Can City Lips help my thin lips? As I've lamented before, my lips are terminally thin. I've pretty much given up hope on having nice full lips like Sheila. I was offered the opportunity to try City Lips Advanced Formula, a collagen peptide lip plumping treatment. I have the color Holly. How did it work?


from the CityCosmetics site:

City Lips is designed to give lustrous and plush lips with a high-impact shine. The gloss is an award-winning treatment infused with revolutionary technology for instant and long-lasting results. Dramatically, the lips become smoother and fuller by within minutes of application. City Lips’ incredible effectiveness is clinically proven and the soft brush delivers the most precise application possible. City Lips utilizes exclusive ingredients and natural lip enhancers that work painlessly and safely to pump up the volume. City Lips will stimulate lasting natural collagen production with continued use.

Claims:

• Instantly delivers dramatic plumping effects with HA Plumping Spheres
• Stimulates new collagen development with twice the collagen peptides for long-term plumping
• Provides instant fullness, definition and hydration with long-lasting plumping benefits
• Diminishes and fades the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
• Works safely, painlessly and without irritation or numbness

I'm always skeptical about claims such as "instant" and "dramatic." I find those are general buzz words to get people's blood pumping about the "new and hip" product. I have reviewed this lip treatment as a one-off thing - meaning I wore this one time, and I'm giving you my experience of this one time. I have researched City Lips, and I have found several accounts of 30-day trials, but I can't wear the same lips for 30 days straight to test that out hahah So basically, I'm finding out the "instant" stuff. The site recommends best results come from applying before bed. That's another reason I'm testing only the "instant" stuff - I can't wear a color to bed. It would end up everywhere :)

First let me say this: This is a great color. It's not in-your-face or uber intense, but it adds a nice sheen to my lips and I love it. However, it is thicker than regular gloss and is sticky. It's not heavy, tho, so that was a good thing. Anyway. Here's a photo of my lips as soon as I splashed Holly on.


...and I waited 20 minutes. In that 20 minutes, my lips went thru the gambit of emotions. Am I getting bigger? What was that tingle? Am I lumpy? What about my wrinkles? Does this treatment make me look fat? They are so self-conscious! There was a very pleasant warming sensation over my lips, which turned to tingling after a while. The tingling grew more intense, and I began to lick my lips. I'm not even sure how many times or how often I licked, either. Here is what happened after 20 minutes:



The color faded somewhat, and it isn't as brilliant and sparkly as it was at the first application. That's probably due to the licking. My top lip looks no different, but my lower lip appears to be a bit more pouty and full. My lip wrinkles are still there in full view. So let's breakdown the claims.

Instantly delivers dramatic plumping effects with HA Plumping Spheres
---Not exactly instant, but after 20 minutes my lower lip does seem more full and pouty.
Stimulates new collagen development with twice the collagen peptides for long-term plumping
---This could be true on a long-term level. However, I cannot wear the same lip gloss/balm/stick/color every day for 30 days to test this out.
Provides instant fullness, definition, & hydration with long-lasting plumping benefits
---Could, again, be true on a long-term level. I didn't find my lips to be instantly full or hydrated.
Diminishes and fades the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
---This may be another long-term thing? As you can see from my photos, my wrinkles are still quite clear.
Works safely, painlessly and without irritation or numbness
---The tingling got to me. It was painful by any means, but it was definitely an irritation. It might not be a big deal for some. This could be an "eye of the beholder" issue.

I'm going to say this particular lip treatment is a miss for me. There is a clear formula listed on the website. Maybe that's my answer for long-term testing? It could be perfect for someone else... maybe someone else who isn't bothered by the tingling sensation? Maybe my licking of the lips caused something to change? I don't know. Price point on these treatment glosses are $35 each. Have you tried City Lips? What's your experience?

DISCLAIMER: Some products used in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration. This blog is written and edited by me, and the opinions are not influenced in any way and are not compensated. Please read this post for more information.