This one Really is the Balm!

Hey all!

So lately these coloured balms are popping up everywhere. Maybelline, Revlon, L'Oreal and many others. I've tried the aforementioned three and have to say only one really convinced me it was a great conditioning balm!

This is L'Oreal's Colour Riche Balm in Pink Satin. I found myself wondering what the differences between all these balms were but there are actually many! Revlon's comes in a huge variety of shades, but didn't add enough moisture for me, it was more like a sheer lipstick. Maybelline's comes in few shades and are extremely sheer and L'Oreal comes in a mid range of shades, provides great moisture and a little bit of shimmer. I feel like I'm channeling Goldilocks here "Maybelline was too sheer, Revlon was too pigmented and L'Oreal was juuuusssstttt right" haha.

As I mentioned, I picked this up in the shade Pink Satin which was sold out at 3 stores before I could find this one! This is the lightest of the shades and is a very light but very sheer pink with shimmer.

I love the packaging of this balm, its luxurious and has co-ordinating coloured caps to the product inside to make it easy to find a certain colour in your hand bag or drawer. Another added bonus? SPF 15, which I'm always looking for in my lip balms and lip colours. My lips tend to sunburn very easily even in the winter so I need SPF!

As for pricing, Maybelline is the cheapest version of these tinted drugstore balms, with L'Oreal coming in second and Revlon being most expensive (although prices vary wildly so make sure you shop around!). Of the three I found L'Oreal's to give the most moisture and make my lips feel the most comfortable, while providing shine and a hint of colour!

As you can tell I didn't "haul" any of these because I really wanted to find which one worked for me. I'm glad at least one of them did, being the L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm and I think I'm going to have to pick up a few more colours! Have you tried any of these drugstore coloured balms? Which one was your favourite?

Summary

L'Oreal's Colour Riche Balm - Pink Satin

$7.98 (Approximately)

Available at: Drugstores

Is Everything Really Better with Butter?

Good morning everyone!
It is a glorious wintery day out there - if by glorious you think of -15°C with a wind chill of -20°C and a winter storm warning for 10-15 centimetres of snow and a car that won't start no matter how many times you jump it... Anyway back on track! Today I have a review of a lip product, namely Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake. I know many beauty bloggers hauled this product, picking up on every shade, believe me I was tempted but I just don't trust lip products because I rarely, rarely love them. So, I decided to pick up just one and test it out.

First off, I love the packaging. Very luxe & expensive looking with the signature "quilted" case of Colorburst products. The cap stays on tightly (as to not fall off in your purse) and the caps give a fairly accurate description of what colour is inside. If you are someone who has many of these it would make it super easy to find the shade you were looking for! I also like the angled tip, as it makes for much easier application, especially in a rear view mirror (not while driving I promise!).

I selected Strawberry Shortcake because of its neutral, medium pink. I figured it would be great for everyday wear and didn't want to select anything darker as I didn't know what the pigmentation pay off would be like. This one has a hint of shimmer in it but definitely nothing noticeable on the lips. You can also tell which shades have shimmer by the cap - ones with shimmer will have, you guessed it, shimmer in the lid!

The pigmentation pay off is actually a lot more than I expected! I would say these are much more close to a moisturizing lipstick than a tinted lip balm. I love the colour of this one once applied, it's a really flattering pink that I think most skin tones could wear. If you were to only pick up on one of these I think this would be a good option.


Now for my personal experience with the product. I expected more. These aren't very moisturizing, at least not for me, and I will definitely require a balm underneath when I wear this. Having said that, I do like them as a moisturizing lipstick and will definitely wear it, it just wasn't what I expected. I wanted a super rich balm with just a hint of colour and that isn't what I got. The term "lip butter" makes me think of my Korres Lip Butter (which is amazing) and I definitely prefer those for a tinted lip balm. If you want a moisturizing lipstick or your lips don't need a lot of hydration I would definitely pick up on this. I don't by any means not like the product it just wasn't what I had anticipated. I may even buy another one because when I do wear lipstick I like it to be sheer and moisturizing!


