Luckily, there are a few alternatives that suit cash-strapped needle-phobes. Firstly, over the counter. Pretty much every beauty brand going offers some form of lip plumper these days but beyond a slightly uncomfortable tingle, do any of them work? After a MakeUpAlley deep-dive into the top-rated offerings, I was raring to go. The first one I tried was surely the most luxurious – Dior Addict Lip Maximiser , of course. It’s beautifully packaged, left my lips soft and glossy and healthy-looking, but there was no discernible improvement in volume. Next, I tried NIOD Lip Bio-Lipid Concentrate . This smelt...funny? Not bad per se, but overly sweet in a very artificial way. Nevertheless, I smoothed some over my lips and almost instantly felt a telltale tingle. Minutes later, my lips were visibly plumped but slightly red around the lip-line (something that persisted no matter how careful I was when I applied it), meaning you don’t want to apply this too close to leaving the house. Too Faced’s Lip Injection has some breathless reviews online, but I found the tingle unbearably painful (and I like to think my threshold is pretty high after years of waxing, threading and gruesome sports massages). I couldn’t tell you if it plumped my lips – I had to wipe it off after less than three minutes. Buxom’s Full-On Lip Polish definitely temporarily inflated my lips and the tingling was minimal, but the glossy finish confused me. I wanted something that would make my lips look fuller so I could apply lipstick over the top, so the gloopiness was a problem. Plus, considering they all seem to spread beyond your lip-line means you can’t exactly throw it on as you head out the door – I applied mine first thing in the morning and again before bed. I tried a few more, which I found to be largely unremarkable – think the slight burn of Carmex, a lick of hydration, but no noticeable plumping.