Fragrance Bouquet Loves… Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer by Chanel

Okay, so I got a problem. I knew about my shoe problem. I knew about my perfume problem. But I never really thought I had a huge ‘thing’ for make-up, even as I ordered a custom-made, self-designed Plexiglas make-up cabinet a couple of years ago. I didn’t quite know where exactly to store my burgeoning make-up collection. Still I never viewed this as a problem. As I was getting ready to write this review of Chanel’s most fabulous lipgloss today however, I decided to take out the lipgloss drawer and count ‘em up. …54. Fifty four?? Fifty four. O-Kaaaaaay. Okay fine. So I have a problem. Now I understand why none of them actually gets finished before it goes bad. But listen, there is an upside to my problem. Extensive concurrent testing (HAH!, yes, I’ll call it testing) has enabled me to pick the best of the freakin’ crop with extreme accuracy! If I had to give up every single one but one brand (not that I ever would, mind), I now know which one I would keep: Chanel.

Chanel has performed a miracle in the lipgloss department. It makes the shiniest, most amazing, long-lasting, and did I mention SHINIEST lipgloss in the world. It’s name? Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer. Seriously, this stuff is so good, opening the packet should by all rights be accompanied by the sound of cherubs singing. So let’s take a look at what makes this stuff better than everything else on the market right now. First of all, it’s incredibly long lasting. Now, I have to admit I personally am one of these people that manage to keep most lipsticks on my lips for hours and hours and can even eat without disturbing my painted canvas, so I am sure results will differ for those that unconsciously lick/bite their lips. However, we all know that most lipglosses tend to lose their gloss, shine and radiance as time goes by, even if we’re careful with them. Not so with this one. It refuses to ‘gather’ in places, cake or coagulate, its color stays vibrant and it retains its shine. Too, the gel formula is perfectly juicy, lending a wet look to the lips, without ever running, or migrating upwards, downwards or sideways (yuck!). In short, it stays PUT and allows for perfect application even on the edges of the lips. I cannot in good conscience tell you that it is not-tacky, because I’ve never actually met a lipgloss that wasn’t sticky. Let’s face it: Once that wind blows, no matter what lipgloss you are wearing, you’re gonna have to manually remove your hair from your lips, period. But Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer does feel very comfortable and emollient and unlike other high-gloss formulas will not have your lips sticking together, forming that icky little “thread” every time you open your mouth to speak. The texture is fluid enough to glide on, but the gel is also stable enough to allow for building “layers” on the lips until the desired plumpness and shine is achieved. In fact, I would choose this lipgloss for plumpness any day over actual plumping-effect glosses (such as the one by LipFusion). But what is the absolutely best feature of Chanel’s Glossimer, is its ability to shine like no other. Chanel uses the most finely-milled and most densely-packed glittering mica I’ve ever encountered in a lipgloss. The result is never grainy and the shine is unbelievable.

Chanel currently makes 38 shades (3 of them are limited edition) but regrettably, not every stand sells all of the shades. Too, there are some in the collection that are shinier than the others. I personally tend to go for the shiniest ones, meaning the ones that have the most glitter. Again, I have to assert that the mica is so finely milled, that the result is as beautiful and elegant as anything you would expect from Chanel. At no point should you worry that you’ll be going around with lips studded with large chunks of carnival glitter! The result is completely even. My favorite colors are Paillettes (No. 93) and Galatic (No. 98). Paillettes is an ultra-glittery soft pink which is very similar to Volage (No. 25) with the difference that Volage does not have much glitter, so I always tend to go for Paillettes. Paillettes contains both blue-toned and gold-toned mica, making it perfectly flattering to both blue-undertone and yellow-undertone skins. It is the perfect soft-pink gloss to use with a more dramatic eye-look (I tend to avoid real nudes with dramatic eyes, preferring instead subtle pinks, as they are fresher, more youthful and sexier). Galactic looks white in the tube, but reads as an ultra-glittery colorless lipgloss on bare lips. This colorless wonder is the perfect solution for injecting shine over every other lip-product in your arsenal. I prefer to use it over a lipstain (like the one from Body Shop) but it also looks great over any lipstick or lip-liner which has been used to fill in the lips.