Review: L'Oreal Limited Edition Project Runway Fall 2012 Colors Take Flight Collection Colour Riche le Gloss in 481 The Mystic's Shine

I hit the jackpot and found some fully-stocked L'Oreal Project Runway Fall 2012 Colors Take Flight Collection displays at my local Rite Aid, so I did a pretty major haul of everything I wanted to try based on the press photos. Rite Aid is running a sale this week (through 9/22) that is conducive to a major haul, since all L'Oreal cosmetics are BOGO1/2OFF and when you spend $30 (after the BOGO1/2OFF deduction of course), you get $10 back in +UP Rewards. So I did some damage, but I plan to use my +UP Rewards tomorrow to pick up some limited edition NYC goodies and also a few Sally Hansen Lustre Shines, so expect some reviews of those products very soon.
But today let's focus on the lip gloss I wanted from the Project Runway Colors Take Flight displays (there are four different displays in this collection). The gloss I picked up is called The Mystic's Shine, and it's from this display:

 L'Oreal Limited Edition Project Runway Fall 2012Colors Take Flight Collection: The Wise Mystic
L'Oreal Limited Edition Project Runway Fall 2012 Colors Take Flight CollectionColour Riche le Gloss in  481 The Mystic's Shine(retail: around $7.95, 0.40 oz)


The glitter in this gloss is actually more pink than what you see in the pics above. I was able to get a more accurate shot taken in low lighting:



Some swatches:


This gloss is absolutely stunning viewed at certain angles. It really is eye-catching with lots of pinkish-violet glitter, and when you view it at other angles, you can see that the base color is not completely clear--it has a green cast to it:

It was nearly impossible to photograph this accurately on my lips--I tried to capture it in a zillion different forms of lighting and the best I could do was this photo:
 (excuse my super-chapped lips; the dry heat we've been having here in San Diego has really taken a toll on my skin)
 A deliberately blurry photo to show you how much glitter is actually on the lips after application. As you can see, it's not as dense as when swatched on my hand.
Now I'd like to show you what this gloss looks like layered on top of a purple-ish lipstick. The lipstick I'm using for these photos is Maybelline Amethyst Ablaze.
Before:

After (The Mystic's Shine layered on top of Amethyst Ablaze):

You can see that it really intensifies Amethyst Ablaze and gives it a ton of extra sparkle:


Since I already reviewed a permanent shade in the le Gloss collection here, today I'm just going to review this particular color and not get into the texture, staying power, etc. If you'd like to know what I think of the le Gloss line in general, check out my original review (the short version: I really love these lipglosses).
I'm a tiny bit disappointed in this one. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but what I get from this gloss is essentially a clear base with lots of violet-pink glitter. The green cast is unique and interesting, but you can't really see green after this gloss is applied to the lips. OK, you can kind of see green on the outer corners of the lips, but only at certain angles and, after about 20 minutes, it turns into a clear gloss with lots of glitter. And then, when the gloss fades, you're left with just the glitter.
Worn as a layering shade, however, it can really bring some extra pizazz to your existing lip colors. And the sugar cookie/buttercream scent and flavor are a bonus.
FINAL VERDICT: Not as cool or unique as I had hoped, but I love le Glosses in general and this one will be fun to use for layering. It's a tiny bit gritty at first due to the glitter, but the longer it's on the lips, the less gritty it feels. I'm a little sad about this one because I had such high hopes, but the interesting green base turns into a clear base within 15-20 minutes on the lips, and then it's just a regular ol' glitter gloss. If you're a layering type of gal or guy and you're looking for a violet-pink glitter gloss to bring some intensity to your pink and purple lippies, this might be a nice one to pick up. But if you were hoping this would be a more opaque duochrome type of gloss, then I'm afraid you'll be a tad disappointed.
Have you picked up any Project Runway Colors Take Flight products yet? If so, what are your thoughts? Please check back soon because I'll be swatching/reviewing some of the eyeshadow palettes, lipsticks and polishes from this collection in the days to come (I'm going to try and post them as quickly as possible since I know time is of the essence when it comes to the availability of limited edition drugstore collections). 
PS: As of the time of this post, Ulta has a page devoted to this collection here, but I haven't seen any of the actual products available on the site yet. Last year it took a while for the Project Runway collection to show up on the Ulta site, so keep checking back--hopefully everything will available there shortly.