I recently resubscribed to glossy box (quickly google if you don't know what this is!) and in my first box I received a full sized version of lipcote. It is always great to get something that is full sized in these boxes as so often they are just samples.

I thought it was a little weird that this was one of the items because glossy box tend to send new, upcoming or luxury products - and lipcote is none of these. In fact it's been around for years, I can remember my sister owning one when she was about 15 so we are talking at least 10 years ago. I was still keen t try the products as I knew it was fairly cheap and if it was good then I had a new product to add to my must haves.

I'm not a massive lip stick wearer and this is mainly because I worry about smudging, fading and reapplying. The point of lipcote is that it goes over your lip colour to seal it, this then prevents smudging, feathering and fading and as such means less frequent application. I was quite excited to use this because I knew that if it worked I might feel more confident to wear lipstick out and about.

The lipcote comes in a cream coloured rectangular shaped box that is patterned with some very pale green lines (these could be a floral design but it is hard to tell because they stretch all around the box). On two sides of this box are the name of the brand written in a pretty script writing and a pair of bright red lips. One another side you have a little bit of info and directions for use and on the final side there are ingredients and information for contacting lipcote. The box design isn't exactly revolutionary, nor will it win any style awards. It is basic and frankly it looks a little old and fusty.

The bottle itself isn't much better. It looks a little like a tall, narrow nail polish bottle. The bottle is cylindrical and made from glass. It has a twist on cheap gold plastic lid and from this suspends the white plastic bristle brush. The brush is made from synthetic bristles which are relatively fine and soft. The colour of the lipcote liquid doesn't really help because it is a pale yellowy colour and this just looks terrible in combination with the cheap gold plastic. My mind literally boggles when I see products that look like this because it simply wouldn't cost much more to make it into a very cute and attractive little bottle. Oh well...I suppose if it works it works right?

So that was my big questions...does it work? I have to say the contents of the bottle smells TERRIBLE. It has a really strong chemical smell to it which if you get too close is a little intoxicating. I would liken it to something like surgical spirit. I probably don't need to say this but I felt pretty reluctant to put something that smelt so terrible anywhere near my mouth. I do really worry about products like this that clearly have such a chemical content, it makes me worry about potentially negative effects for my skin and really doesn't do anything to improve my perception of the brand.

Applying this it actually burns your lips and smells worse close up. I can't believe they are still selling a product that smells, looks and feels so terrible. I did find that as long as I'd applied a decent amount of lipstick the lipcote tended to burn a little less and once it had dried it did seal my lipstick relatively well. I wouldn't say there would be no smudging, fading etc but it probably does reduce it somewhat. I did find, however, that the lipcote reduced the sheen you get from a lip colour and left my lips looking a little matte. This isn't necessarily the end of the world but did dampen the look a little.

The lipcote costs roughly £3.50 from most cosmetic retailers which is a pretty cheap price for something that will probably last a lifetime. I don't expect to be using it all the time, but will probably endure the terrible smell and burning for a night out. It hasn't boosted my lipstick confidence, but I suppose it is a last resort...oh how we suffer for beauty.

Overall, really terrible smell, feel and look but for a special night out I could probably suffer through this.