Top 10 Lip Products

Lip products are my favourite type of make-up to buy and to play around with. There are always new trends breaking, new colours to try and new formulas to put to the test! These are my top 10 lip products. 

It was difficult enough for me to whittle this list down to my top ten so there is no specific order here. 

Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lip Colour 

These lipsticks are really lovely. My personal favourite shade is 'Desert' however I also love 'Vineyard' and 'Dawn'. With a quick swipe of the lips you good pigmentation that feels really lightweight and makes your lips look juicy. These don't dry your lips out which is great, however they don't last more than 2-3 hours on my lips. 

L'oreal ColourRiche Lipsticks 

L'oreal has a collection of great shades and I especially love their nudes. I have already repurchased one of their nudes #235 which is simply called "nude". I also love 'Eva's Nude' from the Collection Exclusive range. 

Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick in 'Chihuahua'

I typically prefer a traditional lipstick bullet over liquid lipsticks and so I have only ever tried one shade from the Melted range from Too Faced. However, I really love the formula, applicator, pigmentation / everything about the product! If you want to dip your toes into the liquid lipstick "pool" I would highly recommend the Too Faced collection.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment Sunscreen SPF15

For years and I mean years I heard how good this lip balm was from American bloggers and Youtubers. However living in Australia means it was nearly impossible to get :( But let me tell you, if you can get your hands on it, it really is a great lip balm. I use to use cheap lip balms but they usually dried my lips out and only moisturised my lips temporarily. I feel like this lip balm is very luxurious, it gives your lips a lovely cushion feeling and moisturises your lips. I have gone through an entire tube of this and I ordered my second tube from Nordstrom. Their shipping was pretty good!

The Body Shop Lip Scuff

It is easy to find a lip exfoliator in a tub however it is hard to find them in stick form. I have been using this one from The Body Shop and find it does a decent job when I have really chapped, dry and flaky lips. You swipe it across your lips for a little while before wiping it off. I typically put a very intensive lip balm on top afterwards.

Burt's Bees Lipstick in 'Blush Basin'

If you are looking for a cruelty free lipstick in the drugstore or prefer a natural lipstick check out the lipsticks from Burt's Bees! I adore the shade 'Blush Basin' however the red shades in the range are lovely too.

Bareminerals Gen Nude Matte Liquid Lipcolour 

Bareminerals' Gen Nude lip collection is amazing. They have lipsticks, lip liners, lip glosses and matte liquid lip colours in a huge range of nudes. I love the entire collection and could easily buy many many products from this collection. The lip glosses in this range are lovely but, for me, the matte liquid lip colours are the products that deserve a special mention in this post! They wear really nicely on the lips (even if you have dry lips), wear off evenly and naturally and their lasting power is pretty good.

Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks 

Urban Decay's range of Vice lipsticks contains 100 shades and there is a shade for everybody. Both of the lippies I have from this range are the "cream" formula and they are gorgeous. These lipsticks are long wearing, very pigmented and non-drying on your lips. The two cream lipsticks I have are quite opaque however they also do a "sheer" formulation if that is more your thing.

L'oreal Paris Infallible Long Wear Lip Gloss 

If you want a non-sticky lipgloss but good pigmentation and wears for a good amount of time, check these lip glosses out!

Summer Skincare Routine 2015

I think I have perfected my summer skincare routine. My skin was like a temperamental toddler in the beginning of summer, it probably also didn't help that we have had an unusually wacky summer. January was abnormally cold, usually it is abnormally hot...But finally I have a handful of products that I would like to praise. Thanks goes to the following products for keeping my skin well behaved and pimple free for the past couple of months:

Olay Complete Defence Daily UV Moisturising Lotion SPF 30+

If I am going to take a step out the front door I wear this moisturiser underneath my make-up. With SPF 30 it is great for the Australian summer. It sinks in nicely, doesn't leave any residue and doesn't interfere with my make-up. It is very lightweight and feels moisturising however I do feel like I need another moisturiser in my arsenal because this sometimes doesn't hydrate my dry skin enough. I definitely love this product though and will definitely repurchase it.

 Garnier Moisture Match Start Afresh Light Softening Cream 

This is the latest addition to my skincare routine and the product that I feel has really completed it. Before using this moisturiser my skin was misbehaving. Despite usually having oily / combination skin I felt like my skin was dry. It was tired and generally just not feeling or looking great. After using this moisturiser daily for 2-3 weeks my skin feels more hydrated. It sinks in quickly and I don't think it has been leaving any residue on my skin or interfering with my make-up, but it has been quite hot so it is difficult to tell when it feels like your make-up is literally going to melt off from the heat! So far I have been super impressed with this moisturiser and for a mere $10 it is definitely worth giving it a try. There is a number of different moisturisers in this range, depending on what your skin concern is, so there should be something for everybody. I'll post a full review of this product once I have worn it for a little longer.

