According to SeneGence, LipSense is it's premier product and is unlike any other conventional lipstick, stain or color on the market. It is a liquid lip colour, claiming to be long-lasting, moisturising, waterproof with no smearing or rubbing whatsoever! From these descriptions, it promised to be the ultimate lip lovers product and we were very excited to try it out! We were sent the LipSense set which includes the Liquid Lip Colour, Moisturising Gloss and an Ooops Remover.
When we were offered this product to review, we had the opportunity to select the color. Usually most brands come out with 10 shades, but we were quite surprised when Lipsense offered a whooping 70. The shades are then separated into neutral, blue and yellow bases. With this in mind, you could imagine the difficult time we had choosing the colour, but ended up going with Plum as it looked to be perfect for the upcoming change in season. After choosing the colour, we then proceeded to choose the texture of our Moisturising Gloss - either luscious mattes, seductive sheers, inspiring sparkles and playful frosty. Yup, something to choose again. We ended up going for matte because, you know, that's the rage at the moment. Right off the bat, we were really impressed with the shades and finishes available. It seems to cater for every girl out there.
Onto the nitty gritty, for the greatest staying power, the liquid lip colour is recommended to be applied in 3 layers (nothing more or less). The idea behind this layering technique is that the second layer is sandwiched by the first and third layer. This therefore means that your second coat is protected against the pH of your lips (the first application you put on) and against friction, saliva and the environment (the outmost layer). This leaves your second layer basically untouched giving you that long wearing lip colour!
First Impressions:
Following the instructions and applying my first layer, I felt a strong numbing and tingling sensation that I have never felt with any other lip product before. I was fairly alarmed, and I quickly rubbed it off after apply as the sensation was unbearable. I was skeptical to give it another go after that. A week later, I experimented with applying a layer of lipbalm first, followed by Lipsense. The tingling was slightly reduced but the color was definitely not going to stay in place with that balm base. The following week, I was pretty determined to make it work. The numbing sensation lessened, the underlying tingling was still present, but I do think it's something your lips will get used to and adapt over time- which is what happened to me. Not sure if our lips (we both gave this a go!) are just sensitive but we were supposed to only feel a tingling sensation, nothing unbearable.
Colour & Staying Power:
I can confidently say that aside from the sensations, everything else lived up to the claims. The color was decently pigmented upon initial application and on the second and third layer, Plum seemed to have reached its full opacity on me (the swatches say otherwise) and I topped it off with the Matte Moisturising Gloss. Once everything set, your lip color is transfer-proof. Drinking liquids and whatnot are all fine, but when you start eating, the color just comes right off. I took a look in the mirror after a meal and the inner half of my upper and lower lips had lost its color.
LipSense: Long Lasting Liquid Lip Colour in Plum:
The color pigmentation was great - one coat gave a decent amount of color and two coats made it opaque for me. The instructions state to apply each layer as one continual stroke from one corner of the mouth to other. If you don't follow the instructions, and swipe back and forth like you usually do with lipstick, the color can become uneven. If you want to fix it up afterwards, it may cause your overall color to become patchy. This technique does feel a little unorthodox, but you do get better applying it this method over time. As mentioned above, there were some sensations that come with applying it, as well as mild/subtle alcohol scent, but aside from that, the liquid lip color is pretty impressive :) You can see below that the Liquid Lip Colour didn't transfer and left the gloss applicator nice and clean after use!
LipSense: Moisturising Gloss in Matte:
This gloss was fairly exciting upon use. It's a matte gloss, and it feels like you are applying moisturiser to your lips, without that balmy feel! Love this, and it's something I can see myself using over other lipsticks that tend to be more on the drying side.
LipSense: Ooops Remover:
This remover does really help clean up the 'ooops' moments of applying this! It's like using nail polish on a q-tip to clean up the edges on your nail polish, but this is that much better because it's for your lip and it's all in one neat tube :) The only downside is that the lip color would eventually go into the tube over time, but other than that, it works a treat.
Overall: If you're on the market for a lip product that has a large color selection, water-proof, smudge-proof, and kiss-proof all in one then you should definitely try out the LipSense Liquid Lip Colour! The Moisturising Gloss is also a great one to pick up because you can use it in conjunction with your other lip products. The Ooops Remover isn't a necessity, however it's one of those things that's 'good to have' as it is specially formulated to work with the Liquid Lip Colour. The RRP of the Liquid Lip Colour is $34, whilst the set retails at $66. You can purchase them respectively here (liquid lip colour) & here (set)
#funfact: apparently Christina Aguilera wears LipSense as well.
These products were kindly provided for consideration, all opinions are honest.
