Thursday, July 06, 2006

Aishwarya Beige a Bust, Don't Even Bother With It

"Sshh, don't tell. I'm not really wearing Aishwarya Beige."



When my husband went to the French Riviera for his business trip, he managed to locate for me two very coveted lipsticks I had asked him to find for me, the Loreal Star Secrets lipsticks. The only colors I wanted were Aishwarya Beige and Eva Toffee because I thought those shades would suit my tan/olive skin the best. He found them in the Sephora store in Nice. I find it so odd, here in America, Loreal is sold in drugstores like Walgreens, and in France it's sold in Sephora.

So I tried on the Aishwarya Beige lipstick first. What a disappointment. This color is a very sheer beige brown and is an exact copy of Bobbi Brown's Cocoa lipstick, right down to the waxy feel and the Pond's cold cream taste. Aishwarya Beige is actually more sheer than the Bobbi Brown lipstick. It does absolutely nothing for my skin color, which is exactly like Aishwarya Rai's in the photo above. This photo is a publicity still for the actual Aishwarya Beige lipstick, but that is NOT how the color appears when you wear it. I don't know what Aishwarya is really wearing in this photo, but it ain't Aishwarya Beige. Aishwarya Beige totally washed me out, I actually had more pigment in my lips and looked better before I swiped this crappy shade on. If your skin color is like Aish's or darker, don't bother with this shade. You must be very fair for this color to even show up on your skin. But honestly, I don't see this shade flattering anyone.



Now on to Eva Toffee, another disappointment. This lipstick is nowhere as red as it appears in the advertisement. It is actually a so-so color that looks more like a bad copy of Smashbox's Demure lipstick. Actually that's an insult to the Smashbox lipstick, the Smashbox version is much higher in quality and has a little sheen to it to brighten up your face. Eva Toffee is just a basic red brown, nothing special. If you have tan/olive toned skin and are looking for a flattering red that will make you look like Eva Longoria in this photo, pick MAC "O" lipstick instead. Or top your favorite red lipstick or MAC Mahogany lipliner with MAC lipgloss in Oh Baby, you will get same, if not better, results.


Oh, and bad news, well...actually good news, for those of us that live in the United States. Loreal has no plans to release the Star Secrets line here, it's only for European countries. But don't worry, from what I've previewed from this line, you are not missing anything in terms of color or quality. There are much better lipsticks in our stores already.

12 comments:

Chic Mommy said...

simply me, I hope they do. The lipsticks suck. And their online customer service is horrible too.

August Sunshine said...

(This picture is so much easier on the eyes.)

I agree, that's a really good review. But I think that's generally your style. Quality blogging. You write as if you were writing for a magazine, but you're probably much better at it than the usual folks who write for magazines. I like it.

Chic Mommy said...

thanks august, you're too kind. ;)

sherni said...

Oh, no. That sucks about the Aishwarya Beige. But actually anything called beige I can't imagine showing up well on brown skin. I love MAC O as well =)

August Sunshine said...

aw shucks, I just have a good eye for good writing (if I say so myself). I should try MAC O. I'll have to remember that next time I go to the mall.

Unknown said...

I am SO bummed.

But I will have to try those other ones you recommended. I think it's hard to make beige work with olive coloring. I've been trying all summer. I have to mix it with stuff - like a pinkish gloss or a gold-flecked shimmer thing. Otherwise, I think I look blanched out and sallow.

Those ads are so touched up, you can never trust them to be true to color as for the product they are advertising.

Anonymous said...

Aishwarya Beige is now available in a Walgreens near you! It doesn't show up on my skin either, it looks more like a gloss... and the fragrance is not very pleasant (I feel like I'm being followed around by a bar of hotel soap)

Mac's "touch" is a better tint for women of brown/olive color, but $14 a shot...

Lindsey said...

Wow, she actually isn't wearing the color!! If you look at her photo on the older L'oreal displays, it is the same one! but she is wearing a differnt color lipstick!
Wow L'oreal, thats cheap!!

Prachi Junankar-Gokhale said...

Lipstick talk. God, I really do love our blog! I'm a lipstick fanatic. Nothing works better as a pick-me-up. I've been trying to do a more natural look with my skin forever too - but always end up in my comfort zone of darker matte shades - chocolate-pink or red-brown.

I read somewhere that your lipstick should match the color of the flesh of the inside of your lower lip for the most natural look. I tried it - and it works!

NB said...

I am quite dissapointed when I too purchased the "Ashwarya Beige". I find with the same skin tone it is not nearly as good as the one she was wearing. You know, it is all marketing- but fool the fool once. I do trust Mac products.

Unknown said...

I just loved the AISHWARYA BEIGE.It has done wonders to my face.This is d right shade to use when i have to highlight my eyes.

Anonymous said...

Olive skin is very fair in color!white in the usa is defined by the us census bureau as people of middle eastern/northafrican​/european blood! many countries in europe originated in the middle east,,,dumb folks dont know that
!!Even racist sites like sormfront know that whites come in MANY shades!!! the majoirty of whites have brunette hair! whites have pink/olive/yellow/go​lden/red undertones and be darker or lighter!! fair skinned can be pink and olive! olive is very pale!