Lip gloss isn’t my favorite type of lip product, but I’ve been in the mood for it this summer! I’m not sure if it’s because I’m not wearing a mask quite as often anymore, and therefore able to wear lip gloss more easily, or if it’s something else. I definitely love the shine and moisture that lip glosses tend to provide.

E.l.f. Cosmetics has been one of my favorite cruelty-free brands for a long time now. It wasn’t until this year that I finally tried some of their lip products. I previously reviewed e.l.f. SRSLY Satin Lipstick and Calm Balm. One that is mentioned more often in the beauty community, sometimes as a dupe for high-end lip glosses, is the e.l.f. Lip Plumping Gloss.

I’ve really enjoyed this lip gloss and added a second shade to my collection shortly after purchasing the first! I’m happy to share a full review of the e.l.f. Lip Plumping Glosses in this post. I’ll discuss shades, packaging, hydration, how it layers over other lip products, and price. If you’re interested in learning more about this product, please continue reading.

e.l.f. Lip Plumping Gloss product claims directly from ElfCosmetics.com

Plump up the volume! This moisturizing formula instantly enhances lips for a fuller, pillowy pout. Swipe on the gloss and evenly coat lips with a sheer wash of color and high-octane shine—it also delivers a mild-yet-alluring tingling sensation that soothes lips and makes you feel the fullness.

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Other product details

• Price: $6.00 (for the standard shades) or $4.00 (for the shades in the Mint Melt Collection)
• Net weight: 0.09 oz. | 2.7 ml (for the standard shades) and 0.08 oz. | 2.5 ml (for the Mint Melt shades)
• Made in China
• Cruelty-free
• Vegan
• Special ingredients:
  • Coconut oil soothes and hydrates
  • Vitamin E nourishes and softens
• 14 shades currently available (10 standard shades; 4 additional shades in the Mint Melt Collection)
• Where to buy standard shades: ElfCosmetics.com or Amazon.com (not all shades are available on Amazon)
  • Amazon ships internationally to over 100 countries, but not all items will ship to every country. Update your default shipping address to see items that will ship to your location.
• Where to buy Mint Melt shades (these may be limited edition): ElfCosmetics.com
  • ElfCosmetics.com ships within the USA and internationally to the following locations: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Saudia Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, and UAE
• Overall rating: 9.6/10
  • Shade range: 9/10
  • Packaging/ ease of application: 9/10
  • Hydration: 10/10
  • Team player: 10/10
  • Price: 10/10

Please note that I am not a makeup artist. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, as a regular person that loves makeup.

Shade range

The shade range for e.l.f. Lip Plumping Gloss has always been pretty good, but it just got better! Three new shades were just recently added. Here are all 14 shades currently available (e.l.f. doesn’t provide shade descriptions, so I’ll do my best to describe each one based on swatches from ElfCosmetics.com):

• Champagne Glam: Very light peach with champagne shimmer
• Mocha Twist: Cool mauve-brown (no shimmer)
• Pink Sugar: Cream with silver shimmer (may have pink reflect)
• Peach Bellini: Cream (no shimmer)
• Praline: Cool rosy brown (lighter than Mocha Twist; no shimmer)
• Sparkling Rosé: Light pink (no shimmer)
• Pink Cosmo: Very light pink with subtle silver shimmer
• Pink Paloma: Very light pink (no shimmer)
• Mauve Lady: Berry with shimmer
• Bahama Mama: Orange red (no shimmer)
• A Hint of Mint (Mint Melt Collection): Very light green (appears clear on skin; no shimmer)
• Mint Chocolate (Mint Melt Collection): Warm rosy brown (no shimmer)
• Chocolate Chip (Mint Melt Collection): Warm chocolate brown (no shimmer)
• Mint Sprinkle (Mint Melt Collection): Clear with iridescent shimmer

There are arm swatches of all shades (except Pink Paloma, Mauve Lady, and Bahama Mama) on ElfCosmetics.com. If you’re interested in this product, I recommend that you take a look at them to see the subtle differences between some of the shades. The swatch photos are very helpful because they show the glosses swatched on light, medium, and deep skin tones.

Since these lip glosses are meant to be sheer, some shades look similar. However, there are nuances, and those that enjoy a variety of lip gloss shades will probably enjoy this range! I appreciate the variety of colors and undertones. The only additional shades I can think of that may be good additions would be a purple and a true red.

I’d like to note here that some shades are more pigmented than others. I currently own the shades Champagne Glam and Chocolate Chip (see swatch photo). Champagne Glam is very sheer, and Chocolate Chip is on the opposite end of the spectrum. I wouldn’t say it’s fully opaque, but the color is intense on the lips, for a lip gloss. It’s a good choice for those that like to wear gloss without layering over a lipstick, but still want color. The shades Mocha Twist, Sparkling Rosé, Praline, and Mint Chocolate look like they may be similarly pigmented.

Packaging/ease of application

This section is tricky, because the standard shades of e.l.f. Lip Plumping Gloss have slightly different packaging than the four shades in the Mint Melt Collection. I’ll start by discussing the packaging of the standard shades. It’s very typical lip gloss packaging, with a plastic tube and doe foot applicator. I like the applicator very much because it’s not too big (which means it doesn’t pick up an excessive amount of lip gloss) and it curves to hug the lips and make application easy.

