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When it comes to makeup, lip gloss and nail polish are huge mood boosters for me! It doesn’t matter how exhausted or fed up I feel, a fresh coat of glossy nail polish or a slick of shimmering lip gloss and I feel…

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Fab. U. Lous, in an instant!

And even more so at the moment, because, as regular readers will know, I am in the midst of a weight loss plan. So, sweet treats are pretty much out, while beauty treats are very much in! (There is only so much self-restraint one seriously chocolate deprived lady can muster… 😳)

Not that I need an incentive to indulge at the makeup counter, but when they insist on placing ‘Treat yourself’ logo makeup pouches next to the lip gloss section and my sugar craving is at an all-time high, all resistance is futile. Into the basket, those glossy lipsticks just have to go! 😉

While we’re at it, why not put that beauty product addiction to good use with a ‘designer or dupe tried and tested’ slot for lip plumping lip glosses? A little bit of beauty altruism, so to speak! ☺️ So, here goes…

The Designer Gloss

One of my absolute favourite designer lipglosses has to be the Collagen Activ Lip Maximizer by Dior. The name says it all… It’s got collagen (without the surgery!) and it works to plump up your pout. Since I first clapped eyes on it a few years ago, I was completely and utterly under its spell. I bought the pink version back then and loved it so much that I invested in the beige one a couple of months ago.

Yes, it is on the pricey side at… ahem…cough… over £30 per gloss. But for that tingling, natural looking, pout enhancing effect, it’s oh-so-worth each and every penny.

The application of the sheer, glossy formula is absolutely foolproof (even for bleary-eyed mum bloggers who have just had a couple of hours’ sleep before the school run! 😜). Thanks to the transparency of the gloss, wonky lip outlines and mortifying lipstick-on teeth mishaps are, happily, a thing of the past. 👏🏻

And as for the ultra sleek and chic packaging… A dressing table must-have!

The Dupes

Dupe No. 1 – Around £10

I recently discovered the NYX Professional Makeup brand.

It’s all over Pinterest and Instagram and when an NYX shop opened up in my local shopping centre, with Insta-worthy hashtag signs…

And pink neon signs, and… sigh… a seemingly endless choice of shades and finishes, wild horses could not drag me away from its doors.

At first, I thought that I might be content to just stare in wonder at that glorious pink neon sign… But, no! The temptation was just too much to bear and so, I caved in and picked up a shimmering Dior Lip Maximizer dupe, the NYX Lip Lingerie in Butter.

And my, oh my, what a delight! The ultra shimmering lip plumping effect of the surprisingly luxe formula was a sheer joy to behold!

While the more opaque texture of NYX’s beige shade looks heavier in the photo than it appeared in real life, the overall effect is still quite natural, if, dare I say it, slightly more polished than the Dior look.

Dupe No. 2 – Around £2

Another fab find in the bargain beauty brand department is essence. Super affordable with prices averaging at around £2 per item, the cute packaging of this brand is also very Insta-worthy.

My essence Dior dupe is called Shine Shine Shine Wet Look Lipgloss in 17 Let It Go. Slightly more iridescent than the Dior original, this gloss is a great budget-friendly alternative to the pricier Dior version. If I were to fault it at all, it would only be to say that the slightly runny formula is prone to pooling at the corners of the mouth if you are too heavy-handed with the application.

In other words, easy on the application and it’s perfect!

Overall verdict

In terms of its lip plumping effect, the Dior version is the original and the best for me with an overall score of 9.5 out of 10. The eye-watering price tag is the one and only reason this gloss lost out on a perfect 10 score.

However, the NYX dupe is equally as effective in plumping up that pout, but with the added extra of a slightly more opaque formula, creating an overall more polished look. It, therefore, scores an equally impressive 9.5 out of 10. The fact that the photos don’t quite do this gloss justice is the only reason it missed out on a perfect result.

Last but not least, the essence dupe scores a very respectable 9 out of 10. It’s budget friendly, it’s glossy, it’s pout plumping… just not as pout plumping perhaps as the other two and the less luxe formula makes for a slightly messier application.

So, there you have it, folks! One great designer gloss, a perfect dupe at a very affordable price and an almost perfect dupe that is so purse friendly it’s practically free. What more could a girl ask for? Well, aside from zero calorie chocolate, that is? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Maybe the beauty bods could come up with a zero calorie, chocolate flavoured, pout-plumping gloss… No, on second thoughts, maybe I should come up with such a thing… It might very well be the answer to all my problems! 😉

If I ever do, as always, you’ll be the first to know, my dear readers…

Until next time,

💋 Mostly Mum

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