Battle of the Lip Balms!

Lately I have become shall we say obsessed with lip balms? I carry several around with me daily and apply them liberally (and unnecessarily). I love the feeling when you first apply the balm to your lips and you can feel it there, so I probably apply my lipbalms a lot more often than normal! Burt's Bees has been a favourite of mine for a few months, but after acquiring an EOS lipbalm (which I have wanted forever!) and finally getting my hands on Baby Lips, I thought I would put them all to the test to see which one came out on top!

Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm - £3.49 - (4.25g)

I love this lipbalm and keep one on my desk at work. It is not tinted. It smells so very natural, it is definitely a true honey scent. I can imagine that some people would not like the scent of it. The balm itself is unremarkable, I suppose it is a little bit on the waxy side. The little tube is very slim and petite.

I applied this one liberally, and I found that after about 40 minutes the feeling of the balm had disappeared. 

EOS Lip Balm "Strawberry Sorbet"  - £5.99 (7g)

I have wanted one of these lipbalms for so long! They are so unique in their packaging, it is like an egg shape with a screw off top. The balm itself is a large dome. The scent of this one is lovely. It smells like strawberry bubble gum. But is the packaging just a gimmick? I could not believe how soft this balm is when I first tried it. It feels so good to wear and it applies well. I got 50 minutes before the "balm" feeling had worn off. It is also worth noting how much product you get in this one compared to the others.

Maybelline Baby Lips "Cherry Me" - £2.99 (4g)

Ah the much coveted Baby Lips! Finally they have made their way over here. I chose the shade Cherry Me because I kind of like tinted lip balms a lot more and I thought this shade would be best on me. The packaging on this one is very sturdy and chunky. The balm itself is very soft and not dissimilar to the texture of the EOS. The scent of this one is just amazing! It smells like cherry sweets. I applied this and I absolutely adored the colour on my lips, the texture and that sweet smell! However - after only 20 minutes I was reaching for the lipbalm because it just didn't last that long on me!



So now I have to decide which one I like best! My winner is..... EOS! I just feel that for the price, the amount of product you get, the lovely scent and of course the balm itself which is super soft and hydrating. Plus the packaging is cute and unique!

I must admit I was a little disappointed that Baby Lips did not have any staying power, however I absolutely do adore it, especially for the cherry scent and lovely tint on your lips. I have been wearing this one all day today and it really is lovely, very good price too.

So I think Burt's Bees is going to take a back seat for a while! It just does not feel as soft and nourishing as the other two balms.

So there you have it! Have you tried any of these lip balms? Let me know what you think!

Nails of the Day - Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour - Bel-Argus

Apologies in advance, this post may be a little picture heavy!

I got a lend of this beautiful polish, I had heard that this shade was just incredible. I had to have a wee go of it myself!

The polish is a shimmery, iridescent blue. Honestly, every time I look at it, it looks different. It is absolutely the most unusual polish I have ever used. You can see the minuscule glitter particles in there.

These polishes cost £18.00 - I have never spent more than about £6.00 on a nail polish. I have never used anything so expensive before. However, I have been wearing this polish for a full five days and incredibly, there are no chips despite having washed my hair and being working with my hands a lot.

I had to photograph my nails in different lighting, so you can see the polishes iridescence. However, I really believe that you need to see this one in real life to see just how unique it is! The formula was really good to work with, it had a great consistency and I am most impressed with its staying power. I think I will have to invest in a Chanel polish for myself!

July Favourites!

When I was making a list of things I had been using throughout the month of July, there really wasn't that many products I had been using. The weather was so good, and sometimes hot weather and make up just don't go! So... here is what I have been using in July!

Clarins Splendours Palette - Oh, how I adore this palette! The shades in here are absolutely perfect for summer. The eyeshadows have excellent staying power too. I swear I have been wearing these shadows every day since I got this palette. I couldn't recommend this enough.

Lancome Blush Subtil Palette - This is in the shade Nectar Lace. I have this palette for a few months now I think but it is only recently I started getting the use out of it. I am slowly but surely getting used to contouring! And the contour shade here is perfect. The blush is absolutely stunning, it is a deep coral with gold shimmer. I have been enjoying this so much!

Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara - Oh my goodness, honestly this is the best mascara ever! I do not think I could live without it now! (well not literally). The wand is excellent, it is very tapered at the end and it perfect for getting into the corners of your lashes. The formula too is amazing, it doesn't clump or flake off during the day. It is just perfect and so long wearing. I absolutely adore it and the packaging is so glam too!

Clarins Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Gel - I have completely fallen in love with this! It is so nice to wear, not as heavy as a gloss. It smells super sweet and gives your lips that perfect sheen. The colour itself gives you a lovely rosey tint. I think this is a fabulous product, and I will be doing a more detailed review very soon because I love it so much!

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Body Scrub - My skin was not in great condition there for a while during the good weather. Layers upon layers of fake tan had really taken it's toll on my skin. So it was off to Superdrug I went to get a few items to remedy that! One of the things I got was this scrub. I would never usually bother with scrubs, but this one was on offer in Superdrug for £3.00. All I can say is "WOW"! First of all, the smell is just...divine. While I wasn't really impressed with the scrubs power to remove fake tan (it doesn't really), I can definitely notice a massive improvement in my skin. My skin has actually never been in better condition, and I believe it is down to this lovely scrub.

