Perfect gift for a lippy cow like me! (Champneys Ultra Shine Lip Collection)

Member Name: bamamo

Product:	Champneys Ultra Shine Lip Collection
Date:	02/01/09 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smell and taste gorgeous, nice shine, convenient application/packaging

Disadvantages: Colours quite subtle/similar, balm feels nice but not sure it does much for sore lips

This Christmas one of the gifts my dad gave me was a set of Champneys lip glosses. I wouldn't have expected my dad to venture into the world of makeup gift-buying, but he'd given my brother some of their men's products before which he had liked, and I was equally pleased.

Champneys are actually a chain of health resorts, so these products have a luxury spa feel about them. They aren't all that widely available, but you can pick up certain items exclusively in Sainsbury's, which is where this came from. In fact it came with a money-off voucher which can only be reedmed there. You can also purchase online at www.champneys.com/collection.

The particular gift I received was the Ultra Shine Lip Collection, which comprises of three tubes of glossy lip balms and one "Super Calm Lip Balm". They come in simple but classy packaging - in a clear plastic box with shiny pink cardboard to make it a bit more glitzy. Not exactly an elegant or pretty keepsake but you'll only be throwing it away!

All four tubes are exactly the same, hold 10ml and come with a screw-on lid and slanted applicator tip with a hole to allow the product to come out, a similar design to Juicy Tubes for example. I am going to refer to them as "gloss" because despite Champneys insisting they are balms, that is not what they resemble!

The gloss is easy to apply and I prefer this type of applicator over one with a wand as I find it a little more hygenic as it can be wiped clean. They are small enough to easily slip into a pocket or small bag, but hold a decent amount of product.

The three shades in this set are pretty different whilst in the tube, but as they are more sheer and shimmery than highly pigmented, I find myself grabbing the nearest to top up my gloss rather than picking a shade because they're not all that different on. Shades included are Quartz (frosty white shimmer), Coral (peachy coral colour, predictably) and Gold Dust (uh, gold).

My favourite thing about the glosses is the scent - they smell like passionfruit and are mildly flavoured too. I find this a real treat because, besides the fact that I love passionfruit anyway, so many glosses seem to be watermelon scented/flavoured (why?!) which I hate, and it's really offputting for me!

As I said, the colours aren't overbearing, which is good as it means you could layer with a lip colour to add a bit of shine, but in a set it might have been nice to have just one with a bit more substance to it. Still, they claim to be glosses not colours and do that very nicely. They feel smooth rather than sticky, and provide a subtle shimmer (not huge chunks of glitter!) and wet-look shine. I find that only a small amount is needed on the lower lip and pressing my lips together gives just the right coverage. Definitely not one you need a mirror for, I brought it out on New Year's Eve and topped up happily without having to nip to the loo. I don't feel that they are too high drama for daytime wear, and I'm pretty conservative in my makeup.

As far as staying power, it's not the greatest if you're going to be eating or drinking a lot, but under normal everyday circumstances would fare well. The gloss does sink in rather than sit on your lips feeling goopy so this helps it not slide off quite so much.

The Super Calm Balm looks almost exactly the same as the Quartz gloss, and to be honest when I got the set it took me a while to realise it wasn't two of the same thing. On closer examination there is less shimmer and the balm comes out as a thicker pearly cream. It feels quite soothing on the lips and is a different texture to everything I've tried, but does sink in quite quickly. It leaves a pretty sheer sheen but I'm not sure that it does as good a job as a more intensive balm such as Blistex or even Burt's Bees, as the ingredients aren't quite as wholesome or natural. However it does contain SPF 15 and leaves lips looking nice so would make a good summer staple.

Overall I am very happy I got the set. It costs £10 which I probably wouldn't have paid myself for a brand I haven't used before and aren't as well known for their makeup products as they are for spas. Saying that, I was impressed and can see myself using the glosses a lot. If you think about it as £2.50 each, that's a good deal for a quality brand! I do wish there was maybe a bit more colour variation but the inclusion of a more intensive lip balm is nice and these are by far the nicest smelling and tasting glosses I've come across.

Inside the box was a voucher for £3 off Champneys products at Sainsbury's, which doesn't expire for a year I don't think, which has encouraged me to try more of their range, which includes skincare, men's and bath products, as I think they are pretty high quality.

Summary: Quality products, wish I could buy glosses separately as not sure I need all four but nice glosses.