Shaken, Not Stirred — Lips Get A Shot Of Sheer Color With New Lancôme Juicy Shakers
Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we? Circa 2001, when I was fresh out of college and working at In Style magazine, Lancôme’s Juicy Tubes were the gold standard of lip glosses — in fact, they often topped the “Best in Beauty” lists that ran yearly in most women’s magazines. At the time, I didn’t quite share the sentiment — in fact, I wasn’t much of a Juicy Tube fan at all. I felt the formula was a bit too sticky, and the squeeze tube packaging irked me since it didn’t allow for much precision when applying the sheer colors inside. Fifteen years later, however, I’m smitten with the latest Juicy Tube incarnation: the newly unveiled Lancôme Juicy Shakers ($21 each at Lancôme counters and Lancome-USA.com).
Before I get into the consistency, texture, and color pay-off of these bi-phased lip oils, let me just comment on how fun they are to use since that alone is a selling point. Each Juicy Shaker is packaged in a vessel that slightly resembles a nail lacquer bottle and, in order to mix the pigment and the oil harbored inside, you have to shake the tube as you would a martini shaker. Maybe it’s the little kid in me or the fact that I always want to shake my nail polish bottles despite knowing it’s not advisable (you’re supposed to roll nail lacquer bottles between your palms, not shake them vigorously), but I derive immense joy from that simple gesture of jiggling the tube up and down.
Then, there’s the applicator, which feels like a pillow-y soft cushion against the lips. When you twist off the silver-toned cap atop each bottle, you’ll notice a conical sponge-tipped applicator, which you can glide atop lips. By virtue of the applicator being made of a sponge-like material, it absorbs quite a bit of color — provided, of course, that you shake the bottle enough for the pigment to adhere to the applicator. In other words, the more you shake, the more you can shake things up color-wise. Now, since the applicator has that wide conical shape, it allows for some degree of precision thanks to the pointed tip, but the final result obviously won’t be as precise as if you used a lip brush to outline the mouth and get into the cupid’s bow and outer corners. Then again, since the gloss is so sheer, precision isn’t necessarily a priority.
Which brings me to the Juicy Shaker formula, and why it’s unique. Each Lancôme Juicy Shaker was formulated with a bi-phase constitution: the first phase is comprised of a mixture of moisturizing, softening, soothing oils such as antioxidant-rich cranberry oil, sweet almond oil, peach oil, and Muscat rose oil, which together hydrate and nourish lips while also providing a playful non-sticky shine; and the second phase consists of loose pigments that, when mixed with the oils, deposit a hint of sheer color atop the pout.
Normally, I prefer richly pigmented glosses but, on low-key days when I don’t want to wear a lot of makeup (for instance, if I’m hitting the beach or going for an outdoor hike), these tinted lip oils add a pop of color to my face and, most importantly, they keep my lips smooth, moisturized, and comfortable. And did I mention just how much I love shaking the bottles? Fun times.
Now, I’ve been playing with four different Juicy Shaker shades (18 are available in total): Mangoes Wild, Show Me The Honey, Berry Tale, and Melli Melon.
Below, check out swatches of Mangoes Wild and Show Me The Honey:
As you can see from these photos, Mangoes Wild is a honeysuckle pink shade — close to fuchsia but warmer, with more golden undertones — while Show Me The Honey is a peach-y shade that borders on nude but has more of those orange-y apricot hues to keep it within the yellow/orange family.
Next, below you’ll find swatches of Berry Tale and Melli Melon:
The differences between these two shades are really subtle, but Berry Tale is more of a cool, blue-based pink, whereas Melli Melon has more of a coral pink, guava-esque quality. The other distinction: Melli Melon is infused with shimmering micro-particles for a bit more pizazz.
Again, however, these colors are very subtle, so they’re definitely not the key to a statement-making pout but, rather, a fun and cheeky way to give your lips a hint of color and a dose of come-hither shine.
