(pictured from top: DiorKiss 208 Mint Lemonade,DiorKiss 198 Plum Tart,
Guerlain by Emilio Pucci Lip Gloss 03 Sparking Sea)
There are all the usual lip gloss colors: red, pink, coral, plum and beige. But once in a while you see some seemingly wacky shades of yellow, green, and blue, and you might think “Why?”
This season, at least three major brands have come up with their versions of blue lip gloss. Dior has added a light blue shade into their DiorKiss range, while one of the limited-edition items in the Guerlain by Emilio Pucci collection is a sparkling blue lip gloss. Benefit has also come up with California Kissin’, another blue lip gloss.
On the Benefit website and various other places (like the American Vogue), blue-tinted lip glosses are claimed to be able to make teeth appear whiter. But I am not really convinced of this and that’s not the reason why I buy blue lip glosses.
First of all, I like blue lip glosses because I like all colors in the aquamarine-turquoise spectrum (as you might have seen in my A Splash of Color – Aqua Blue post). When I see blue-tinted lip glosses, I am instantly drawn to them and it is as if I could see tropical ocean in a tube. Love it.
Secondly, I do actually use them. What blue-tinted lip glosses do is that they subtly bounce/balance off the red in the lips and therefore give a beautiful transparency to the lips. So they are essentially a version of sheer lip glosses (your lips will NOT look blue). But because of the blue tint, the effect is sheerer than sheer. The lips appear see-through and jelly-like and, in most cases, more plumped. Again, love it.
Also, Kevyn Aucoin’s blue lip gloss (Liquid Cyber Lips in Alurabliss) is said to be able to add depth and dimension to the lips to make them look fuller. (It is basically the same idea in different words.) You can see the actual tube here.
(In a similar vein, the reason why brands like Shu Uemura has a pastel blue loose powder is that it gives a clear and transparent look to the face.)
Onto the blue lip glosses I have:
DiorKiss 198 Plum Tart:
This is a limited-edition item in spring 2005. It has small glitters of various colors. As with all DiorKiss lip glosses, it gives a really glassy and syrupy finish.
Guerlain by Emilio Pucci Lip Gloss 03 Sparkling Sea:
It has very sparse blue and green glitters and creates a wet sheen on the lips (not as glassy as DiorKiss). (Limited edition for summer 2007.)
DiorKiss 208 Mint Lemonade:
Again, very glassy and reflective. It has some subtle green shimmer. (Limited edition for summer 2007)
All in all, blue lip glosses are not bizarre. If you come across any of them, give it a go. Who knows…you might love it too!
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I love turquoises too, and Dior is a perpetual lip gloss favorite, but I’ve never tried blue gloss. You make a really compelling argument for blue – I’ll be sure to give it a try!
Thanks for leaving a message here, G.G..
Do give it a go and I’ll be interested in knowing what you think!
I didnt know that. I always wondered why there were lip glosses in those colors! Now I might even try blue powders and glosses :)
Hello there,
Do give them a go. You might be surprised by their effect!
Thank you thank you thank you so much for posting this!
I actually came to your blog when Muse from Musings of a Muse mentioned you when I left a comment on her blog whinging about how Versace had left the US. If I’m remembering correctly, you were the one who told her that while it was still in the UK, it was often discounted which probably means that it will soon get the banhammer from life. If you’ve never tried it, go out and get a lipgloss or a lipstick. Me, I love what little I have left.
Now! Before I derail myself even further, I can’t tell you how happy I was to find this post. I’ve been wearing blue lipgloss since I was a little girl (my uncle got a dark ultramarine glitter-filled drugstore gloss when I was eight and the concept of blue just sort of stuck) and yet most people think I’m insane when they see me pull out a blue to reapply it.
I’m sad to say that being the procrastinating idiot that I am, I missed Guerlain’s Sparkling Sea gloss so now I’ll have to get it on the horror that is eBay. But for my love of blue, I’ll do it. I personally adore the effect that blue has against my skin.
Also on my list is Dior’s Addict Plastic Gloss in Wildest Blue. Since Plastic Gloss (I keep wanting to call it Plastic Shine) is more full-coverage, I can only imagine what that would look like. Then again, I’m also the sort who likes the ‘dead in the water for three weeks’ look and routinely leave the house looking like that.
Have you tried Shu Uemura’s Rouge Unlimited in Blue 040? It’s wonderful. The texture is smooth and silky and goes on without any tugging, and the blue is this gorgeous bright cobalt that actually reads as cobalt on the skin. It’s great! As someone who likes blue, I think you’d love it.
And if Versace has a blue next time you pass by it’s counter, absolutely get it. Their blue is what got me started on my makeup collection.
Hello Angelique,
Thank you for stopping by my blog!
Indeed I am the one that told The Muse that we still have Versace cosmetics in the UK.
