Day 25: Pots, Pans, Brushes, Sponges And Sticks!
by MUA's Cavewoman

From the title of this article, you might think that The Cavewoman has taken a break from her Lip Service reviews, and has headed to the local hardware store or HomeGoods! I assure you that this is not the case. I'm thinking lippies, and in particular, lip glosses.

In terms of packaging, containers, and applicators, the options are myriad. Lip glosses come in all types of shapes and sizes and formulas, with brush tips, sponge tips, or clicky-pens in which the gloss is forced through a sponge with tiny holes. There are pots in which the user will dip either a finger or a separate lip brush. Or squeezy tubes or clicky-pens with sponges or brushes. Pair these packaging and applicator styles with different formulas, and the options are almost infinite!


I happen to prefer the brush applicator in the traditional gloss tube. When I heard that Bourjois was being pulled from the shelves and the website of the Sephora company, I was so disappointed. These were my favorite glosses of all! With lovely shimmer and gorgeous colors, I scoured around to find more of the 3-D and the Nudes. Dior Addict uses the same brush applicator, and their color and shimmer is indeed addicting. You will spot two old Bonne Bell Lip Shox in the photo, too, with their candy-sweet smell and kaleidoscope glitter. I wish they'd re-launch these. Start chatting with gloss lovers about Bobbi Brown's lip gloss brush applicator and you'll be entering into a lively discussion. I've been told that the way the brush splays out after a few uses is actually part of the design, it's intended to splay. I personally hate it.
I don't even have one to show you.


The sponge applicator, and it's slant-shaped sister, the doe-foot, are the applicators you'll find in most glosses today. From the upscale Chanel Glossimers to the edgy offerings of MAC Cosmetics Lipglass, and on to the drugstore lines of L'Oreal and Revlon, you'll find all sorts of sizes and shapes of the sponge-tips. I don't mind them, but I don't like them either. I want more application than these tips offer. Dip and apply, dip again and apply again, the sponge doesn't seem to put on enough product for me. The worst of the sponge tips, in my humble opinion, is the bent-angle, pierced-center doe-foot of Lancome. All that pretty color in the tube, but no way to get it out? I resorted to dipping a disposable brush in the Lancome gloss in order to extract the product! Those doe-foot applicators bring almost nothing out of the tube.
Lancome, it's time to go back to the drawing board.

Glosses in squeeze tubes are handy, but can be a bit messy. I usually find myself squeezing out a tad onto the back of my hand, and then dipping a lip brush into the gloss in order to apply. Some gloss users will just apply directly from the tube, and the slant-tips that come with these glosses is a good, practical design. This application is fine for sheer glosses, but if there's much pigment, there's the chance of uneven application. For on-the-go, in-your-purse, portable gloss, a gloss pencil (bring along a sharpener!) is handy and practical. I don't know of too many of these, but the Paul & Joe in the photo is a pretty one. L'Oreal used to make these, too. Again, I would love to see the return of their pencil style glosses.

Pots and pans are popular containers for glosses, too. Little cute jars, elegant compacts, and even palette system pop-ins (the new Bobbi Browns!) are fine for the gloss user who doesn't mind dipping in a finger or a brush. From super-creamy pot glosses like Nars, to the heavier, thicker, and more dense formulas like Prescriptives and Armani Lip Wax, it's just a matter of choosing something that works for you.

Revlon seems to be discontinuing (oh, no, not the D-word again!) their Lip Glide glosses, which were clicky-pens with the slanted sponge. The sponge had teeny holes in it, and by clicking, the product comes up through the holes. I really liked this style of gloss, and found some similar styles at Too Faced. Their Glamour Gloss is beautiful, but for shimmer beyond your wildest dreams, go for the Sparkle Glamour Gloss. It's positively an aurora-borealis effect!


But how about something completely different, and yet so familiar? How about a gloss that comes in a regular, twist-up, bullet-shape lipstick style? I recently discovered the new Clarins Joli Rouge Brillant Transparent and was totally surprised to see a shiny, sparkly gloss in a lipstick-style tube. I have to admit that it was the color, a beautiful mauvey, cool-toned pink, that had me stop at the counter when I saw the display. One swipe on the hand was all it took for me to cave on this gloss. I wish I could capture in a photo the beautiful effect of the new Clarins. You'll just have to go see for yourself.

Tell us about your favorite glosses, applicators, and any fab finds you love!