Product vs Product - BYS Mega Shine Lip Gloss / Rimmel London Royal Gloss

Another week has gone by - wow!!!! Time is really flying at the moment.
I decided to do a lipgloss battle this week for my product vs. product post. Lipgloss is always floating around, on my desk, by my bed and I usually have 3 or 4 in my handbag......I don't wear them all but they just accumulate!

The two lipglosses I will be reviewing are:

• BYS Mega Shine LipGloss in Strawberry 
• Rimmel London Royal Gloss in 701 Cookie

The BYS gloss retails for $4.95 and I think the Royal Gloss was recently discontinued :( as I saw it in a sale bin for around $4 but originally it was probably around $10. If I knew that it had been discontinued I obviously would not have included it in this review but oh well. 

Both glosses come in a tube and are marketed with a scent, are quite sheer and basic glosses useful for layering over lipstick if you like doing that. 

The BYS gloss is quite thick and a little sticky but not unbearable, the stickiness becomes more apparent after wearing it for awhile. It lasts for around an hour (no drinking or eating) and gives your lips a very sheer, shiny appearance. The scent is of strawberries and is quite strong, even after applying it onto your lips however after around 20 mins I found that the scent faded away. As I said, it is a little sticky but I wouldn't say it is too sticky. 

 Overall score: 6/10 because it is an okay product and does what it's suppose to do but nothing more.

The Rimmel gloss has a lovely scent of cookies and smells delicious. It is a subtle scent that is not as strong as the BYS gloss and does not last very long once applied. The gloss applies very smoothly and as advertised, this gloss is definitely not sticky! It lasts for a little over a hour and gives your lips a subtle glossy/shimmery look. I love this gloss and often wear it on it's own but I'm guessing you could whack it over some lipstick too.

Overall score: 9/10 because it smells great, moisturises your lips and is a great formula.

The winner of this battle is the Rimmel Gloss however it should be noted that the BYS gloss is a great, cheaper alternative. Perhaps useful for a kris kringle gift (Mum told me this week that it is 3 months until Christmas-yikes!!!!) or a birthday gift for a teenage lip gloss junkie :)

Product vs. Product - Kit vs Vaseline

This week's battle between two products focuses on body moisturisers, body lotions.... or whatever you want to call them.

We have  Vaseline's total moisture aloe fresh daily light lotion spf 15 against Kit's Hand & Body Lotion. Each of these products I have owned for around a year and to be honest, I love them both. There are a few differences though, so here goes.

The vaseline retails for around $8.00 for 200ml and is easily found in chemists,supermarkets and shops like Target. It is made in Australia :)

The Kit Hand & Body Lotion retails for $29.95 for 200ml. You can purchase it from Kit stores, kit kiosks located at Myer or online here:http://www.kitcosmetics.com.au/products/kitcosmetics/essentialkithandandbodylotion/

Notes on Kit's Hand & Body Lotion

• Delightful, sophisticated scent with tones of lemongrass and yummy oils. I love the smell!
• Absorbs into the skin very quickly and leaves your skin feeling moist. 
• No yucky greasy feeling after application. If applying onto your hands, you can use your hands pretty much straight away. You don't end up feeling slimy!
• Combined hand and body lotion that serves two functions effectively without compromising on anything (it's a great hand lotion as well as being a body lotion). 
• Made in Australia. 
• Contains no parabens, phthalates or sulphates. 
• Comes in a useful pump bottle. 
• Packaging is simple but classy.

Overall score 10/10

Notes on Vaseline's total moisture aloe fresh daily light lotion spf 15

• Ok so I know I said I loved the smell of the kit lotion (and I do) but I also really love the smell of the Vaseline lotion. No, I'm not that fussy with my scents but these two lotions have really great scents and dare I say it......these two lotions are my absolute favourites!) This lotion smells very 'green', if that makes sense?
• Sinks into the skin very quickly and doesn't leave any residue. Skin feels very moist after application and smooth. 
• SPF 15 and protects against both UVA and UVB rays, always a plus although if I was going into the sun I would put SPF 30 on. I like this lotion though for days when I'm not sure what I'm doing and want to play it safe or if I won't be in the sun much. 
• Packaging is pretty standard but functional. 
• I'm not sure if it is intended to be used as a hand lotion but I can't see why not. 
• Made in Australia. 

Overall score 10/10

To test each of these lotions out I applied one to each leg, two days in a row (yes I know, my testing technique was quite poor) and tried to decide which leg felt smoother on the second evening.  The 'kit' leg felt marginally smoother although both lotions did a great job of keeping my skin hydrated. As a combined lotion the Kit lotion is brilliant. I would highly recommend it's use as a hand lotion as well as a general purpose body lotion. However, despite being a lot cheaper, the Vaseline lotion also performed brilliantly. I know this review is pretty pointless because I can't pick a winner!!!! Sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I am going to say that both products are winners and I would recommend them both to you :) 

If you want something cheap and for general purpose and for your body mostly (not as a independent hand lotion) go for the Vaseline however if you want a lotion that you can use on your hands and body equally go for the Kit lotion. 

Have you tried either of these products? Do you have a favourite lotion? 

