How I fix dry and chapped lipsticks

Dry, chapped, flaky and sore lips are gross. They are also annoying and can take time to heal.

When my lips need rescuing I begin with an exfoliator to get rid off the flaky bits. At the moment I am loving The Lip Scuff from The Body Shop. It looks like a lip balm however it is slightly gritty. I swipe this all over my lips - sideways and then in circular motions - and then run it off. I follow this with an intensive lip balm. I don't use an exfoliator on my lips that often, once in a blue moon actually. I usually find a good lip balm will keep my lips looking good but sometimes you do need an extra oomph!

My favourite lip balm ever is The Sugar Fresh Lip Treatment Sunscreen SPF 15. It makes your lips feel cushion-y, does that make sense? It is also long lasting which is nice. You can apply it in the evening and when you wake-up your lips are still moisturised.

Another lip balm that can really help dry lips is the Lip Balm from Dermal. It is one of the best and most effective lip balms I have ever used. It is also super cheap and can be purchased from Priceline.

September Beauty Favourites

Time for September favourites and I have a group of really good products this month to share with you. I really love all of these products and they have been working beautifully in my make-up routine. 

Mecca Cosmetica To Save face Superscreen SPF 50

Everybody knows that sunscreen is a brilliant way to prevent wrinkles and ageing skin, however, I think there are many people that don't follow this beauty and skincare rule. I certainly don't in winter (and yes I know this is bad of me!). But I am trying to change. I have been wearing the 'To Save Face Superscreen SPF 50' from Mecca Cosmetica over my usual moisturiser and underneath my primer and I am really liking it. I don't think it has caused any breakouts, it smells really nice and not like sunscreen at all, absorbs nicely into the skin and hopefully is keeping my skin protected from evil sun rays. It doesn't seem to interfere with the wear of my make-up either which is great!

L'Oreal Base Magique Transforming Smoothing Primer

This primer makes your skin feel like it is covered in velvet, makes applying your make-up more effortless and I could swear it makes my make-up stay on for longer. With some primers I am dubious about their ability to make my make-up last longer but with this one I feel like it does something - yay! I have really been loving this primer, so much so that I can forgive the fact that it comes in a jar.

L'Oreal Lumi Magique Touch of Light Highlighter

I have been using this underneath my eyes as a bit of a concealer. It's the first concealer I have ever used underneath my eyes and I don't really know how to judge such a product but I like it so there you go. Let me know what you think is important in a under eye product!

Antipodes Deliverance Kowhai Flower Hand Cream 

I always walk past the Antipodes products in Priceline however I saw KitschSnitch on Youtube talk about this hand cream and decided I needed to try it for myself! The scent is amazing but I'm hopeless at describing scents so I'm not really going to try. It smells warm and a bit sweet??? On the hands it absorbs really quickly and makes your hands feels really smooth.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment 

I really should sit down and write an actual review on this lip balm because I just love it so very much! This is thicker than your typical drugstore lip balm and it lasts a really long time. Whereas some lip balms can make your lips more chapped and dry, I feel like this one isn't one of those lip balms where your lips get drier and addict to.

Rimmel London Lasting Finish By Kate Lipstick '54 Rock n' Roll Nude'

We will address the elephant in the room first - yes the rose gold packaging definitely contributed to me wandering across to the Rimmel London stand! This is a really nice pinky nude, however it is slightly more pale than the nudes I typically wear. Really nice for spring.

Top 3 Lip Products for 2013

To wrap up 2013 I will be doing a series of 'top 3' posts in the following few days. I am going to start with my top 3 lip products of 2013. I would love to know what your fave lip products of the year were so please do leave a comment below! Cheers. 

You could call 2013 the year of the lip crayon, don't you think? Bourjois, Cover Girl, Face of Australia, Models Prefer, Revlon, Laura Mercier, Stila, Nars, Inglot, Lipstick Queen, Kit Cosmetics, Soap and Glory, Top Shop, and Sportsgirl have versions of the lip crayon gracing their shelves (and no doubt there are many more I haven't mentioned). 

My favourite lip crayons are the ones from Cover Girl. My collection of them is slowly growing but my favourite and most worn is definitely the one in 'mauve twist'. A very versatile pink with brown undertones. For a "sheer" lip crayon the colour payoff and lasting ability is fantastic and it also doesn't dry your lips out. I would definitely recommend these. 

Warm Me up from Maybelline is a creamy, long lasting and extremely pigmented lipstick that spent the majority of the winter months on my lips. A warm, dusty pink colour. Another must have! 

Left: Warm Me Up Right: Mauve Twist

Left: Warm Me Up Right: Mauve Twist

Finally, the Yes To Carrots Lip Butter in Melon has been my favourite lip balm of the year. It keeps my lips moisturised and well cared for, has a wonderful creamy yet lightweight formula and has been repurchased by me many many times.

