Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Lipsense

Let’s start by dealing with the elephant in the room – people are wary of trying Lipsense because it’s a direct-sales product – and sometimes the people who rave about it, are the same people who are “conveniently” selling it – bringing their credibility in to question. So I want to start this post off by saying that I DO NOT sell Lipsense AND I purchased each of these colours myself, so this is a completely unbiased review!

Wearing Lipsense in “Kiss for a Cause”

I’ve been meaning to write this post since last Fall – but two things have stopped me. One – swatching all of my Lipsense colours was a daunting task (it’s pretty much a permanent lip stain – so removal and reapplication takes FOREVER) and two – I kept adding more lip colours to my collection, and I wanted to wait until I was able to test everything. But I’m finally ready to share my Lipsense post – and it’s very photo-intensive!

WHAT IS LIPSENSE

Lipsense is a long-lasting lipcolour….longer lasting than any other lip colour I’ve ever tried. It’s in a different league from other lipstains because once you apply it, it DOES NOT BUDGE! You can even rub your hand across your lips – and everything will stay exactly where you applied it – no smearing at all! It lasts through food, drinks, wiping your face – EVERYTHING! Yes, eating greasy food may cause it to wear off a little bit in the center – but this product will NEVER transfer – you won’t ever end up with stained teeth or lipstick on your chin!

WHY I LOVE LIPSENSE

I love it because it’s a permanent colour – and once I apply it, it stays put until I take it off using their special remover. It’s perfect for any events or meetings  – you can eat and drink and know that your lipcolour will stay intact.

Secondly, if you have smaller lips and like overdrawing your lipline – Lipsense is amazing – because you can draw your lips in bigger – and they will stay that way! Regular lipliner can wear off, leaving you with an uneven look – but with Lipsense, everything stays perfectly in place. I especially love using Lipsense when I’m travelling and for blog events/photoshoots.

CONS OF USING LIPSENSE

There are two main reasons why I don’t wear Lipsense every day. Firstly, I’m worried about the long-term impact of the formula on my lips. There’s a lot of alcohol in the lipcolour, and I don’t know if it could dehydrate and cause wrinkling around the lips in the long run. Secondly, it takes time to apply – you have to carefully paint it on, leave time for the coats to dry…and if you’re rushing out the door, it’s so much quicker to just swipe on a lip gloss instead.

Due to the high alcohol content of the lipcolour – some people feel light stinging the first time they try Lipsense. And if you have cracked or peeling lips – you should probably steer clear until your lips are healed, otherwise you’ll be in agony!

Other cons of using Lipsense include – difficulty in layering colours – I like to add dimension by adding in a light colour at the center of my lips – with Lipsense, it can be hard to layer and it doesn’t blend easily. You can’t mix it with any non-Lipsense liners or lipcolours – as their waxy residue will interfere with the Lipsense coverage. Also, I’ve personally found the gloss to have a weird taste and smell – I have to wait a while and blot it off a bit before eating/drinking or it adds a bitter taste.

HOW TO APPLY LIPSENSE

The technique for applying Lipsense is similar to painting on nailpolish – you apply the lipcolour in one direction using the flat side of the brush – covering as much of your lip surface with each stroke as you can.  You wait a couple of seconds between coats to let the layers dry, and then you finally seal in the colour with one of their lipglosses. You can’t swipe back and forth as you would do with a regular lipcolour – as this removes what you’ve already applied and will leave you with unpainted patches. TIP: Keep a cotton bud handy to immediately fix any mistakes before the formula dries down!

As I mentioned in the CON section – layering is not as easy with Lipsense as it is with traditional lipcolours, because it doesn’t blend as smoothly – despite this, you can still create a lot of pretty colour combinations – below is one of my favourites – 2 coats of Fly Girl + 1 coat of Dark Pink!

HOW DOES LIPSENSE LAST THROUGHOUT THE DAY

Lipsense lasts AMAZINGLY through the day – as I mentioned before, it won’t smudge or smear…but it will wear off over time – especially around the center of your lips. Eating oily foods can reduce the wear time – but usually, you’ll have at least 8 hours of your lips looking good!

The AFTER picture below was taken after 12 hours of wear, with no touch-ups. You can see how the overall colour has faded – and I’m pouting my lips to show how the product has worn off near the center.

With regards to reapplication – as the colour wears off, it can get a bit crumbly – so I like to wipe off any “crumbly colour” and then reapply Lipsense and seal it again with the gloss.

HOW TO REMOVE LIPSENSE

Lipsense sells a remover called “Ooops” to help fix mistakes and to remove your Lipsense at the end of the day. You swipe it on, massage it onto your lips, and then wipe it off with a washcloth or cotton pad.

