I haven't ate all the cherries and forgot to wipe my mouth, It's my Not Perfect Lip Lacquer. (Boots No.7 Stay Perfect Lip Lacquer)

Member Name: Rhiana

Product:	Boots No.7 Stay Perfect Lip Lacquer
Date:	09/06/09 (184 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice colour

Disadvantages: Over priced, doesn't last, stains parts of your lips giving a horrible look.

I recently bought a couple of make up items from the No7 range at Boots. At the time, all No7 products were on a '3 for 2' promotion, so of course I had to choose a third free item and decided on the No7 Stay Perfect Lip Lacquer, after all you can never have enough lip sticks and lip glosses ...right?


~ About No7 Stay Perfect Lip Lacquer ~


This is advertised as a new addition to the N07 range and promises 'Perfect colour that lasts up to 8 hours'. Being the type of person whose lipstick slides off within 10 minutes of applying, I bought it in the hope that it would live up to it's claim.

This lip lacquer comes in a long tubular shaped, double ended container with each end holding 3ml of product. One end contains the lip colour and has a sponge applicator brush, while the other contains a finishing gloss with a brush applicator.

No7 Stay Perfect Lip Lacquer comes in 6 shades:

Nectar
Lovely Pink
Day Dreamer
Flamenco Red
Plumberry
Sugar Mauve

I chose the Flamenco Red Shade. I like wearing red lipsticks when I am going out as I have dark hair, however I also have blue eyes and olive skin...an awkward combination. This means that pinky reds and orangey reds are a big No No, and it has to be a deep, darker red. Testing this in the shop it was definitely my kind of red.

The middle section of the tube is the classic black and gold No7. On the whole this looked like a pretty classy product, as most No7 items do. There is no ingredients listed either on the product, or under the product ingredients list on the website (it just states 'active ingredients' here), however we are informed on the product that it is hypo-allergenic and has a use within 24 months symbol.

The cost of a No7 Stay Perfect Lip Lacquer is £9.95. Definitely mid- higher end price wise in my opinion. As I did with this product, you can quite probably pick it up on some kind of offer, No7 seem to be permanently on one or another.


~ Using No7 Stay Perfect Lip Lacquer ~


If you peel back the bar code on this product you will find instructions for application. This advises you to:

" First apply a thin layer of colour and allow to dry, then brush on the gloss for comfort and shine. Reapply as desired".

So applying it isn't rocket science and pretty easy to do. The lip colour dry's in a couple of seconds so with a dash of gloss your away.

However wearing it I wasn't impressed at all, for quite a few reasons. I'd worn this a few times before I was ready to review it, but tonight to prepare for this review decided to conduct a detailed experiment. So here goes!

*Application*

I apply the lip lacquer as per instructions...colour first, then gloss after a few seconds...easy peasy. Feels quite tacky and heavy though.
Lips are looking really good. Strong colour, good gloss, sexy pout. Blow myself a kiss in the mirror and flick my hair. Big mistake, my hair is stuck to my face now. Peel it off and go about my business.


*Kiss Test ... 15 minutes after application*

Have gave Brad and Johnny the night off, so chase my 4 year old for a smacker instead and plant one on her cheek. No colour transferred onto her, much to her disappointment, but she does have a greasy patch, off the gloss.
Look in the mirror and see colour is very much still present on my lips, but gloss has all but gone, leaving it a bit dull looking already.


*Fag and Wine Test...30 minutes after application*


Pleased to note no greasy end to my cigarette and not even a tiny mark on the wine glass, so obviously this colour doesn't transfer...which is good.

My lips however are feeling a bit dry and artificial feeling, looking in the mirror the gloss has completely gone, and the colour has faded to a dark pinky dull colour, and is lighter on the inner parts of my lips, don't like this at all. Rubbing my lips together is far from smooth and I'm not keen on the feeling.


*Eating and Drinking Test...1 hour after application*

I already had my tea before embarking on my little experiment, however I find a Galaxy bar in the cupboard and so abandon my diet in the name of research (really!). You can't have chocolate without a nice cuppa so I boil the kettle as well and sit back and enjoy.

Lips are now feeling very dry and rubbing them together is a tad uncomfortable. Looking in the mirror I am shocked at my 'Stay Perfect 8 hour lasting lip colour'. Rather than a luscious glossy red pout, I have faded pink stains on my lips, with the middle colour just about gone, but a deep stain around the outline of my lips. Do you remember Caroline from BB1? Well I now have a similar look going on ( for those who don't remember ... Google her, arrggghhh!) NOT a good look at all! In fact I look like I've just ate the punnet of cherries sitting in the fridge and forgot to wipe my mouth. The colour is also seeping off my lips into the little lines on the skin around my mouth.

I add a bit more of the gloss part of the product, and this does remedy the situation somewhat, however I might as well just have tinted lip gloss on now as I have lost the luscious red colour. Also within 10 minutes the gloss has disappeared and my lips are starting to feel dry again. I'm disappointed and end my experiment.

~ Conclusion ~

It's probably pretty obvious that I am less than impressed with this product.

The gloss part of this product is thick, heavy and tacky and doesn't last very long, while the colour part stains and dries your lips. While I'm never convinced with long lasting claims where lipstick is concerned, I think after advertising this product as lasting up to 8 hours, it's not unreasonable of me to expect more than an hour with out looking like Caroline 'caggy' O'Shea.

It's also not cheap. I have had far better lip colour and glosses of a similar design for a lot cheaper. No7 do have some very good products, but part of me wonders if they now believe themselves to be a 'higher end' brand than they actually are? This Lip Lacquer definitely isn't worth the money, infact I wouldn't buy it again at half the price! (or take it as a free gift ;-) )

The positives I can find with regards to this lip lacquer, and it is a struggle, would be that the colour doesn't transfer. Though this is far from enough to win this product over for me. I am just trying to be kind!

It also is a really nice colour when first applied. I'm disappointed that it's performance is so poor, as I really love the colour and it would have become a favourite.

All in All I'm afraid I can not recommend this product. A paltry 1 star from me I'm afraid.

Summary: I'm glad I got it 'free'.