While I generally prefer lipstick to gloss on the rare occasion that I wear make-up, having received the Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker (SMP) Lip Gloss in a large gift set from my wonderful partner, it would have been rude not to wear it at least a few times. Having been hidden away amongst all the other goodies in my gift set, my tube of SMP gloss came unhindered by any excess packaging, but a quick look online tells me that should I have bought it separately it would have come in a cardboard box adorned with Soap & Glory's standard kitsch labelling. Being completely naked (as it were) my tube of gloss is a fairly simple and (by Soap & Glory standards) unassuming. Consisting of a slightly frosted tube that allows me to see the rather vivid pink lip gloss inside, with a shiny black screw top lid, the only decoration on the tube is the words "Sexy Mother Pucker" along with how much it contains (7ml), address and website details and a 24M tag telling me that it has a shelf life of 24 months after opening. To be perfectly honest, I'm finding that I quite like the look of this lip gloss, it looks far more elegant than other comparably priced brands and no where nearly as busy as many other Soap and Glory products.

SMP appears to be available in five shades, all of which have slightly off-the-wall names, but as mine came in the gift set I had no choice in which shade I received. While in the tube the shade I received is a bright yet dusky pink that is very appropriately named "punch bowl". On opening the tube, which incidentally was very difficult the first time around due to how tightly it was closed, a sponge applicator wand is revealed to have been hiding within the lid. The sponge tip is slanted and picks up a decent amount of gloss without becoming over-saturated, while the gloss itself emits a delicious fruity aroma with (what to my nose is) a heavy chocolate/vanilla back-note. Having looked online, I can categorically state that my own nose isn't that bad at picking up scents as Punch Bowl is described as being chocolate cherry flavour, I can't say that I can actually pick up cherry, but there is definitely fruit and chocolate.

Although I don't wear make-up everyday, I am quite particular about preparing my face beforehand when I do, which means before this gloss is applied I will use both a lip scrub and balm to make sure that there are no nasty flakes or tags of skin to ruin the look. After having prepared my lips and put the rest of my face on, it was time to give this lip gloss a test and especially test out the claims that it will add "serious plumping power to my pout". The sponge tip to the wand holds the perfect amount of gloss to apply to either my top or bottom lip and is shaped to make accurate application easy. I do find that the gloss spreads easily over my smooth lips but does feel very sticky from the off. Once on the lips the colour is far more subdued than it was when in the tube, leaving a soft, dusky pink sheen on my lips. The scent that was very apparent when in the bottle, remains when on the lips, albeit in a much more subtle form and there is a slight hint of sweetness to the taste.

Although Soap and Glory state that this gloss contains both "Superfill Lip Plumping Spheres" and "Lipswell Volume Boost Technology" there is nothing on the actual tube to have prepared me for what was to come as I wore this lip gloss. It's lucky that I had taken a look online before putting this on my lips, else I would have been in for a shock. The Superfill Plumping Spheres, appear to work a little like sponges that can absorb up to ten times their volume in liquid, these will therefore make your lips appear fuller as the spheres swell and coat the surface. While the spheres will appear to make your lips fuller, the Lipswell Volume Boost is designed to slightly irritate the lip surface, causing it to tingle while increasing the blood flow which will cause a small amount of swelling which in turn will (hopefully) make your lips fuller.

While my lips are not massive, neither are they particularly thin and insignificant, I've got by with my lips being this size for forty years now and never had any complaints, but who doesn't want a slightly sexier pout? Immediately after application while the gloss had added sheen and touch of colour, I really can't say that there was any noticeable change in their size beyond what there would have been had I applied any other lip gloss. Having worked out that the volume enhancing properties needed to be in some way activated, I licked my lips and then rubbed them together to see if this would make any difference. While I really can't say that the spheres did their job and soaked up the moisture to enhance lip size, doing this definitely seemed to start some sort of reaction as far as the Lipswell aspect goes. The tingle starts quite gentle and then steadily builds in intensity over about ten minutes, until it almost feels as if my lips are being pricked by hundreds of tiny needles. If I was pushed to find something to compare it with I would say that it is similar to that part of a tattoo where colour is being filled in, only slightly less intense. It's not painful as such, but I would imagine that it would be uncomfortable for some. Personally I quite like the feeling, but there again I found having my tattoos done quite relaxing and have given birth five times, for me it's intense but not painful.

With all this tingling going on, it was time too look in the mirror to see if I now had gorgeous pouting lips. There does seem to be a misconception that this lip gloss will make your lips appear up to ten times bigger than normal, but having read all the spiel on both the Soap and Glory and Boots websites, I knew this was not the case. For a start even if I had the thinnest lips ever, I would not like them to swell to ten times their size, I had an allergic reaction once (that funnily enough felt similar to the effect this gloss gives only much worse) where my lips doubled in size and it was not a good look. What this gloss does promise is that the spheres (which are probably tiny to start with) will swell up to ten times in volume to give the appearance of fuller lips, while the Lipswell technology will cause some genuine plumping (the amount of plumping is not quantified). Personally I found that there was a small but noticeable plumping effect, that lasted about half an hour, my lips did look fuller, both to myself and my partner, but not ridiculously so.

While the plumping effect only lasted about half an hour, due to the incredibly sticky formulation the gloss remained on my lips well beyond this time scale. Although I do appreciate that I don't need to be constantly reapplying, I do feel this is perhaps a little too sticky as should it be worn on a windy day my hair will stick to my lips (and I have a real phobia about hair coming into contact with my mouth). The gloss does not seem to transfer easily from my lips, I only ever leave very faint lip marks on glasses and cups when drinking while wearing this gloss. With my lips looking extra kissable after using this gloss it's a good thing that my partner doesn't mind the feel of the lip gloss or the tingle effect transferring as it does . (As Sexy as this gloss makes your lips feel it is not a good idea to apply it before getting intimate, as that tingle definitely does transfer to whatever you kiss). After the gloss has faded away it does not seem to have any permanent effect on my lips, they are no softer or more hydrated, but neither are they more dehydrated.

With a standard price of £9, Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss falls at the high end of the budget brands (or the low end of luxury) and offers reasonable value for money. Unless you have a larger Boots store than my local small town branch, then most likely you would have to purchase this online as it does seem to be pretty much exclusive to Boots on the High Street. (I have seen this available at Amazon for inflated prices). Giving this lip gloss a rating out of five is proving quite difficult, I do like the colour and look on my lips and I do find that it makes my lips a little fuller. But I also find it incredibly sticky and feel that I can get much the same effect from the old fashioned method of simply biting my lips and then using a cheap gloss. Looking at the ingredient list on the Soap and Glory website (http://www.soapandglory.com/products/cosmetics/ lips/super-colour-sexy-mother-pucker-trade-lip-glo ss) the gloss also contains a fair number of chemicals, although it has to be said that Soap and Glory test on humans rather than animals.

All being told, I think that Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss deserves four stars out of five, as for me the benefits greatly outweigh the negatives and I do think that I will be asking for some of the other colours come my birthday.