Guerlain Rouge Automatique in #167 Guet Apens

A huge ouchie on the pocket but oh so gorgeous, I ended up blowing the last of my bonus on a Guerlain Rouge Automatique lipstick before I left Malaysia. Blame it a friend for coming late for dinner. I ended up spending 30 minutes at the Guerlain counter trialing all of the shades that caught my eye. I swear, I walked in for a Meteorites Compact and ended up walking out with more than I bargained for.

"You must have been possessed," a friend remarked when I told her about it later. "Is it worth the RM114 though?"

Is it worth it? Goodness, after playing with Rouge Automatique, it has been hard for me to go back to my usual Revlon and other budget-friendly lipsticks. Maybe if I gave up buying all other lipsticks, I would be able to indulge in one or two Rouge Automatiques (or a Rouge G) every year.

Hmm, that is something to consider.

The colour I picked up was #167 in Guet Apens, which is also the name of a Guerlain perfume. I have done some reading up on Guerlain perfumes and apparently Guet Apens is a floral oriental containing florals, woods and amber. Sounds like a fall perfume which I should try!

Some reviews of Rouge Automatique I read state that the lipstick formula is sheer but I find that Guet Appens is anything but sheer. It is a lovely reddish berry shade with some pink in it, making this a lovely twist on the classic red lipstick. It is such a great autumn/winter shade, I think it quite appropriate that Guet Appens was named after a fall perfume.

There is a little shimmer in it to keep it interesting and the creamy formula is just wonderful. I always thought that Dior Addict and Lipstick Queen lipsticks were good but Rouge Automatique leaves them far behind in the dust. Great pigmentation, wonderful texture, lovely shine AND moisturising to boot. It is also great for trying out makeup tricks like this.

Makes me wonder how the Rouge G is like. Oh dear, what a dangerous thought.

Just a brief comment on the packaging: Now, I know that much has been made about the Rouge Automatique's slide mechanism. It does feel a little gimicky but fun. Plus, you really do have to be careful about not sliding the lippie up too far before application in case it breaks. The main advantage to the casing though is that I don't have to worry about dropping the lipstick cap on a dirty toilet floor somewhere.

I am serious! My fingers have a tendency to drop cosmetics all over the place and I have lost many a good makeup brush to the toilet bowl. You have no idea how scared I am that I'll drop a lipstick cap down the drain one day.

Sue, the MUA at the Gardens Isetan counter, was lovely enough to throw in a bunch of samples with my purchase: an eye cream, some cream cleansers and a matching KissKiss Gloss in #462 Violine to go with Guet Apens. I had to hold my breath to keep from squealing right there and then. Violine is just gorgeous and really amps up the Ommph Factor.

Conclusion? I am sold. Guerlain Rouge Automatique lipsticks are certainly worth the money as you are getting great quality for the price. For me, I think I would be more likely to fork out RM114 for a Guerlain Rouge Automatique than RM90 for a Dior Addict or a Chanel Rouge Coco Shine.

Don't gasp and call me a snob. It is just that I don't quite like the formula for Chanel Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks. Dior Addict is much better in that sense. There is also the fact that the colour ranges for Dior Addict and Chanel RCS quite limited for my skin tone and natural lip colour. So why not pay the additional RM24?

I think that discussion deserves a post of its own.