I’ve tried PC’s Lipscreen (their chapstick with SPF50), and their Lip and Body Treatment Balm, and loved both. I had very high hopes for the booster, and, well. More in my Paula’s Choice Lip Booster review.
The brand
I don’t really have to explain PC, right? I’ve written about their products as long as this blog is old (7plus years), and some of their products have holy grail status for me. (Retinol, Niacinamide, Azelaic Acid…). I’ve also ranked all of their boosters here, and not long after, I actually jumped the gun and ordered the Hyaluronic Acid + Peptide Lip Booster, gimmick or not.
Paula’s Choice Lip Booster review – What is it?
An advanced anti-aging lip treatment that smooths away fine lines and keeps lips looking youthfully full with a powerful blend of moisture-attracting hyaluronic acid, firming peptides and hydrating squalane.
Paula’s Choice
It comes in a squeezy tube with a metal applicator that neither does anyhing for me, nor do I understand it. If your lips are so irritated that you might benefit from that cooling sensation, I honestly think PC’s booster is the wrong product anyway.
Ingredients
Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil (emollient), Diisostearyl Malate (emollient), Hydrogenated Castor Oil/Sebacic Acid Copolymer (emollient polymer/texture enhancer), Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter (emollient), Dipentaerythrityl Tetrabehenate/Polyhydroxystearate (hydration/slip agent), Polyamide-8 (emollient/film-forming agent), Polyglyceryl-3 Beeswax (emulsifier), Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate (emollient/texture enhancer), Ethylhexyl Palmitate (emollient solvent), Triisostearin (skin-conditioning texture enhancer), Squalane (emollient antioxidant), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter (emollient antioxidant), Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate (emollient), Dipalmitoyl Hydroxyproline (hydration), Aqua (hydration), Arginine/Lysine Polypeptide (skin-restoring/hydration), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter Unsaponifiables (skin-replenishing), Tocopherol (vitamin E/antioxidant), Tribehenin (hydration), Palmitic Acid (skin-replenishing), Hydroxystearic Acid (emollient), Sorbitan Isostearate (emulsifier), Trihydroxystearin (hydration), Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil (non-fragrant antioxidant plant oil), Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate (antioxidant), Portulaca Pilosa Extract (antioxidant), muidoS etanorulayH (skin-replenishing/hydration), Lactic Acid (hydration), Sucrose Cocoate (emulsifier), Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 (skin-restoring), Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38 (skin-restoring), Glucomannan (hydration), Sorbic Acid (preservative).
Paula’s Choice
I DO find it a bit sneaky that the product name stresses Hyaluronic Acid, but included is Sodium Hyaluronate, which is the salt of Hyaluronic Acid. Then, we have some peptides, squalene, shea butter and other emollients to make it look glossy and shiny.
Application & Finish
Apply throughout the day as needed and before bedtime. For daytime, always finish with lip sunscreen.
Paula’s Choice
Silly me started to use this one as I’d use chapstick – whenever I felt my lips were dry and needed a bit of moisture. I’m usually not very discriminating and will use whatever is on my desk or in my purse, ranging from balms to glosses to lipsticks. My lips are rather low-maintenance, although I do love a hydrating lip product (and can’t stand matte ones). Honestly, the best thing in lip maintenance for me is a thick layer of panthenol cream every night. Done.
And yes, the application feels nice, and the formula looks glossy, and everything is fine – for about 10 minutes.
Effect
THEN it all goes seriously downhill. This is the first lip product in ages that makes my lips feel drier than before after application. My lips start to feel parched and dry when I can still feel product on my lips, and after using it for a whole day with nothing else, my lips feel dry as hell and look that way. It’s emphatically not as it’s described, but really, really uncomfortable.
It’s supposed to ‘give lips a fuller, younger look. It instantly smooths, softens and visibly diminishes lines on lips’. What it does, instead, is the opposite.
I was flabbergasted. I had no idea what happened, and started to look on the (German) PC site for answers. It gave me one helpful hint: as with any booster, it makes sense to combine it with another product. Consequently, I started to use it under either the PC balm or my regular panthenol cream before bed. And yeah, depending how you frame it, it ‘worked’: I could use it that way without having any averse or unwanted effects. Did it work better in a combo than those products alone? No.
So, in fact, it didn’t give me anything but a superfluous step in my routine. Great!
Paula’s Choice Lip Booster review – worth it?
HELL no. Hard pass on this one. It didn’t even perform basic chapstick effects on me (aka hydration), not speaking of all the additional benefits it promised (‘counteract thinning, fine lines & volume loss’).
I couldn’t find out what my problem is with this one. Squalane usually does nothing for me, and I do know people who experience drier skin when they use hyaluronic acid. I’m not one of them, usually. Other users have spoken about fuller, more rosy lips when they used this one – I’m emphatically not one of them.
Price & Availability
I find it immensely expensive. 10ml are 27€ (0,33oz. for 32$). Do yourself a favour and opt for either the Lipscreen or the Balm. Both are between $12-15 (14-17€), and you won’t regret those.
Please note that this review is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods, or money, for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
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