The packaging of the e.l.f. Lip Plumping Glosses in the Mint Melt Collection isn’t vastly different. The tube is a bit smaller with slightly less product. There’s still a doe foot applicator, but the style is different. It’s even smaller than the doe foot applicator that the standard shades have (very little lip gloss is picked up, so sometimes I need to go back in for more product), and there is no curve to it. It’s not difficult to use, but feels a bit cheaper than the applicator in the standard packaging. On that note, it’s important to remember that the Mint Melt shades are less expensive than the standard shades.

While there is some inconsistency in the packaging of e.l.f. Lip Plumping Glosses, the formula feels consistent based on the shades I have (since one is a standard shade and one is from the Mint Melt Collection). These glosses, even Champagne Glam with its shimmer, are very smooth and glide over the lips effortlessly! Shortly after the lip gloss is applied, there is a very slight tingling sensation that isn’t unpleasant. That’s the “plumping” action, but I’m not entirely convinced that my lips are actually plumped from these glosses. I do, however, think they make lips at least look plumped because the shiny finish gives that effect.

Hydration

Like most lip glosses, e.l.f. Lip Plumping Gloss feels very hydrating. The formula isn’t long wearing, but the moisture it provides hangs on after the glossy shine has gone away. I appreciate that e.l.f. added coconut oil and vitamin E to these lip glosses because those ingredients provide even more hydration to the lips.

The hydrating nature of these lip glosses is a factor in their versatility to be worn alone or with other lip products. It’s a great hydrating product all by itself, but it could also be used to provide much needed hydration layered over a matte lipstick that may be drying. I’ll get into that subject more in the next section!

Team player

My favorite way to wear the e.l.f. Lip Plumping Glosses is to first apply my favorite lip liner and then apply the lip gloss (that’s simply my preference; they wear well on their own, too). That gives my lips good definition while still keeping the look simple. The lip liner I like to use is the Essence 8H Waterproof Lipliner in the shade “Because Duh.” It pairs nicely with all of my brown and nude lip products. You can see both my shades of this lip gloss worn with lip liner in the first two photos below.

I don’t usually layer a lot of lip products, but I know a lot of people do for various reasons. As I mentioned previously, lip gloss can be worn over lipstick to add hydration. It can also be worn to add shine. If you have matte lipsticks that make your lips look dry, using a lip gloss to add shine will much improve the overall lip look.

The e.l.f. Lip Plumping Glosses work extremely well layered over lipsticks. In the third photo above, you can see Champagne Glam paired with the e.l.f. SRSLY Satin Lipstick in Nectar. That lipstick is meant to have a satin finish, but I find it to be quite matte. Once it dries down, there is no shine to its finish. It looks just fine that way, but if I want to add some shine, Champagne Glam is the perfect topper. It adds a lot of shine and makes my lips look very smooth.

Price

The standard e.l.f. Lip Plumping Glosses are $6.00 for 0.09 oz., and the ones in the Mint Melt Collection are only $4.00 for 0.08 oz.! Both are great bargains. Even moreso when considering that these glosses are frequently touted as dupes for high-end alternatives that are $19+.

There are quite a few affordable lip glosses from drugstore brands. Admittedly, several of them are even less expensive than the e.l.f. Lip Plumping Glosses. However, some of them seem to provide a small amount of product or have poor reviews. Also, there are even more drugstore lip glosses that are more expensive than the e.l.f. Lip Plumping Glosses. I found some priced as high as $14.00! I feel that the e.l.f. Lip Plumping Glosses are priced just right.

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The e.l.f. Lip Plumping Glosses are popular, but since they have been around for a while, I don’t think they get as much praise from influencers anymore. Don’t let that deter you! These are great lip glosses and I honestly had a hard time finding anything negative to say about them in my review. The shades are beautiful, they’re easy to reapply, they keep my lips feeling hydrated, can be worn different ways, and are very affordable!

Let’s take a look at e.l.f.’s product claims again to see how their claims stack up against my experience using the Lip Plumping Glosses. The first claim is that the moisturizing formula instantly makes lips look fuller. I think that’s true because the glossy finish does make lips look plumped (there may be some real plumping action as well, but I can’t be sure). Next, they state that the gloss evenly coats lips with a sheer wash of color and “high-octane shine.” It is very easy to get an even application of this gloss with both types of applicators. Both of my shades do provide a lot of shine, but as I mentioned before, one shade is much more sheer than the other so the level of opacity isn’t consistent among all shades. 

Lastly, e.l.f. mentions the tingling sensation and claims that it’s soothing and makes you “feel the fullness.” While the tingling sensation isn’t unpleasant to me, I know some people don’t like that feeling. I also wouldn’t call it soothing and I’m not sure what they mean by “feel the fullness.” That’s probably just a reminder that the tingling sensation is usually associated with a plumping effect.

One last thing of note about the e.l.f. Lip Plumping Glosses is that they are fragranced. I personally enjoy the scents/flavors and don’t find them to be too strong. The fragrance in the standard shades (or at least Champagne Glam, and I’m assuming the others are the same) is a subtle vanilla. The Mint Melt shades have a vanilla mint scent that is stronger than the scent in the standard shades. However, I don’t notice the scent for very long at all once the lip gloss is applied.

I’ve really been enjoying my two e.l.f. Lip Plumping Glosses and I think you probably would, too! Are you planning to give them a try? Please let me know in the comments!

Lauren

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