Want soft luscious lips with a hint of color? If you said YES, you must try Josie Maran's lip products!
I had never tried these products, but argan oil is the hottest thing on the beauty market. I had tried it in my hair (Moroccan Oil), with gorgeous results, but not in any cosmetics yet, so I was excited to give it a try, especially on my moisture-loving lips.
This set is sold exclusively at Sephora, for $42 at the time of this post. I first saw it online, then tried to buy it at the store, where it was unavailable. So ordered it online, and no wonder it wasn't in the store--it doesn't come in a gift box type package. Rather, all the products were packaged in a manila envelope, with a sheet of product information. Just giving you a heads-up so you don't order it and wonder if it was a return or something.
The set includes:
- 0.17 oz Argan Oil
- 2 x 0.09 oz/0.21 oz Magic Marker Lip Stain with Argan Color Stick in Waltz & Quickstep
- 3 x 0.13 oz Argan Natural Volume Lip Gloss in Optimism, Precious & Voluptuous
These products DO NOT contain these evil ingredients:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Petrochemicals
- Phthalates
- GMOs
- Triclosan
...and that's a good thing.
So, let's start with the Argan Oil. This stuff is potent. It is oil, after all, so go easy with it. You can use it in applications other than for your lips,--to moisturize hair, dry patches, cuticles, and some people use it on their faces. I like to apply it to my lips before going to sleep. I wake the next morning with soft pillow lips (That's what he says, anyway).
I have to admit that I bought this kit for the Magic Markers. My heart craved a lipstain that didn't dry my lips out until they resembled fruit leather, but had color that stayed put. So this was the product I was most excited to try. Well, let's say, it was good. The stain end was typical, marker-type stain. The stain itself felt like it could be drying if left to it's own devices, but flip over, and use the matching balm on the other end, and lips get conditioned and nice. Be careful, because the balm does not retract (like chapstick), and if your application is too aggressive, you can snap it right off. Was is long lasting? In my case, no. But maybe I just talk too much.
Much to my surprise, my
favorite product of the bunch was the Natural Volume Lipgloss. Know this about me first: Although by no means do I need a lip plumper (I've been blessed with full lips--or some say a big mouth), I am somewhat addicted to the lip plumper glosses. I love the tingly feeling they give me. Reminds me that I'm ALIVE! But some of them can be quite drying, and habit-forming.
These glosses, however, being enriched with argan oil, are super hydrating. I'm not saying super goopy, but super moisturizing, which is hard to come by in a gloss. It is not a tingly gloss, as the lip plumper ingredient is a naturally occurring tripeptide that has been shown to visually enhance the lips by stimulating lip collagen. It's glossy, and flavored/scented with dulce de leche (that's caramel for us gringos). The applicator is my only "eh." It's a brush, and not particularly precise, so take care to not get a gloss moustache.
I LOVE THIS GLOSS!! My lips are sooo soft now. Bring on the Winter dryness, I'm armed with my argan oil!
