Glitzy Lips Tried & Tested: All They're, er, Cracked Up to Be?

You couldn’t miss the Glitzy Lips stand at the recent Irish Beauty Show. It was thronged with women of all ages desperate to get their bling on, and the staff told me they carried out more than 1,000 lip foil applications in two days.

Now, I try to be a grown up, elegant lady type, I really do. But the force of my inner magpie is strong, and before I knew it, I was €15 down but the proud owner of an at-home application kit for the hottest new lip craze in town.

What are the directions for unsafe use, we wonder ...?

There are 10 types of foil available including green, blue, silver and multi-coloured, but the reds and pinks seemed the most wearable so I plumped for Pink Couture, the very same colour Katy Perry was rocking at the Grammys. There was a distinct lack of award shows in my calendar but dinner and drinks this Saturday seemed like just the ticket.

Instructions are on the box and, inside, there are only two components: the foil, and the adhesive primer. Simples, right? Er, wrong, I’m somewhat ashamed to report – it actually took me three attempts to get the half-assed result in the pictures!

Primer and the foil roll: use the orange part lipwards!

On my first try, I used the wrong side of the foil. The shiny pink bit goes to the outside, and the orangey backing colour is the part you should fix to your lips. Once I figured that out, I was good to go. Except on my second attempt, the colour refused to transfer, and left just a solitary hot pink speck.

Not enough primer, I reckoned, and lashed it on to my lips before my next go. This time, the colour didn’t fix to the inner part of my lips. And I didn’t get another shot, as himself was tutting and watch checking and bundling me up into my jacket and out into the taxi. I bet that never happens to Katy Perry.

It wasn’t entirely a failure, though. Before he lost patience, himself actually seemed almost impressed. “Hmm, it’s cooler than I thought,” sez he. “If you were going to a rave, perhaps. Or maybe an 18th.” For some reason he was less taken with my wearing it to his brother’s wedding.

I will give it another bash though, as soon as I find the right occasion – although some things are best left to the professionals. And if the Irish Beauty Show was anything to go by, Glitzy Lips will be coming soon to a salon near you. The recommend retail price for a professional application is €25: for my next rave or 18th, I think I just might. What about you?