The Kiss Lip Gloss

I cannot help but get excited when Lush release a new lip balm, especially one that is vegan. This year for Valentine's Day, Lush released the aptly named 'The Kiss' - the first vegan lip gloss free from all of those nasty preservatives. Using a clever aerating technique on luxurious shea and cupuacu butters, Lush was able to create a light balm intended to moisturise and protect the lips, as well as giving them a subtle pink glossy sheen. 

This lip gloss is beautifully packaged - originally presented in a silver tin like all of their old lip balms were, and now being sold in stick form. Either way, they make for easy transportation around in your bag or pocket, and you don't have to worry about any leakages or staining with either. Price at almost £6, it is slightly on the expensive side for a lip product, but if it does what it says on the tin, you are technically getting two products for the price of one. 

What's special about this product is that it contains very few ingredients; a characteristic I always love to see when shopping for cosmetics. As well as the aerated shea and cupuacu butters, Lush have also added guarana seed powder helps to plump and soften the lips, as well as agave syrup, mandarin oil and almond oil provide a tasty sweet fruity flavour. I wouldn't recommend you eat the tin as a snack, but it definitely tastes nice when applying it to your lips. 

In appearance, the balm is an attractive pale pink colour and when I used my finger to apply a little, I immediately noticed that it's consistency is different from all other Lush lip balms. It's noticeably softer, meaning you have to rather careful not to get too much out at once. It's easy to apply and the balm leaves a subtle pink sheen on the lips.

2013 release seems paler in comparison to the 2014 version.

While I had very few issues with the original tin design, I definitely think the sticks are a much better format. The reasoning being that it's easier to apply - you're able to cover the whole lips in a lot less time than you would with the tins. Furthermore, it's also less 'messy'. While I have no problems applying my tint like I do my Lush lip balms, the consistency of this product is a little sticky and you tend to need something to clean your finger off with afterwards, which isn't ideal if you're out and about.

  

What is great about The Kiss is that it is very pleasant on the senses, and its sweet smell reminds me a lot of pick 'n' mix sweets - in particular, the pink shrimps that I used to eat as a child or the Swizzles candy sticks that can still be purchased to this day. Some people have expressed on the forum and website that it smells a lot like the sweety drumsticks you can get. While I wouldn't agree with this notion, it's a sugary sweet smell that is nothing like anything else Lush have released so far. 

While I cannot say that my lips were noticeably plumper after application, they did feel softer as the day wore on, and unlike some lip sticks, it didn't dry my lips out at all. My only complaint is that, compared to a more oily lip balm, you don't get the immediate conditioning feeling that you do with a vaseline-base balm. I found that I had to apply this many times throughout the day as quite often it would come away or get licked off by me - a factor that I haven't found so much with some of Lush's other tints.

Overall, I feel this product would work best as a gloss you put on after using your regular lip balm as it doesn't really moisturise your lips as well as other balms have shown to be able to do in the past. Although The Kiss is not something I'll be buying again, it's a nice enough product, and it's good to see Lush are working towards other preservative free products to expand their range. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Fair Trade Shea Butter, Organic Castor Oil, Organic Agave Syrup, Cupuacu Butter, Glycerine, Flavour, Organic Mandarin Oil, Almond Oil, Guarana Seed Powder, Geraniol, Limonene, Titanium Dioxide, Mica, Colour 15850.

Vegan?: Yes

Year Of Original Release: 2014.

2016 Price: £5.95 each.

Scent Family:

The Kiss Lip Gloss

The Kiss Lip Scrub

Under The Covers Massage Bar