Summary
Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter - Strawberry Shortcake
$9.00 (Roughly) CAD
Available at: Drugstores


What did you think of these lip butters? Did you expect more or where they everything you wanted?

Coach for Estée Lauder Collection

Hi Everyone! Sorry I've been absent for so long, the holidays got away from me - I went into SUPER lazy mode, I don't think I even opened my computer for two weeks straight! (Partially due to the lack of internet when I was up at the Ski Hill!) So, for my coming back I thought I would do an extra special post on one of my most favourite Christmas gifts this year!

This is the Coach for Estée Lauder Collection. This was one of those buy-with-purchase items during the holidays - you know, if you spend blank amount of money you can purchase this collection for blank amount of money. Personally, I had no idea this was out there! If I had known I would have already bought it before Christmas! I have never really used Estée Lauder cosmetics, the only thing I have owned from them was their liquid bronzer from a few (like 6) years back - which was actually really great! Honestly, I would have bought this for the makeup bag alone! How adorable is this little golden bag? It goes especially nicely with the new Coach Handbag I got for Christmas too! :)

(This is not yet a review, but they are to come! :))

Close up!

Cute little Estée Lauder Signature tag, as well as the Coach Signature Leather tag!

Here are a few more pictures of the bag close up, just because I can get enough of it!! Not only did I get this amazing little bag (that is now a staple in my purse) but it came packed with makeup goodies! (Just to let you know - None of these are Limited Edition Colours, all can be bought separately!)

First up is this cute little, luxurious, compact! It is packed with 3 Pure Color Eyeshadows and a Signature Silky Powder Blush. When I first opened this I was shocked at the purple shade - "What is that doing in there?" I thought - it just looks so out of place! But after swatching it, it is actually a gorgeous muted purple that goes great with the other two shadows to create a really different eye look that I would never have thought of! Plus, it looks great with my green eyes! :) (Sorry no swatches, I will tomorrow - my camera battery ran out!) The shades (from left to right) are Ivory Slipper (Satin), Hot Cinnamon (Shimmer) and Amethyst Spark (Shimmer). Oddly enough, when applied these look completely opposite of how they are described! The two that are marked "Shimmer" look like satins with only a slight sheen, while the light "Satin" shade looks like a shimmer! Either way, they are gorgeous and in no way too shimmery or glittery! The blush is a great, everyday Nude Rose. It is matte with no shimmer but the slightest sheen to give it a gorgeous finish that isn't chalky. 

Next up are two of Estée Lauders Pure Color Long lasting Lipsticks. I'm not a big lipstick wearer (as you may know) but these are two really gorgeous and wearable shades that I am definitely going to try out! On the left is Sugar Honey and on the right is Pinkberry. Both shades are much darker than they showed up in the pictures (sorry, flash photography at night!). Sugar Honey is a definite shimmer/frost shade while Pinkberry has no shimmer particles, just a great sort of mauve satin!

Next up is Estée Lauder's Artist's Eye Pencil in 01 Softsmudge Black. I'm a sucker for any black eyeliner - you can never have too many! This one is super soft, doesn't tug at your eyelids and can create a very thin line without wearing down too fast and without being TOO soft! The original Artist Eye Pencil comes with a smudger on the end but thats okay because I rarely smudge my eyeliner anyways. It seem to set really well without smudging after the fact but I have yet to wear it for a full day so that review is to come!

Next is a mini Pure Color Gloss in Wired Copper. I really like the smell of Estée Lauder glosses (smelling this one reminded me that I had a sample of this before!), they are sweet but not candy sweet and isn't overpowering! This color is a full on shimmer with quite a bit of sparkle and a close to metallic finish and very high shine. It isn't very pigmented, more of a traditional gloss - just to add shine to the lips!

This set also came with two mini covered brushes. Although I probably won't use these very much they are great to throw in my little makeup bag for quick touch ups! The eyeshadow brush is very soft and they blush brush could actually apply color nicely!