Yes to Carrots Daily Cream Facial Cleanser

If you have been reading my blog for awhile you will already know this...but I LOVE the 'Yes to' skincare range. I have tried several of their cleansers and the latest one is the 'daily cream facial cleanser'. This is a gentle cream cleanser that has been working great for me lately. I sound like a broken record, but again, I haven't had any breakouts while using this product and it has done a great job at controlling my skin. If you have very dry skin I'm not sure if this will be the best cleanser in the world for you but otherwise it's pretty good! 

Nivea Pure & Natural Olive and Lemon Lip Balm

This lip balm was launched ages ago in America and in the past month itfinally arrived on our shores here in Australia. I was super excited when I saw it and brought it immediately. I have had dry, chapped and generally flaky lips for ages. However since using this balm I have felt like my lips have been a lot smoother, less dry and less flaky. Yay! Is it only me or do you feel like a lot of lip balms either do nothing or dry your lips out? The scent of this lip balm is quite unusual and it doesn't disappear immediately after application which is good. I've been a long time fan of Nivea and I actually think this is my favourite Nivea lip balm. 

So these are the skincare products I have been loving lately. What products have you been loving this summer? 

Thanks for reading, 

cheers :)

Maybelline Baby Lips Electro Pop Review - Pink Shock

Maybelline Baby Lips have cemented themselves into the lip balm market and now they have a new offering for us - the electro pop collection. Here in Australia this collection consists of three balms: Berry Bomb (purple), Oh Orange (orange) and Pink Shock (pink).

I will be reviewing 'Pink Shock' which is a super bright warm-toned neon pink. It is also very shiny! For a lip balm the colour is overwhelmingly strong. This can definitely be worn instead of a lipstick or lipgloss. Alternatively, you can glide the balm across your lips lightly and get a less intense wash of colour. I find the colour stays around for around an hour before it starts to fade. After the hour mark you begin to loose the feeling that you are wearing a balm and the shine diminishes however there is still some colour on your lips.

Like the original Baby Lips the electro pops also claim to give eight hours of hydration. The original baby lips don't stay on your lips for this long and I feel like the electro pop baby lips don't give me as much hydration as the original formula. So no, not eight hours. But having said that, I do believe they hydrate, moisturise and soften your lips.

Overall, this product far surpassed my expectations. You get intense colour, hydration and decent lasting power (considering it is just a lip balm), and all for the tiny price of $3.95. This could easily replace a lipstick and be a great choice for summer parties!

Thanks for reading :)

Products that smell amazing...

Are you a sucker for products that smell amazing? I am!!! Don't get me wrong, quality, packaging and price are all important factors but, in my book, a product gets bonus points for smelling delightful.

I'm going to start with a type of product that you wouldn't expect to smell good...nail polish. Revlon has a range of nail polishes that have different scents. Their 'Parfumerie' collection of nail polishes have three different types of scent: sweets & spices, freshes and fruits & florals. I have four polishes from this collection and all of them are consistently good quality. My favourite is the 'Apricot Nectar' polish that smells unbelievably delicious (plus it lasts for over a day). 'Apricot Nectar' smells quite sweet and fruity. Kind of like peach lollies? To read my full review of 'Apricot Nectar' click here.

The lipsticks from She are some of the best smelling lipsticks out there in my opinion! They have a very rich, luxurious aromatherapy oil scent that is really unique for a lipstick that only costs $14.95! If you want to read more about these lipsticks click here. 

These lip glosses get a lot of rave reviews in the blogosphere but I'm just going to mention them anyway! What am I talking about? The Nyx Butter Glosses of course. These are some of the best lip glosses ever. They smell like cupcakes or cake mixture, are super duper moisturising and give your lips a nice touch of colour. Perfect for the winter time when your lips are dry and chapped but you still want some colour on your lips!

Another lip product that smells amazing and does amazing stuff is the Lanolips Lemonaid Lip Aid with Lemon Oil. This smells like "real" lemonade, not the cheap stuff, and works fabulously to keep your lips hydrated.