Cheers :) 

Nivea Essential Care Lip Balm Review

Today I'm writing up a review post on one of my all-time favourite lip balms, the essential care balm by Nivea. I'm purchased this a couple of times and think it is great for keeping dry, chapped lips away during the winter months.

I think it is really important to review a product based on it's claims because a product can be really awesome but not live up to any of it's claims, as per it's packaging. So without further ado, Nivea claims that this balm will give you "long lasting and intensive everyday care" and "protects your lips from drying out in all weather conditions" as well as leaving "your lips soft and smooth." So those are some pretty big claims. Does the product live up to them? Lets see.......

Long Lasting and intensive everyday care - This balm is absolutely long lasting, I find that it stays on my lips for at least two hours before I notice the balmy feeling beginning to fade which I think is fantastic. As for intensive everyday care, the balm get another tick because it really does help keep away chapped and dry lips. I often apply this underneath my stains and longlasting or matte lipsticks that can be a bit drying. It does take away some of the lasting power of the lipstick but I prefer that over flaky lips!

Protects your lips from drying out in all weather conditions - It's currently winter here and I definitely feel that when I apply this before going out into the cold that my lips are protected from the cold and wind. Unfortunately, it's not summer here :( so I can't vouch for the "all weather conditions" part but I can't see why this balm wouldn't be just as superb in the summer months.

Leaves your lips soft and smooth - I feel like this is a ridiculously positive review, but again this product gets another tick. In other words, this balm does not leave your lips feeling dried out and it definitely adds moisture to dry lips.

Okay so it's pretty clear that the balm lives up to it's claims and probably also that I am in love with this product :) However, I do feel the need to point out a couple of minor drawbacks to the product.

1. The packaging whilst sturdy (the photographs show the tube after it has been thrashing around in my handbag for a couple of months) attracts random pieces of fluff which can end up on the balm. Kinda gross.

2. The product isn't advertised as being natural or organic...etc and I am trying to stay away from products with any nasty chemicals in such as parabens...etc so I don't know what this product does actually contain but I wish it was stated explicitly. Looking at the ingredients list it doesn't seem to contain any parabens which is good :)

Overall a great lip balm for the winter months and definitely a product you should buy next time you see it. It retails for $4.49 and can be found in many shops, including but not limited to Priceline, Target, Big W.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great weekend :)

I've killed my first baby lips.......impressions and reflections

I've killed by first baby lips balm in 'energizing orange' - yay!!!!!! When these were released last winter here in Australia and people were raving about them all over the blogosphere internationally the beauty blogger in me couldn't resist - I had to try them! And for $3.99 there wasn't much to lose. Since then I have been using this one-and-off to moisturise and care for my lips which always seem to be dry and chapped. I reapply my lip balm throughout the day and it doesn't matter where I am, I just hate the feeling of dry lips. Sometimes I think I make this worst because as soon as the 'balmy' feeling wears off I don't like how my lips feel.

Anyway, time to stop rambling and tell you my reflections of this balm. I think I did a review of it a couple of months ago but I guess once a product has been used up you have  a very accurate impression of it.

I love how the Baby Lips balm feels on my lips, very lightweight and creamy. The scent isn't really anything to talk about because it is extremely subtle, not that that is a bad thing or anything. The packaging is your traditional lip balm tube with a lid on top. Not innovative but nice and colourful which is great when you are digging through your handbag to find it and not once has the lid ever fallen off, so that is obviously a good thing. Continual use of this product does result in smoother lips however in the short-term, once the 'balmy' feeling has worn off I sometimes feel like the condition of my lips hasn't improved. Maybe I'm asking for too much?  Lasting power is about average for a lip balm. The 'balmy' stays around for around an hour which I find is pretty normal.

Would I repurchase this product? As a hoarder of lip balm I'm not rushing out to buy another because I have a lot of un-opened lip balms in my stash and I also have an opened tinted baby lips although I don't like it as much as this original type. In the future do I see myself repurchasing? Yeah probably :)

What is your favourite lip balm? I love hearing your thoughts and all about your favourite products!

Cheers

Palmer's Dark Chocolate & Peppermint Lip Butter

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula (with vitamin E) Dark Chocolate & Peppermint Lip Butter was an impulse buy but I have absolutely no buyers' remorse!

First up, the scent. It really does smell like a dark chocolate peppermint chocolate!!!! Palmer's cocoa butter products always smell so yummy.

Second, lets see if the statements on the packets are proven to be correct. According to the packet the lip butter is suppose to soften and soothe lips as well as adding a subtle gloss - I would definitely say this was true! It feels instantly smooth but not sticky when you apply it and slowly sinks into your lips leaving them feeling moisturised and unlike other glosses, once it has worn off it doesn't leave your lips feeling dry which is obviously a good thing! After a week of wearing this gloss the condition of my lips is great so we can also tick the box next to 'softens lips'.