Overall, I LOVE this set!! I couldn't be happier with it - the Coach makeup bag, the shimmering golden cases and the rich colours are to die for! I will be happy to have this in my purse and I'm so so glad that my mom was able to snap me up one of these! Please keep an eye out for swatches tomorrow!

Did you get any great makeup gifts for Christmas? Let me know! :)

Revlon Multi-Use Palette

Okay Ladies, who doesn't love a great palette? And who doesn't love a great palette full of all cream colours that are a cinch to apply with only your fingers? I know I do! 

This is Revlon's Multi-Use Palette, which I believe is a Limited Edition piece. This has been on the market for a while now and I have been eyeing it ever since it came out! What made me crack down and purchase this was that I got it for only $6.49 CAD at London Drugs! 

This tiny little package contains everything you could need for a great, glowing face! I find this especially nice for the holidays and to take on vacation! At first I thought these colours were sort of random, a peach blush, brown and grey shadows and a bright red lip? Seemed a little random and non-coordinating to me in the package.

Here are the swatches of whats included in the palette.

Left to right: Brown Shadow, Grey Shadow (both creams), Peach Blush and White, Shimmer Highlight (both Creams) Bottom: Red Lip Colour (comes with little lip brush).

I find all these shades extremely pretty! Especially the bright red/pink lip colour, once my lips are unchapped (which I feel like will NEVER happen!) I will swatch...*sigh* stupid cold, dry winter air! 

SIDE NOTE: if anyone knows of a great chapped lip healer PLEASE let me know, I've been trying everything!!

The brown and grey eye shades actually go together really well also, something I would have never expected! Overall, I love this little palette! I love cream anything because they are so simple, and easy to apply without making any mistakes! Its also a full face of makeup in one tiny little compact which makes it super great for travel or in your purse! I will do a makeup look with this in the near future (maybe tomorrow!) and highly recommend picking this up if you happen to spot it around! This is going to be a staple in my makeup bag from now on!

LUSH Tinted Lip Balm Review

Obviously, I have been on quite the lip kick! I can't help it! This time of year all I can think about is how chapped my lips are and how NOTHING helps! :( Anyways, I didn't really pick this up to help with my chapped lips, I picked it up because its adorable haha

Lip Tint - Snow Fairy

Lush has always had lip balms (untinted ones) but I have never purchased one before. I've looked at them many times but never felt inclined to buy one, mostly because I didn't like any of the scents! In that case I'm not going to be able to compare this to their original lip balms!

Inside View

These are absolutely gorgeous, extremely vivid balms! They come in 3 shades Snow Fairy (bright pink), It Started With A Kiss (bright red) and Double Choc (bronzy/brown). These are all different in intensity when applied to the lips. The It Started With A Kiss is extremely intense when applied! It comes out as a true red, almost like a lip stick! The Double Choc is more sheer with a shimmer.

Swatch of Snow Fairy

I picked the Snow Fairy because its sheer but still has a great colour to it! You can up the intensity by adding extra layers of the product. These all contain nourishing oils and butters as well as waxes to keep your pout hydrated! I'll give you some pros and cons!

Pros

- Price: $5.95, not too bad!

- Colours: All vivid with different intensities to suit everyone

- Ingredients: hydrating, natural

- Cute Packaging: love the look of little tins!

Cons

- Tins are cute, but hate digging my finger in!

- Not as hydrating as I like

- Texture is very hard, makes it difficult to get onto your finger to apply

Overall, I do love this little thing! Its been in my purse since I got it and I find myself reaching for it a lot! Although, I don't use it has a hydrator, I only use it as a colour. I apply a balm before I apply this to make sure I have no cracks or dry skin that the colour will get trapped in (just like any other lip colour!) I would really like to try the red, as it looks really pretty! Have you tried any of these? Do tell!

Final Verdict: I would recommend these! The price is reasonable and the colour is very pretty! Also they are all natural which I always appreciate when putting something on my lips. I great tinted lip colour, but not to be used as a balm (for me at least!) :)