MAC Prep & Prime Protection SPF 50 - It's back again! I know I had this product in my June favourites, but I had to give it another mention. I was so so grateful to have this product during the heatwave, knowing that you had that SPF 50 protection on your face. I believe this is so important. I have actually used up this whole tube now, I need to purchase another!

IsaDora Sugar Crush Nail Polish - I love this polish in the shade Coral Crush. I have been wearing this almost every single day. I have never used up a whole nail polish but I am heading that way with this one! Orange polishes are a current obsession with mine. It took me a while to get used to the texture of this polish, now I think nothing of it. It is so nice and sparkly too, without the pain of removing glitter polish! Adore this so much.

Kerastase Bain Exfoliant Purifiant Shampoo - I have to tell everyone about this shampoo and how it has "changed my life". That is kind of an exaggeration. However, this is an anti-dandruff shampoo with exfoliating beads in it. My scalp is just horrendous, when I have dandruff, it is bad and I mean really bad. This shampoo is the only thing that works. I've tried everything in the chemists to the doctor's prescriptions but this is the only thing that clears my dandruff and actually keeps it away. If I wash my hair with another shampoo even just once, the dandruff comes straight back! So this is I think my 5th bottle of Kerastase that I have re-purhased. I honestly will never be without this shampoo!!



I hope you all liked this post! I honestly cannot believe we are into August already...it's coming to the end of summer and I am not sure I am ready to say goodbye yet! The weather has been incredible (okay, not right now but we had a very good run!). I have had a brilliant summer so far. I took some time off work which I really enjoyed and I got to see Michael Bublé in concert twice, which was incredible.

I can't wait to see what products you all have been using in July!

Nails of the Day - ArtDeco Ceramic Nail Lacquer Shade 083

I adore everything ArtDeco, I just love their sleek packaging and of course the way everything looks like a 1930s style! This gorgeous jade green polish is just lovely.  (If it shows up a little turquoise in my photos, I do apologise. This polish is in fact a true green shade).

For ages I have been searching for a lovely green polish for my collection - shockingly I think that is one colour I did not have! This shade is just beautiful and is perfect to wear in Summer or in Winter. I have never used ArtDeco polishes before, and I really like the formula of this one. It was so easy to apply, it has the perfect consistency. I have my eye on some fabulous Dita Von Teese polishes too!

Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy perfume - my all time favourite!

I am in no way a fan of Britney Spears, but her perfumes are incredible. My favourite one is Midnight Fantasy, and has been for about 6 years now. Midnight Fantasy was the second perfume to come out in the "Fantasy" range, it was released in 2007.

I love sweet, fruity perfumes, and this is by far the sweetest, most fruitiest perfume you could ever want!

Heart Notes: Night Orchid, Freesia, Iris

Top Notes: Framboise, Black Cherry, Plum

Base Notes: Amber, Musk, Vanilla

The bottle looks quite nice and mysterious, and would look really elegant on your dressing table. 

I am sure at this stage, nearly everyone has tried this perfume. If you haven't I just cannot recommend it enough if you are into sweet scents like me. You can get the 100ml bottle for around £20.00 in most shops. I myself have been addicted to it now for years, I would consider it my signature scent! 

Have you tried any Britney Spears perfumes?

ArtDeco Eyeshadow Base

I had been on the lookout for a good eyeshadow base and several fellow bloggers recommended I check out this ArtDeco one. I got it on BeautyBay.com for an amazing £8.00 (for a 5ml pot). OK so far it is not all that expensive so I am impressed! BeautyBay dispatched my order quite quickly and I had my eyeshadow base a couple of days after ordering.

I have been wearing this almost every day under my eyeshadows since I got it, and it has not given me any problems. My eyeshadow is definitely staying on all day and not creasing, which is what I wanted. The product itself feels a little sticky initially, it is quite thick and almost creamy. You can see that it is a neutral shade that I think would suit most skin tones. It is a little shimmery, but it is barely noticeable and you cannot see the shimmer at all when you apply your eyeshadow over this. 

The only thing I did not like was the smell! It is awful! It kind of smells like men's aftershave. It is the only off-putting thing about putting this on your eyelids. Couldn't they have made it to have a nice floral scent or something? Or better yet no scent at all? 

Overall though I do really like this product and it is definitely great at prolonging my eyeshadows. 

I hope you liked this review! Let me know if you have tried this Artdeco Eyeshadow Base!

Catrice Ultimate Colour Lipstick - Oh Juicy!

 I can't resist orange lipsticks. I saw this lovely one in the chemist and it was so cheap too I had to buy it. I also love the name "Oh Juicy!".

I love the Catrice logo embossed in the lipstick. The tip of this lipstick is quite curved, which is nice but it is quite difficult to get into the corners of your lips.

You can see this is a real, true bright orange! It is actually a lot brighter than I expected. It is super pigmented.

Wow! I absolutely adore this lipstick. I haven't worn as bright of a lipstick in years. This is perfect to give you that pop of colour on your lips. I really am mad about everything orange in my make up collection and this is a winner for me!