Product Review : LipSense Liquid Lip Color

March 22, 2009

I’m always a little nervous when asked to do a review on a product I’m given rather than one I bought myself. What if it’s awful? I don’t like writing really negative things unless I can balance it with something positive. Does your integrity require that you write the opinion even if it’s bad, since the person requested it?

No need for anxiety here. This is the most interesting and weirdest product I’ve put on my lips and also one of the best performers. I had given up on long-wearing lipstick, figuring it was just a beauty industry inside joke. ‘Lip Plumping’ , now that really is a joke.

Kelly Robertson

Kelly Robertson of Celebrity Lipstick e-mailed to ask if she could send me a lip product sample from her SeneGene line. She looked at the pictures I’ve posted of myself along the way and chose a color in keeping with my neutral-makeup-loving, conservative, Canadian self. The color Kelly sent was Apple Cider, on me a warm peach-rose color of medium depth.

The product comes with a Moisturizing gloss in a second tube, and an instruction sheet. It’s makeup – do I need instructions? Actually, yes, they’re helpful.

I started by doing what we all do with lipstick, I smeared it on my hand. Within 30 seconds, I couldn’t get it off. Promising indeed.

LipSense Liquid Lip Color

When you apply it to your lips, the first thing you notice is that it stings. That’s about all you’re noticing for 10 seconds as something evaporates. Not tingle. Sting. The color goes on sheer with 1 application but builds nicely with further applications, and it stings with each. Kelly tells me that the sting comes from SD40 alcohol, a type well above standard cosmetics grade. If your lips are chapped or cracked, you’ll feel it even more.

It’s also thin and can sneak past your lipliner easily if you move too fast. There is a plus side here for mixing 2 colors. It would be extraordinary for me to apply a color of anything from the container without mixing it with something, so mixability is a big concern of mine. If you owned 2 or 3 of these, you could customize an endless number of colors.

It’s tacky within 1 minute and you apply the moisturizing gloss. The stinging stops. The gloss is shiny but not obnoxious, quite pleasant actually. Kelly tells me that the stinging sensation is relative to how dry your lips are but that the shea-based gloss is very healing and the sting on application goes away after a couple of days of wearing the product.

Now we get to the good part. It does not come off. It does not require the gloss to be applied every 15 minutes (every 1-2 hours is plenty and doesn’t need a mirror because the color doesn’t budge) because the color is not drying and the gloss has some lasting power.

The product doesn’t crack, roll, crumble, fade in the center, dry, no matter how often you roll your lips. Other than being a little sticky, it’s very flexible and you don’t really know you have it on. It leaves no trace on cups. I drank tea and it didn’t move. I applied my MAC lipstick over it once instead of the gloss it came with and the color looked interesting but didn’t move.What you give up in comfort in the first minute, you get back in a huge durability and comfort payoff.

Are you familiar with the business lunch? 6 men and you. You took a little more care with your makeup. You’ve met, you’ve eaten the soup. By now, you know your lipstick is long gone. Buy why put on more lipstick, there’s still the wrap or the salad? By the time they’re done, you can’t even hope for lipliner to be getting you through. You hope that the emphasis you placed on your eye makeup is drawing attention away from your naked lips.

Yes, you could excuse yourself to go touch up your makeup, but how womanish and wimpy is that at a work meeting, and then you return looking all glossy? This is better. The guys are hanging around drinking coffee and guess what? So are you! Looking the same as when you walked in. Now here’s a woman who has it together and whose look is working for her in every sense of the word.

After a salad with dressing, the product is gone from only the center of the mouth but still quite presentable. Pull out a lip balm (if the guys wouldn’t pull out a lip gloss, then you shouldn’t either; Labello or Blistex, or anything one of them would use, is forgiven; you can fix the look back at the office or alone in your car), slap some on, and you look good. Don’t eat oily food at the business lunch.

For evening, for parties, for meetings, for a day outdoors, anytime you don’t want to fuss with reapplying lip color, this product is most definitely worth a try. It’s uncommon for a product to surprise me but this one did. It was still looking great 8 hours after I applied it.

The color selection is quite remarkable. I appreciate that one of the biggest challenges of online makeup sales is showing colors that are representative across different browsers and monitors. Though the swatches have been improved since I first looked at them, they might still need a little work. Apple Cider looks like a light-medium peach-pink on the site but it actually goes on deeper than that on me, and I have medium coloring. On a fair woman, it would certainly be more intense unless she only used a single sheer layer. I also wish the swatches were about twice the size they are.

If you lick it, it will taste very slightly chemical. You won’t taste it when you eat or drink and it has no odor once it’s dry. LipSense is not tested on animals. If you have any questions or need guidance with colors, you will find Kelly incredibly helpful and receptive to questions.

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Makeup

Comments

2 Responses to “Product Review : LipSense Liquid Lip Color”

gina on March 24th, 2009 9:00 am

Looks really interesting. What about shipping to Canada? Noticed on the site she makes no mention of it. Thought the Sheer Berry looked nice and not expensive at all.
Kelly Robertson on March 25th, 2009 11:55 am

Hello Gina, and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to reply. I’m sorry that I missed your lovely country as a place that I can and do ship to! I must update my site today, thanks so much The Sheer Berry is nice and a popular shade. If you’d like a catalog sent to you with real swipes of colors, just email me with your address and your color preferences (berries, pinks, sheers, nudes, peaches, etc) and I’ll get it out to you pronto. Thank you again for your comment and your interest in the products I share. Kelly@CelebrityLipstick.com