I’ve been itching to try Gisou Lip Oils for as long as they’ve been out. Gisou, founded by Negin Mirsalehi in Amsterdam, has honey at the core. What began as a honey drenched hair oil in 2015 is now a beauty empire with body, face and candle products. Negin has Iranian heritage, and it’s to her father she owes her love of bee keeping – one of the first things he did when he moved to Amsterdam was create a bee garden.
Negin has 5 million followers on Instagram – what started as a marketing degree quickly turned into influencing and now, her own brand, Gisou, which means ‘a lock of hair’. Gisou is a smart brand – the trajectory is huge: I’d predict along the lines of Huda not least because Negin is her own best ambassador and she knows exactly how to do it. A marketing degree is handy but nothing teaches you how to influence sales like a spell on Instagram and a following in the millions. Negin is known for her (incredible) hair – no co-incidence that the lip oil bottles have a wave in the glass, like a beautifully styled mermaid section.
I’m not particularly a fan of honey – bees, yes! But, honey is something that I can only have in tiny quantities (usually with roasted aubergines and n’duja – yum) so I’m glad to say that the lip oils don’t taste of honey. In fact, they’re more fruity than anything.
On the lips, they’re soft and slippy with just enough grip to stay around and have just the smallest tint of colour. I have a little tip for next level lip softness – exfoliate before you apply an oil or balm and you will honestly want to kiss yourself. The oils also contain hyaluronic acid, jojoba and meadowfoam seed oil.
There are nine shades – I have Cherry On The Cake (which smells of cherries (right) and Mango Passion Punch (yes, smells of mango and passion fruit). I’m impressed with their last and the level of shine. Close inspection of Cherry On The Cake shows tiny, tiny sparkles that up the lightfulness level without giving you glitter mouth. The Lip Oils are £24 each HERE.
