Sephora lip gloss mostly means Sephora Collection, the in-house line from the French perfume chain, including the Outrageous Plump formulas. I walk through twelve of its lip pieces, from glosses to stains and lacquers.
A Sephora Lip Gloss Made by the Store Itself
Long before Sephora lip gloss was a shelf of its own, Sephora was a French perfume chain, and the perfumery that took over its name built its shops around letting shoppers touch and test. The history is tangled. Business Insider traces it to a launch by the department store group Nouvelles Galeries in 1976, ownership by Boots from 1979, and a 1993 purchase by Dominique Mandonnaud, whose own perfumery, Shop 8, took the Sephora name. A French luxury group bought Sephora in 1997, and its first American store opened in New York in 1998. Building a private label was part of the revival that followed, and Sephora Collection is what it became: the retailer's own line. This edit is that story told in twelve lip pieces. Grid one is all about plump. The Outrageous Plump glosses use peppermint oil, and the Intense version adds chili pepper extract, so expect tingle from a plumping lip gloss that promises the look of fuller lips. The Charm is a limited edition gloss, and Lift and Firm is a balm-textured serum with hyaluronic acid.
Shine without the stick
Grid two goes quiet, in a good way. The Glossed formulas are gel-textured and non-sticky, and the brand says they hydrate for up to 10 hours. Smoothing is the clear lip gloss of the group, with a petal applicator and a mirror finish. Icy Shine is a jelly-textured gloss in translucent pastel shades with fine pearls and a fresh, minty feel. Hydrating Gloss Balm is the cushiony one, a sheer baby pink with 13 percent shea butter, according to the brand, which it says can moisturize for up to 24 hours. The Gloss Balm Trio pairs Pink Satin and Mauve Cashmere with Latte Lace, a limited beige-taupe. I like this grid because every piece is easy to wear without a mirror. Try this: wear the balm at home first and the clear gel over lipstick, so you learn how much shine you actually like before you leave the house with it.
The rest of the lip drawer
The last grid is the rest of the lip drawer. Oil Infusion is a lip oil with a fruity scent. Peach carries rosy shimmer, Cherry is a sheer red, Dragon Fruit a sheer pink and Blackberry a sheer purple. Totally Juicy is a jelly-like stain that glides on like gloss and dries to a stay-put tint, in this case a bright burgundy that builds from sheer. About That Shine is a lacquer lipstick with prismatic pigments that the brand says reflect light more intensely than traditional pearls. Then there is Pro Lip Brush number 85, a tapered synthetic brush with a precision point. The brand also calls it a lip gloss applicator, and the flat side fills while the tip sharpens the line. What I would skip is swiping the stain or lacquer straight onto dry lips. Buff away flakes first with a damp cloth, or the color grabs every patch and you look at every patch all afternoon.
What a house line can do
I like it when a big name gets to have opinions. Sephora spent its early years proving that people want to try things before they choose them, and its own line reads like a place to try every finish without a commitment. Plump and tingle, clear jelly, a soft balm, an oil, a stain, a lacquer, a brush. Pick the finish you keep circling back to, then let the rest of the drawer catch up. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Lip Oil Replaced My Lip Gloss and How One Clear Pot Became a Whole MAC Lip Gloss Family.