First of all, I need to tell you that I have Dior’s Wildest Blue! :)(I have not yet talked about this in my blog.) Indeed, it is different from the blue-tinted lip glosses that I talked about in this post. Wildest Blue does give much more “coverage”. When it is applied, the lips do actually look very blue (it is more of a bruise-y blue). I didn’t include it in this post because obviously it does a very different job from the blue-tinted glosses I have.
I sometimes mix (a little bit of) Wildest Blue with some of my other lip glosses to add a bit of blue shimmer…
As for Guerlain’s Sparkling Sea, I’d think it is worth getting since I’d imagine you’ll like it.
I have seen the Shu Uemura one you mentioned. It is indeed a nice cobalt blue. I didn’t get it though. But this is something I might get back to in the future! (I read that it can be mixed with warm-red lipsticks to add depth and coolness, so it should be something interesting for me to try.)
I don’t have any item from the Versace line, but I will definitely have a good look at their products next time I visit their counters! Maybe I will get myself a nice lip gloss!
If I do, you will definitely read about it on my blog later!
Thank you very much for visiting my blog! Hope to hear from you again soon! :)
I wish i have the Guerlain one, the tube is so pretty! I remember my mom went explosive when I broke her Guerlain lipstick when I was little…
The blue gloss I have is Estee Lauder’s peppermint…I love staring at the tube when I got nothing to do…)
Ha, your Dior wildest blue comment sorta remind me of my anna sui lavender lip gel…it “balance the red” so well that (plus with the medium coverage) it make my lip white and ..sick…but I love it nevertheless because the shimmer is really pretty and I might come in handy if I want a neutral lip for smokey eyes(still don’t know how to do it without scaring the crap out of my roomate) …
yeah, as for my anna sui collection (if you remember my comment at your AS foundation case post) , I will definitly let you know when I get to take pictures of all of them (perhaps with a little review of each of the product) , but as for right now…I am still waiting for quite a few items to arrive (I just ordered a bunch of AS eyliner and eye color yesterday…ahem…and today) and I am supposed to be occupied by all those HW and lab reports…
PS. those Sofina cases are pretty too…(Hopefully you won’t get me started on this…but I admit that I am already thinking about Ayura blush on your header…)
Talk to you later!
Mina
Hi Mina,
Well, I remember I went explosive towards myself when I accidentally broke my own YSL lipstick…:)
I remember Estee Lauder’s Peppermint. I didn’t buy it at the time. I think I would now if they brought it back. The shade is very fresh and pretty.
Thank you for your update on your growing Anna Sui collection. I think you now definitely have more Anna Sui items than I do. I’d love to hear more about what you think later on.
I am looking forward to seeing the 2008 design of Sofina Raycious’ powder foundation case. So far I haven’t come across any information, but I will surely post about it on my blog if I see any.
Thank you very much for stopping by again! :)
I, too, love the turquoise, aqua & colors, and I finally found the hard-to-find Thierry Mugler's (the designer behind "Angel" parfum) line of blue makeup items. I ordered the Bleu Glacis Concealer and the Bleu Lip Lacquer. They state that "blue enhances the skin's natural radiance", "blue pigment counters redness and titanium, mica and ultramarine reflect the light" So it is meant to give a flawless- not smurflike- complexion to those of us with redness/rosacea. I will post my experience here as soon as I get them.
For those of you who can't wait for the results, go to http://www.theirrymuglerbeauty.com to order. Note that their are NO product descriptions, color swatches, or ingredients listed on the website, and the site does not work on Mac computers. I don't usually order skin care or cosmetics without first seeing the color & ingredient info, but I took a chance on these.
Hi DR62,
Thank you for your comment!
You might have come across a guest review on my blog on several Thierry Mugler products. The reviewer (who is a friend of mine) very kindly sent me a Bleu Glacis concealer and I agree with what she said in her review.
(If you haven’t come across the review, it is under the Thierry Mugler category under my “Read by Topics” list on my sidebar.)
Thank you for reading my blog and sharing your thoughts! :)
I have a question :)
What do you think about Maybelline Water Shine Liquid lip gloss-colour
Blue Last? It’s blue,though it seems dark to me? So I wonder have anyone gave it a try? Thanks :)
D.
Hi Dfullstop,
I haven't seen the shade, but I will definitely have a look and leave a second reply to you later on!
Thank you very much for your question! :)
hi PJ! i actually have benefit's california kissin' and i love it! i agree on the part where they make the lips look fuller and plump by giving beautiful shine and transparency to the lips. is the diorkiss version still available? i'd love to check it out :)
Hi Coffretgorge,
Benefit's California Kissin' is certainly a nice blue-tinted lip gloss! :)
As I mentioned, all lip glosses in this post are limited editions. I am afraid that they are no longer available.
Thank you very much for stopping by! :)