I received this lip gloss as part of a Soap and Glory giftset - I must admit it isn't something I would ever have thought of buying myself, but as it was in the set I was more than happy to give it a try! I have never used a lip plumper before but I am addicted to lip gloss so I was keen to see how this one would compare.

The product promises to "fool your lips into looking and feeling fuller, without plastic surgery." It costs £8 and comes in the following varieties:
* Candy gloss
* Plum
* Peach
* Nude
* Clear
There is also an XL Extreme Plump gloss for £10 and you can buy a gift set with three glosses (Plum Juice, Baby Doll and Half Naked) for £17.50 (these are the prices on the Soap and Glory website - they are a little more on the Boots website which I guess may be VAT-related).

The website gives full details on how the product works - it says it contains "scientifically-proven plumping microspheres that explode in volume up to 10x when they come in contact with water". The product also contains a special "circulation enhancing ingredient" that gives your lips a buzz and increases blood flow to the lips making them look fuller. Intriguing!

The gloss I have is peach and it comes in the usual quirky pink Soap and Glory cardboard packaging which tells you that you can now trade your skinny lips for a sexy mother pucker! The gloss itself is in a clear 7ml tube, and you can see the coloured gloss through it, which is a pinky-orange colour. The packaging is very simple, with the name across the front in black, a bit of small print and a black twist off the lid with the applicator brush attached. The applicator has a shaped sponge tip for easy application.

The gloss itself is very thick and, although it's smooth, it's not very easy to apply. But it does have a lovely chocolaty flavour which I found really appealing! The colour is a nice, subtle peach-toned pink which I think would be good for all skin tones.

As this is supposed to have plumping affects I was expecting a bit of a tingle on my lips - this did not come immediately and I did wonder if it wouldn't happen. But about a minute after applying the tingling began. To be honest I don't find this sensation very pleasant - it is like having pins and needles in your lips! I was quite keen for it to subside but unfortunately it lasted a good long while - about 10 minutes I'd say, although it did get less unpleasant after three minutes or so. But hey, for sexy lips maybe this would be a price worth paying.

I decided to leave this a while before looking into the mirror, so I waited a full 10 minutes for the tingling to subside. I already have quite full lips but this definitely made them look fuller and plumper - not dramatically so but there was a definite difference. To me though, it looked a little unnatural and I wasn't sure whether I really liked this affect or not!

One thing I do like is the colour - I tend to go for clear glosses and balms but this is a very subtle pink which looks really nice and natural. It is also very glossy, so it does leave them looking nice and shiny. And the gloss has good staying power, I guess in part because it is so sticky. ANd the chocolate flavour is a really nice touch.

So generally I really like this product - the packaging, flavour, colour and glossiness - but I am not mad on the plumping element - the tingling is a bit unpleasant and I think the after-affect looks a bit unnatural to me. In fact I would prefer it is this was just a lip gloss rather than a plumper! So it is highly unlikely that I will be buying this gloss again. But if you are after fuller, sexier, glossy lips I would recommend trying this product as it does work - I just hope you can handle the tingle!!