Easy Glistening — Show Off A Lustrous Pout With New BUXOM Va-Va-Plump Shiny Liquid Lipstick

The phrases  “plumping lipstick” and “plumping gloss” have terrified me since the early aughts, when I tested out DuWop Cosmetics’ original Lip Venom and experienced what can only be described as sheer agony. This was no slight tingling sensation, but an all-out burning feeling, as if my lips were being pricked by needles and sprayed by a blowtorch at the very same time. After that, I tried one or two other plumping lip products and, while the experiences weren’t as scarring, they were never quite pleasant. Luckily, lip color formulas have come a long way over the last decade or so and, nowadays, there’s rarely anything to fear when it comes to cosmetics marketed as having a “plumping” effect on lips. Nevertheless, I must have some trauma related to those early lip plumper trials because I still shudder when trying a new “volumizing” or “plumping” lip product — even thought the logical side of me knows there’s nothing to fear. When I tried the new BUXOM Va-Va-Plump Shiny Liquid Lipstick ($20 each at Sephora, ULTA, Sephora.com and ULTA.com), then, I braced myself for a less-than-agreeable initial experience — at least a light tingle or prickling sensation. But instead, the experience was pleasant and enjoyable from the very beginning — in fact, what I initially experienced was this lovely cooling sensation, as if my lips had jumped into a pool on a 100-degree summer day, as if a burst of freshness had been infused into my pout with a single swipe of a liquid lipstick wand.

And there’s good reason for that: see, what allows these liquid lipsticks to make your lips appear more pillow-y and full is the presence of sodium hyaluronate (hyaluronic acid) in the formula. This powerful molecule can hold up to 1,000 times its weight in moisture and hence, it draws moisture from the air and binds it to your lips, thereby filling out any tiny lines and creases while boosting volume. The menthol in the formula, meanwhile, creates that sense of cooling and refreshing feeling (even if it’s an illusory sensation as menthol doesn’t have any effect on the body’s temperature). In the past, lip plumpers like the DuWop Lip Venom relied on a different approach to pump up the volume on lips: they instead relied on cinnamon, ginger, and wintergreen oils that would deliberately irritate the thin skin on the lips, thereby making them swell up and creating that plump effect. The BUXOM Va-Va-Plump Shiny Liquid Lipstick, then, represents a new era of lip plumpers, featuring a non-irritating formula that instead focuses on soothing lips and increasing volume via hydration. And while you’ll definitely notice that your lips appear fuller, the effect is really believable, so it’s not like your lips will look overstuffed and ready to burst!

Beyond any plumping action, these liquid lipsticks herald the return of glossy finishes in the lip color realm. While matte lipsticks have dominated the lip color realm for several years in a row, we’re finally seeing different finishes competing for attention: from last year’s metallic craze to the current rise in shiny lippies. Unlike lip glosses, which tend to have a sheer or semi-sheer opacity level, the new generation of gleaming lip colors features the same stellar pigment pay-off as their matte counterparts — and none of the stickiness associated with glosses. In the case of the BUXOM Va-Va-Plump Shiny Liquid Lipsticks, then, that means vivid, high intensity, statement-making color with a vinyl-like sheen. Moreover, these liquid lipsticks are designed for comfortable wear so that their formula is breathable and never dries out lips.

The one area where they fall a bit short of expectation is their longevity. Though they’re touted as being smudge-resistant, that’s not entirely true in my experience. If you sip as glass of water, your lipstick will undoubtedly end up on the rim of that cup and, yes, it will transfer to your bae when you kiss them on the lips or on the cheek. That said, the color lasts a respectable amount of time. Sure, it wears off when you eat, drink and so on, but that’s the case with most lipsticks — particularly those that have hydrating benefits. Reapplying every couple of hours is far from a hassle, especially considering it will be a quick touch-up. Still, if you’re looking for a color that stays on like a tattoo, this might not be your go-to pick.

The BUXOM Va-Va-Plump Shiny Lipstick is available in 20 shades. Below, you’ll find swatches of four standout shades: Gimme A Hint, a medium-intensity honeysuckle pink shade that’s warm and perky; Wine Me, a raspberry red color with plenty of cool berry undertones; Make It Hot, a warm scarlet red that’s fiery and sexy; and Pin Up Plum, a frisky fuchsia shade.

Check out the colors here:

Next, you can get a sense for how these colors look like on lips! Here’s a shot of me wearing the Wine Me shade:

Below, meanwhile, you’ll find two pics in which I’m wearing the Gimme a Hint color.

As you can see, the colors are bold and they have a lustrous finish without too much shimmer or glitter. And the hydrating, line-smoothing, volume-boosting benefits are real — I wore the Gimme a Hint color on a day when my lips were a bit chapped and scaly, and the color didn’t make that more noticeable but, rather, soothed my lips and helped to conceal the dryness,