Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain vs. L'Oreal Color Caresse Wet Shine Stain

    L'Oreal bought Yves Saint Laurent back in '08 so while I was doubtful I had hopes that these products would be similar if not the same formula. Not only would the same formula be awesome, but the same or similar colors would be amazing. A highly raved about $32 product for $9.99! Impossible...right? 

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain:

• The packaging is substantial. It feels like quality and it's just pretty.
• Texture is very smooth and moisturizing for a stain. At first it's cold and thin. Then as it sets it feels slightly sticky.
• Surprisingly long wearing. It left a long lasting silky coat on my lips for a good 5-6 hours. 
• Very pigmented. I've only got one shade and it's very light, but it's visible with one coat and even better with two.
• It smells quite strong. I can definitely smell the alcohol and a strong perfume. Alcohol > Perfume
• It tastes like it smells. 
• .20 oz. for $32.00
• Available in 24 shades.
• Made in France

YSL Beige Aquarelle 1 Coat

YSL Beige Aquarelle 2 Coats

Ingredients: 
Free of parabens, sulfates and phthalates!
Octyldodecanol, Aqua/Water, Trimethylsiloxyphenyl Dimethicone, Ethylcellulose, Sorbitan Stearate, Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Sucrose Cocoate, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Hydroxypropyl Guar, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Silica, Benzyl Alcohol, Limonene, Calcium, Sodium Borosilicate, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Alumina, Benzyl Benzoate, Anise Alcohol, Acrylates Copolymer, Tin Oxide, Fragrance. 
May Contain: Ci 77891/ Titanium Dioxide, Mica, Ci 15850/ Red 7, Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499 / Iron Oxides, Ci 17200 / Red 33, Ci 15985 / Yellow 6, Caramel, Ci 42090/ Blue 1, Ci 19140/ Yellow 5, Ci 75470/ Carmine.

L'Oreal Colour Caresse Wet Shine Stain:

• The packaging is light. It feels cheap, but it's still pretty.
• The texture is also smooth and cold when first applied. It sets similar to the YSL, but feels a little lighter.
• This doesn't wear as long as the YSL, let alone the 6 hours L'Oreal claims. On me it wore about 1/3 of the time as the YSL.
• The lightest color (Pink Perseverance) is very sheer, but slightly visible in two coats. The darker shade I have (Rose On And On) is visible in one coat.
• It smells strongly of alcohol and perfume. Perfume > Alcohol
• The taste is overwhelmingly perfumey at first.
• .21 Fl oz. $5.99 and up. I paid $9.99
• Available in 12 shades.
• Made in USA

There's nothing like taking 20 pictures of sloppily applied lip stain in the blinding sun to show how uneven a girl's lips are. And to show that pictures in blinding sun wash out all color.

Pink Perseverance 1 Coat

Pink Perseverance 2 Coats

Rose On And On 1 Coat

Rose On And On 2 Coats

Ingredients:
Octyldodecanol, Aqua/Water, Trimethylsiloxyphenyl Dimethicone, Ethylcellulose, Sorbitan Stearate, Alcohol Denat, Cetyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Sucrose Cocoate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Hydroxypropyl Guar, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool, Citronellol, Benzyl Alcohol, Parfum/Fragrance
May Contain: Mica, Ci 77891, Titanium Dioxide, Ci 77491, Ci 77499, Iron Oxides, Ci 17200/Red 33, Ci 15985/Yellow 6, Ci 16035/Red 40, Ci 15850/Red 7, Ci 19140/Yellow 5, Ci 42090/Blue 1

    I have to say they are not the same. I purchased nearly identical shades in both and while the applicators and ingredients are close, the results I got were not close enough. For the price L'Oreal Colour Caresse Wet Shine Stain would be a great option if you're looking for color. The lightest shades, however are not worth it in my opinion. The L'Oreal is less pigmented and drying and just doesn't compare to the YSL Glossy Stain. While doing this experiment I found another product I actually prefer from a completely different brand, but that's for another day:)

P.S. Can anyone say the ridiculous names of these products in one breath?