Lovely Lip Review: Gabriel Color Lip Gloss Treatment 8 in Venus

Gabriel Cosmetics was conceived and developed by Gabriel DeSantino as a result of a life of observing his grandmother, a naturopath and herbalist who relied heavily on ingredients from the sea when creating her homeopathic cosmetics. As DeSantino grew up and later entered the cosmetics industry, he noted how young and unlined her skin remained. As a result of his observations, he teamed up with a European Bio-Chemist with 30 years of developing botanical formulations, and Gabriel Cosmetics, Inc. was born.

Gabriel Cosmetics offers both skin care and color. The skin care line has been in development since 1991. Products are tested on a panel of 150 people with a wide range of ages, skin types, and backgrounds. Thus far, there have been no contraindications or negative effects noted with the products. According to Gabriel, their products are made of 100% natural ingredients, with no synthetic chemicals or animal by-products. They are environmentally safe and contain a higher percentage of active ingredients than other similar products.

Now, when I purchased the Gabriel Color Lip Gloss Treatment 8, I knew none of this. I was simply at Whole Foods, and the line was recommended by the manager of the department--plus, the glosses are gorgeous. That particular day I was looking for a more toned-down look than my typical red, so I chose Venus, a slightly rosy mocha creme.

Gabriel Color Lip Glosses are formulated with Jojoba, Chamomile, Aloe and other conditioning plant extracts to create an extremely moisturizing, creamy gloss that lasts for several hours and has good opacity. It's almost more a liquid lipstick than a mere gloss, which I love. My biggest complaint with glosses is often that they are too sheer, with too little color payoff. Not so with Venus. These glosses also contain a non-chemical sunscreen with an SPF of 8, which is an added bonus.

The Gabriel Color Lip Gloss Treatments apply with a doe-foot applicator, as shown below:

Venus is  a lovely, very wearable color. When I compared it to another Gabriel Color Gloss (Mocha), it appeared to have a bit of rose. However, on me it comes off as a fairly straightforward brown, which is fine.

Here's a swatch:

On my lips, the rose undertone fairly disappears, leaving a pretty and very wearable brown tone:

I like to wear this gloss on my more barefaced days, as it doesn't draw undue attention to the lips, yet feels wonderful and makes them appear shiny and plump. The gloss is easy to apply and on me lasts for several hours when I'm simply talking or drinking. As with all glosses, it disappears once food starts to enter the picture.

The ingredients include plenty of natural and beneficial oils and extracts including Sesame Seed Oil, Glycerine, Shea Butter, Apricot Kernel Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Sea Fennel Extract, Matricaria Flower Extract, and St. John's Wort Extract.

Bottom Line: Gabriel Color Lip Gloss Treatment 8 is a great, inexpensive, natural product that I can really stand behind. I like the ingredients and the color, and performance is good as well. I plan to purchase some additional colors next time I hit Whole Foods.