Pucker Up

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

My mom has thin lips as did my dad, thus mine are pretty unvolumptious. I had a friend in high school who liked seeing me purse them together and essentially make them look like they dissappeared, of course they didn't they just got even thiner than usual. They are plumper after a long make-out session though, lol, or after eating something spicy. And now thanks to lip plumpers they can have the same full look without collagen implants (not that I'd ever attempt that) or the above measures.

But which prouducts? Well, two weekends ago my trusted assistant and friend, Jacquie (pictured below), and I tested out a few of them. None come cheap though.

The most popular lip-plumping product on the market is probably Lip Venom ($16) by DuWop. I remember my friends buying the costly gloss years ago, since Lip Venom was the very first lip plumper on the market, creating the lip plumping category for the beauty industry and sparking lots of similar products. The tingly gloss uses essesntial oils (cinnamon, wintergreen and ginger) to enhance lips' natural color and shape by increasing circulation and causing blood rush to the surface of the lips, flushing and swelling them slightly. The result: fuller bee stung lips, their slogan after all is, "Get stung." Not that bee stung lips sound very appealing and yes, it does sting a bit, but it also works. My lips do look fuller, but also beacuse the gloss also aids in me licking them and rubbing them together. The gloss also includes jojoba and avocado oil that moisturize and give the lips instense shine. So yeah, with lip venom my lips do swell for a more noticable look without being ridiculous and it also makes them look very shiny and even more eye catching. Jacquie uses this product too, her complaint though is that even with their color glosses they don't provide a real shading as well.

For an actual lipstick with a lip plumping feature you can try Avon's BEYOND COLOR ($8) with SPF 15. I have it in several colors and I like the feel of the lipstick but not sure if it actually plumps my lips though. It's also reasonably priced and good to use for daily ware.

tarte's Rise & Shine ($21) waterproof lip stain & plumping gloss was our favorite though. It's a dual wand and has two steps. First you apply the lip stain (like you would a lipgloss), wait 15 seconds for the coloring to set and then apply the plumping gloss for extra shine and lip plumping enhancing. It's also water-resistant and their ingreditants of vitamin E, aloe and coconut oil help lock moisture in, while the lip plumping gloss portion is composed of a "cocktail of tripeptides." Overall, this product felt very glamorous and gave my lips fullness, color and shine. Too bad it's only offered in two colors, pink and cherry. Their slogan says, "Think of it as the ultimate wakeup-makeup for lips for a pout that's pretty, polished and plumped-up."

MAC also has a color tinted lip gloss called, Plushglass ($17.50), formulated to make lips look and feel like more. It gives a cool-warm, vanilla buzz to the lips. Contains vitamin E for added environmental protection. 

Keep in mind: Lip plumpes can dry out your lips, so be sure and put some regular lip balm on after use.

Stat: Couples who kiss often are eight times more likely to be stress-and depression-free than those who never kiss outside of having sex(Redbook).

No comments

Post a Comment