Lipgloss is back and here are our (non-sticky-hair-in-the-wind) favourites

It’s no secret that the 90’s is back. The complete resurgence of the era is noticeably present in beauty, fashion and music (hello Spice Girls reunion). In terms of beauty, we have, thankfully, not returned to the barely-there brow, but we have been loving the return of the lipgloss plumped lip. After years of brands perfecting matte lips and liquid lipsticks that dry down to a velvet finish, lipgloss is a serious step change.

Lip fillers = Lipgloss

With lip fillers more prevalent than ever the return of lipgloss makes sense. Kylie Jenner, no stranger to lip fillers, became a ‘self-made’ billionaire through sales of her matte lip kits. But this isn’t the first time bigger lips have been a cultural obsession. Through the late 90’s and early 00’s, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie were our pop culture icons, and lip fillers were all the rage. They wore the sparkliest, candy pink lipgloss and this was the look we all wanted. Teenagers (who most definitely couldn’t afford the procedure) wore minty lipglosses that would burn and sting as they plumped up lips to make them look fuller.

The juicier the better

Lancôme Juicy Tubes reigned supreme as the ‘It’ lipgloss to be seen reapplying. And reapply we did. Layers on layers of the stuff to give our lips as much of a 3D shine as possible. Formulations were sparkly and oh-so-sticky, taking a step outside almost always meant your hair getting stuck in your gloss. So this prompts the questions, why would I want to revisit lipgloss?

With our obsession for all things glowy, every skincare product these days contain ingredients for plumpness and increased moisture in the skin. Makeup is the same. Glowy, cream formulations in foundation and blushers reign supreme. It was only a matter of time before lips caught up. Now we want that same glow on our pout, and applied correctly it looks young and fresh.

A no-brainer

Lipgloss is easy. You can apply it without a mirror, it takes little skill and it usually tastes nice too*. You can play with it by applying solo, on top of another lipstick to add depth or on eyelids for an editorial glossy lid. Really, it is the original multi-tasking product.

New to the lipgloss world

Charlotte Tilbury Collagen Lip Bath; €32.00 at Brown Thomas

If anything will turn you from a matte lip maven to a lipgloss convert it’s Charlotte Tilbury’s Collagen Lip Bath. With a name like that it’s easy to see how it appeals to a generation obsessed with fillers. However, even for myself who isn’t a lipgloss wearer, I was tempted after seeing it drenched on lips at the Victoria Secret runway show.

FENTY BEAUTY
Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer; £16 at Harvey Nichols

Fenty beauty have quite a few glosses in their arsenal but this is the one that stands out. A three-dimensional type of gloss, no Miss Sporty sparkles here. This is pure extraterrestrial, holographic glitteriness.

Glossier Lipgloss; €14 at Glossier.com 

Of course Glossier do a lipgloss. The brand that is all about that glow, lipgloss just makes sense for the Glossier girl. This one has a super wet, glassy finish with absolutely zero glitter. Apparently, it’s non-sticky too, but we’ll have to do the wind test to make sure and get back to you on that one.

*after writing this we may have checked if Lancôme still make Juicy in Watermelon, the ultimate and most delicious 90’s girl gloss. Sadly they don’t, but you can get some of their other flavours here.