Pouty, full lips have been a feature long coveted, though not everyone wants to achieve them with a poke! đ Enter: lip plumping glosses. These lipglosses contain a mild irritant in the ingredients aimed to cause temporary blood flow and inflammation to the lips. There are a few drugstore makeup options, but which ones actually work?
Today weâll look at three popular drugstore lip plumping glosses: the newer Maybelline Lifter Plump Gloss, the NYX Duck Plump Gloss, and an old favorite of mine, the Milani Keep It Full MAXXX Lip Plumper.
This lip plumper is not for the faint of heart. The new Maybelline Lifter Plump Gloss uses Chili Pepper and a proprietary âMaxi-Lipâ formula to initiate the plumping effect and I canât lie⊠this stuff burns. This sting the most out of any lip plumper Iâve tried, and the sensation is strong on the lips for over an hour.
But is the burn worth it? As you can see above, after 15 minutes we get a flush of color to the lips under the sheer formula, and a slight filling of the lip lines for a plumper effect. I wouldnât say this makes my lips look that much bigger,
For the past few years, the Milani Keep It Full MAXXX Lip Plumper has been my favorite. I love the cushy, pigmented formula thatâs not sticky at all. This one also utilizes Chili Pepper to create inflammation, though itâs not nearly as strong of a sensation as the Maybelline gloss. Thereâs definitely tingling/stinging, but it doesnât feel as hot.
After 15 minutes, I get more noticeable roundness at the center of my bottom lip, and my top lift looks slightly lifted. While this one gives me the most visual effect in my opinion, it doesnât last very long. After thirty minutes, the swelling starts going down as the reaction subsides. This formula also contains Mango Seed Butter and Hyaluronic filling spheres for moisture retention, so after the plump is gone you at least get a nourishing lip gloss.
Another new release, the NYX Duck Plump Gloss made waves during their Big Game commercial. However, despite all the hype, I felt like it gave me the least amount of visual effect. This formula uses spicy ginger to plump, and at the most, I see my lip lines smoothing out as shown above. Again, this is enough for a generally fuller effect, but I couldnât see much change in terms of the shape of my lips as I did with the Milani gloss. This one did have heat behind the tingling, but it lasted maybe 30 minutes tops. I did like the pigmentation of this gloss, though it feathers if you donât wear it with lip liner.
So hereâs the thing⊠when it comes to lip plumping glosses, I personally donât feel like theyâre worth the buy.
First of all, after 5 days testing these back to back and comparing them, my lips were dried the heck out. You have to remember that youâre essentially causing a mild allergic reaction when you apply these, and depending on how sensitive you are this could leave your lips in bad shape. I wouldnât recommend these for daily use, especially because you could end up de-sensitizing your lips to the plumping ingredient, making them less effective.
Second, the effect is just too temporary. Especially in the case of the Maybelline gloss which stung the crap out of me, it wasnât nearly enough effect for the discomfort. But even with the Milani lip plumper which didnât hurt as much and gave me more lip fullness, the effect fades so quickly that I might as well just grab a normal lip gloss thatâs more comfortable to wear in general. If I want the illusion of fuller lips, Iâll create it with lip liner which will last much longer.
Unless a brand comes out with a super innovative formula that lasts several hours without massive stinging, I donât think Iâll be adding any more lip plumpers to my collection.
What do you think of plumping glosses? Do you have a favorite that works?
â Miranda
