I think I'm in the wrong business. I seriously need to be inventing lip color packaging. Every time I see a brand with some new or innovative packaging, other brands inevitably pick up on it within a few months (think Stila Lip Glazes with the clicking brush applicator...that type of applicator is everywhere now, even in drugstores). Imagine inventing an interesting lipstick tube or gloss applicator...shop it to one company...and soon the others will be banging on your door! Think of the money!

The reason this comes to mind is a new line of lipsticks from Stila - High Shine Lip Colors - which claim to be "incredibly buttery soft," shiny, and sheer. Both the concept and packaging are quite similar to Clinique's recently launched Buttershines. (Before anyone calls me out on it, I realize that the Stila tubes are brushed aluminum with designs, and the Clinique tubes look like shiny metal bamboo, but the shape of the tube and the lipstick inside it are the same, and I think it's interesting. You see the resemblance, right? The lipsticks themselves aren't the usual tapered shape.)

Maybe this is the new trend in lipstick and the classic "lipstick bullet" shape is going out of style. We shall see. That would be the end of an era - I've always thought there was something elegant and special about a new lipstick with its tapered, teardrop-shaped tip. But time marches on, and now we have lipsticks in these newfangled shapes.

As for the "buttery" formulation itself, I've tried the Clinique, and I like the light, gel-like texture. However, I do tend to prefer Stila over Clinique, so I'm curious to see which brand's take on it is superior. Has anyone gotten a chance to sample the Stila yet? I discovered them just today and haven't been able to get my hands on one (yet).