Clarins was started in 1954 by Jacques Courtin-Clarins, when he opened the first Clarins Institut in Paris. Later, his two sons Christian and Olivier also joined Clarins, and they're still the President and the Director General of the company to this day. Clarins has become a permanent fixture on the British high street, with counters in department stores up and down the country. The company is world-renowned for creating high-quality products, including for the face and body, make up, fragrances, sun products and products for men.

The product which I will review today is the Clarins Rouge Prodige True-Hold Colour and Shine Lipstick, which is currently priced £17 on both the Clarins and Boots websites. There are over 20 shades available, including pinks, reds and nudes. I own shade 109 Rosewood.

What Clarins say: "An unrivalled formula that delivers long-lasting lip colour, shine and exceptional comfort. High Fidelity Pearl technology ensures that colour and shine stay true for hours while the creamy rich texture provides nourishing skin care lip benefits."

First of all, this lipstick looks really posh and good quality. The casing is sleek and gold, and once you've removed the lid, the lipstick twists smoothly and gently up out of an elegant gold tube. There's no doubt that it looks really good quality, but for me I think it looks a little too grown up. I can imagine my Gran using something looking like this, but of course it should be the lipstick that counts, not its packaging!

This lipstick is so easy to apply. It's very smooth and creamy, and just glides on. It doesn't drag or feel dry, and once applied your lips will feel really soft and smooth. If I was judging it on this alone I'd give it five stars, as the application is a pleasure.

It doesn't have any sparkle and isn't high gloss, but does give your lips a nice sheen. It doesn't feel sticky or gloopy at all, but does give your lips a slightly moist look. It's hard to describe but it looks lovely and feels great to wear.

I was lucky enough to win this lipstick so didn't have a choice in the colour which is a shame. The shade that I own is almost exactly the same colour as my lips, so although when it's applied my lips have a slight gloss to them, you can't notice the colour at all. I know this isn't a fault of the product, but for most people if you want to notice your lip colour I'd recommend choosing a brighter or darker shade.

Now, this is supposed to be a long lasting lipstick, but with my one being the same colour as my lips it's very hard to judge where the lipstick ends and my lips begin. However, I've done my best.

The shine lasts a while (a couple of hours at most), but doesn't withstand the trauma that is eating a meal and having a drink. This isn't uncommon with lipsticks, as your lips do take quite a battering during mealtimes, but on examining my lips after finishing meals I get quite a shock. It might be hard to notice with the shade that I own, but I could discern that the colour itself was still there on my lips. This is unheard of! A lipstick lasting throughout a meal? Whatever next?! The shine doesn't last that long, but the colour stays around for hours and hours! I'm sure that this would be much more noticeable with the darker or brighter colours.

I haven't experienced any transfer with this product, or any smearing or bleeding. Once it's on, the colour stays put.

The major downside with this product, in my opinion, is that even before the shine has worn off, my lips begin to feel very dry. I have a bit of an obsession with lip balm and having soft, smooth, moisturised lips, and hate the feeling of dryness. However, I found this lipstick very drying and soon felt that I needed a top up or some lip balm...but with the colour still remaining, I couldn't do that as I'd mess up my lip balm! I don't know what "nourishing skin care lip benefits" Clarins were talking about, but in my opinion they don't work. It starts out creamy and soft, but soon feels dry and uncomfortable. That's the price you have to pay for getting a long lasting lipstick, I guess, and it's up to you to decide which is more important to you.

Overall, I think this lipstick is a bit of a let-down. It looks great and starts of really well, but the drying effect is something which I just can't overlook. For the rather hefty price tag and the brand name I was expecting something a lot better, although it appears to be very good quality. For me, I'm pleased I won it rather than having bought it myself, as I haven't been that impressed. I think that if this is the type of make-up that you can afford to buy regularly, you won't think it's anything special and you can probably get a lot better for your money; if this would be an extravagant treat for you, I think you'll be disappointed so look elsewhere.