Clarins Instant Gloss

RRP: €14/$22 (not out in the UK yet, but I'm sure it will be soon)

--What does the promo say?--
"This innovative lip gloss is totally transparent and reacts on contact with the lips instantly transforming their natural colour into a customized shade just for you."

--Packaging--
Pretty innocuous really - while it's different to other brands in the sense that most other gloss tubes are not bright red, within the Clarins brand you wouldn't know this gloss from any other (not sure whether that's good or bad). Can be a little difficult to squeeze the gloss from the tube sometimes.

--Application--
As mentioned above, this is perhaps achieved with some difficulty at times, but just slick this onto your lips and you're good to go. It definitely doesn't gloop all over the place, though - you just might have to squeeze the tube with a little more force than you're usually accustomed to.

--Scent--
Again, as with the previous Clarins gloss that I tried, it's a little soapy. Shame.

--Texture/consistency--
Near on perfect: not sticky, not runny, and feels encouragingly smooth.

--Appearance--
Initially all you get is the transparent high shine that you expect from Clarins' lip glosses. Give it a few minutes though, and you get a sort of half-matte, half-shiny, definitely there dusky rose pink colour in the gloss. The colour also lasts way beyond the shine factor, which is interesting. Looks very natural and will fit in with just about any look no matter what your skin tone, so definitely very diverse and adaptable. Good for just about anything from a day at work to a romantic date.

--Longevity--
Interestingly, as said above, the general glossiness lasts averagely, but the colour itself stays the distance, without drying out your lips.

--Value for money--
At the same price (and perhaps cheaper than) a Benefit lip gloss, I think you're getting very good value here, even if the colour change isn't *instant* and generally isn't as good/as dramatic as Thierry Mugler's colour-changing lip colour. You don't need to use very much at a time and the product generally delivers on its promise. A good solid product.