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So you’ve seen those glossy lips all over your Instagram feed, right? The ones that look like glass, like honey, like somehow both expensive and effortless at the same time. And you’ve probably wondered\u2014can a $9 lip gloss from the drugstore actually deliver that, or are we being sold another pretty promise that dries up after twenty minutes? I bought six shades of L\u2019Or\u00e9al Color Riche Lip Gloss last month. Six. My bathroom counter looks like a makeup graveyard and my wallet is giving me side-eye, but someone had to do the dirty work.The thing about lip gloss in 2024 is that we’ve all been traumatized by the sticky, hair-catching formulas of the early 2000s. You remember\u2014those ones that felt like glue and tasted like artificial strawberries. So when L\u2019Or\u00e9al promises “intense shine without the tack,” my first reaction was skepticism. Heavy, thick skepticism. But also hope, because who doesn’t want that perfect juicy lip without spending $30 at Sephora?What Exactly Are We Testing Here?<\/strong><\/p>\n Before we dive in, let’s get specific. The L\u2019Or\u00e9al Color Riche Lip Gloss line\u2014sometimes called Le Gloss, depending on where you’re shopping\u2014comes in roughly 15 shades, though availability varies by retailer. I managed to grab:<\/p>\n (the “your lips but better” shade)<\/li>\n (summer in a tube, supposedly)<\/li>\n (deep, moody, very 2024)<\/li>\n (bubblegum vibes)<\/li>\n (shimmer, because why not)<\/li>\n (red gloss, bold move)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Each tube promises “high shine, non-sticky, hydrating” formula. The packaging is that classic Color Riche gold, which honestly looks more expensive than it feels. When you hold it, there’s a slight… cheapness? Not in a bad way, just lightweight plastic. But for under ten bucks, my expectations were managed.The Swatch Test: Arm vs. Lips<\/strong><\/p>\n So here’s where things got interesting. On my arm, these looked gorgeous. Like, stop-and-stare gorgeous. The pigmentation was surprisingly dense for a gloss, especially Berry Persistent and Scarlet Concerto. They swatched smoothly, evenly, with this beautiful dimensional shine that caught light in all the right ways.But lips are different. Lips have texture, lines, dry patches you didn’t know existed until you apply gloss. I started with Nude Illusion because it’s supposed to be the safe choice. And… okay. Not bad. The applicator is that standard doe-foot, slightly angled, picks up enough product without being messy. The formula felt creamy going on, not watery, which I appreciated.The shine was immediate. Not subtle, not natural\u2014glossy<\/strong><\/p>\n . Like, “yes I spent time on this” glossy. But here’s the thing I kept noticing: it settled into my lip lines. Not dramatically, but enough that I found myself pressing my lips together to smooth it out. Is that normal? Do other people do this? I don’t know, but it happened with every shade.The Wear Test: How Long Until Disaster?<\/strong><\/p>\n This is the question that matters, right? Because glossy lips are high maintenance by nature. Everything sticks to them\u2014hair, coffee cups, the wind. So I tested each shade for a full day, which meant reapplication, coffee drinking, mask-wearing (yes, some of us still do), and general life.The results were… mixed.<\/strong><\/p>\n Berry Persistent was the clear winner. Something about the darker pigment made it adhere better, last longer, fade more gracefully. It went from “gloss” to “stained tint” over three hours, which is honestly ideal. You don’t get that ring-around-the-lips situation that lighter glosses give you.Golden Splash, though… what was I thinking? The shimmer particles are visible, tactile, and after an hour my lips felt like sandpaper. Not cute. Not wearable. Maybe for photos only? Even then, the shine disappeared so fast that I’m not sure the trade-off is worth it.The Sticky Question: Is It Actually Non-Sticky?<\/strong><\/p>\n L\u2019Or\u00e9al claims “non-sticky formula” and I need to address this because it’s complicated. When you first apply\u2014no, not sticky. Creamy, smooth, almost balmy. But after thirty minutes, as it starts to set and react to your body heat? There’s… resistance. Not full-on 2004-lip-glass-stuck-to-your-hair situation, but definitely tackiness.I tested this scientifically by letting my hair down on a windy day. With Coral Encore, strands definitely caught. With Nude Illusion, less so. So the lighter shades seem less sticky? Or maybe they fade faster so there’s less product to catch things. Either way, “non-sticky” is a stretch. Low-stick<\/strong><\/p>\n would be more accurate. Manageable stick. Acceptable stick.The Hydration Claim: Are My Lips Actually Better?<\/strong><\/p>\n Here’s where I got confused by my own expectations. The packaging says “hydrating” and lists oils and butters in the ingredients. After a full day of wearing Berry Persistent\u2014reapplying maybe three times\u2014my lips felt… fine. Not moisturized, not dried out, just fine. Like wearing a comfortable shirt that doesn’t change your life but doesn’t ruin it either.But when I wore Golden Splash, which has that gritty shimmer, my lips were actually drier by evening. So the hydration factor seems shade-dependent, which is weird. Shouldn’t the base formula be consistent? Maybe the shimmer particles disrupt the moisture barrier or something. I’m not a chemist, just a confused consumer.Who Is This Actually For?