Lip Service: Do Plumpers Actually Work?
By Lilan Duong

Botox. Rhinoplasty. Augmentation. Liposuction. Oh what we wouldn’t do to preserve our youth and look like a hot celeb years beyond our time.

We all want Jennifer Lopez’s booty-ful behind, Angelina Jolie’s luscious lips, and Janet Jackson’s rock-hard abs. And while some prefer not to go the plastic surgery route, most will opt to try everything out there in the market to keep up with the Jones’ so to speak.

For me, I have always claimed that I’ll never go under the knife, that I’d be willing to grow old gracefully, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious.

One of the latest crazes in the cosmetic surgery world is collagen lip injections and beauty brands are taking notice, giving us lip plumpers to help us create a fuller pout, allowing us the option to skip the needle all together. But do they really work?

I thought I’d put their claims to the test and tried three of Sephora’s top-selling lip plumpers, (according to the sales associate):

LipFusion Micro-Injected Collage Lip Plump Color Shine,
Too Faced Lip Injection Extreme, and
DuWop Pink Shimmer Lip Venom.

LipFusion Micro-Injected Collage Lip Plump Color Shine

Too Faced Lip Injection Extreme

DuWop Pink Shimmer Lip Venom.
?fotos: sephora.com
?With LipFusion being the only product scientifically proven to plump lips (according to the sales associate), all three products list some form of butylene (polybutene, polyisobutene) as a common ingredient which is used mostly to manufacture lubricants and synthetic rubber. Huh? I definitely didn’t understand the science behind it, but figured, appearances don’t lie, right?

When I tried each plumper, there was definitely a stinging sensation, which made me feel like they were working. However, only LipFusion gave me the additional feeling of actual swelling in my lips, like I had had an allergic reaction of some sort and my lips were feeling more swollen and tight when I talked or even smiled – you know that feeling right? Lip Injection Extreme made me feel and kinda look like I had duck lips after 10 minutes and Lip Venom doesn’t live up to the hype at all.

Overall, lip plumpers in the form of gloss can be considered a quick fix and if you have really thin lips, I’d give it a go. The myth that lip plumpers really work can only be resolved in the eye of the beholder – let’s just say, I’m a believer.

Lilan Duong is the girl behind The Daily Cookie, a blog Bringing You Daily Morsels of Anything and Everything!

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