Lorac Breakthrough Performance Lipstick (Ingenue & Leading Lady)

Lorac is one of those brands that are often unjustly overlooked. I don't know if it's because the creator, celebrity makeup artist Carol Shaw, doesn't have the knack for Bobbi Brown-like PR, or the fact the products are sold at Sephora but not at the department stores fabulousity shrines. In any case, the coordinated palettes are among the best you can find, and now there's also an excellent lipstick, Breakthrough Performance with SPF 15.

First, there's the sleek, creamy texture. It glides on like a gel, feels soft and comfortable, and even though the pigment is very rich and the coverage very close to full, it doesn't sink into the scar on my bottom lip. While the almost glossy shine doesn't survive lunch, some of the pigment stays longer. You still need to reapply for the SPF and any other antiaging benefits.

The colors I chose (for now. I see a couple more in my future) are the dramatic red Leading Lady and the dark rose Ingenue. Leading Lady is a Hollywood red, perfectly balanced in undertones- not too blue or too orange. It's a bit darker than watermelon red and is a perfect accompaniment to that little black dress. Ingenue is the kind of rose I think of as my signature lipstick color. It enhances my natural pigment, works well with my skin tone and makes a perfect everyday shade. If you're pale you can probably still pull it off- Ingenue would make a lovely evening shade for a fair complexion that looks good in rose and berry.

Lorac Breakthrough Performance Lipstick ($22) is available from Sephora. I ordered them online as my local store was (as always) out of stock.

Photos by me.