So, I wanted to share three of my favorites that I’ve been using over the past couple of months.

1) Bare Escentuals Buxom Lips (Margarita): Definitely my new favorite lip plumper. This mineral lip gloss instantly plumps up my super-thin lips with only a slight cooling tingle. I love that it cools rather than warming the lips like other plumpers I’ve tried. And the results last for hours. Features antioxidant vitamins A and E to help keep lips soft and protected. All-natural collagen-boosting ceramide repairs damage and encourages new collagen production.

2) Velana K Lip Gloss (Jennifer): Don’t let the pink tube fool you, this color actually only gives a hint of color and lots of shine. Smooth, super-moisturizing and only slightly sticky, this gloss makes my lips feel amazing. It’s like I can feel it hydrating and soothing. No doubt, it’s due to its quality ingredients. Vitamins A and C provide free radical protection. Golden seaweed moisturizes and protects against photoaging. Shea butter eliminates dryness.

3) Senna Sparkling Lip Lacquer (Bling Bling): This golden gloss provides the perfect amount of sparkle and shine while letting my natural lip color show through. Thick and slightly sticky, it keeps my lips looking full and beautiful for hours. Although some women (and especially men) complain about a sticky lip gloss, it’s important to understand that in order to last, you need that extra thickness.

Got a gloss you love? Please share.

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Fashion Pulse Daily tests (and loves) the new Burt’s Bees Super Shiny Lip Gloss in Juicy Peach — find out why!

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In an industry so large and powerful as beauty, you would think the shot-callers would have no problem getting people to update their karma standards to easy street. Since testing beauty products on animals is less and less necessary, it’s a no-brainer to go cruelty-free for product testing. Yet there are still companies that hold out on this common sense approach to healthy beauty and living.

It’s obvious which side BeautySchool.com is on. So we’re just going to begin a list of companies and beauty products that are 100% cruelty-free for beauty salons and beauty schools to seek out. Please comment and add your own suggestions for cruelty-free beauty products that salons and schools can use!

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Here’s our first 5 of what we hope to be a long and lively list. Tell us your favorites!

Line We Like: Aveda
Product We Like: Aveda Witch Hazel Hair Spray
Holds light, less frizz, better shine – can’t lose!

(Jen’s note – I just happen to have an exclusive offer from my Aveda rep – Receive free shipping and a free sample of NEW Sun Care After Sun Hair Masque with your Aveda.com order of $25 or more. Use offer code BUNNY79. Valid through 8/2/09.)

Aveda With Hazel Hairspray

Line We Like: Urban Decay
Product We Like: Stoned Poison Ring
For the light-travel nighttime excursions, flip one of these finger jewels into action that holds your fave lip gloss colors inside.

Urban Decay Stoned Poison Ring

Line We Like: Bumble & Bumble
Product We Like: Bb Tonic Lotion
A lovely lather of vitamins, herbs and Tea Tree Oil that can prep that nasty bedhead mass in no time flat.  

(Jen’s note – I just went to get my hair done today at a local salon that carries only Bumble & Bumble, and my stylist used this on me. I loved it, so I had to buy some! You can use it on wet or dry hair to freshen up and smooth between washings or before styling.)

Bumble & Bumble Bb Tonic

Line We Like: Mama Mio
Product We Like: Creme de la Creme Moisturizing Wash
Makes that quick shower feel like a marathon oil-rich bath filled with creamy, cleansing bubbles.

Line We Like: Auromere
Product We Like: Auromere Ayurvedic Hand & Body Lotion
Cold-pressed oils that are infused with 13 Ayurvedic herbal extracts traditionally prescribed for skin preservation, conditioning and muscle tone.

Auromere Ayurvedic Lotion

My favorite is the Princess shade (a light sparkly brown/mauve), which doesn’t really fit with its name since its spicy-cinnamon scent and flavor gives this gloss quite a kick. Immediately upon application I can feel the product plumping. Not quite the stinging or swelling that some of the stronger lip plumpers offer, but definitely an invigorating tingle that I appreciate since it reminds me that it’s working.

