A lot of my friends ask me if I have any affordable makeup recommendations. While I will admit that I am a bit of a sucker for a Charlotte Tilbury or a MAC buy, sometimes I do come across a real gem that costs little more than my morning coffee.
This week I stumbled upon Essence’s What the Fake! Extreme Plumping Lip Filler,£3 here, and I can’t get enough of it. I’d sort of given up on the concept of lip plumping formulas as I never found them to be effective at increasing volume – no more so than a regular gloss, anyway – but then along came this.
This particular shade I’m using here is the tinted version, but there’s also a translucent pearly option for those wanting to use the product for shine and plumping alone. Essence has also just launched a brand new version of this, due to popular demand, in Oh! My Nude, – a rosy neutral which you can shop for£3 here.
What makes this plumper special, then? The ingredient list boasts vitamin E and hyaluronic acid for ultimate lip condition and hydration. Nothing out of the ordinary there. It also features chilli extract – bingo! Chilli has a natural chemical called capsaicin, which causes the tingling sensation you’ll feel after applying the gloss. It also helps increase lip volume by promoting vasodilation (widening) of the blood vessels.
So does it work? I think my before and after speaks for itself. These two images were taken five minutes apart. I didn’t apply any other lip product like a liner, the results are purely from applying a coat of this Essence gloss.
If you don’t like that classic plumper tingling sensation, you won’t like this. I’d say it’s on the more extreme side of tingling, but that does subside as your lips get used to the gloss and as it wears off slightly. It also tastes of chilli if you get some on your tongue, so if you’re not a fan of spice then you might not love this. I, however, love chilli.
It’s funny because I always think my lips look best after I’ve eaten something spicy, so now I can get the plump look without the extra calories! Jokes aside, though, it’s not just the plumping effect that I love. The red tint lasts ages on my lips – even after the gloss is all gone. The plumping effect also lasts quite well, and I can notice they still look bigger than usual a few hours after application.
I think it’s safe to say that I’ll be snapping up the two other shades of this gloss before they sell out.
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