Lip balm saviours....

Lip balms, I'm sure you'll agree, one of life's little essentials... My favourites have to be the Nuxe Reve de Miel which is like cult lip balm status so say no more! I've also been loving the new discovery, SportsGirls Lip Jam, a moisturising, slightly tinted lip balm. One I've repurchased a few times now, I'm a huge fan of the Soap and Glory mighty mouth lip balm if I want something with a bit of gloss.

My stand out brand is Nivea for sure! Their lip butters are so thick and rich and perfect for night time, and the vanilla and macadamia flavour (as featured in my January favourites) smells good enough to eat! I've been addicted to using the Nivea sun protect over the past few months making sure I don't get burnt lips...who wants that! And for the days I need something to wear under a matte or drying lipstick I've been reaching for the Nivea Milk and Honey.

I know the Lush lip scrubs aren't technically balms but are definitely a lip essential for keeping them silky smooth!

What other lip balms do you guys love?

Loves

xxx

Lip lovers....read this....

Lashes, lips, and brows is my go-to makeup look, and I think I probably have enough lip products to rival my local Boots. Oh the perils of being a beauty blogger....

So when on holiday recently and I saw a load of Sephora products in a shop (the owner was American and imported Buxom, Tarte, Sephora etc...joy!) I was instantly drawn to this lip set...

Yes you're right I DON'T need any more lip products but with the likes of Bite, Tarte, Kat Von D and Buxom in here that aren't readily available in the UK, I was carrying this out of the shop looking like the cat that got the cream. 

First are the nudes...

Swatches l-r: Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Dolce, Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in Nylon Nude, Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Bare Naked, Buxom Full On Lip Cream in White Russian.

I love the consistency of the Stila liquid lipstick but HATE the colour on me so this will go straight into my pro kit. The Smashbox lipstick is a full size and I know I'll get loads of wear out of it, and I'm so in love with wearing the Laura Mercier gloss over the top of it. The standout in the nude section is the Buxom lip cream....Americans I'm so jealous that you can just pick these up easily...so creamy, make my lips tingle but in a great, fresh way, and last crazily long for a gloss!

Next the pinks...

Swatches l-r: Too Faced La Creme Colour Drenched Lip Cream in Marshmallow Bunny, Smashbox Lip Gloss in Pout, Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Never Say Never, Kat Von D Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Backstage Bambi

Two full size products here, the Bare Minerals lipstick which I love the consistency of, and the Two Faced lipstick which is probably my favourite product in the whole set; my perfect shade by far (and super cute name). The Kat Von D liquid lipstick is a great colour but Hello cheap packaging! The colour of the Smashbox gloss isn't really that wearable but maybe over a darker lipstick I can work with it!

Anyone for some reds...

Swatches l-r: Kat Von D Foiled Love Lipstick in Adora, Hourglass Opaque ROuge Liquid Lipstick in Icon, Makeup Forever Rouge Artist Natural N45, Bite Beauty High Pigment Pencil in Pomegranate

Firstly I hated the MUF lipstick, which actually snapped off when I did this swatch. Also wasn't a fan of the Kat Von D lipstick, it's very frosty which is not my style at all. I think the Bite lip crayon is a full size and I love that I've been able to try this, so pigmented and lasts ages! I've wanted to try the Opaque Rouge for SO long so I'm really happy I got a mini sample in here, love the shade and will definitely pick some more of these up!

Lastly, darker pinks...

Swatches l-r: Tarte Glamazon Pure Performance 12 Hour Lipstick in Inspired, OCC Lip Tar in Strumpet, Buxom Full Bodied Lipstick in Menace, Stila Colour Balm Lipstick in Sonya.

OK so I'm just a little bit (OK a LOT) in love with this Tarte lipstick. The formula, the colour, the lasting power...just wow. Another full size product from OCC, the first thing I've tried from them and probably the longest lasting lip product I've ever applied. The Buxom lipstick is creamy and a gorgeous colour and I'll get lots of wear out of this when I get back to wintery England! The Stila lipstick is OK, don't love it but I'm sure I'll wear it!

Such a great sample box, I got to try so many products I'd never tried but really wanted to, plus 5 full sized products!

What do you guys think?

Loves

xxx

Illamasqua Colouring Pencil in Indecent...

Gone are the days when all I (thought I) needed was a Barry M lipgloss and my lip wardrobe was sorted. Since blogging and getting to grips, and severely addicted, to lip products I tend to favour a more matte look especially when it comes to the bolds and the beautifuls. Bright pink is my favoured shade for summer so when browsing the beauty halls a while back I thought I'd dip my toe into the lip liner world. 

I'm loving lip liner worn all over the lips to create a neat, long lasting and vibrant look, which I sometimes layer up with a lipstick or, like above, wear alone. 

Illamasqua 'colouring pencil' in Indecent is a bright pink that is fairly creamy whilst still showcasing great lasting power. When it does fade (after one or two cosmo's) it fades evenly. And lets not jump past the name; a perfect name for a perfect daringly bright pink. I intentionally bought it to partner Mac's Candy Yum Yum but to be honest it's just as pretty on it's own.

Any other shades of Illamasqua colouring pencils I should try?

Loves

xxx 

Jam. For your lips....

Cute packaging? Check!

Smells like candy floss? Check!

A bargain? Check!

Gives lips a sheer pink tint while keeping them moisturise? Check!

What's not to love about these cute Lip Jams from Sportsgirl? I picked one up for under $5 last week and have since been back for a different shade (a peachy orange). They're a bit heavy for the handbag as the jar is made of glass, but it's perfect to pop on the lips in a morning when I feel like lipstick would be overdoing it!

Has anyone else smelt how amazing these are?

Loves

xxx

What's on my lips #3....

Not always one for gloss, I've been dipping my toes into the glossy waters recently, and have come out loving the latest offering from Revlon. In particular, this shade Pink Pop.

The pigmentation for a gloss is great, it's fairly un-sticky but just sticky enough to give it some great staying power. It lasted a couple of hours on my lips; even longer over a lipstick. I've since bought a nude shade which looks gorgeous ver pinky-nude glosses for night time paired with a smokey eye!

Anyone else love these glosses? Any more shade recommendations?

Loves

xxx

Disappointing Products #1...

Quite a small selection of products for my first ever disappointing products post, but considering how much time I spend on YouTube, reading blogs etc I like to think I do my research before going out and spending any money on cosmetics these days. I'd rather be sure that I'm buying something worthwhile than just wasting money on crap.

I bought Maybelline The Falsies mascara because, I'll be honest, Tanya Burr loves it. That's usually a good enough reason for me to go out and buy something. The first thing that should have rang alarm bells for me was the wand; I usually like skinny plastic wands with spiky combs much like They're Real from Benefit. I didn't find this volumising at all, it gave nice definition to my eyes but I like really thick, exaggerated lashes and I don't think this delivered. 

The second disappointment was the Bliss Fabulips exfoliating lip scrub. Not living near a Lush, I was missing the benefits that their lip scrub has always offered me and felt the need to have one back in my life. I picked this up from the Feel Unique sale a few weeks ago and can honestly say, bring back my Lush scrub! It's a really oily, thin balm that sits on my lips and doesn't sink in, and the exfoliating particles are so sparse that I need to dig out loads each time I use this. 

What's everyone else's disappointing products at the moment?

Loves

xxx