Rimmel: Show Off Lip Laquers

These were quite the hit online a few months ago, and I admit to getting suckered in to the hype. My verdict? Definitely not the best lip glosses I've ever tried given the thick, hard-to-spread formulation, but at least the color payoff is solid.

Left to right: Aurora, Celestial, Luna

My main problem with the product is the formulation. It is ridiculously thick and difficult to smooth onto the lips. When you first apply it with the wand, the product just sits in a sticky clump. I have yet to figure out how you can spread it out with the wand, because it quickly turns into a big mess that leaves way too much pigment on your lips (seriously, you'll look like a clown if you don't sheer this out, especially with Luna).

Colors when blended out - Aurora, Celestial, Luna

Instead what I do is rub it with my fingers or with a clean wand to spread it out. The image above is after I rubbed over the initial color spots with my fingers. Still far too pigmented for my liking, and generally it takes quite a bit of work to even it out. What's worse is if you're not careful, the color will easily smear outside of your lips. This is NOT a blindly-apply type of gloss - you better be glued to the mirror when you're putting this on, or risk splotchy, bright orange lips (a lesson I learned the hard way).

The wand is designed with a hole on one side, I guess to drop off more color. I have no idea who in the world would want that much on one application - that's just asking for colored teeth and messy smears in random places. What I end up doing is dabbing a single spot in the center of my bottom lip, then blending out with my finger to the rest of my lip. Good news is this will last forever.

The three colors I purchased are Aurora, a nice, reddish pink, Celestial, a baby-doll pink, and Luna, which becomes a lovely nude once sheered out. This product is not a stain, so even though it'll be quite pigmented when you first put it on, I find the color quickly goes away upon eating / drinking. The smell and taste is a bit tangy and sweet, which I personally quite like.

I got these for half off the retail price, so about $2.80 each from Walgreens during their 50% off Rimmel sale. I wouldn't recommend paying anymore than that, because I think there's far better formulations out there. Unless you like the look of super sticky, scary-bright lips, I'd recommend staying away from this.