lola's secret beauty blog: Sunday Riley Crème Gloss Sheer Impact Lip Gloss in Sangria- REVIEW!

have been a devout follower of Sunday Riley products for a few years now, and have been astonished by her lack of presence in the blogosphere until just recently- and largely in response to her fantastic new makeup line. Let me just say that her makeup is every bit as good as her skincare line, which in my opinion is as good as it gets! Frankly, one of the reasons that I started this little blog was to sing the praises of her virtually unknown luxury skincare line- because I love her products that much. In fact the product that inspired my very first first blog entry was Juno oil (review here), and I am as obsessed with Juno today as I was the first time I used it all that time ago.

Sunday Riley Creme Gloss Sheer Impact Lip Gloss in Sangria

Among the recently launched beauty products is a lovely range of lip glosses that is NOW available for purchase at Barneys New York. I received my full-sized Crème Gloss Sheer Impact Lip Gloss in Sangria as a gift with purchase during the Barneys Bag Event last November, and have been in love with it ever since. There are ten different shades in a rainbow of colors ranging from warm to cool tones. I have seen all of them and they really are gorgeous.

Sangria

The formula is sheer enough that all of the shades will work beautifully across all skin tones (whether you have warm or cool undertones).

The Crème Gloss formula offers a dewy glossy finish with shimmer, but without any stickiness whatsoever (it's the antithesis of the sticky MAC Lipglass formula). This lip gloss is remarkably hydrating, and provides a fairly long-lasting wear time (she pauses and reapplies more to her lips to adequately describe the experience of wearing this silky lip gloss). It has the moisturizing properties of a lip balm, but with the elegant finish of a high-end luxury lipgloss. The consistency is much thinner than Chanel's Glossimers- which are thicker and stickier, but lack the moisturizing properties that one finds in the Crème Gloss Sheer Impact Lip Gloss formula.

This super conditioning lip gloss was specifically formulated to be non-tacky, long wearing, conditioning all while maintaining a high gloss sheen. Sunday Riley wanted to create universally flattering colors that ranged from semi-translucent to shimmery to intense pops of color. They can be worn alone or layered over lipsticks and /or lipliners.

Sangria in direct sun. Heavy swatch on left, sheer on right

The key ingredients that make this a magically moisturizing lip gloss are:

Sunflower Seed Oil which provides high levels of hydration for the treatment (and prevention) of chapped lips- it conditions and nourishes very effectively.

Vitamin E also works wonders to nourish and condition even the driest of lips.

Stable Vitamin C is used because it effectively increases collagen levels to plump up the lips naturally. It also brightens skin, reduces melanin production (which can lead to hyperpigmentation), and is a powerhouse vitamin for its ability to repair the damaging effects of UV exposure.

Polybutene 100 is the magical ingredient that creates the intensely glossy shine without any of the tackiness that one usually finds in high shine lip glosses (making this ingredient one of the most coveted in Sunday Riley's Creme Glosses).

Sangria is best described as a mid-tone raspberry, particularly in the tube. It is among the semi-transclucent shades, but with a nice dose of shimmer. It is one of those MLBB (My Lips But Better) shades on me, therefore it is the perfect pick when I just want a very natural sophisticated grown up pink lip. However, this shade plays very well with others- so I love using it on top of so many different colored lipsticks ranging from neutrals to in-your-face vibrant shades. There is a certain undeniable complexity to this shade as well- despite the fact that it is on the more sheer side. Different lighting reveals different aspects of this lovely hue. Captured below you will see how this morphs into a brighter nearly fuchsia shade in direct sunlight.

Sangria in direct sunlight

I just love EVERYTHING about this lip gloss formula, but I am probably most thrilled that it isn't sticky! Don't get me wrong, I have quite a few sticky lip glosses in my stash, but sometimes you just want to wear your hair down without having your hair get stuck to your lips.