Seek and You Shall Find: At last a lip plumper that plumps!
Written: Dec 12 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Plumps lips without pain, pretty colors, fairly inexpensive, lasting effects
Cons: Doesn't plump lips like injections, must use consistently or plumpness disappears
The Bottom Line: Celebs rave about City Lips because it works. Not a miracle but will give you slightly plumper, fuller lips. Can be used nightly as a collagen building treatment.
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| PattyTherre's Full Review: CITY Cosmetics CITY Lips Mini Gift Set |
Since I first wrote about never reviewing lip plumpers again, I sure have been breaking that promise! But this time, it’s not my fault. I received a CITY Cosmetics CITY Lips Mini Gift Set from a friend as an early Christmas present. For the record there are actually two City gift sets (other sets are named Kiss and Make Up – which I also have now - and Jetsetter). The two City gift sets are called City Chic or City Diva. They are the same except for shades. The City Chic is the set I received and is the same as the one pictured above so that makes it easy for you to look at the photo and get am idea of shades. A much better photo of the shades is on both the City Cosmetics site or Sephora’s website.
The Official Word on City Lips
CITY Lips is different than any other lip plumper on the market. One-of-a- kind ingredients amplify natural collagen production, quickly increasing volume , erasing wrinkles, to create fuller, softer, youthful lips. CITY lips will not burn or irritate your lips, essential oils and vitamins soothe and protect lips.
CITY Lips is simple and easy to use. Apply every night and during the daytime under your lip stick or alone for instant moisture, plump and shine.
CITY Lips revolutionary formula does not contain animal or fish ingredients. Our treatments work safely and naturally with your body's chemistry to enhance your own collagen production.
CITY Lips superior result will amaze you!
How to Wear City Lips
This, again, is from City Cosmetic’s official website:
TO USE :
Clear Treatment: Apply a generous amount of Clear Treatment every night before bedtime to enhance collagen production. Can be worn during the daytime under lipstick. Continued use will improve collagen production and increase fullness.
Color Treatments: Apply as often as desired for instant plumping, moisture and shine and to maintain collagen build up. Continued use will improve collagen production and increase fullness.
The Packaging
Four little veils of lip color are boxed in a pretty pink and white City Lips box with a plastic overlay so you can see the vials of lip gloss through the box. Each vial is just 1.5 ml. They look like tiny samples or little gifts with purchases. They are clear glass veils with black tops that have a tiny brush attached inside the gloss for application. Each veil has the name of the shade and the City Lips name on it.
The Shades
In the City Chic collection, the following shades are included: los angeLIPS (soft pink shimmer), TINSEL town (flushed pink with fine silver shimmer), monte COSMO (sheer raspberry), and san franKISSco (sheer rose with a hint of plum). This is the set I got.
For reference, the other City set - The City Diva set - has: SUN diego (warm pink with golden shimmer), PLUM springs (warm plum), SIN city (clear with gold shimmer), and vieHENNA (rusted ruby).
My Experience
City claims that these lip glosses plump the lips by amplifying the natural collagen in the lips. Their clear original nighttime treatment is exactly the same in formulation as their colored treatments so you could wear any of these colors to bed and get the exact same results from them as you would from using the original clear. Those results, however, may vary from person to person.
I was eager to try City Lips because I have heard nothing but good things about the gloss, both as far as plumping and they way it looks on the lips.
I tried Tinsel Town first. I loved the little brush applicator. It made applying the thin gloss so much easier than any other type of applicator. City Lips is different than most lip glosses in that it isn’t thick, it isn’t sticky at all, and it’s very thin. My favorite lip gloss/plumper, DuWop Venom Gloss For Lips is completely opposite of City Lips: thick, highly pigmented, and sticky.
I found the first shade to be nearly invisible on my rather naturally rosy lips. However, the shine is great and the texture is so light and easy to wear that I took to it immediately. At first I felt nothing at all but after a few minutes, I felt a slight tingling sensation. It’s nothing like Duwop’s Lip Venom which is like setting your lips on fire (but I like that burn), but it’s a noticeable tingle. These have no taste at all and there is very little scent as well.
I studied my lips in the mirror. They were shiny for sure and looked nice but I didn’t notice much else.
The next shade I tried was the much more pigmented san franKISSco. This shade is a nice rosy shade that works well with my skin tone. This one is a bit thicker but still not at all sticky. I painted it on my lips with the little brush and waited for my lips to get all plump. Well, guess what? They did look plumper. I swear. I know that sometimes people see what they want to see, but I did note a definite plumping effect. Not anything out of this world or miraculous but my pucker was plumper. And, there was very little pain involved. No cinnamon to burn the lips. There was the tingle again but it stayed at just a mild tingle and nothing more.
