PicoBlog

I've wanted lip fillers since I first found out they could be so subtle as to be undetectable. I remember remarking to a friend that I was envious of her full pout, and she told me, "Honey, I have filler. These aren't my natural lips."

In the following years, it became a more common, or simply more openly talked about, treatment. But to this day, I still haven't gotten the semi-permanent procedure done. My trepidation comes down to a few things — I can't justify the price, and even if I could for a one-off treatment, fillers are semi-permanent and have to be redone every three to six months. I simply cannot open that financial Pandora's box. I am also the poster child of rare side effects, so it makes me anxious, even if it's a widely vetted and FDA-approved procedure.

So when Ourself launched its hero Lip Filler, I was desperate to get my hands on it. Thankfully, last month I was given the product as a gift, and began using it immediately. Now, I am thrilled to report that the results speak for themselves.

Left: Day one. Right: A month later.

I am so dedicated to my quest for full lips that even on nights when I am too exhausted to do the rest of my skincare routine, I will force myself to coat my lips in at least two layers of Lip Filler.

My lips look incredible! My top lip is where I've seen the most improvement. It looks a little bit bigger — like it comes up higher on my face, and my bottom lip is fuller, too. I generally feel like I now have a pout rather than a mouth. It's a small semantic difference, but my lips now feel and look luscious.

I have tried temporary lip plumpers before but the payoff is too short-lived.My lips go berserk with a tingling sensation and I have Chloe Cherry lips for about an hour before it all goes back to normal.

Shop now: $145; ourself.com

The difference between Ourself's Lip Filler and temporary plumpers is that this is a treatment with long term benefits. When I first apply it, I do feel a slight tingling, but like any other skincare product, it takes time for noticeable change. I really started to notice a better pout after two weeks of twice-daily use.

The $145 price tag is a lot for a topical product, especially when you compare it to something like Too Faced's $29 Lip Injection, but at the same time, it's a bargain compared to the $500 to $1000 repeated cost for professional filler.

Ourself's Lip Filler bridges the gap between topical and procedural thanks to a proprietary ingredient, Intide, and subtopical skincare technology. Created by a team of biochemists, engineers, and doctors, the science behind Intide-packed, subtopical skin care is quite heady, but after speaking with the brand, I've got the gist of it.

Intide is Ourself's patent-pending "intelligent peptide," which was created to better navigate the complexities of the epidermis by penetrating the skin to deliver its collagen-boosting formula. The other part of the equation is Ourself's "subtopical" technology, which encapsulates the hyaluronic acid molecules into different sizes so that they can penetrate into the deeper, beyond-superficial layers of skin. The combination means a plumping lip treatment with long-term effects.

I have been using Ourself's treatment for a month and I'm so glad I tried it because it's the entry-level alternative to professional-grade lip filler I've been hoping for. Read more about the mind-boggling technology and get your hands on your own Lip Filler at Ourself.

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