Cheers and have a great weekend!

Question for you!

Hey guys, don't worry I will be posting later today but meanwhile I have a question for you.
Every Thursday I do a product vs. product post.
Question 1 - do you like these posts? Should I keep doing them?
Question 2 - what products should I review this week? Body moisturisers? Body wash? perfume?Something else?
Please let me know,
cheers and have a great day!

Thursday's Product v. Product

Another Thursday, another product vs. product post :)
I decided to review the limited edition Face of Australia sheer gloss lip gloss crayons and put them in battle against Korres Cherry lip gloss in 'nude #33'














I saw a great review about lip gloss crayons here from 'Australian Beauty'. I told myself that I didn't need the lip crayons but I saw the ModelsPrefer gloss crayon and hesitantly put it back onto the shelf and then a week later.....I came home with the Face of Australia crayons even though the only colour I liked in the set of 3 was 'Sundae'. The tipping point was the fact that you don't need to sharpen them :)

I would also like to note that my Face of Australia crayons are brand new and my Korres lip gloss is over three years old so I cannot say for sure that the age of the Korres gloss has not impacted on it negatively. 

Face of Australia Sheer Gloss Lip Crayons
First impression was WOW!!!! On application these instantly feel moisturising and very creamy - not sticky at all. There is a slightly sweet yummy scent however it is very subtle so nothing to worry about if you are a scent-hater! Additionally, it is very easy to apply these, if need be you could apply these without a mirror and not worry too much. Good for on the run!

The pigmentation of these glosses are impressive and malleable - a little with give you a slight tint and if you want more pigmentation just apply more....

Lasting power of these are also very good, especially considering they are gloss. I applied these at 11:50am. By 12:40pm pigmentation was only just beginning to fade (but the colour was still visible). I personally think this is fine and the fact that they fade evenly is good too. After eating lunch and having a drink the gloss had totally faded by 1:20pm.

Summary: Moisturising gloss crayons that are retractable and come in a set of 3. Feel very soft and amazing on your lips.

The colours are:
Sundae - A scrumptious beige. My favourite and the only reason I brought these!
Macaron - A lovely red. Not too 'red' though. I didn't think I would ever wear this but I actually really like the red-tinge it gives me lips.
Cupcake - reminds me of Barbie.

Retails for $14.95 however are limited edition so if you want them I would advise getting to the shops pretty quick!

Lasting power of these are good for a gloss and they feel amazing on the lips. I want to emphasise that they are not sticky.

Overall score: 10/10

Korres 

Now onto the Korres gloss. I want to state first that this gloss of mine is over 3 years old and I haven't worn this for a very long time so I am unsure if the age of this gloss has affected it in anyway. 

Pigmentation for this is great for a gloss and on the lips it looks really glossy :) I use to wear this over lipstick. Lasting power is ok however the sticking point (hahaha) is that the gloss feels a little sticky. However, I can't remember it being sticky so either my gloss has aged or I am now more aware of these things being a beauty blogger and all....Also, they may have altered the formula since I got this over 3 years ago. 

The colour of this gloss is absolutely amazing and if you apply it thickly it can look quite pigmented. I give the colour of this gloss 10/10!!!!

It retails for $29.95 at Kit Cosmetics. 

Summary: A gloss that gives you lovely colour and feels thick and creamy on application. Great over lipstick and available from Kit Cosetics for $29.95

Overall score: 7.5/10

So who is the winner / what would I re-purchase? To me the true sign of a great product is whether you would re-purchase it. Taking into consideration all factors including cost, quality and versatility and personal opinion I would definitely buy the lip crayons again (however would prefer it if they sold 'Sundae' separately) as they are good value for money (cheaper than one Revlon Lip Butter) and 'Sundae' is not too bold so I can wear it a lot. I really wish these were not limited edition because I will be so sad when my 'Sundae' crayon runs out. I am considering buying another packet but that would BE crazy because I'm not head over heels in love with the other colours (don't get me wrong they are great colours but I LOVE LOVE LOVE Sundae). Also, my opinion might be a little biased because I have only owned these crayons for less than a week! Fingers crossed they last well and the retractable-aspect of them works well. Otherwise I will have been excited for nothing. On the other hand, I would consider buying the Korres gloss again if my budget wasn't so tight and I could try a tester to make sure they are not super sticky. Perhaps as a Christmas pressie to myself if I use some all of the old glosses I have laying around (including the Korres one reviewed in this post). 
The winner is the Face of Australia Sheer Gloss Lip Crayons

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!

Product vs. Product

Hi guys. 

Another boring post from me today I'm afraid! 

I have been thinking a lot about how I can make my blog easier to read and less random so I figured every Thursday I would do a "Product vs. Product" post which basically reviews/compares two products against each other. They can be any  type of product: polish, skincare make-up, lipbalm, perfume....etc. They could even be the same product but different colours - whatever you want really!

If there are any products you have been thinking about buying and want to see how they fare against their competition please post a product you would like to see in the 'battle' and I will do my best to review it. 

Please let me know if you like this  idea + if there are any products you are interested in.

Only one more day until the weekend - yay :)