As far as wearabililty goes, this gloss lasts about as long as typical lip glosses. If you don’t eat or drink, it will last you a couple hours. A meal will essentially wipe away any gloss you have on. I have yet to find any lip gloss that withstands a meal without fading away.
One thing I found to be super helpful with the application of this “treatment” as City calls the glosses, is my DuWop Reverse Lipliner. I use that first, tracing the natural lip line, then fill in my lips with the gloss. Otherwise, when I don’t use the pencil, it tends to bleed a bit and look a touch messy.
I wore the lightest (almost invisible) shade, los angeLIPS, to bed at night as instructed. This gloss, while fine for use during the day, was originally made as an overnight treatment to build up collagen in the lips over time. The addition of colors is just an added bonus to those who like the gloss and want the immediate plumping results.
After about a week, I did note that my lips looked a little fuller. Like I said, this is just a small change and nothing like a big breakthrough in technology. Still, it did seem to give my lips more definition, a little more mass, an a slightly plumper pucker.
The glosses are quite pretty on their own without the plumping effect. There are many colors to choose from and the gift sets are a great idea for those who want to try out City Lips but don’t want to commit to just one shade or who don’t want to just have a clear treatment for nighttime.
Did it make women everywhere I went envious of my voluptuous lips? Nahh. But I noticed the slight plumping and swelling and that’s all that matters. As much as I love DuWop’s Lip Venom glosses, City Lips does a better job at plumping my lips and is much less sticky. I have to say, City Lips actually is the first lip plumping gloss/treatment that gave me a noticeable difference in the size of my lips. All the rest either did nothing or had very negligible results (and only while the gloss was on).
City Lips has been the best bet yet for me to date for getting the plump lips I want without those nasty needles and weird misshapen lips that can come with collagen injections (which I would never have). A miracle? No way. A good gloss with some plumping effects? Yes. Worth the cost? Well, mine was free so heck yeah but I am going to buy both the clear and a deeper full size shade now that I know how it works, looks, and wears.
Ingredients
Each shade has very slightly different ingredients to make the colors but here are the ingredients in a typical tube of City Lips Lip Treatment:
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Petrolatum, Microcrystaline Wax, PPG-51/SMDI Copolymer, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Tribehenin, Sorbitan Isostearate, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Octyldodecyl Ricinoleate, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Celadrol ™, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Germ Extract, Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Extract, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Fruit Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Cananga Odorata (Ylang) Flower Oil, Dipalmitoyl Hydroxyproline, Benzyl Nicotinate, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Sodium Cocoylaminoacids, Sarcosine, Potassium Aspartate, Magnesium Aspartate, Isopropylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben.
Buying Info
City Lips Lip Treatment can be purchased right on the City Lips website or on any number of skin care sites across the net. I assume this product can be purchased at department stores such as Sephora since they sell it on their site but most of my shopping is done at my computer so I can’t be sure.
There are 14 shades (many are very sheer) as well as the original clear formula. A full size tube is one ounce and sells for $29.00. You can catch a sale here and there but I have found that, pretty much across the board, $29.00 is the going rate.
You can also indulge in one of four gifts sets (one includes a free leather cosmetic bag in the shape of lips. Adorable) if you want to try four shades of the gloss to find one you like best.
Conclusion
With prolonged nightly or daily use, your lip volume will increase with City Lips. Not astonishingly so. Not dramatically so. But you will notice the difference from the first application. There is a mild tingle but no burning or pain and the gloss is shiny, non-sticky, and pretty! The convenient brush applicator is easy to use and cuts down on waste.
The colors are a bit sheer for me but some are darker and more pigmented and those are the ones I will stick with (except the clear at night). While I did see a mild but noticeable increase in the volume of my lips, once I stop using the product, that increase goes away within a day or two so, be prepared to be dedicated in your use of City Lips Lip Treatment nighttime treatment or daily gloss.
You can use the gloss for occasional wear as well and it will fatten your lips some and give you a great sheen as well as smooth out the fine lines in your lips. The gloss looks best when used with either a very light or reverse (no color) lip pencil applied first so it doesn’t bleed.
I love my DuWop and won’t trade that in but it has to make room for my new other favorite, City Lips.
I give this one 4 stars. It’s the ONLY lip treatment I have tried thus far that I can honestly say I see a visible difference in the size of my lips from using it - even when I am NOT wearing it.
Note: City Lip is not tested on animals. it is tested on celebrities, some of whom can act like animals at times. ;)
Recommended:
Yes
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