I am a bit of a hand cream fiend but I think I might have found my favourite hand cream ever?! What hand cream am I talking about? The L'Occitane 20% Shea Butter Hand Cream for dry skin. I know most of the products I have talked about smell like food but I promise this one doesn't. Unless you like eating baby powder??? This is a very luxurious hand cream with a subtle scent that is hard to put your finger on but to me it smells like baby powder, but in the best way possible!

I would love to know what your favourite smelling product is...?

Lips of the week #2

I love lip products and recently have been mixing up the lip products I have been using a lot! They are easy to love too...they are usually foolproof, quick and simple to wear, can transform your look and in most cases it is hard to find a bad one.

The first lip product I have been reaching for a lot in the past couple of weeks is the lipstick in 'Hush' by omSHE. Not only does this lipstick smell divine and come in a beautiful gold tube (I'm a sucker for pretty packaging) but it is the most gorgeous natural pinky nude. Definitely more pink than nude, which is exactly what I like! If you haven't tried the omSHE brand before I highly recommend you do, they have lovely lipsticks and a good range of nail polishes that are 3-free.

Next up, an old product that I dug out from my stash - the Covergirl lip perfection jumbo gloss balm in '275'. This was my go-to lip product last year but I hadn't worn it in a while and I honestly do not know why. A MLBB shade that is perfect for this time of year. For a product that labels itself a gloss balm, this gives good pigmentation, has a nice creamy formula and decent lasting power.

Another old favourite of mine, the Nyx Butter Gloss in 'Creme Brulee', has been the lip product I reach for when I don't really know what to put on my lips. It gives my lips a milky pink tinge, moisturises them like crazy and smells like cupcakes...yummy!

It's winter so I have been stacking on the lip balms! A recent purchase of mine, the Lanolips 'Lemonaid Lip Aid with Lemon Oil', has won a place in my heart. It smells like lemonade, feels really smooth, lightweight and kind of liquid-y. When the Maybelline Baby Lips first launched I didn't get the hype but all this time later I have finally been converted. The 'Mango Pie' Maybelline Baby Lips has been kicking around my desk, handbag, pocket...pretty much everywhere all the time. It actually is a really good lip balm. Not exactly breaking news is it?! And finally, after a lot of debating I picked up the Nuxe Reve de Niel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm. I have read a billion amazing reviews on this lip balm and despite it coming in a pot (ew germs!) it seriously is amazing. I put this on my lips before going to sleep and it is still on my lips after eating breakfast. Impressive stuff! I'll write up a full review of this soon.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!!! :)

March Favourites

Hi guys!!! March is coming to an end so it's time for me to sit down and tell you all about the products that I have been loving. There is one product that is screaming from the rooftops, "talk about me, talk about me, talk about meeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!" and that would be L'oreals Colour Riche Nutrishine in 'Sandalwood Beige'. It's a hybrid lipstick / lip balm (think Revlon, Lip Butters) that gives your lips a gorgeous wash of colour and feels nice and moisturising too. I think this might be the perfect nude for me. I have been wearing it nearly every day for uni because I can re-apply it easily and I know I won't end up looking like a clown. I'll be writing a review on it in the coming weeks so stay tuned for more details!

























A couple of months ago I had a moisturiser debacle and my skin was feeing all dry and tight. Not nice at all. So I went and brought my holy grail moisturiser and my skin is feeling back to normal again - yay!!! The Buttermilk Moisturiser is, by far, the best moisturiser I have ever tried. Throughout the years I have probably brought ten bottles of this stuff! It is very soothing and moisturising without feeling greasy. The only reason I tried another moisturiser was because this one does contain parabens and I tend to avoid parabens when I can.

I have been loving Nivea's Pure & Natural Milk and Honey Lip Balm. One of my all time favourite lip balms because it actually moisturises my lips instead of drying them out like some other lip balms do! Plus, it smells like honey. I think I have raved about this balm numerous times so I'm leaving it at that for today.

I posted a review of Nyx's Mega Shine Lip Gloss in 'Beige' earlier this month (click here to read it) and have really loved wearing it. Despite being a bit sticky it gives my lips a lovely MLBB wash of colour, is incredibly shiny and lasts well.

Revlon's 'Girly' nail polish has been sitting in my nail polish drawer for probably a year now and I have only worn it once. I think the idea of removing all that glitter (as gorgeous as it is) scares me away from this polish. But, I wore this earlier this month over a nail polish that turned out to be a streaky mess and it did a great job of disguising my manicure that went wrong :)

That's it for me today! I now need to hit the books and get some study done because yesterday I accidentally found myself at IKEA and Freedom and we all know those shops take a long time to walk through. I actually brought a new make-up organiser from Freedom so I will be posting about that later this week. Have a great week, cheers :)

January Favourites 2014

I cannot believe I'm sitting here writing my first "favourites" post of 2014. It feels like I haven't written one of these posts for ages since I skipped Decembers' because I was focused on getting up my 2013 yearly favourites. And, in some ways January seems to have lasted forever. But now it is the 30th of January and I really should get a move along and tell you all what I loved in January (and stop rambling).