My lips look fuller within seconds (even my husband will agree, although still not as full as he would like). But they’re plenty big for me. If I’m going to wear a lip gloss, I might as well wear one that’s actually doing something. I mean, who likes a lazy lip gloss? This one is definitely a hard worker. It fills in lines and wrinkles, peptides provide long-lasting plumping benefits, and it increases moisture retention, making sure your lips stay soft and moist for hours.

To order LipTox, call Mindy Shear Makeup at 1-866-693-8056.

Chiffon Bare Minerals Lip Gloss

I’m not really a lip gloss kinda girl, but I’ve tried a few glosses lately that I think are worth mentioning.

The first is Bare Minerals 100% Natural Lip Gloss by Bare Escentuals. I tried Chiffon, a sparkly sand color, and Sugar Cookie, a golden pink sparkly color. These glosses are actually pigmented so highly that you can wear them alone, or you can paint them on over lipstick or lip liner for a sexier look.

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Sugar Cookie Bare Minerals Lip Gloss

I really like that they come with a brush (as opposed to a sponge tip applicator) for a perfect application every time. The Bare Minerals gloss is only slightly sticky (and I have a very low tolerance for sticky) and tastes like vanilla – yum!

The best thing about these glosses are the good-for-you ingredients:  sunflower seed oil, jojoba oil, sesame seed oil, cupuacu butter, pomegranate oil, vitamin E and honeysuckle flower extract.

Burt's Bees Super Shiny Lip Gloss

The second lip gloss I’ve tried and really liked is Super Shiny Lip Gloss by Burt’s Bees. I bought the trio pack – Nectar Nude, Sweet Pink and Pucker Berry. These glosses have a nice, fruity taste and are not sticky at all. However, they have slightly less color and sparkle than the Bare Minerals glosses.

Burt’s Bees also has natural, good-for-you ingredients such as: sweet almond oil, sunflower seed oil, soybean oil and vitamin E.

Go out there and get your shine on!

Colorescience Lip Serum in my favorite color, Orange U Sweet

I think the last time I bought a tube of lipstick was in high school. With my thin lips, lipsticks have just never looked right. That’s why I’m a big fan of gloss. The sheer color and shine usually makes my lips appear fuller, and definitely more kissable.

One of my favorite glosses for the past few years has been Colorescience’s Crystalescience Lip Serum. Whew, that’s a mouthful. But as its name suggests, “gloss” doesn’t really accurately describe everything this product does.

Formulated with skin-improving ingredients, like peptides and vitamin E, this lip gloss is actually a plumper and a treatment too.  It moisturizes and reduces wrinkles around the lips. Plus, its coloring is from natural minerals instead of dyes.

I know. It sounds too good to be true. But I really encourage everyone to try it. It feels wonderful on your lips, never sticky. I apply a thin layer when my lips are dry and just need some moisture. Then, when I’m going out or want more color, I apply a couple of coats for a more glossy effect.

I can definitely tell my lips are smoother when I wear it. Not superficially smooth, but actually smoother. And, it has a slight plumping action that gives me the fullness I really need (without stinging). Oh, and did I mention it smells good? I’m not talking fruity lip smackers (although those smells are fun too). I mean pure aromatherapy oils, including tea tree, peppermint, bergamot, sweet orange, and lavender. I actually feel relaxed when I breathe it in. And it gives my breath a nice refreshment.

I’ve racked my brain to think of any drawback about this product, and the only thing I can think of is that it could probably have more sun protection. It does have titanium dioxide, but it doesn’t seem to be enough to protect your lips on a super-sunny day (unless you’re applying it constantly). So, if you are out in the sun, I recommend applying a lip balm with SPF (or my new favorite lip sunscreen that I’ll be reviewing in the next few days).