Trying to Fall in Love Again...And Still Failing

Sometimes when I'm digging around in my beauty drawer, I find things I bought ages ago, when I was still a baby beauty junkie with less than 20 nail polishes to my name and only a vague idea of what I wanted in a product.

This happened to me as recently as Friday, when I pulled my old (2 years, to be precise) YSL Rouge Volupté out of the back of my lipstick drawer and held its weighty gold tube in my palm.

How could I have doubted such a luxury formula? I wondered. How could I have left this tube here for so long without slicking on such a beautiful color?

Could the me from two years ago who had long carried this hefty gold tube in her purse only to never use it have been wrong? Could the me now appreciate it?

YSL Rose Paris, swatched, natural light.

The light stain left behind when the swatch was wiped off after about a minute.

But alas, the me from two years ago was still right. Don't get me wrong, the color is perfect. A bright pinky coral color, aptly named Rose Paris. The tube, too, is superb, sturdy and well-crafted, utterly gorgeous to look at, the type of tube you pull out and apply daintily with gloved hands. The formula, however? God I can't stand it.

It's my own tastes, I think, since others love this particular lipstick, but I dislike the way it's been concocted greatly. It's creamy, but too creamy. If it gets a bit warm in the pocket the application becomes so difficult and everything turns out patchy. It's incredibly pigmented, but all that pigment goes to waste if it's hard to get even. It also has quite a bit of slip from being so creamy, so it's hard to contain the lipstick without a liner. The mango scent is lovely but the mango butter that's supposed to hydrate actually seems to dry my lips more than moisturize.

Worn outside in natural light, no lip liner.

Further close-up.

I sigh and lament this love gone wrong.

Will I return to this particular lipstick if I need a gorgeous shade of coral? Yes. But as a regular in my rotation? Sadly not. It is with a heavy heart I declare this love still lost.

Where to buy: YSL, $34.