<\/strong><\/p>\n I kept asking myself this as I tested, because the experience varied so much by shade and situation. So let’s break it down:This gloss is perfect for you if:<\/strong><\/p>\n Maybe skip this if:<\/strong><\/p>\n The “Is It Really 2024 Worthy?” Question<\/strong><\/p>\n Beauty standards have shifted. We’re in the era of “clean girl” aesthetic, of “no makeup” makeup, of products that promise skincare benefits while they color. Does L\u2019Or\u00e9al Color Riche Lip Gloss fit into this new world?Honestly… kind of? It’s not revolutionary. It’s not going to change how you think about lip gloss. But it delivers a specific thing reliably: affordable, accessible shine with decent color payoff.<\/strong><\/p>\n In a market flooded with $25 “lip oils” that are just gloss in fancy packaging, there’s something refreshingly honest about this product. It doesn’t pretend to be skincare. It doesn’t promise eight-hour wear. It’s just… gloss. Good gloss, mostly.The Shades Ranked by Actual Wearability<\/strong><\/p>\n After three weeks of testing, here’s my personal ranking:<\/p>\n – The standout. Rich color, best longevity, fades beautifully<\/li>\n – Bold, fun, surprisingly wearable for red gloss<\/li>\n – Safe, easy, requires frequent reapplication but looks good doing it<\/li>\n – Pretty color, slightly too sticky, summer-specific<\/li>\n – Forgettable, patchy, better options exist<\/li>\n – Just don’t. Unless you like gritty lips and disappointment.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n The Price vs. Performance Reality Check<\/strong><\/p>\n At $8.99 (though I found it on sale for $6.99 at Target), the value proposition is interesting. You’re not getting luxury performance. You’re getting solid drugstore performance, which for some people is exactly enough. The Berry Persistent shade specifically punches above its weight\u2014I’ve paid $20 for glosses that performed worse.But the inconsistency across shades is frustrating. It suggests formulation issues, quality control variations, or just that some pigments behave differently. When you buy luxury gloss, you expect consistency. With drugstore, apparently, you roll the dice.Final Thoughts (Because Summaries Feel Too Final)<\/strong><\/p>\n I’ve been thinking about why we keep buying lip gloss despite knowing it’s high-maintenance. Maybe it’s the ritual\u2014the pulling out of a tube, the swipe across lips, the instant transformation from “tired” to “intentional.” L\u2019Or\u00e9al Color Riche delivers that ritual affordably. It’s not the best gloss I’ve ever used. It’s not the worst. It occupies that middle space where most of our makeup lives\u2014good enough, pretty enough, cheap enough.Berry Persistent has earned a spot in my daily bag. The others? Probably gathering dust until I need a specific color for a specific outfit. And Golden Splash is going in the “what was I thinking” drawer, never to be seen again.The beauty industry wants us to believe we need constant innovation, new formulas, new finishes. But sometimes you just want a glossy lip that doesn’t cost dinner money. This is that. Imperfect, slightly sticky, occasionally patchy, but real. Honestly real.If you’re curious, grab Berry Persistent first. Thank me later. Or don’t. I’m just a person who spent too much money on lip gloss so you don’t have to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So you’ve seen those glossy lips all over your Instagram feed, right? The ones that look like glass, like honey, like somehow both expensive and effortless at the same time. And you’ve probably wondered\u2014can a $9 lip gloss from the drugstore actually deliver that, or are we being sold another pretty promise that dries up … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":296,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[29],"class_list":["post-295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-loreal-skincare-review","tag-is-loreal-color-riche-lip-gloss-worth-the-hype-in-2024-or-just-another-drugstore-disappointment_"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestofashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestofashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestofashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestofashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestofashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=295"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bestofashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":300,"href":"https:\/\/bestofashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295\/revisions\/300"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestofashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestofashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestofashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestofashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\n \nShade<\/th>\n Initial Shine<\/th>\n Longevity (no eating)<\/th>\n After Coffee<\/th>\n Overall Feel<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n Nude Illusion<\/td>\n 8\/10<\/td>\n 2 hours<\/td>\n Gone, just… gone<\/td>\n Comfortable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Coral Encore<\/td>\n 9\/10<\/td>\n 1.5 hours<\/td>\n Stained slightly, shine dead<\/td>\n Slightly sticky<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Berry Persistent<\/td>\n 9\/10<\/td>\n 3 hours<\/td>\n Stain remained, gloss faded<\/td>\n Best texture<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Pink Perseverance<\/td>\n 7\/10<\/td>\n 1 hour<\/td>\n Patchy disaster<\/td>\n Too thin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Golden Splash<\/td>\n 6\/10<\/td>\n 45 minutes<\/td>\n Just shimmer left<\/td>\n Gritty feeling<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Scarlet Concerto<\/td>\n 8\/10<\/td>\n 2.5 hours<\/td>\n Bold stain, faded shine<\/td>\n Slightly heavy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n
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