FAMOUS' Editorial Assistant and resident guinea pig Sophie Penhallow turns super sleuth and sorts the best from the rest in the complicated world of beauty products.

Sick of Angelina having all the fun? Want to find out what you can use to make your lips miraculously expand? Me too. That's why I've tried out three of the most talked about lip plumpers on the market so you can find out which is best for you – and hopefully get Angie's trademark pout in the process.*

Sophie xx

*Brad Pitt not included.

SOPHIE'S PICKS

Napoleon Perdis Love Bite Lip Plump, $25 (1800 814 572)

For starters, this gloss tastes like gingerbread cookies and has a sheer pink tint that leaves your lips with a shimmering yet natural-looking sheen. Add to that the cute packaging and a reasonable price and you've got a great gift for a gloss-obsessed girlfriend.

Sting Factor: The capsicum pepper and cinnamon in this gloss gives it a bit of a kick to stimulate and swell lips, but the soothing menthol and smoothing jojoba offer a bit of relief. More subtle than the rest, this gloss is probably suited for those who don't want to feel like their lips have just wandered into a bee's nest.

Freeze 24-7 PlumpLips Ice Sticks in WindChill, $85 (1800 004 507)

This might seem a bit pricey for a lip gloss but if you're happy to spend the big bucks then this little gem is definitely worth it. Not only is it a plumper and a gloss but it also comes in a range of different shades so you can have a bit of extra colour in your life too. I happened to randomly choose a rather garish shade of orange (which looked a bit scary from the outside) but which actually turned out to be the loveliest colour and suited my fair complexion perfectly. Oh and if you're still not sold, it also smells like strawberry wafers. Yummo.

Sting Factor: Containing Retinol and Menthol, this gloss causes a slight burning sensation but not in a bad way – more like the feeling you get when you've had a few too many Kettle chilli chips. It also causes a tingling feeling around the outside edge of your lips making them feel as though they are actually expanding, which hopefully they are!

Sally Hansen Lip Inflation, $14.50 (1800 251 010)

Cheap as chips and with a bite to make me think this is definitely the choice for hard-core plumpists, Sally Hansen's Lip Inflation ticks all the right boxes. This stuff isn't just your average gloss with a bit of spice thrown in – this is as close to restylane as you're gonna get! Although the taste – a medicinal cinnamon flavour – was a bit much for me (note to self: next time use sparingly), this gave the greatest glossy sheen and lasted a very long time. My lips began to have a mind of their own and at one point, even seemed to be slowly curling outwards – not in a crazy Jocelyn Wildenstein way, but more of a Scarlett Johansson circa Lost In Translation kind of way. Or at least that's what I like to tell myself...

Sting Factor: Ok so this was definitely the tingliest of them all, with the effects feeling like a mixture of peppermint toothpaste and a dab of wasabi. Not for wussies but definitely worth it.

CELEB PICKS

Emily Deschanel (Bones) – "I love Too Faced Intensive Plumping Lip Mask. It's the closest thing you'll get to Angelina Jolie. It colours your lips too."

Scarlett Johansson's makeup artist Matthew Van Leeuwen uses a wet wash cloth to exfoliate her lips with horizontal strokes. This increases circulation and temporarily plumps up lips. Then he applies gloss for the finishing touch.

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