Etude House Rose Kiss Edition – Review & Swatches

- Dessie

Ah, Summer… everything is green, birds are singing, days are long enough to not go out and come home in pitch darkness… All jokes aside, I’ve been moaning about the cold in every post, so being able to go out without 5 layers of clothing is actually pretty great. Plus vacation is right around the corner and boy am I happy. Maybe the hot weather will also melt away my writes block (heh heh).

With all the color outside and my general improved mood induced by the positive temperatures, longer days and sunlight, I’m starting to tap into my much brighter (for me at least) summer wardrobe. I’m also noticing the return of my willingness to do a bit more makeup than the usual powder- blush-mascara combo that has been the staple of the past months. That being said, my lazy morning mantra continues to be: the fastest and easiest way to incorporate some color in your makeup and look chic & put together is to throw in a bright colored lipstick. My other morning mantra is: do not get up before the third snooze, but that’s another topic… Over the years my lipstick collection has grown beyond the reasonable size and, given that lipsticks generally expire pretty fast, lately I’ve been trying (besides reducing the amount of makeup I’m purchasing) to buy smaller sizes. One of my favorite finds on that front has been the mini lipstick vault I am reviewing today – the Etude House Rose Kiss Edition Lipstick Vault.

I got this beautiful set off eBay as I do with all of my Asian makeup/skincare purchases. A lot can be said about being wary of fakes & so on, but I’ve never had problems with my cosmetic purchases from eBay. I always seek sellers with 99.9% positive feedback and as many reviews as possible. Shipping is free for most items coming from Korea and takes about 2 weeks. I’ve never had a package held at customs, but I do keep my orders at about 80$ at most and sellers would usually sign the purchase as a gift (they usually state whether they do this explicitly in the description of the item).

The Etude House Rose Kiss Edition Vault is still available on eBay for between 42 and 52$. It contains 12 mini-lipsticks each with around 1.4g of product. I wasn’t exactly able to figure out if the shades were part of the brands permanent My Blooming Lips range, but I think all of these are exclusive to this set. Six of the shades have a matte chiffon finish and the other six are cremes. The set packaging is a cardboard box with slots for every lipstick. The lipstick bullet itself is single-colored rectangle matching the lipstick shade inside. It closes nicely and looks quite elegant. The only tiny little thing I don’t like is the fact that the lipstick name is not printed on the bullet and instead there is a sticker with the number at the bottom. Not that I ever plan to throw away the cardboard box, because it’s gorgeous, but still… Etude House Cosmetics is not a cruelty free brand.

 

Here is the shade breakdown & swatches (left to right):
Temptation Rose – RD301 – Cream – Deep Cherry Red
10 Million Roses – RD302 – Chiffon – Cherry Red
Thorn on a Rose – RD303 – Cream – Brick Red
Heartless Rose – OR201 – Cream – True Orange
Juliet Rose Bouquet – OR202 – Chiffon – True Orange
Our Anniversary – OR203 – Chiffon – True Coral
Shy Confession – PK001 – Chiffon – True Baby Pink
Queen of Centre – PK002 – Chiffon – True Cool-Toned Hot Pink
Rose Tea – BE101 – Cream – Reddish Mauve
Dried Rose – BE102 – Chiffon – Deep Brown Red
You Are My Rose – PP501 – Cream – Blood Red
Black Rose – PP502 – Cream – Deep Burgundy

 

 

In terms of longevity both finishes last pretty good for solid lipsticks, with the chiffons wearing slightly longer than the cremes – they managed for a good 4 hours through eating and drinking. The matte formula applies a bit harder, because it’s drier and pulls on your lips a little. The cream formula is super soft, hydrating and adored by my poor lips used to the rough treatment of liquid lipsticks leaving them feeling like Sahara. Both finishes are super pigmented, so if you were expecting a lightly colored balm – you’re wrong, however, you can apply the lipsticks either as one opaque coat or by doing the ever so popular ‘gradient lips’ look – dabbing a big of color on the inside of your lips and blending it to the other edges. I actually love doing that, because it allows me to wear darker colors during the week without showing too much of my inner Morticia Addams.
All lipsticks have a very very faint sweet scent. Here is the back of the packaging.

I’ve always loved Asian makeup and cosmetics. I even included some products in my first ever haul post (now deleted, cause I’m getting embarrassed just thinking about it). To me, most of the innovation in terms of makeup and skincare happens in Asia, which is not that surprising given that taking care of ones appearance has a much bigger impact from a social standpoint in Asian culture. Just consider that every second person in South Korea (male or female) has had some cosmetic surgery done. With that in mind the cosmetic industry there is at least 10 years ahead of the rest of the world. With the huge amount of brands out there, the market is a battleground resulting in better products in terms of innovation, ingredients and packaging, which at the end of the day benefits the consumers. The market does have its downsides & quirks – finding dark shades for face products is notoriously impossible (although there is change in that direction now that more and more Korean brands are finding their way to the shelves of Sephora), eyeshadows tend to be way less pigmented as generally Asian makeup is geared more towards the natural makeup look, most of the brands are not cruelty free, because they are also sold in China and so on… but if you read a little bit and try to make an informed decision you end up with really high quality products which for me is the case with the Rose Kiss Edition Set by Etude House.

As final words – I really love this set. The size is perfect, the price is completely reasonable, the packaging is adorable, the lipsticks are pigmented, comfortable and long lasting. Only downside for me is the fact that Etude House is not cruelty free (due to the fact that it’s sold in China). Other than that, I can highly recommend these lipsticks if you’re looking for a way to expand your shade collection without breaking the bank.
xoxo, Dessie

This post is also available in: Bulgarian