Opera Lip Tint in 05 Coral Red

For a die hard classical music fan, opera is actually not my thing (took me some pretty pennies to reach that conclusion)...But today, I will show you an Opera that I do like. At least there is no hippo-sounding soprano screaming into your ears.

The first time I have heard about Opera lip tint was from a Chinese blogger 蚊子雯子 （linked on side bar). She mentioned how it's like a budget version of Chicca lipstick (possibly my favorite sheer formula). A few months later, the Japanese beauty community cosme.net ranked it no.1 lip product for the first half of 2017. That was when I started the hunt.

So far, the whole brand is not widely available (and sold out in many stores) so eBay is your best bet. The markup is high but I usually wait for discount code.

The lip tint has a slim and lightweight golden tube and retails for around 1500 yens. With the exception of 02 Pink, most of them are a clear with reddish tint. I originally wanted 01 standard red but skipped it after I heard that it stains hot pink (if it turns hot pink on other it will turn magenta on me). Today, I am showing you 05 Coral Red and have two for later.

05 is coral with a tad bit of opacity without milkiness/floating white pigment. The first picture made it look redder than it is but swatches are more accurate.

Suqqu Cream Glow Moist 07 Sangoseki, Opera 05 Coral Red and Suqqu EX-18 Momosuishou

You can see Sangoseki being thin, Coral Red being creamy-glossy while Momosuishou is cream-peachy.

Bare lips 

Opera lip tint gives a thin and smooth glide that's even and glossy, in a oil tint glassy shine kind of way. 

 It's a pleasant and unique formula that sits  well and certainly feels refined. While I wouldn't equate it to the watery gel texture of Chicca, it's notably better than lippie in the same price range (the first comparable brand that popped up is Visee).

On a humid day, it's comfortable on the lips and stays on for half a day without drinking or eating. On drier days it sinks into lines a bit, no biggie.

When ever I see tint, I assume it's just lip product that lightly colors without extra glossy finish or shimmer. It seems that in Japanese market it implies that it stains immediately upon contact. I personally hate products leave an allover stain (they have a tendency to turn clown bright and is a pain to remove) so it actually makes it much less appealing. I am willing to pay extra for a long wearing formula that settles into soft stain but is still a breeze to remove.

Overall, Opera lip tint is a great formula for the price (in no way does it jeopardize the market share of Suqqu or Chicca).