For many women, cosmetics are a regular part of their morning routine. Unfortunately when women put on lipstick, their morning routine can become a day long routine, as women have to keep touching it up. Worse yet, it comes off anytime something comes into contact with their lips...which can ruin clothes if you're not careful.
That's where LipSense from SeneGence comes in. LipSense claims it's a semi-permanent lip stain that won't come off until you're ready to remove it. No....seriously. It claims you can eat without staining the fork, drink without staining the cup, smoke without staining the cigarette, and kiss without...well, you get the idea. Best of all this means that you won't have to touch-up your lipstick every few hours, keeping you looking good without the effort.
But I had to see if this stuff could pull off what it promised, so I went down to Vendetta's Hair Salon, where they sell SeneGence products, to check it out. Jennifer Grothaus, who runs the salon, was more than willing to give me a quick demonstration. The LipSense, which retails for about $40.00, comes with three things: The LipSense itself, Oops Remover, and a bottle of Lip Gloss. You can also buy just the LipSense for $20.00, since you won't need the whole package for a refill.
After Jennifer put it on, she kissed her hand and only some of the gloss came off, which was clear. It was impressive, but I knew that I was going to have to do more than just watch someone else try this stuff on. I was going to have to get in touch with my feminine side, and try on some lip stain.
I chose two different colors of LipSense, a clam red color and a bright purple color. I asked some of the ladies in the newsroom to try out the red, since they use cosmetics everyday, while I was content to slather on the purple.
Putting on LipSense is easier than it might seem. You simply apply the stain on your lips carefully, trying not to miss and hit your teeth or skin. If you do, you have to remove the LipSense quickly using the OOPS remover, which works fairly well. Otherwise, your mistake will become part of your make-up, until you scrub it off. Then, making sure not to touch your lips together, you put on the lip gloss to moisturize your lips.
The LipSense dries quickly, and almost burns a little bit, but that stops once you put on the Gloss. Then, you're ready for a day full of lip color. But now that I had the lipstick on, I decided I would try to take it off using some of the old fashioned methods.
I drank a soda, ate a meal, wiped gently with a napkin, and even kissed a refrigerator (don't ask) before finally accepting that this stuff wasn't coming off without some serious effort. Megan also tried removing the LipSense and experienced the same difficulties, though she was thrilled to find them. She had also applied some lip liner and THAT was coming off while the stain stayed on.
Eventually I went to the bathroom and started scrubbing the LipSense off. While I did have to get a little rough, it eventually came off. So at least I wasn't going to have purple lips for the rest of my life.
The girls who tried LipSense were genuinely impressed with it. They each said they would be willing to foot the $40.00 price tag, and they felt that it might actually be cheaper since they wouldn't have to keep re-applying the lipstick. I thought $40.00 was still a bit steep, but I also don't wear lipstick on a regular basis.
If you're touching up your lipstick several times a day, than you might want to give LipSense a try. Most salons that sell it have testers which can let you try it out without paying, to make sure it's something you might like. I can assure you, it WILL stay on, no matter what you do to it. At the same time, if you don't use lipstick all that often, this is probably not a product that you'll be interested in.
