Givenchy Rouge Interdit Satin Lipstick in Vintage Carmine, Swatches and Review

So Givenchy Lipstick in Vintage Carmine is yet another item that I ordered during the sephora friends and family sale. There are about a million sephoras in nyc, but I couldn't find this in store to try out before ordering online. Whatever, reds are rarely disappointing, right? Right. Well, I wouldn't say I'm disappointed with this lipstick, but it's decidedly NOT what I was expecting. The color is describes as "deep red" on the sephora website, and as "red with brown undertone" in the press release. When I opened this lipstick up, I noticed that the color in the tube looks (deceptively) dark. I immediately thought, "oh no, it's just a dupe for the Dolce & Gabbana amethyst shade!" So I went over to my vanity, and compared the two under directly under the lamp light. No real resemblance. The Givenchy shade is much more brick red (and yes, brown in undertone) in comparison to both D&G amethyst and orchid. Phew. 

I thought, great, I love brick reds. And this one seemed plenty original for my stash. I felt confident that all of the surprises were over. That was, until I applied the lipstick. As a preface, I've owned several other Givenchy Rouge Interdit Lipsticks. I have "Absolutely Irresistable Red," "Maharani Henna" and some coral number. All of these lipsticks have been creamy with medium to full coverage. So of course this would be the texture of Vintage Carmine, right? Wrong. Vintage Carmine in shockingly sheer and glossy, and applies very burgundy. Jeez. Way to throw me for a loop. 

Above and below you can see the color of the tube. Is it not brick??? 

You can see how pink in tone the swatch is in comparison to the brick color of the tube. It's really sort of a shame, because I much prefer the color of the tube to the swatch. What's more is, the formula is almost reminiscent of a stick gloss, and totally bleeds. By mid day, the color was all over the place. I had messy clown mouth. Lame lame lame. But that's only because I didn't take proper measures to make sure that wouldn't happen. All of my previous Givenchy lipsticks have not really needed lipliner, but clearly this one does. I wore this again with my go to Paul & Joe lipliner, and the results were much improved. 

So all in all, I don't regret the purchase, I just wish I had tried it out before ordering. Now that I know how to wear this lipstick, I'm actually getting into the color. It's a pain that I have to take an extra step and line my lips, but whatever. Sometimes I like a really long and involved makeup application, because it tends soothes my internal savage beast. I also don't have too many reds that are similar, and the formula is forgiving as long as it's been properly lined beforehand. Surprisingly, it's actually shaping up to be a somewhat of a sheerer, glossier version of the Nars Pure Matte Lipstick in Terre de Feu that I just reviewed.