New L'oreal Colour Caresse Shine Stains Review

Hi everyone! You may know from my post about YSL Glossy stains (HERE) that they are my absolute favorite lip product. I love everything about them--the staying power, the formula, the colors...The only thing I hate is the high price point. At $32 per glossy stain, they don't come cheap. So I was completely ecstatic when it was rumored that the new L'oreal Colour Caresse Shine Stains were a possible dupe for them! I picked up 4 for way less than the price of one glossy stain. I thought I'd share some swatches and my thoughts on them with you!

L-R: Endless Red, Coral Tattoo, Pink Resistance, Berry Persistant

The gold packaging is really nice--obviously not as luxurious looking as the YSL glossy stains, but I do like the packaging. I really like that you can see the color on the side as well. In the photo below you can see that the applicator is quite similar too. They both have a slightly pointed padded doefoot applicator. The YSL ones is a bit more angular so it does allow you to be more precise when applying--but the L'oreal one is easy enough to use as well.

The similar applicators side by side

Formula wise, I think the L'oreal ones are very close! They both have that watery consistency that gets tacky after a few moments on the lips. Pigmentation wise the YSL ones are definitely more pigmented and saturated in color on the first swipe while the L'oreal ones take at least two to four layers on the lips to build up the pigmentation. In comparison to YSL, the glossy stains did last longer and they also looked glossier for longer too.You can see in the swatches below that I chose three brighter colors and one light peachy, pink color---Pink Resistance took more layering than the others and did not stain for as long. The bright colors did last a really long time on my lips, especially Coral Tattoo. When looking at the L'oreal ones, since there is such an array of colors, I would definitely recommend going for the brighter colors since they stain better--I've read that the light, pale colors are sheerer and do not stain nearly as well.

Some more pronounced differences I noticed: the L'oreal ones make my lips feel a bit dryer than the YSL ones do. I actually don't have an issue with the YSL ones at all--but the L'oreal ones are a little drying for me. Lucky for me I am a lip balm addict so I always have them on me--I always apply a generous amount to my lips after the L'oreal shine stains wear off. Additionally, the smells are slightly different. They both smell like versions of boozy fruit to me--but the L'oreal ones smell much stronger and more floral--and not as good in my opinion. It does disappear after a while and while i'm not usually a picky scent person, I can definitely say it's not my favorite. One last noticeable difference: I noticed the stain that is left behind by the L'oreal glosses looked a little patchy as it faded away, something the YSL stains do not do. For the first 2 hours though, the L'oreal ones look great!

L-R: YSL GS #9, L'oreal Endless Red, YSL GS #12, L'oreal Coral Tattoo, L'oreal Pink Resistance, L'oreal Berry Persistant

The colors I got were:
190 Endless Red: a bright neutral leaning warm red. This color is a fantastic dupe for YSL Glossy Stain #9, with YSL leaning slightly more warm.
188 Coral Tattoo: a bright orange. I thought it would be a little more similar to YSL glossy stain #12 when swatched but they're completely different. #12 is a pinky coral wheras L'oreal is straightforward orange. I wonder how similar it would be to Glossy Stain #8 though!?
183 Pink Resistance: a light peachy pink--a nice everyday color but it is on the sheerer side in comparison to the brighter colors--you do have to layer it more to show up. Also, it's not quite pink like the name says--it definitely turns coral on me!
186 Berry Persistent: a dark purple that dries down to a vampy purple/wine color on the lips

One thing I really like about having the L'oreal dupes available is that I can try out colors that I don't want to pay the YSL prices for. I like that I can try colors like Coral Tattoo and Berry Persistant (two colors that I love but don't wear as often as pinks and reds and corals) at a low price point. I would feel guilty splurging on YSL counterparts if I knew I wasn't going to wear the colors as often and get my money's worth.

Ever since I got the YSL glossy stains I really have been wearing them nonstop. They are my favorite lip formula to wear and I know I will get more in the future. L'oreal is great, but I honestly I do prefer my YSL ones. The formula wears slightly longer, is more comfortable and less drying on the lips, and the pigmentation in general is a bit better.  That being said, I do really appreciate the L'oreal Colour Caresse shine stains. I think they are an excellent dupe and it will allow many people who are weary of the $32 YSL price tag to try out a fantastic and unique lip formula. If I were to look at the L'oreal product alone without comparing it to YSL I would still say it's an exceptional drugstore product. There is a bit of truth to "you get what you pay for"--it is not an identical dupe, but for the low price, you shouldn't expect it to be the exact same. Both are worth checking out!

You can find the L'oreal Colour Caresse Shine Stains at any drugstore--and because of that, you can probably find them on a promotion too! Let me know what you think in the comments--have you tried the Colour Caresse Shine Stains and YSL glossy stains?? What are your thoughts on how they compare??