Review: YSL Volupté Tint-in-Oil in Cherry My Cherie

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When Sephora did their $25 off $50 promotion back in December, I had no clue what I wanted to buy. Let me tell you, that was an unfamiliar feeling. I wound browsing through my favorite brands just to see what’s what, and the YSL  Volupté Tint-in-Oil caught my eye – mainly because I hadn’t heard even the first whisper of its existence. How dare they release a new lip product and not tell me? (Don’t worry YSL, I still love you) That’s notable because even though I despise lip gloss in almost all its forms, YSL Glossy Stains are one of the few glossy products I like. Could this be another one? Bright pink lip products attract me like bright shiny things attract magpies, so that’s how I ended up with Cherry My Cherie.

Packaging

The first thing I noticed about the packaging – it’s silver. Yay! I’m not a big fan of gold. That actually makes a ton of sense since that differentiates it from the Gloss Volupté. That tube has the same general design (I’m basing this on Sephora pictures – I’ve never paid a bit of attention to glosses in the store) but with a gold cap and a glass tube. Can’t have people accidentally buying the wrong thing, now can we? Each oil tint has a logo band that sorta-kinda approximates the color it may end up being on your lips (more on the colors in a minute) so you’ll be able to tell them apart, assuming you run out and buy them all right away. It’s kind of long and bulky to put in a clutch, but totally easy to toss in your purse. The body is plastic with a thin sheathe of metal, so it’s lighter than it looks. For something that I’ll be taking around with me, I consider that a point in its favor. Another bit of thoughtful design – there are small nubs of plastic where the cap screws on, and you can feel a definite catch when it’s closed all the way. No accidentally coming unscrewed and leaking all over the place. Strong work, YSL.

The applicator is similar to the now-familiar fuzzy wedge that the Glossy Stains use, but smaller and with an opening in the center. It looks very, uh, Georgia O’Keeffe-inspired. It’s a more practical shape for this product though, because it’s more precise and helps distribute the product evenly.

Color

There are eight colors in the range (as shown on Sephora) but I could almost swear that when I bought it there were only four or five listed. In any case, I got Cherry My Cherie because I guestimated that was probably the one used in the promo image, and I would magically look just like Cara Delevingne. Alas, I didn’t transform into a supermodel, but it is a really pretty color. When I first swatched it on my hand, I was not optimistic. It looks almost colorless, like a lightly-pigmented gloss – but when I wiped it off, it left a stain behind. Like all sheer lip products, your natural lip color will show through a little, so these will end up looking just a little bit different on everyone. The swatch is pretty close to Barbie pink, but on me it pulls very bright and almost fuchsia, depending on the light. The closest color I could find in my drawers to compare it to was Armani Rouge Ecstasy in Peony.

L to R: Armani Rouge Ecstasy Peony, YSL Cherry My Cherie, stain from Cherry My Cherie

As recommended in the product description, you get a sheer coat with one layer, or you can add another layer for more pigment.

The other colors in the lineup are:

• Undress Me (03)
• Rose You (04)
• Cherry My Cherie (05)
• Peach Me Love (06)
• Pink About Me (08)
• Oh My Gold (02)
• Drive Me Copper (01)
• Crush Me Orange (07)

The local Sephora didn’t have them in stock yet as of the last time I was there (a week or two ago?), so I can’t offer any thoughts on the other shades. I’m really curious about how the lighter-toned ones and the orangey ones look on the lips, though.

Texture, application & wear

Look ma, no transfer! Well, not much

The consistency of the oil tint was much thicker than I was expecting. The viscosity is similar to a gloss, but with absolutely no stickiness. It applies very evenly, and initially has a vinyl-like finish and a lot of slip. It keeps that high shine for a while before it soaks in; after an hour or two there’s at little bit of a sheen, but not enough to look like you’re wearing a gloss. Blotting it – including drinking from a cup – will cut down the shine but doesn’t seem to affect the color. On the other hand, the color doesn’t really transfer much to cups, but it can stain skin pretty quickly (and presumably fabric – I didn’t test that). The stain lasts all day, as far as I can tell – it wears off so gradually and evenly that it’s hard to notice when it happens.

As for applying multiple coats for more intense color – it totally works, but I recommend waiting for five minutes or so in between. Like I said, there’s a lot of slip at first and piling too much on at once runs the risk of getting it outside the lip line and having it leave a nice pinky stain. Otherwise I haven’t had any problems at all with it smearing or migrating.

Over the course of the day it dries down gradually and leaves a nice stain that looks like a sheer lipstick and feels like absolutely nothing. Literally weightless. It’s extremely moisturizing; even on the coldest, windiest day so far this year my lips didn’t get chapped when I was wearing this. It doesn’t leave a balmy film, it’s just like having naturally hydrated lips.

Ingredients:

Polybutene, Diisostearyl Malate, Octyldodecanol, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Tridecyl Trimellitate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Pentylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocin-namate, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil/Apricot Kernel Oil, Alumina, Passiflora Edulis Oil/Passiflora Edulis Seed Oil, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Coriandrum Sativum Oil/Coriander Fruit Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Oil/Jojoba Seed Oil, Magnesium Silicate, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Tin Oxide, Silica, Fragrance, [+/-May Contain: Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499/ Iron Oxides, Ci 77891/Titanium Dioxide, Mica, Ci 45410/Red 27, Ci 45410/Red 28 Lake, Ci 45380/Red 22 Lake, Ci 15985/Yellow 6 Lake, Ci 15850/Red 7, Ci 15850/ Red 6, Ci 19140/ Yellow 5 Lake, Carrot Oil/Beta-Carotene, Ci 15850/Red 7 Lake, Ci 42090/Blue 1 Lake, Ci 60725/Violet 2, Ci 75470/Carmine], (F.I.L. B166391/2)

In Short: I’ve fantasized a lot about the perfect lip gloss and lip stain, and here it is all rolled into one shiny tube.

YSL Volupté Tint-in-Oil ($32) is available at sephora.com, nordstrom.com, saks.com and YSL’s website.