And according to the packet it can be worn under or over lipstick for a natural and glossy look. Is this true? Yep although most of my lipsticks are pretty glossy themselves although I did try it under a Revlon LipButter and it worked great. It is a clear gloss so you are unlimited in regards to how you want to use it. I will be wearing it under some of my drier lipsticks.

Overall impression of this gloss is that it is a great gloss as it is very versatile, feels great on your lips and there is not a single bad thing I can say about it. And did I mention it smells great? Hahaha

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Overall score: 8/10

Weekend Haul

Okay so it's Wednesday evening and I'm only now just getting around to my weekend haul post! I'm a very bad blogger I know!!!! It's not that I don't love love love blogging but I had to cut my nails super short and I am trying to get them healthy so I can't pain them :( so sad!!!!! But anyway, I managed to do quite a lot of shopping over the weekend and even started my Christmas shopping. This is like the earliest I have ever started my x-mas shopping, I'm so pleased with myself. Okay, okay I only got one present but hey, it's not the day before Christmas........yet.



 Anyway, my weekend haul:

• Palmer's Purse Essentials (included mini body lotion, daily facial lotion SPF 15+, Dark Chocolate & Peppermint Lip Butter and hand cream). This was being sold for 'below cost' at Target for $5.83 which I thought was a wicked awesome price considering the lip butter alone sells for $4.79 
• Essence Nail Polish (old bottle) in princess prunella 
• Essence Breaking Dawn Part 2 Trend Edition 'A piece of forever'
• Sun Sense SPF 30+ Sunscreen 
• Sun Sense Daily Face SPF 30+ invisible tint finish

 So I will be testing out all of these products and getting back to you. Literally, ten minutes ago I put on some of the lip butter for the first time and wow - it really does smell like peppermint.

I totally forgot to take photographs of the sunscreen but I have photos of the rest of the haul. Not much of a haul I guess but I'm pretty happy with it!

Thanks for reading,
cheers

Kiss Care Love Essence Lipbalm: Review

Essence recently updated their range of cosmetics. Changes included new nail polish bottles and colours and some additions to the make-up range. It has just been released here in Australia but I think the new range has been out in Europe for a little while.

So today I am going to review one of the new lip balms, the "kiss care love lipbalm in 01 fruitcrush". Since buying it I have worn it for a couple of days and now I am ready to tell you all about it!

First impressions;  balm feels quite creamy and thick and applies smoothly. The scent is a semi-artificial fruity scent. It's not overpowering and fades away once you apply the balm onto your lips. It easily lasts for an hour. It also tints my lips slightly, a subtle pink shade.

For $2.20 I was not sure what to expect from this balm but was pleasantly surprised. This balm is moisturising and has a pretty normal lasting strength.  Comparing it to the "usual suspects" like the nivea lipcare tube and the maybelline baby lips it is quite similar except it doesn't have SPF protection.

Overall, this is a good lip balm that will moisturise your lips for a few hours, won't leave them feeling dry and will also slightly tint your lips. Definitely a great balm to keep in your handbag throughout the winter!

Overall score: 7/10

Thanks for reading, have a lovely day!

Product Review: Lip Scrub by Lush

For people who read my blog regularly, this will be old news. But I have recently been trying out different lip balms because now that it is well and truly winter my lips have been dry. I have been alternating between Yes To Carrots, Nivea Lip Care and Lush's Ultrabalm. And I have to say that I have generally been disappointed. This got me thinking, maybe it was time for me to use my 'lip scrub' again!

So yes, that is what this review is actually going to focus on!!!! Hahaha, sorry for my ramblings :)

What does the product claim to do?

According to the website the lip scrub keeps your lips moist and exfoliates your lips. 

What does the product actually do?

I am happy to report that this lip scrub does exfoliate your lips and it doesn't 'dry' your lips out but I always end up putting balm on my lips afterwards anyway so not sure if it is super moisturising. 

How to use this product?

This product is really easy to use. You just put some of the sugar onto your finger and rub it across your lips. I do a bit of a circular motion as well as going side-to-side but there is no special technique required. I use it once a week and I get instant results which is fantastic!

Would I recommend this product to you?

Yes!!! I really love this product because lips are something you cannot hide so they have to look good. Also, I find this lip scrub very useful in that some lipsticks often sink into the cracks in your lips and look terrible on dry lips. This totally prevents this from happening which is awesome! I have also generally found that by using this product my lips feel better when using lip balms, it makes lip balms work better, which is great since it is winter.....

Summary
An amazing product made in Australia that is a super easy and quick way to exfoliate your lips and get rid of all that yucky dead skin! Within 1 minute your lips will feel brand new again. A product that truly does what it says on the label (which is something quite rare!) and won't hurt your bank balance either. A definite favourite of mine.

Hope this review was useful!