shades.  So as you can see, the opinions expressed above are my own honest, unbiased views.}}