• Chi Chi Nudes Eyeshadow Palette

I didn't use to wear much eyeshadow, but now that I have the Nudes palette I find myself reaching for it all the time. You can create so many different looks with this one palette from day to night time, plus the quality is great. For the daytime I love the matte browns and the rosey coppers for night.

• Rimmel London Match Perfection Blush in 002 Light/Medium 

I'm going to be honest, I never use to wear blush (strange for somebody who blogs beauty I know) because I didn't want to look like a clown but recently I have started dabbling in blush and have loved how it has looked.This match perfection blush is pretty perfect. It's nearly foolproof, lasts a decent amount of time and works well with my skintone. It's also super cheap so if you are thinking about giving blush a go, I definitely recommend this. 

• Maybelline Sea-quins Nail Polish ey

Sea-quins from Maybelline is a stunning teal glitter. Tricky to remove but it's worth it for the sparkles!I'm ashamed how long this sat in my polish drawer before I eventually got around to using it. Lovers of glitter and/or teal...you need this polish :)

• Nyx Butter Gloss in Creme Brulee 

I've raved about this before so I'm going to keep this short. Creme Brulee is the perfect pinky nude gloss. Not sticky, lasts well and feels really moisturising. 

• Nyx Lipstick in Tea Rose

If you after an opaque dusty pink lipstick this could be it! I fell in love with this lipstick after discovering it would last 2+ hours and my munching on snacks. Very impressed with this lipstick and can definitely see myself wearing this a lot in the coming weeks. 

• Nivea Pure & Natural Milk and Honey Lip Balm 

First up, it smells like honey. So I don't think I need another reason why it's in my favourites post but I do have some. This lip balm is very moisturising, lasts on lips for around 2 hours (which in my book is fantastic) and doesn't dry your lips out once it wears off unlike some other lip balms. 

• Physician's Formula Organic Wear Mascara

This mascara has appeared in so many of my favourites posts it is kind of ridiculous. But it never disappoints me so I'm going to say (for the 100th time) that I love this mascara. 

And now time for a short ramble. My final favourite for the month of January is that trolley I used in the photo. This stainless steel, exact replica of a shopping trolley (complete with plastic features, wheels and a fold out baby seat) was a gift from Mum for Christmas. Every time I see these at the shops I think they're great but it's not like you buy yourself a scaled replica of a shopping trolley when you are just out and about...anyway this now lives on my desk and I use it to keep whatever base coat and top coat I'm using plus any polishes I've swatched recently and want to write up a review of. I'm in awe okay? Love it!

Before I forget...sorry about the dodgy photo today. With this crazy heat wave this was all I managed before rushing back inside.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have had a great January. What products have you been loving this month?

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

Product vs. Product: Maybelline Baby Lips vs. Baby Lips Colour

Today I am going to compare two products (Baby Lips original with Baby Lips Colour) and see which one is better. You might be reading this and be thinking, huh, what's the difference? Well when I talk about 'Baby Lips' I am referring to the original Baby Lips that were introduced last year here in Australia with the colourful tubes and contrasting lids. I have the 'Energising Orange' one. The 'Baby Lips Colour' are, from what I know, a new addition to the collection and they tint your lips whereas the normal baby lips don't. This might also be confusing because I think America, being far ahead of us as usual, probably have different versions of Baby Lips too, at least their packaging and shades are different. They may also be completely different :o

First up in this battle we have the original Baby Lips. 

This is basically one of those traditional lip balms in a wind-up tube that claims to hydrate your lips for hours and in four weeks renew your lips. It comes in a couple of different scents: Relieving Menthol, Anti-oxidant Berry, Smoothing Cherry, Energizing Orange. Cherry Velvet and Mango Pie. In Australia they retail for $3.99 but can be found on sale. I'm not sure if they all contain SPF but I know for sure that some do. 

This review will be based on the 'Energizing Orange' version of Baby Lips. 

I find that it feels really amazing on your lips and this feeling stays around for a very long time. It feels balmy, very light and doesn't leave your lips feeling too dry so I would say this hydrates your lips. While studying for exams I kept this on my desk and got rather addicted to it.  I definitely found that within a week of continual use of this product that my lips were generally less dry, less chapped and were definitely improved. I LOVE this product! 

