The Big Lips Showdown

Unless Angelina Jolie is reading this, chances are you want fuller lips. My lips are ok but I wouldn’t turn down a chance at juicy sexier lips – that’s why I’ve tried almost every lip plumper out there. Most don’t do a thing but I have found these 3 products to be somewhat effective, in varying degrees and methods.

The most talked about plumper is the Lip Fusion. It sounds really invasive but it makes sense. It has micro-sized collagen and hyaluronic acid that are actually small enough to osmosize (yes, I made up this word) into your lips. There is a slight numbing sensation when you first apply it but is not at all uncomfortable. It seems to work better when used very often, the XL is meant as a treatment to be used at overnight daily. It does give the appearance of puffier lips and does not swell and redden.

The Too Faced Lip Injection uses vitamin B and capsium Chinese extract to give your lips a boost in circulation. What this means is that it causes irritation on your lips and blood rushes to the areas applied. The first time I used this I was very liberal with the application and got it everywhere all around my lips. This does work but what happened to me was that I ended up looking like I got into a fight because my entire mouth region was puffed up, swollen and red. Make sure you stay within the lip lines. The label says you will feel a tingling sensation for 6 minutes. It felt like a lot longer than 6 minutes for me and it was much more than a tingling sensation – it was burning and hot and got a little annoying after a while. If it gets too much for you, you can try to wipe it off but it won’t help because the stuff is already in there doing it’s thing and the burning won’t stop. The good news is, the effects of the large swollen lips lasts longer than the 6 minutes of burning but you do look unnaturally puffy and red.

The DuWop Lip Venom works very much the same way as the Too Faced Lip Injection in that it irritates your lips into swelling. It uses spicy essential oils like cinnamon and ginger and is the equivalent of putting hot sauce on your lips. This was the most uncomfortable of all the plumpers I’ve tried. I used it with some friends and actually had someone running to the bathroom to run cold water on her mouth for 10 minutes. The cinnamon is REALLY strong and the worst part is, once the pain goes away, so do the puffy lips.

So, what do I use? The Lip Fusion. I don’t so much mind the tingling and the pain of the others, it’s just that the results of them are a little too swollen looking for me. I like the subtle effects of the Lip Fusion and what I like most is that it is also a great moisturizer – it has some sort of hydrating effect that lasts for hours. It is really pricey so that’s definitely the down side but if you get the Color Shine, it is gloss, moisturizer and plumper all in one for $38. I also use the clear ($36), which I apply first then I top it off with any lipstick or gloss I want. DuWop Lip Venom $16; Too Faced Lip Injection $18.50; and Fusion Beauty LipFusion XL $50 all at Sephora.com.