We tried the plumping lip mask celebrities swear by — here's what it's really like

The INSIDER Summary:

• Emma Stone made KNC's collagen lip mask popular after posting a selfie of her beauty prep for the Golden Globes.
• The $5 lip mask claims to plump, condition, moisturize, and hydrate lips.
• We tried the mask and took before-and-after photos to see our results (or lack thereof).
• Our reviews are mixed — the mask didn't make a huge difference to our lips and we had trouble with the fit of the product, but in some cases it proved to be hydrating.

When we first saw KNC's collagen lip mask, it was on Emma Stone's face in an Instagram showing her beauty prep for the Golden Globes.

Of course, Stone looked amazing on the Golden Globes red carpet. And other celebs with gorgeous lips like Kim Kardashian have worn the makeup artist-approved mask.

Naturally, we were curious to see if the bright pink, pout-shaped mask — which is meant to condition, moisturize, plump, and hydrate lips — actually works.

Here's what happened when a few of us on the INSIDER team tried the $5 lip mask.

Chloe's experience:

I was obsessed with "La La Land," so I was looking forward to trying the same lip mask as Emma Stone. I'm game for anything that might help me look remotely like her/worthy of Ryan Gosling's affections.

I felt super glamorous — right up until I opened the packet, and some liquid spilled out on my hand. I wished I'd opened it upright, rather than sideways; it would be helpful to have a warning on the sachet, though it might make the cute, minimalist packaging less pretty.

Positioning the mask over my lips, I realized instantly that I wasn't going to get much air. So I took the mask off, and widened the slit in the middle before reapplying so I could breathe. Maybe I stretched it too much, though, as the mask kept slipping, and the top of my bottom lip kept escaping.

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Wearing the mask felt like I had dunked my lips in jelly, and was in the midst of a balancing act to keep them on. I kept pressing the mask down with my fingers to keep it in place. (I probably should've tried this lying down, not standing up.) Despite this, I could feel the collagen in the mask working. My lips were tingling pleasantly.

After 20 minutes, I removed the mask. My lips essentially looked the same, but maybe slightly fuller from the side. My lips felt a lot smoother, though. I usually apply lip balm before putting on my lipstick, but to test the mask I hadn't put on any balm that day. And when I applied lipstick after using the mask, it looked nicer than it usually does.

Megan's experience:

I was really excited to try out these lip masks. As you can tell from my before picture, I have really thin lips, which were looking especially dry after a week of wearing lipstick. I had to go to a friend's party, so I decided to try out the mask out before doing the rest of my makeup.

Taking out the lip kit, some water fell out of the package as I removed it — not the best start. After cleaning up, I slapped the jelly-like lips onto my own. 

Immediately, I thought they were going to fall off. There was some type of slit in the lips, but my lips were so thin, they could sit comfortably under only one part of the lip mask. The entire thing felt like it would slide around and was not as secure or close to my face as I was hoping it would be.

It felt a little tingly, which was fun, but not quite as tingly as those lip venom lip glosses that I used to buy all the time. I hung out awkwardly for exactly 20 minutes, before taking it off.

I was disappointed by the results. Obviously I wasn't expecting Kylie Jenner lips, but I was hoping they'd seem bigger than before. Instead, they looked like they usually do.

Brianna's experience:

I was so excited to finally get my hands on the KNC lip mask because so many people have given it rave reviews, super celebs included. And the fact that the packaging and product itself is pretty and pink made waiting to try it bittersweet.

I had high hopes but was a tad skeptical off the bat. The jelly lips were large. However, just as I assumed, they weren't quite large enough to properly fit over my natural lips. I struggled to keep the mask on and even poked a tiny hole in it during the process. 

My lips were intentionally dry, so I could test out the mask's claim. I wore matte lipstick for a few hours, and before unwrapping the mask I removed the lipstick with a cotton ball dipped in a tiny amount of coconut oil. The amount of oil wasn't enough to interfere with testing since I wiped off the excess sheen before placing the mask on my lips.

Immediately after putting it on, I felt a tingling/burning sensation. From testing out a similar "plumping" product, I figured the reason why I was uncomfortable was because of whatever the mask was soaked in/infused with before packaging. I'm not a fan of anything that tingles too much or burns.

As mentioned earlier, the mask wouldn't stay on because my lips — as with a lot of things — didn't fit the mold. Rather than holding it on for the suggested 15-20 minutes, I gave up around approximately seven minutes of trying.

Overall, I'm not a fan of the KNC lip mask and won't be purchasing it in the near future unless the brand makes alternate versions for those with lips like mine or improves the current top-seller.