With the unbearable summer heatwave which we’ve all perspired our way through this year, any sensible girly will have decided that sheer and natural is the way forward in terms of make-up. So bin those gloopy lip glosses which slide off your lips in the heat leaving you looking like a kid who’s just finished an ice-lolly and stock up on something lighter! Luckily, I’ve found the perfect summer lipgloss (sorry, ‘glaze’) in the shape of Stila’s Lip Glaze.

I’d heard ecstatic reviews of this lipgloss from Ciao members and it seemed that every beauty magazine worth its salt was raving about how fabulous the Stila brand products were, so it didn’t take much persuasion for me to try them out! The Stila brand was launched by Jeanine Lobelle, a woman after my own heart as she insists that packaging forms an integral part of every product in her range, and has steadily gathered a celebrity following with everyone from Britney to Jennifer Lopez buying her products in bulk. The lip glaze is probably Stila’s most famous and popular product and it epitomises the ‘innovative’ tag-line. It was created especially for Cameron Diaz for her role in Charlie’s Angels and proved so popular that Jeanine decided to market it for us mere mortals to try.

***Packaging and ease of use***

Now, I’m sure you’ve all seen the pen-style lipgloss applicators around. Well, Stila was there first! The packaging is minimal, sleek and stylish- this is the kind of make-up you’ll want to apply in public just so everyone can coo over how cute it is! And more importantly, it’s leak-proof so you won’t end up spoiling your handbag with a smearing of lipgloss! The lip glaze comes in a transparent plastic pen with a brush tip (minimising wastage) and is so foolproof to apply that even cak-handed idiots like me can’t go wrong! Simply twist the end of the pen to squeeze out a tiny am
ount of gloss onto the brush tip and paint onto your lips. This is make-up for girls on the go- I’ve never used a product that has been so quick and easy to apply! Stila beats other glosses hands down in this department- Lancome’s Juicy tubes may be fabulous, but they’re much more tricky to apply and you can’t achieve a really polished finish without getting your fingers sticky (not a particularly chic look!)

***Colours and texture***

The lip glazes come in a variety of different colours, with the emphasis firmly on FUN! All of the colours look really bright and funky in the tubes and you could easily be fooled into thinking “they’re way too bright for me!” Luckily, the colour in the tubes is very different to the colour when applied to your lips- basically, the more gloss you apply, the darker the colour becomes. You have the choice of Apricot, Banana, Berry, Blackberry, Cinnamon, Fig, Fruit punch, Grape, Grapefruit, Orange, Passionfruit, Peach, Plum, Pomegranate, Praline, Raspberry, Strawberry, Tangerine, Vanilla, or Watermelon.
My favourite is Strawberry- a scarlet red colour in the tube- which when applied, gives a pinkish wash and is fairly subtle. It gives a really pretty girly feel and looks far more fashionable than lipstick. As a general rule, I would say that the colours are designed to suit everyone (though I feel I’ll be staying away from the Orange!) The brilliance of these products is that they really do give a light, transparent ‘glaze’ rather than a heavy, runny gloop, and it’s the texture which stands this product head and shoulders above its competitors. It is just the right consistency to give a really natural look and if the colour’s not quite bold enough, you can simply add another coat without looking overdone! The consistency is perfect for a light summery look and what’s better is that you don’t just look good wearing this, you feel good
as well! It has that slightly sticky feel that makes you want to smack your lips together and start pouting in every mirror you pass!
It’s also a really versatile product as it can be worn with just a thin coat for an everyday, subtle look, a thicker coat for a more striking look, or even over lipstick for a dramatic evening look.


***Smell***

But the added bonus to this product is the gorgeous smell! Each product is scented with the aroma of its fruity namesake and my Strawberry is absolutely heavenly! The smell is delicate and not overpowering but if you get close enough to someone they’re in for a treat when they smell this!

***Durability***

The only place I can fault this product really is its durability. Although the gloss never budges out of place, it doesn’t last very long on your lips- I find I need to re-apply after about 2 hours. While this is average for a gloss, for a product which is so high quality in every other area, I expected more here. And if you’re re-applying more often, you’re going to use up the tube pretty quickly as well! Now, admittedly, I’m a bit of a lip-gloss fiend, but I can’t see this lasting me much longer than two months.

***Price and where to buy***

So, you’ll probably have got an inkling by now that this cult product doesn’t come cheap. It costs £18 for a 0.5oz/1.5g tube which is expensive, and I certainly won’t be able to buy it as often as I’d like, but it really does outstrip other glosses in every way. While there are cheaper pretenders to the crown out there, they just don’t compare in terms of quality. The Ruby & Millie lip gloss (£13) comes in identical packaging but has a heavy, gloopy texture and the colours are strong and dull compared to the pretty Stila ones. The Lancome Juicy Tubes (£11) are fabulous if you’re after the fruity feel and come a close second to Stila in terms of qual
ity. Or for an even cheaper version, try the Body Shop’s Lip Gloss pen at £6. But none of these imitators can out-do the original Stila product in terms of sheer cute, girly fun!

This fantastic product can be bought from branches of Sephora, Space NK (who do a mail order service: http://www.spacenk.co.uk/), and Boot’s Pure Beauty stores.

So, to sum up: Highly recommended for a sheer, young, natural, fun look and for really kissable lips! Move over Cameron- I've got my eye on your man!