Give Lips A Thrill With New butter LONDON Plush Rush Lipsticks

Slowly, steadily, and with fine-tuned precision, butter LONDON has been expanding beyond nail lacquers, bringing bold and inventive hues to eye lids, lashes, cheeks, and lips. One of the latest addition to the butter LONDON makeup emporium is a range of lipsticks that moisturize lips, make them appear plumper and fuller, and coat them in weightless color. The butter LONDON Plush Rush Lipstick ($22 each at butterLONDON.com), available in 12 shades, is formulated with a plumping technology meant to help women achieve Kylie Jenner-esque pouts, along with an anti-feathering system designed to keep color from bleeding or from being unevenly distributed. Even more curiously, the lipstick features a Phyto-Endorphin Complex said to boost one’s mood (if you look at the ingredient list, you’ll notice it cites Vitex Agnus Castus extract, otherwise known as chasteberry extract, a homeopathic remedy that has long been used to help treat PMS symptoms including anxiety and sadness, albeit in these cases it was ingested as opposed to applied topically).

Now, I’ve been testing out four of the butter LONDON Plush Rush Lipstick shades for about two months, so I can speak pretty confidently about my experience in regards to the product’s stated objectives as opposed to its actual achievements. First, regarding the plumping effect: I did notice that my lips appeared a bit fuller after applying the product, but the effect is subtle (which, in my opinion, is actually a plus since you don’t want to look like you visited Lisa Rinna’s plastic surgeon!). To put the effect in context, imagine your lips are pillows, and that the lipstick is effectively fluffing them so they can again have that cushion-y, bouncy, voluptuous feel, rather than looking like they’ve lost all their stuffing. The lipstick won’t act like a helium tank, inflating lips until they look like balloons ready to pop. Instead, the effect is to remove any puckering and furrowing, creating a smoother surface. Also worth noting: there’s no lip-tingling sensation to accompany the volume increase, which is a relief for those of us who are sensitive to these types of stimulants.

In terms of the alleged moisturizing effects, the lipsticks do soothe and condition the pout thanks to the glycerin and olive oil in the formula. They’re not going to make your lip balm obsolete, but they won’t dry out your lips or exacerbate any flakiness and scaliness. Moreover, thanks to their creamy and moist texture, the lipsticks glide gracefully atop the pout, depositing rich and lustrous pigments that feel pleasantly weightless.

As for the touted mood-boosting effects, I can’t say I’ve somehow felt calmer, more relaxed, or more euphoric after applying these lipsticks, but I do concede that they have an alluring aroma.

All the lipstick shades I’ve tried have been positively stunning — so unique that people have stopped me on the streets to compliment my lip color! That said, they don’t necessarily offer full coverage, so I sometimes line and fill my lips with a pencil in a similar color before applying the Plush Rush Lipstick shade of my choosing in order to ensure that the final hue was 100% opaque. The finish, meanwhile, has always been satin-y as opposed to matte, sheer, or frosted.

Ready to check out some photos? Well, let’s start with swatches of the butter LONDON Plush Rush Lipstick in Impulsive, a classic fire engine red, and !!!, an electrifying pink violet hue with a glaze-like sheen. Check them out below:

Next, let’s move on to the Daring shade, a demure boysenberry color, and Delighted, a honeysuckle pink with warmer coral pink tones:

Since I know that it’s helpful to see photos of lip colors on people’s actual mouths, I’m including a couple of pics of me rocking these shades. Below, I’m wearing the Daring lipstick hue:

Next, check out photos in which I’m rocking the Delighted lipstick shade:

As you can see, both of these colors are really adventurous and unique. Just remember to line and fill your lips before applying if you want full coverage!