Today I wanted to do a beauty post to talk about the similarities and differences between two Elizabeth Arden lipsticks –  the new Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Ultra lipstick and the recently-discontinued Elizabeth Arden Plump Perfect lipstick.

Last time we talked about lipsticks I was trying to get my hands on the Elizabeth Arden Plump Perfect lipstick to find out how it compared to other plumping products that I had reviewed.  I ordered one on Amazon and was super excited for it to arrive.

Due to a set of weird co-incidences, I had to send it off to get it tested to make sure it really was a genuine product.  In the meantime, I tried to buy another one from Boots because I was stoked to get this lipstick and I wanted it NOW.

Due to another set of bizzarre events, Boots did not send me the Plump Perfect lipstick, they actually sent me the Ceramide Ultra lipstick.  I told them, they apologized, and then sent me the exact same wrong lipstick again.  So I gave up on trying to get what I ordered and decided to just use the Ceramide Ultra lipstick instead.

The Plump Perfect lipstick that I’d originally bought on Amazon then came back, confirmed as genuine, and I thought to myself, why not do an article comparing these two lipsticks, I’m sure loads of people want to know whether the new one is anything like the discontinued (but still available on Amazon) version.  Boots claims to stock the Plump Perfect lipstick but as you can see, it’s extremely likely you’ll end up with the Ceramide Ultra lipstick if you try to get one from them.

Here’s my detailed comparison:

1. Packaging:  The Plump Perfect is in a thicker, plastic gold-coloured tube.  The Ceramide Ultra lipstick comes in this beautiful (slimmer) golden tube that just makes you feel like a queen when you get it out of its silver box (I keep mine in its box).
2. Colour payoff:  The Ceramide Ultra has (very slightly) more colour payoff but there’s really not much difference between them for this.   You have to go over the Plump Perfect a few times to get a similar colour payoff.
3. Shade: Since I couldn’t get the exact same shade, I’m comparing the shade “Sugar” in Ceramide Ultra Lipstick with “Perfect Bare” in the Plump Perfect.  The main difference in these shades is that Perfect Bare was a very sparkly brown lipstick whereas the Sugar colour is more matte/satin with slightly more of a pink base.  This doesn’t really make a difference to how they look on my face because I’m neutral toned, but it’s worth knowing for the 90% of you who are more warm or cool toned.

   

4. Texture: The Plump Perfect lipstick feels slightly rougher, or more solid, than the Ceramide Ultra lipstick.
5. Weight: They’re both 3.5g or 0.12oz.
6. Duration: The colour was less long lasting on the Ceramide Ultra – but I like to take my lippie off when I eat and drink and reapply it afterwards so I prefer it to be easy to remove (unless it’s a longwear lip stain type thing in which case it needs to stay PUT), so if you want a slightly longer lasting lipstick go for the Plump Perfect.

   

7. Plumping: The thing that really swayed me towards the Ceramide Ultra lipstick was that it was more plumping than the Plump Perfect lipstick. I wore it non-stop for the first two weeks I had it, then I stopped wearing it after I found out it was the wrong product, and my lips stayed pretty plump for several days after I discontinued it. My top lip, especially, really looked better than I’ve ever seen it. Usually I have trouble trying to plump my top lip that when I plump it, it tends to stick out more but doesn’t seem to fill downwards, which is where I want it to go. With the Ceramide Ultra Lipstick I was really impressed that it managed to get my top lip to fill out. When it turned out Boots still couldn’t get my order right, so I didn’t have to return the first Ceramide Ultra lipstick they sent me (I sent back the unopened one instead), I was so happy to start using the Ceramide Ultra again like you would NOT believe, I just totally fell in love with it.

   

   

8. Moisture: Another thing that made me fall in love with the Ceramide Ultra lipstick was that it was just so moisturizing compared to the Plump Perfect.  Usually after wearing lipstick my lips are fairly dried out, and the Plump Perfect was no exception, but the Ceramide Ultra Lipstick seemed to have a balmy moisturizing effect on my lips and I noticed a LOT less dry skin while I was using this lipstick.

Verdict: Surprisingly, I liked the Ceramide Ultra lipstick better than the Plump Perfect lipstick.  It’s just very pleasant and I keep reaching for it again and again whenever I need to put some lipstick on.

The Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Ultra Lipstick is available for £21 from any Elizabeth Arden counter. The last time I found a lipstick that I loved this much was in 2006.  I was genuinely close to tears when I thought I had to return the Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Ultra lipstick to Boots.  It blows the Elizabeth Arden Plump Perfect lipstick out of the water.  From now on, I’m going to be buying the Ceramide Ultra lipstick from an actual beauty counter, or (given my experiences trying to buy Elizabeth Arden lipstick online) who knows what I might end up with!! Even after the Plump Perfect (the one I originally bought on Amazon) came back as genuine, I still found myself reaching for the Ceramide Ultra lipstick. It just looks and feels (both in the packaging and on my face) like a better lipstick.

What do you think?  Have you tried either of these?  Which do you prefer?  Let me know in the comments!