Hey friends, it’s Lizzie! If you’ve watched even one episode of Love Island USA this season, you’ve seen these products — Maybelline is the show’s official beauty sponsor, and the Villa’s getting-ready routines run almost entirely on a handful of their products. I haven’t personally tried these (my makeup bag is a different mix), so consider this a researched mini-review pulled from real product data and other reviewers’ hands-on testing, not my own. Here’s what’s actually in rotation and whether it’s worth buying.
Why This Is Suddenly Everywhere Again
Two things are colliding right now. The Season 8 reunion hits Peacock on Monday, August 31 with Ariana Madix and Andy Cohen hosting, so the whole cast is back in the feed — and separately, these Maybelline products have started showing up all over TikTok Shop. That combination is why your For You page is suddenly full of Villa makeup again.
Worth saying plainly before you get swept up in it: a product trending on TikTok tells you it’s being promoted well, not that it’s good. Sometimes those are the same thing. Often they aren’t. So here’s the honest read on each one.
Sunkisser Liquid Blush and Bronzer ($12)
This is the one behind that dewy, sun-warmed Villa look. It’s a liquid formula in two finishes — glowy/metallic and a hazy matte — with shades built around warm, sunset-adjacent names like Sol Search and City Sizzle. Reviewers consistently point to up to 12 hours of wear and an ultra-blendable finish that melts into skin instead of sitting on top. The one recurring critique: a couple of shades run a little sheer if you’re used to heavier pigment, so you may need to build it up rather than swipe once and go.
Lifter Plump Lip Plumping Gloss ($12.99)
This is Maybelline’s answer to the lip-filler-alternative trend, and it’s the most talked-about product of the three. It combines chili pepper oil with hyaluronic acid (their “Maxi-Lip” technology) for a genuine tingling, heat-based plump — reviewers describe it as noticeably more intense than the original Lifter Gloss, with real volumizing results within minutes. Fair warning if you have sensitive lips: the tingle is real, not a marketing exaggeration, so this isn’t the gloss to test for the first time right before you need to talk to people.
Lash Sensational Firework Mascara
Priced like every other Maybelline mascara — well under $15 — this one uses a spiral-bristled “SuperSpark” brush designed to fan lashes out in a 360-degree pattern instead of just lengthening straight up. The waterproof version is the one getting the most love for actually holding up through humidity and pool days without flaking, which tracks given the show’s tropical setting. The tradeoff of true waterproof formulas applies here too: it takes an oil-based remover to get off comfortably.
Is It Actually a “Collection,” or Just Marketing?
Worth being straight with you here: this isn’t a special limited-edition Love Island line with its own unique packaging. It’s Maybelline’s existing, already-available product lineup (Sunkisser launched back in 2024) being used as the show’s sponsored beauty products and marketed together under the Love Island name. That’s not a knock — it just means you’re not missing a rare drop if you buy these; they’re sitting on a regular drugstore shelf.
Worth Buying?
Based on the pattern across reviews, yes to two of the three: the Lifter Plump gloss and the Sunkisser blush both have strong, consistent feedback for the price. The mascara is solid but not dramatically different from other waterproof drugstore mascaras — buy it if the brush shape appeals to you, not because it’s “the Love Island one.”
How I’d Actually Use the Sunkisser
The mistake people make with liquid blush is treating it like powder — dotting it on and then blending with a brush after it’s already set. These formulas grab fast. Dot it on the apples of your cheeks and blend immediately with your fingers while it’s still moving, and you’ll get the diffused look rather than two obvious circles.
If you want the actual Villa effect rather than just “blush,” take a tiny amount up onto the temples and a touch across the nose. That sun-warmed placement is what reads as beach glow instead of standard cheek color. And if you’re pairing the glowy and matte finishes, matte goes down first as the base, glow goes on top of the cheekbone.
The Lifter Plump Warning Nobody Gives You
I want to be clearer about this than most reviews are, because the tingle genuinely surprises people. Chili pepper oil is doing the plumping, and the sensation is real heat — not a light buzz. If you have sensitive or chapped lips it can go from tingly to genuinely uncomfortable.
Two practical things: patch test it before you commit to wearing it out, and don’t apply it over lips that are already cracked or peeling. If you like the look but not the burn, the original Lifter Gloss gives you shine and hyaluronic acid without the chili pepper.
What About the Rest of the Villa Lineup?
The three above are the products actually getting the screen time, but Maybelline’s presence in the Villa is broader than that — long-wear foundation, setting spray, and their brow products all show up in getting-ready scenes. If you’re building a full look rather than buying one piece, the setting spray is the piece I’d add, purely because everything else on this list is fighting heat and humidity all day and that’s what setting spray exists for.
Where to Buy Without Overpaying
These are standard drugstore products, and that matters right now. Because they’re trending on TikTok Shop, you’ll see them bundled and occasionally marked up from what they cost at Target, Walmart, or Ulta. Check the regular retail price before you buy through a video — $12 to $13 is the normal range, and anything meaningfully above that is trend pricing, not a deal.
The genuine upside of buying in-store is shade matching. Sunkisser comes in sixteen shades between the two finishes, and swatching one on your hand beats guessing from a ring light.
What I’d Skip
Being honest: if you already own a liquid blush you like, the Sunkisser isn’t different enough to justify replacing it. And if you don’t like the sensation of a plumping gloss, no amount of TikTok enthusiasm is going to change that — the tingle is the mechanism, not a side effect. The mascara is the one I’d call genuinely optional; it’s good, but so are half a dozen other drugstore waterproof mascaras at the same price.
Your Questions, Answered
Is this a real limited-edition Love Island makeup line? Not exactly — Maybelline is the show’s official beauty sponsor, and these are existing products from their regular lineup used and promoted during the season, not a separate special-edition collection.
Does the Lifter Plump gloss actually tingle? Yes, genuinely — it contains chili pepper oil, and reviewers consistently describe a real heat sensation, not just a marketing claim.
Is the Sunkisser formula good for fair or deep skin tones? The line comes in ten glowy shades and six matte shades, so there’s a reasonably wide range, though a few shades have been noted as running sheer regardless of skin tone.
