Lip Service: Get mouthy with these new products

by Heather Bouzan, 04-07-2008

Lip glosses are like boyfriends: we're always looking to change them, we prefer an array of options to just one, and we get bored with them quickly. Makeup brand DuWop must understand, because they've launched a new Liplingo ($18) lip palette. Choose "Nude" or "Pink" and take home a matte base color plus four shimmery shades to top it off (or wear any of the glosses solo). Experimentation is encouraged, since all the hues are pre-coordinated. Which means that, unlike that DIY bikini-waxing kit you just purchased, you can't really mess this one up. It's stocked at Beauty Mark (33 Charles Street, Boston, 617.720.1555).

Imagine a world without fad diets or weight-loss shakes, a world in which the gloss on your lips is all that's necessary to curb cravings and shed unwanted pounds. We're not quite there yet, but now we have Too Faced FUZE Slenderize Guilt Free Gloss ($18.50), on shelves at Sephora (Prudential Center, 800 Boylston Street, Boston, 617.262.4200). At the very least, it's a long-lasting fruity lip shine with near-perfect texture. But at its best, according to product materials, it's an energy-boosting, appetite-suppressing quick fix formulated with the same ingredients found in FUZE Slenderize drinks. Hey, we can all use a little optimism in our lives.

We love it when a classic product gets super-stylish new look. A recent example: Lancôme has released nine new shades of its iconic (and oft-copied) Juicy Tubes ($18), all embellished with gorgeous illustrations by emerging UK designer Christopher Kane. Each shade (and its corresponding fragrance) is inspired by and named for an international city where Kane's travels have taken him. Find them at Macy's (450 Washington Street, Boston, 617.357.3000).

A few swipes of Lip Gelato ($10) and we're looking up at the Duomo in Florence, our tongue lapping up an icy scoop of fruity goodness. Well, only if we close our eyes and think really hard. The newest gloss from Philosophy, available at Sephora (Mall at Chestnut Hill, 199 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill, 617.964.0800), has a texture reminiscent of melting popsicles, and we love the sweet, citrus-y scents - think grapefruit, lime, and tangerine. Each is enriched with sunflower-seed oil (to hydrate) and atelocollagen (for plumping), too.

Poppy King is obsessed with lipstick. So much so that, after three years at a large cosmetics company, the Australian beauty launched her own brand, Lipstick Queen. Available at Barneys New York (100 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 617.385.3300), each one of King's shades comes in Saint ($18), a sheer wash of color, and Sinner ($18), a more saturated hue - allowing the wearer to decide just how much pop her pucker needs. And for the gloss addicts who refuse to give it up, King has also added a matte gloss called Oxymoron ($20) to her line; it also works dabbed on cheeks.

TheBalm's Read My Lips Lipsticks ($16) appeal, no doubt, to the journalism major in us. Packaged in recyclable newspaper-print tubes and available in shades like "Scoop" (a pink-y coral) and "Letter to the Editor" (a gold-flecked bronze), the product is TheBalm's first foray into the lipstick category. The lipsticks - formulated with smoothing vitamins A and E and soothing olive and jojoba oils - go on sleek, not cakey, for a look that's totally modern. Find them online at
www.thebalm.com. @