What's Her Secret? My Firsthand Experience With Restylane® Lyft and Restylane® Silk

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Restylane® Lyft and Restylane® Silk. However, the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've always thought that I had thin lips...and this notion was often reinforced by comments from friends and family such as, "You have such small lips!" and "Look at those tiny lips!" I have tried different plumping lip glosses in the past and pretty much learned the art of the lip-plumping pout for certain photos, my regular old lips have always been a point of contention for me. I was approached by a company to try out Restylane® Silk and while I briefly thought "Do I really want to go down the route of cosmetic enhancement when I've made it this far without it?" I eventually decided to give it a try. Because...why not?

This is my BEFORE photo - full make up, except for just a little gloss on my lips. Sure, my bottom lip is okay, but top lip barely exists. I think that my full face and chubby cheeks (I mean that in a good way) make my thin lips seem even smaller in comparison. So why not give Restylane® Silk a try?

As most of my regular readers know, my husband moved out six months ago and the entire divorce process has been emotionally trying for me. As soon as he asked for the divorce, I fell into a frenzy of "I am almost 40 and about to be single and I really need to get my crap together if I'm going to be dating again after a 15 year hiatus." I've started working out, I discovered the benefits of a skincare regimen, I've bought a mostly-new wardrobe, I've started experimenting with more makeup, doing my hair and I've lost 20 pounds. All of that work has made me feel a little better about myself, and while I am still utterly devastated by the impending divorce, there's something to be said about looking into the mirror and knowing that you've still GOT IT. It's also pretty awesome to get compliments from the man who told me six months ago that he no longer found me attractive - yeah, he's eaten those words!

So given the current state of my self-improvement on the inside AND the outside, the more I thought about Restylane® Silk, the more I excited I became.

There are a few different kinds of Restylane®, but after my consultation with Dr. Joely Kaufman of Skin Associates of South Florida (who, by the way, came very highly recommended from a friend who is a current patient of hers), we decided that my biggest need was my thin lips and she wanted to treat me with Restylane® Silk. Of course - that was no surprise for me!

I took this selfie two days before my Restylane® Silk treatment. I try to wear extra lipstick when I am at events (I was on a press trip this day), but even then...you can see how thin my top lip is!

What Makes Restylane Silk So Special?

Restylane® Silk is THE FIRST FDA-approved product specifically designed for lip enhancement and the smoothing of wrinkles around the mouth in patients 21 years of age and older. Now, I don't really have any wrinkles around my mouth, so Dr. Kaufman suggested injections into my lips to plump them up a little (my words, not hers) so that their fullness would be more in line with the fullness in my cheeks and even out my face a little. I thought that was a GREAT idea and began fantasizing about having a big, bold pout....she quickly shattered that fantasy by telling me that "fish lips" would not look natural on my face and probably wouldn't look good on me. (By the way, you can use this tool to help you discover what your ideal lip would look like)

This is what my lips looked like the morning of my treatment...thin. And boring. I apologize for the lack of makeup and hair being done - I'd just gotten off a red eye flight home from Los Angeles. (just keeping it real!)

Le Sigh. I have to say that during this process, Dr. Kaufman really showed herself to be an excellent doctor in my opinion - she's not someone that will sell you what you want just because you want it - she tells you what is realistic and what your results will actually look like so that you can make an informed decision and be HAPPY with the results.

I was given a numbing cream for about 30 minutes before the injections began. I had previously had injections with Dr. Kaufman without any numbing treatments and thought that I could grin and bear it, but the nurse advised me that if there is anything you're going to need a little numbing help with, it's lip injections.

I immediately began seeing swelling in my lips - by the time I got to the car, they seemed a little more puckered up but there wasn't a ton of swelling. They were a little sore, but not too bad. I went home with a bag of frozen peas to periodically hold against my lips to help reduce swelling, and by the afternoon, I was pretty comfortable.

The next morning, I had a day planned with my ex and was super nervous about looking "weird" but it wasn't too bad. My upper lips had a few injections, and there were only two in the corners of my bottom lip, so the overall side effects weren't too bad and easily covered up with make up.

This is before the makeup, just a little lip balm...

Four days later, I was jetting off to Germany to spend my first Thanksgiving alone - well, to spend my first Friendsgiving with dear friends of mine - and my lips seemed to have settled down and I thought this might be the final results. I don't typically take a lot of selfies - I like sharing my experiences on social media and my blog, not ME...but as this product is about ME and what it looks like, I began practicing taking a ton of selfies. Lots and lots of selfies. It was pretty fun - I think I may have developed a habit!!

I'm wearing lip gloss in these photos and tried to take them from a slightly different angle; but I think you can really see a difference in the bow of my lip compared to before I had the procedure done!

So what do I think about Restylane® Silk? I LOVE MY RESULTS. While my lips aren't BIG by any means, the Restylane® Silk definitely made them a little bigger and added definition. When I am applying lipstick, I see the bow is much more obvious.

Honestly! Why this is a sponsored review and I received the treatment complimentary, I'm already figuring out how to budget so that I can get it done again once it begins wearing off (Dr. Kaufman said that results could last three months to six months for me, but everyone is different).