I don’t usually use my Ooops though – instead, I remove my Lipsense by rubbing on some Clinique Take the Day Off Balm on my lips (it’s what I use on the rest of my face anyway) – I rinse it off, and if there’s any residue left over, I put some Micellar water on a cotton pad, and it removes everything else.

When swatching the lipcolours for this post – I had to be very efficient and gentle in removing Lipsense – so I’d start by using the Ooops remover to remove most of the colour, followed by the Micellar water. The oily Ooops remover helped keep my lips conditioned and prevented peeling. I also like using a silicone scrubber to massage the remover into my lips – and to also gently exfoliate the surface and leave it smooth.

An alternate way of removing Lipsense is by using a glycerine-based bar soap (such as Neutrogena). You wet a cotton pad, rub it on the soap, and massage it on to your lips. Let it sit there, then take another damp cotton pad and rub it across your lips – and all the colour should be removed.

LIPSENSE COLOURS I OWN – SWATCHES

Here are ALL of the Lipsense colours I own. Since I have to order the colours without trying them on in person, I spend a LOT of time looking up swatches on Pinterest. Of these 9 colours, I think I only really NEED 3 (Dark Pink, Kiss for a Cause, Fly Girl) – the others are just meh. I’ve found that I prefer MATTE colours over FROST/SHIMMERY ones (although – again, this is one of the things you can only discover after trying it on your own lips – as the MATTE/SHIMMERY descriptions are not always accurate).

• Beige Champagne (Warm/Frost) – I brought this to add some dimension to darker colours – but it’s a little too light.
• Aussie Rose (Cool/Shimmer) – another light colour I use to layer over dark bases.
• Dark Pink (Cool/Matte) – This is my favourite lighter colour and works perfectly over darker colours to create a softer effect
• Lexie Bear-y (Cool/Shimmer) – I bought this to combine with Beige Champagne to create a brownish pink nude look. I don’t like how the colour looks on my lips – it’s too dark and purple
• Strawberry Shortcake (Cool/Matte) – this doesn’t apply that evenly on my lips and I don’t like the shimmer finish (even though it’s listed as a matte, it seems shimmery to me)
• Fire ‘N Ice (Cool/Frost) – another colour that is too frosty/shimmery on my lips – not a huge fan.
• Kiss For a Cause (Cool/Shimmer) – One of my favourite colours – applies smoothly and is a deep fuschia. Bought this as a dupe for MAC Girl About Town.
• Fly Girl (Warm/Matte) – the first Lipsense colour I bought – my favourite deep red so far. I often layer Aussie Rose or Dark Pink on top to lessen the intensity
• Blu-Red (Cool/Matte) – bought this as it’s meant to be a slightly orange-y red – it’s ok, but not a great dupe for MAC Lady Danger, as I had hoped.

With regards to the colours I don’t love – I keep a couple of them in my handbag to touch up with during the day – as they are similar enough to blend in with my more preferred shades.

WHICH GLOSS TO USE

The gloss is the second step of the application process and seals the colour in, helping it to last throughout the day. It contains shea butter and helps counteract the drying effects of the lip colour. You can reapply it throughout the day to keep your lips hydrated and to help your colour last longer.

• Matte Gloss – Matte Satin Finish
• Glossy Gloss – Crystal Clear Glassy Finish (the original gloss)
• Gold Glitter Gloss – Specks of Gold Glitter

I own 3 of the glosses – and while I prefer the look of the Matte Gloss, it feels horrible on my lips – they already feel dry from the lipcolour, and the Matte formula dries them out even further! So instead – I apply either the Glossy Gloss or the Gold Glitter Gloss – and then use my finger to wipe off the excess, so that my lips don’t look too glossy. Warning – use your finger or a blotting paper to remove the excess gloss – but don’t use a regular tissue – otherwise you’ll end up with sticky little fibers all over your lips!

WHERE TO BUY & PRICING

Here’s the tricky part about Lipsense – you have to find a distributer who sells it. Many have set up Facebook groups or Instagram pages. You could also find your closest sales person using this form. I asked my Facebook friends to refer me to someone who sells – so my distributor is a friend of a friend! We chat about what I want over Facebook Messenger and then she mails me my order. By the way, I would NOT purchase Lipsense from Amazon – when I was researching this post, I saw many negative reviews about the listed products being fake, smelling bad, looking old and opened, etc.

With regards to prices – there is a difference between CAD and USD prices – but as a general guideline, for US prices, the colours are $25, the glosses are $20 and the Ooops remover is $10.

Have you tried Lipsense yet? Was there anything else you wanted to know – leave me a comment!

PHOTO CREDIT: Blue dress photos shot by Laura Clarke Photography at RH Toronto, The Gallery at Yorkdale. All other images were taken by me.