In terms of lasting power, it stays on my lips and gives my lips a lightweight balmy feeling for around an hour. I think this is pretty good however I wouldn't say this is the most amazing, most moisturising balm ever. The scent isn't super strong and I don't really notice the scent (to be honest) unless I really sniff the tube. 

Any cons? Nope!!!! I don't usually give rave reviews and usually there is something I don't like about a product but not here people :) This is a balm that feels really lovely on your lips and doesn't dry them out once it wears off. It has a lovely pleasant smell and is a good price.

Now, lets move onto the Baby Lips Colour

I have the 'Berry Crush' version of the Baby Lips Colour which gives my lips a lovely red sheer gloss to them. Nothing too bold but definitely not too sheer for somebody like me who isn't brave enough for a bold red lip but wants to experiment  It is nearly a 'my natural lips but better' look? I'm a bit undecided how to classify the pigment because it doesn't stay around forever but while it decided to hang out with you, it really is quite lovely. The packaging says 'translucent colour' and I would say this is pretty accurate. Don't expect this to be a subsitute for your heavily pigmented lipstick but instead see it as a sheer kind of gloss.

 It contains SPF16 and unlike the original Baby Lips which claims 8 hours of hydration, this only claims to give you 6 hours of moisture. This is interesting to me because even though this still has the nice lightweight balmy feeling to it I find that it wears off quicker and leaves my lips feeling more dry, compared to the original Baby Lips. The scent is (again) pretty subtle. In terms of lasting power, I get the lightweight balmy feeling for around thirty minutes or so. 

So who is the winner?

The winner for me is the original Baby Lips! 

Thanks for reading and please let me know what your thoughts are on these two products, or on any other balms out there that deserve the spotlight! 

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

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 vs. Product #1 - Lip balm sticks

Every thursday I am going to do a product vs. product post. A battle between two favourites and after reviewing them both extensively there will be winner.

For this post it is:

• Nivea Pure&Natural Lip care - Milk and Honey

                                       vs

• Yes to carrots - Melon Lip Butter

So essentially, for me, it is my old favourite (the nivea) versus a newie (the yes to carrot lip butter stick I just brought because I am trying to limit my exposure to chemicals and toxins). 

I have worn the Nivea lip care sticks for years and years and have re-purchased them frequently. So I guess you can say that I am true loyal customer :) I love them because they moisterise, they are clear, they have nice subtle scents that are not overpowering and they are cheap. I have reviewed them before so I'm not going to blabber on about them too much. 

My experience of wearing the Nivea:

• Applied quite a lot of product on my lips. Instantly felt protected and creamy. Product sits on top of the lips a little but also noticeable absorbs into the skin.
• There is no overpowering scent and it applies clear onto my lips. The lack of scent may be because the stick of product has been used for nearly a year and I use the product heaps so maybe I don't smell it anymore???
• After 55 minutes of wearing them (during which time I was working my computer and not eating/drinking) I could still feel the product on my lips and my lips felt smooth and moist. However most of the product had absorbed in. 
• After an hour I ate my lunch (buttered bread roll) and my lips no longer felt smooth and moist.

My experience of wearing Yes to Carots:

• Applied a moderate amount of product on my lips. 
• Has a very subtle shimmer to it.
• After a 2 hour long lecture my lip could still faintly feel the product on my lips.
• Unlike the Nivea this lip product does have a noticeable scent to it however after a while of wearing the product it does disappear so it shouldn't be an issue for most people. However as this is the first day I am wearing this product the scent may just be more noticeable to  me since it's a new stick of product and I haven't smelt it before.
• Packaging is very good. A sturdy plastic tube with a lid that clicks on tightly. 

Summary

• At the one hour mark the products are equal in their lasting power. However from my experiment yesterday where I wore both, I found that the Yes To lasts longer overall.
• The Nivea is more creamy and the Yes To is more of a jelly? I'm not sure if these are the right words but when I put the Yes To on it kind of reminds me vasoline? 
• Yes to was $5.99 at Priceline and The Nivea is $4.49 at Priceline so price-wise they are pretty much the same. However at Target they often have a 3 packet of nivea balms that is equal to buying 3 and getting one free. 
• Because Yes To is a new product for me I am unable to say if I would buy it again because even though I love it now maybe in a month I will have found a flaw. But, nonetheless, I am extremely happy with it and apart from the smell, I think it is equal, or perhaps, even better than the nivea! I may just have found myself a new favourite!