Cosmetic Review FGW: Avon lips I love

To be honest, I was floored when Avon asked if I wanted to be part of their first ever lipcast. I know Jen sent them my info for consideration, but I still feel like just a teeny tiny part of the coolest beauty blog on the web most of the time and it’s cool to swim with the big fish every now and then. This was such a cool thing to be a part of. It was a real pleasure to listen to the minds behind the product share the long hours an extensive thought that went into the newest additions to their collection. I was excited to hear the thoughts of creative color director Jillian Dempsey, and it did no disappoint.
Full disclosure here, I used to be a cosmetics snob. It’s true, in my pre-kid days I would look down my nose at drugstore brands or direct sales brands like Avon. Funny how the addition of kids to an already tight household budget makes you consider everything in an entirely different light yeah? Instead of looking at the brand name I began to focus on quality and ingredients and I soon found that there are a LOT of great products out there that don’t require your firstborn as a down payment to afford them. So it was with this fresh open mind that I gave 3 new Avon lip products a try.

Ultra Color Rich Extra Plump Lipstick. Usually I skip plumping lip colors because, well, I have really nicely shaped lips and don’t think I need any plumping at this point in my life. But I am totally willing to sacrifice my lips for you my dears, because I’m just that much of a giver. This lipstick has the usual menthol tingle associated with a plumping product, but I didn’t find it to be painful or irritating. The thing that really impressed me was the staying power. I glanced in the mirror a few hours after applying and still saw a nice tint of color on my lips, which didn’t feel dry or battered at all, they were still soft and happy. Left to my own devices I wouldn’t have tried this, so I’m really happy I got the chance thanks to Avon. At only $8 a tube the price point is certainly ideal and I would definitely say it’s worth the money, especially if you want a creamy quality color that gives your lips a little punch.

Pro 3-in-1 Lip Wand has to be my absolute favorite of the bunch. I honestly thought it was a gimmicky item, but I gave it a shot anyway. This tube has the genius combination of lip liner, lipstick, and coordinating gloss all in one. I don’t normally even use lip liner, but once again I figured “What the heck” and gave it a go. I was so pleasantly surprised with how much I loved the smooth natural color, and the convenience of the single wand was really pretty awesome. Would you believe that I used a nice subtle makeup theme for the next few days just to match my lip color? I almost don’t believe it and I was there! It takes something special to get ME to act like a grown up. I would love to try it in “Vamp” but I’ll have to wait a while along with you because it isn’t available until July. The price tag? Wait for it…$9.50. No, I’m not kidding, 3 coordinating products for less than 10 bucks!!

SpectraColor Lipstick is something that’s been tried before, most recently by L’Oreal, with less than stunning results. It sounds simple to mix two shades of gloss until you have one shade you like, but in practice it’s been pretty tough until now. Why now? Well, some incredibly smart and dedicated people at Avon created the perfect, purse size, gloss mixing dealie bobber. Yes, that is the technical term. Simply twist the bottom to adjust the mix of one light and one darker gloss until you find one of the 7 color choices that you like best. The pump mechanism at the bottom locks when it’s not in use, so you can avoid messy schmutz all over your bag or pocket when you grab it on your way out the door. 7 shades in one tube AND it’s on sale right now for only $7.99. If you bought all 10 you’d have 70 possible lip colors for about 80 bucks, which is INSANE! I recommend discarding the first few pumps of color, as it was uneven and not great my first use, but it became a lot more even and smooth after that first use. The Raisins was perfect for my hair stylist so I passed it on to her and she absolutely LOVES it. She says it’s the only thing she carries with her now and she loves being able to switch from a light daytime color to a darker evening color with only one tube. If you want several color choices in a small amount of space, this is something you should be sure try, especially with such a great price tag!