Sara Happ The Lip Slip and Kaplan MD Lip 20 Gloss Dec 29, 2010

Dec 29, 2010 9:50 PM

by Carrie Meredith

This is the tale of a balm that wants to be a gloss, and a gloss that wants to be a balm. Amid the confusion is my delight. Confused or not, both Sara Happ The Lip Slip and Kaplan MD Lip 20 Gloss have instantly taken their places in my daily roster of lip products.

Sara Happ The Lip Slip has a slightly sweet taste, and smells softly of vanilla and rose. It has a lot of lasting power, has a bit of a shimmer effect in a transparent light pink base. It is highly moisturizing, and looks gorgeous when worn alone or layered over lipstick. It comes in a generous half-ounce size, so it will last quite a long time.

This is the inspiration for the product: "the supple feel of a shimmery gold YSL calfskin bag, a bottle of Coco Chanel Mademoiselle, your favorite camisole; soft, sweet, nude, girly and grand."

The presentation is really lovely and would make a great gift. Once the recipient realizes you've given them the gift of voluptuous, glossy and super-hydrated lips 24/7, you'll become one of their favorite people, I promise. It retails for $24 at b-glowing.

Kaplan MD Lip 20 Gloss is a treatment gloss if ever there was one. A gloss that wants to be a balm and pamper your lips so badly that it actually succeeds, and then some. The shade I have is Nude Sparkle, and it has a nude, sheer base with pronounced bronze glitter. It sounds like party central and it looks extremely festive if you layer it on, but never does the glitter look tacky, it is totally luxe. It is extremely comfortable to wear, has a mint scent and is not exactly glossy in the traditional way; the glitter does all the talking here and is free of any tacky feeling that usually accompanies gloss. There is supposed to be a bit of a plumping effect, but I don't really get much of that, and there is no stinging or tingling. What I do get is a moisturizing, glamorous treatment "gloss" with a totally non-sticky base and SPF 20 that has me very excited, because this has not really been done before to my knowledge. Something new in beauty that is useful to me! I have been wearing this non-stop. It makes lips smooth as glass and super-sexy. 

Lip 20 Gloss was developed by dermatologist Stuart H. Kaplan to be an anti-aging lip treatment intended to provide moisture, repair lips, add natural fullness and sun protection. Some of the star ingredients here are marine collagen, antioxidants, botanical extracts, hyaluronic filling spheres, sea buckthorn berry extract, aloe vera and Maxi Lip, a patented peptide. I also have my eye on the Natural Sparkle and Clear Sparkle shades, and definitely plan on picking them up soon.  It retails for $30 at b-glowing. 

[Products were sent to me by b-glowing for review. I have no affiliation with b-glowing, Sara Happ, or Kaplan  MD. My review is completely my unbiased opinion, as per usual.]