Kimiko Sheer Tint and Lip Plumper

Kimiko Beauty sent me their sheer tint and lip plumper to try out. I've been intrigued by the crisp, clean packaging and the nifty two-products-in-one tube since it arrived, and thought I'd give it a whirl this morning as I got ready to run a few errands with the family.

Here's what Kimiko's nifty website has to say about the product:

Channel your inner vixen with this natural and effective lip enhancer! This unique tinted treatment creates sheer, buildable color with berry and pomegranate extracts that have added antioxidant protection. Hydra-FirmaLift™helps reduce lip lines and increase overall hydration.

The reverse end holds an advanced Plumper containing patented dehydrated collagen molecules that expand with the lip's natural moisture to instantly increase lip volume, reduce fine lines and give lips a fuller, smoother look. This non-irritating Plumper has a cool refreshing feel.

OHMYINNERVIXEN! Wait. Do I HAVE an inner vixen? Let's find out. Here are my BEFORE lips, all naked and vulnerable, for your scrutiny. Be gentle!

I applied the sheer tint treatment first, in Sweet Plum, which is a merry little holiday-ish shade. (It looked much richer in real life than it does in these pictures.) Package instructions say you can actually layer the tint treatment for additional color, but I only applied one coat since I was going out with the family in the daytime, not going out for a night on the town. But I can see how the color WOULD layer well because it glid (glided? glought? What's the past tense of glide, anyway?) on smoothly and evenly.

Then I applied the plumper, albeit with a trepidation, because I'd heard about plumping products that were reputed to make your lips feel like they were aflame with the heat from 100 years of the Mexican sun. Not the case here, though. Kimiko says the plumper has a cool, refreshing feel, and you know what? I'll go along with that. It sorta felt like I had drooled a little Listerine on my lips or something. Cool and tingly. Not at all unpleasant.

And then I waited 15 minutes and took this AFTER photo.

WHOA, NELLY!

Ha ha ha ha!  Okay not really. Those're my husbands lips.

Here are mine:

They look pretty nice, huh? I do think they're plumper and that the product diminished some of the lines on and around the edges, don't you? They look a little uneven, but that's just how I happened to be doing my mouth for some reason. There were kidlets and a husband rustlin' around all over the place, distracting and tormenting me. Maybe that's the beginning of a FRUSTRATED GRIMACE?

What I liked: The color was lovely, and would probably be lovely with just about any skin tone. The applicators were both gentle and easy to use. The plumper/gloss felt nice and fresh on my lips and did seem to fluff me up a little bit. My husband noticed a difference immediately and said, WOW! Your lips look HOT! (Giggle.)

What I Wasn't Crazy About: The plumper/gloss was a tad sticky, which can only mean one thing in the chilly Chicago wind — hairy lips. Yeah, my hair was all stuck onto my lips the minute I stepped outside, and I had quite a time pulling it all back off and getting it situated back into its fancy-schmancy stacked bob again. But then I am not a big GLOSS user, so maybe I'm just not skilled in the ways of avoiding such perils?

All in all, an interesting and fun product I'd use on special (non-windy) occasions for its vavavavoooom factor.

Or maybe sometime when I just want Al to call me HOT again.