Vincent Longo Cushion Lips SPF 20

I am one of those people who cannot exist without lip balm, I carry one with me everywhere and am using it all throughout the day and night.  My lips are on the larger side (which I love) and get dry so very easily so they chapp very easily in the fall and winter months so I need some type of lip balm even more than I normally do.  Over the years, I have tried many products that have worked well and many that have not done a thing to help my chapped lips.  I am currently in love with my tube of Fresh Lip Sugar and have not had any major issues with my lips since I started the tube last month.  I might be content right now but trust me, it took a long time and many errors for me to get to this point.  One of the errors was the Vincent Longo Cushion Lips SPF 20 lip conditioner...

I first tried this product a bit ago and initally liked the results so I ordered a tube of it.  It worked well at first but couldn't sustain any type of hydration.  I will admit that I made a mistake when I purchased this product, I normally prefer thick lip balms and this thin gel formula is not what I normally use.  Maybe I expected too much from this product but I found that it did not perform up to my high standards for lip conditioners.  

"Cushion Lips SPF 20 is a gel conditioner that adheres to lips and maintains lip moisture for hours, while helping shield lips from the damaging effects of UVA and UVB rays.  The unique golden apple colour compliments the skin tone of all lips, accentuating the natural-flesh undertones.  Use Cushion Lips SPF 20 as part of your beauty routine, while traveling in flight, when lips are exposed to the environment, as well as for professional wear.  Complete UVA protection plus powerful UVB filtering.  Amazing lip comfort and long-lasting conditioning.  Universal complimentary colour.  Perfect travel-size, on-the-go lip refresher."

The Vincent Longo website advises the following to receive optimal use from the product, "Apply to dehydrated, chapped, and irritated lips as needed, and prior to environmental exposure.  For the more natural look, and as part of your bedtime beauty routine, apply a small amount of Bang Bang Lip Volume Lotion to clean, bare lips.  Wait 15 seconds and follow with Cushion Lips SPF 20.  You will encourage firm, plump lips and drench your lips in shiny conditioners for the softest, most kissable lips imaginable."

I first tried this product a few years ago when this brand was still carried at Bath and Body Works, I tried it on and it worked well initially but the store was sold out of the product so I wasn't able to buy the product.  I remembered that I liked it intially so when I was browsing on the Vincent Longo website several months ago, I added a tube of it to my cart thinking that I would still love it. 

The product works well when it is first applied, however this product cannot sustain the same type of results that it provides when first applied.  When I first applied it, it instantly hydrated my lips however I didn't see any type of plumping effect (not that I really would if I am going to be very honest).  The hydrated effect lasted for about an hour then faded away and I needed to reapply the product.  This cycle just continued over and over again for the next few days until I had the product finished up in slightly under two weeks.  The fact that I had to keep reapplying is the reason that I would not order this product again, Smith's Rose Salve works better and lasts much longer.  I felt like I was just throwing money away on this product since the result never lasted more than an hour or two.  Also I never saw the point of Longo making a fuss about the shade of the product, my lips never looked any different with the use of this product then when I wasn't using it...

This product would have been better for me if it would have lasted longer, there is no point in me using a lip conditioner that I have to keep repallying to reap any benefits of...

photo courtesy of Vincent Longo