I'm a Beauty Editor Who Tries Hundreds of Products a Month, and I Used Every Last Drop of This $13 Lip Gloss

I have absolutely no nostalgia for the early 2000s. The movement is baffling to me. All I can think of are long layered tank tops, walking into walls in dimly lit Hollister stores, and the soapy taste of Jessica Simpson’s supposedly “edible” beauty products. So the lip gloss revival has mostly been lost on me. I do not want my lips covered in a sticky candy-flavored blob that transports me back to the dark days of puberty. 

Not to mention, I try dozens (if not hundreds) of beauty products every month. The ones I like make it into my routine for weeks or months, but not usually long enough to finish them completely — there are simply too many good beauty products out there. But there are a few exceptions to this, and one of them is About-Face’s Light Lock lip gloss.

Shop now: $13; aboutface.com and ulta.com

I was recently applying my new favorite Hard Candy lip liner and wanted to go with a subtly contrasting Light Lock lip gloss in Blame Game (‘90s nostalgia I understand) when I couldn’t get enough pigment out of the tube to adequately cover my lips. This has not happened to me possibly ever but at least not in recent memory. 

So what is it about Light Lock that had me use it up entirely? The color is somewhere between sheer and opaque but not milky, which I need to stress because I absolutely detest and look horrible in milky, opaque lip gloss. It provides visible color, but it’s silky and more subtle than lipstick.

Then there’s the texture and finish which is the make or break feature for me. It’s silky, thin and non-sticky like an oil or a balm, without being too liquid or runny. It’s still shiny and lustrous like a traditional gloss, however. You won’t experience any of the tackiness that keeps lips momentarily attached when smacking them. 

Another winning aspect of this formula is the intense hydration and nourishment it provides. I am the type of person who has some sort of lip balm or treatment on at all times. There is at least one (though more likely three) product in every purse, tote, or jacket. With most lip makeup, I have to apply an added layer of hydration under or on top, but not when I use About-Face’s Light Lock Lip Gloss, thanks to the nourishing coconut oil in its formula. 

Unlike a similar lip oil I adore alongside the entirety of the internet, it’s only $13. Head to About-Face and Ulta to shop Light Lock Lip Gloss.