It’s not exactly a secret around these parts that I love a good red lip. And while I do try and switch things up by bringing in the occasional hot pink and wine colored lipstick, reds are kind of what I’m drawn towards. I was excited when Becky from byBMG asked if I’d be interested in trying out LipSense because while I’d heard of it, I hadn’t tried it.
So first confession — I’m not a glossy girl. I ca handle creme finish. I like a good satin. Glossy finishes give me horror film level flashbacks to middle school when my mom would ONLY let me wear clear gloss and on occasion the NYC glitter glosses. You know which ones I’m talking about. $2 at Target/WalMart and not something any of us wants to repeat. Since I have such an aversion, I got ahead of the game and ordered the matte gloss, which Becky does have in stock as I type this.
Everything comes sealed so that you know it’s fresh, just for you and this is where the fun begins. The lip color is thin and liquidy; it reminded me a lot of my Benefit lip tints but with much more pigmentation. You’ll apply three layers of the color and allow about five seconds between each layer to dry. I did notice a tingling while applying the color; nothing painful or lasting. After you’ve tripled up, apply your gloss of choice — there’s quite a few different finishes, including some with metallic sheen that are perfect for the holidays!
Because I am 100% dedicated to keeping it real in this space, I didn’t go for a safe color when choosing the lip color for my kit. I went with the boldest. Those of you that love red lips know the struggle of red lipstick. It looks great. But it smears, it moves, it bleeds. Red lipstick is the rowdy teenager of lip colors. You love it because you saw it’s beautiful beginnings. You’ve already made it this close to adulthood so you’re not giving up at the first act of defiance.
Blu-Red is advertised as a shade that makes your teeth look whiter due to the blue undertones {100% true.} One of the reasons I’m picky about reds is because reds with a yellow undertone, always bring out my yellow undertones. Right away, I knew this was the shade I wanted to try out. For the sake of completely going for it, I ordered Jimmy John’s and took large bites to see how much this lipstick would move. While a little bit ended up on my chin {above}, the lip color did a great job of staying in place — even better than my favorite matte lipstick. I made sure to apply gloss before eating, as is recommended to maintain your color’s longevity, and then followed up again after I finished my sandwich.
We all know reds bleed so I wasn’t all that surprised to have the color stain my gloss applicator. This was my second time wearing this shade and I can say that the first go round left very little residue on the applicator. The matte gloss does have a matte finish as advertised and is a moisturizing gloss which I found really nice; all of the matte lip colors I’ve tried are SO drying that I usually have to spend a day or two after just revitalizing and exfoliating my lips.
I applied my color around 11 AM and was good to go until about 6:30 when I started noticing the color coming off the corners of my mouth. LipSense can last anywhere from 4-18 hours depending on your body’s chemisty. For me, seven hours of coverage is on the higher side for a lipstick.
And at the end of the day, it’s time to take your lipstick off. Oops and I aren’t the best of friends. We’re still getting to know each other. While it does pull some of the color off, I found it to be the most drying part of LipSense. I normally remove lip color with coconut oil and still much prefer that to the Oops remover. I can say that I was impressed by it’s strength. While I can’t see myself using the remover to change lip color midday as is advertised, I was able to completely clean the applicator after coating it in red with a dry washcloth.
You can order LipSense here; the starter kit is $55 and includes the lip color of your choice, Glossy Gloss and Oops Remover. You can also order lip colors by themselves. Becky regularly posts her inventory in her Facebook group and also takes orders if you’re interested in a color or gloss that she doesn’t have on hand.
Thanks so much for your review, Nicole! Blu-Red looks fabulous on you!! I hear ya about the oops. I typically use oops for if I color outside the lines applying my lip color. I think your removal method with coconut oil has been a loved method with many of my clients! Thanks again for trying it out and sharing the love with your readers!