When it comes to make up bargains I do like to feel like I've saved a little money especially when make up isn't the cheapest item us women buy and in the quantities in which we use it saving a little money here and there is vital. However, not all bargains are good bargains! Natural Collection is a beauty and make up range by Boots and across their make up they offer three items for £5.00. I've had a pretty hit or miss experience with this range as some products are genuine bargains and others are pretty poor.

One item I bought in the three for £5.00 offer was the Natural Collection Juicy Lips Lip Gloss. Their range of shades is pretty limited compared to other brands and I presume this is just to keep the overall cost down. The shades are also relatively tame compared to others, tending to stick with the pastel colours, the 'safer' shades which tend to appeal to most people so it is a pretty safe bet that nearly everyone has a paler shade of lip gloss for those everyday outings.

The lip gloss comes in the usual slim, circular tube but the packaging/labelling is incredibly basic which is the same for all packaging across the range. It has a white top and the base itself is completed clear plastic so you can easily see the colour of the lip gloss itself. Natural Collection have a simple flower logo which is clearly seen together with small font detailing the ingredients, contact info for Boots etc. The packaging overall is made to fit the price as is with all their range so don't expect it to be anything amazing. It is simple and basic but still we made and put together.

The shade I bought was Raspberry Ripple which is a candy coloured pink with a metallic hue to it. All the shades except the clear gloss seem to have this metallic shimmer running through them which is quite nice. What I have found though is that the colour in the tube seems to be a lot paler when applied. I have also used the Toffee Cream shade previously and the same thing happened with that which is quite disappointing as you end up having to layer it on to get a decent a colour and even then you still don't get the same colour as what you see in the tube! The Raspberry Ripple has a sweet, candy like scent which is pleasant but quite synthetic and fortunately isn't noticeable when applied.

The lip gloss itself is applied with the applicator brush or foam brush as it looks like. As I said above it takes quite a lot of applying to get a half decent colour on your lips and even then it doesn't come up that well. Its consistency is quite decent and you don't get any excess on the applicator brush which is even better so you would think! In reality you actually don't get enough on the applicator brush, certainly no where near enough to get a proper coating which isn't useful. When you apply it does give a gentle coating, it is not thick or heavy which is obviously a positive but that doesn't make it any better.

After applying I didn't have high hopes as to its staying power as although its consistency was decent enough it is quite a thin lip gloss (I wouldn't even call it a gloss rather than a crème!). My hopes were dashed as within 20 minutes the lip gloss had pretty much disappeared leaving a very subtle metallic hue on the lips which within another 10 minutes disappeared altogether! Needless to say I wasn't overly impressed! I have now decided in order not to waste it to use it under a clear Vaseline which gives a proper glossy shine to it and the colour does last a little longer. But you shouldn't really have to resort to this in order to use your lip gloss!

Overall, a pretty poor excuse for a lip gloss. Apart from not providing your lips with a glossy colour or coating it is useless to apply as it just isn't thick enough and you don't get enough on the applicator brush. Also, the shade you choose won't be the shade you end up getting after applying, think at least 3 shades lighter. It just doesn't live up to the job and I can now see why it is so cheap. It's a poor product which actually fits in which the other poor products in the Natural Collection range? Would I recommend? Definitely not! I'm all for saving money but certain items do need a little bit more spent on them to actually make them worthwhile.

~ Useful (Useless) Info ~

Brand: Natural Collection (Boots)
Price: £1.99
Shades: Toffee Cream and Raspberry Ripple - these are according to the website although in store there seem to be a few more such as Clear and Peach Melba.