I love the retro feel of this little Givenchy pot. The lid looks sleek, but the bright blue plastic is very eighties, especially with the pink balm inside! As usual, when I first used this I ploughed ahead and slapped it on without reading what it was supposed to do. I had really sore lips, so I applied it all around my mouth in a beautiful thick layer – the relief! It was amazing. Soft, luscious, instantly soothing. I popped up to the post office to send some parcels off and gave the woman behind the counter evils because she was blatantly giving me evils first! She started it.

Anyway. When I got back home, imagine my absolute horror when I looked in the bathroom mirror to find that the skin around my mouth had turned a vibrant pink! I looked like somebody who had painted a clown mouth on as a joke! There’s also an outpatients unit just down from the post office where the slightly unhinged people go, so the woman behind the counter obviously thought that I was one of them. I can’t ever show my face in there again, but I want to – I want to go in shouting like Patsy from Ab Fab, saying “it was GIVENCHY darling! GIVENCHY!”

So now you know – this gorgeous little pot magique turns lips (and cheeks) a pretty pink. The vibrancy of said pink depends on your skin colour to begin with, apparently. It “harmonizes with every skin tone for a customized, radiant and fresh flush of colour”. I really like these ‘one shade fits all’ formulations, but I’d be interested to see how the shades vary on different skin tones. Has anyone had bad experiences with them?

It’s a big tick for the Givenchy balm – even if it was transparent I’d still love it for the lip-softening effect. I’m not so keen on using it on my cheeks – it just feels wrong – but if you don’t mind the balmy texture then you will no doubt love the slightly shimmering flush.

Givenchy Hydra Sparkling Magic Lip & Cheek Balm is £20.50 from HouseofFraser.co.uk