I promised a slightly more in-depth review of Dior’s new Ultra Gloss but then realised, re-reading my last mention, that I had already summed it up pretty well. This is gloss with attitude – a mirror-like shine and a finish that’s a little tougher than usual. Like the glazing on a doughnut, rather than a wishy-washy gelatinous sort of covering. It would be a very glamorous doughnut, of course, because this is Dior – no jam blobbing out of the side or hundreds and thousands stuck to the top.

Despite its slightly toughened exterior, Ultra Gloss is still a gloss, so it likes to slide around a bit if you eat and drink and whatever else, but that’s the trade-off with glosses; you get all of your lip imperfections smoothed over and an instantly plumper pout, the gloss gets to go travelling around your face. Weeee.

Dior Ultra Gloss is as non-sticky as you’d reasonably expect from a high-end offering; gone, I think, are the days when they were like glue, catching every last midge or speck of passing debris so that your lips resembled one of those chunks of amber with the fossilised insects inside it. Most brands worth their salt seem to have perfected the non-sticky lip-shine formulation – still slightly tacky to the touch, but nowhere near the fly-paper level of stickiness we endured in the nineties.

There’s a good dose of colour in the Ultra Gloss for those who like that “patent leather” finish rather than a glassy or translucent effect; but it’s not so pigmented that you need a magnifying mirror and a spare half an hour to get your lip-line perfected. Easy to touch up, easy to remove, just a lovely daytime hi-shine for those who want to add a dash of glamour. Nova (pictured on the right in the top picture and on my lips in the photo above) is my favourite shade – looks great with sunkissed skin and is slightly peachy, not too bubblegummy pink. There are loads of shades in the line-up, but I must say that I tend to avoid very bright or high-maintenance colours when it comes to glosses – I just can’t be bothered with the upkeep!

You can find Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Sensational Mirror Shine (and…relax) at Escentual here – it’s £23.