Orchids Work Their Magic with Givenchy Carmin Escarpin Le Rouge!

The story behind Givenchy‘s latest line of lipsticks is that the artistic director of Givenchy makeup, Nicolas Degennes wanted to do something different with Givenchy Le Rouge. To get inspired, he ordered countless precious orchids from around the world. He mixed many different shades naturally found in orchids in a single lipstick, and the Givenchy Le Rouge line was born. Sounds like an urban legend? That’s what I thought, until I got to try Givenchy Carmin Escarpin Le Rouge (306. RRP in Belgium: 34,50 euros)!

As I have mentioned here, Givenchy Le Rouge comes in really badass packaging. The real leather and stud give it a biker-chic vibe. The tube is a bit bigger than most other lipsticks. It is slightly hefty but not overly so. Givenchy Le Rouge also smells different from their other lipsticks. The scent is somehow lighter, though I can’t pinpoint what it smells like.

Givenchy Carmin Escarpin Le Rouge is a bright red with an orange undertone and a creamy sheen. However, I am going to assume the orchid story is true, since this shade is a bit of a chameleon. Depending on the angle, it can look more and less orange-toned. The most amazing thing is after it has been blotted or worn off during eating/drinking, it looks like a pink-based red instead!

Here is the swatch (one swipe/built up):

The formula of Givenchy Carmin Escarpin is impressive. The only concern I had after swatching them all was the creaminess and glide would also imply migration. But no, Carmin Escarpin barely even transfers when I drink! It is an easy lipstick to work with. I can apply straight from the tube and get decent crisp lines with it. It glides on full of pigmentation, so no building up or smoothing out is necessary at all. Just one single layer of this can resist to quite a bit of eating and drinking, and the stain basically won’t go away until you make it! My nemesis when it comes to a bold lipstick is the possibility of it migrating out of my lip lines, but Carmin Escarpin does not suffer from that at all. If you eat a full meal, most of it would be gone (except for the stain), but you won’t find it halfway down your chin!

Here is how it looks on me:

This is what it looks like after I blotted it out. See how different it is? That orange undertone is gone!

Bottom line: Yes, yes, and yes! Givenchy Carmin Escarpin Le Rouge is one of the rare low-maintenance bold colors, and I can’t think of anything in the formula I can possibly nitpick. I would say since Le Rouge lipsticks are all mixed colors, you might want to try them on before you purchase just because your skin tone might pull out different tones in them. However, I am hoping the formula is consistent across the line, because Carmin Escarpin is a big success of a red lipstick!

Have you seen Givenchy Le Rouge around? Are you a fan of creamy mattes or do you want the sparkle to come back?

Sunny, your beauty culture translator xx

PS: In Belgium, Givenchy cosmetics is exclusively available at ICI PARIS XL.