Because we really need more lip gloss

Here's a challenge: How many tubes of lip gloss do you have, including the ones in your makeup drawer, cabinet, in the emergency stash in your office, in your car and in each and every purse, handbag and evening clutch? If you're me, you can't really tell. There's always another one hidden somewhere. You rarely get to actually finish a tube before purchasing another one and you're always (always!) in the market for something new.

Carol's Daughter Candy Paint glosses don't look like something new: The tubes are identical to Lancome's Juicy Tubes, and the concept of high-shine gloss with plenty of shimmer isn't a revelation, either. The exciting part about the product is the promise of being easy on the lips and providing extra nourishment through ingredients like shea butter and grape seed oil.

The glosses, although just a bit gritty from the shimmer particles, do deliver when it comes to comfort. They coat the lips lightly without being sticky or heavy, and feel very pleasant. I'm happy not having to report any incident of hair or food sticking to my lips.

I'm not too fond of the sugary candy smell, but it fades almost instantly, so I don't really mind. The shine and shimmer are very intense, to the point they'd appeal to a younger crowd. I'd still wear them happily for a night out and in the summer, just not for an elegant fall look. Another issue is the lasting power, which is quite poor. They fade within 90 minutes or a cup of tea, whichever comes first. However, they leave the lips feeling soft and healthy, so reapplying feels like you're doing yourself a nice favor.

The colors I tried are the ones you see in the picture above: Bossy (bright bronze shimmer) is less pigmented than it looks. Basically, it's an almost clear gloss with lots of gold particles. It looks great over other colors, but I'm keeping it in my evening bag. It's just too much for an autumn day. The second one, Grown and Sexy, is a light rose with gold shimmer. Somehow, the natural rose color tones down the golden flakes and make it much more wearable. It's pretty by itself and doesn't need a layer of color underneath. This one goes right into my day bag.

The glosses are available directly from the company's website or from Sephora (who have all the colors in stock, including the ones missing from Carol's Daughter current inventory, though as you can see, it's not really that exclusive). Speaking of Sephora, now until Sunday you can get free shipping on orders $25 and up, using the code FREESHIP25.