The Best Lip Gloss- Have You Been Asking The Right Questions to Find it?

I write a lot about lip gloss, because its pretty much all I use. I don't use Lipstick, or stains or even balms really (I do use Born Lippy, which calls itself a balm, but its not =-P Its a gloss). I take lip gloss very seriously. I know, its a weird thing to have an obsession about. (Oh my if you could only see my shoe collection)

Typically I'll buy a lip gloss just on any friend or family member's recommendation. Last week I went out of my way to buy Avon's lip plumper cuz my mom said it was so good. I liked it OK, but really when I got down to it, it wasn't what I would wear all the time. Not because it was a bad product, but because it didn't fit my needs. My needs, you see, are different than my mother's. Well I mean she is .. er I better not mention her age.. if she reads this I might die from the glare 5000 miles away. But anyway, a 30 year old and a ** year old don't really want the same things.

So yeah back to why I'm writing this hub: This had me thinking, the whole thing with my mother, about why I went and bought a gloss from Avon, (NOTTT easy in a small northern town in Sweden, btw) just because my mother said it worked. If I had only asked the right questions, I would have realized.. well it wouldnt work for me. So that got me to thinking about my blog where I research for the best lip gloss and what I tell readers, which got me to thinking about what someone who wants a gloss should ask about that particular gloss or know about how certain glosses work, and.. oh i'm blabbering.. anyway here is what I know about lip gloss. (and thats quite a bit btw)

So you've heard about plumpers but aren't quite sure how a lip gloss can make your lips like Angelina Jolie's? Well they can't. No I don't care what you've read, youre not gonna get lips like Angelina unless you do like Octomom and shove collagen in your lips.There are plumping glosses which make your lips look bigger and plumping glosses which actually DO make your lips bigger. I wrote about my choices for best plumping lip glosses here. If you want to know which ones I like. Thats not what this article is about. This article is about glosses work.

The plumping lip gloss that makes your lips appear fuller contains a product which fills in the crevices of your lips. This is usually a collagen based ingredient. The nice effect of these glosses is they smooth out the lines of your lips, which can be quite pretty.

The other kind of plumping gloss works by.. well causing a reaction to a product in the gloss. Yeah kinda like an allergic reaction but more like irritation. Just like any skin irritation this effect wears off and you have to reapply it. Every 15 minutes or so is the time for plumpers that work really well. Is this worth it? For me it isn't, but I've read many many positive reviews for the glosses that do this. Be warned there can be pain involved here, for some. But you will get bigger lips.

Some glosses combine these effects.

So what to ask: what ingredients, in this gloss, plump your lips and how do they work? Has anyone experienced any pain? What other sensations have people mentioned?

While not an exact science experiment, grab some crisco and put it on your lips. There you now have a cheap homemade lip gloss! Ok not exactly, because well it doesn't taste that great, it could quite possibly melt right off (think about what crisco does when heated) and it has no color. So its a great temporary gloss, but well... it is temporary. (think minutes here not hours).

Most glosses are made of some kind of oil; petroleum, silicone or lanolin (a grease made from wool) and thats where the gloss comes from.

So what to ask about very glossy glosses: How long does it last? What does it taste like? What ingredients help it stay on longer (some pretty strong stuff can do this, and some just wax like products)?

The bottom line is lip gloss doesnt stay on very long. There are glosses which stay on longer than others, but those feel and are a lot different than typical "lip gloss".

Most use an ingredient which makes the gloss tacky or sticky.  While there is no definitive answer here ( haven't been able to find much information to be honest), lipstick uses silicone, I'm guessing there is some variation that works with lip gloss that way.

What to ask: Does the gloss bleed into your top and bottom lip lines? Is there a special application designe (some of these glosses have one layer for color , wait to dry, apply second layer)?

The senses are important when you have something that close to your lips, nose and tongue. You will be constantly tasting this stuff, and it better not make you want to hurl into the nearest can.

The only way to find out how something tastes is to try it, or read reviews about it. Make sure that you read reviews by numerous people.

Men can complain about the texture of gloss, so feel is important. You also don't want to feel like you applied that whole jar of crisco to your face.

Because glosses are made primarily from oil, there will be a greasy texture, and some glosses will have a tacky or sticky texture because a) they're long lasting (see above) or b) they have ingredients to make them taste sweeter.

Questions to ask: How thin can you wear this gloss to get the shine but not the greasy feeling? Does it become tacky immediately after use? If you move your lips together, can the gloss become less tacky? Do your lips end up sticking together when they meet? Does it taste chemically?

There are other things to look for in a gloss: How much it costs (I don't care, if I like it I'm buying it, so I'm not reviewing costs), How many colors are there? etc

The bottom line is, check around, and know what to ask.

Happy hunting!