lush - lip service lip balm

 

after spending the evening at lush making a facemask, i made a couple of purchases that i promised i'd review. one was the sweet lips lip scrub  and here's the other one :)

this is an intense lip balm that i was advised to keep warm because it's consistency is really solid. this is easier said than done if you live in england and like to keep a lip balm in your handbag as it's usually cold, and i usually want to use it pretty quickly without having to spend time warming it up.

when you do finally get into it, sometimes by luck with the weather, sometimes by scraping some out with the top of my nail (which really isn't ideal and i hate doing it!), it is actually a really good lip balm. it feels like it's really protecting your lips but isn't at all thick or sticky. this combined with the lip scrub should hopefully make winter a lot nicer by helping dodge the dreaded chapped lips!

just one suggestion, lush... why not put lip service in a stick form like any other chapstick so that your lips warm up the lip balm as you are applying? just a thought!

revlon lip butter - strawberry shortcake

       

left - strawberry shortcake; right - berry smoothie

 

i've been waiting for ages to get my hands on some of the highly anticipated colorburst lip butters by revlon and finally managed to get hold of a couple this week! those of you that regularly read blink.pout.glow will know that slowly but surely i'm persuading myself to jump on the bright lips bandwagon. it's taking longer than anticipated though and revlon's lip butters seemed a perfect way to get involved.

as far as i've read, these are a mix between a balm and a lipstick and, according to revlon they have a 'hydrating mango, shea and coconut butter formula that boosts lip moisture by 156%'. this all sounds promising. it should also be noted that originally 20 colours were released in the U.S.A but only 14 made their way over to the U.K... boo!

firstly, i think i'm the only person that seems to think the packaging is actually a bit - dare i say it - tacky. not overly so, i'm just not a massive fan of the quilted effect although i do think it looks better in person than on any pictures i've seen (including my own!) i am a fan of the colour coordinated lid and the see-through top though, which makes it easier to find the right colour.

applying the lip butter is really easy and the formula is soft like a lip balm. the colours are sheer enough to use on the go aswell without worrying about messy application, although this probably wouldn't apply to more pigmented shades like lollipop. i wouldn't say it had the same moisturising effect as a lip balm but i would consider it less drying than any other lipstick i've tried.

strawberry shortcake is a cute, light pink colour that isn't too sheer or too opaque. this makes it really easy to wear without looking too sickly sweet or childish and most importantly, isn't shimmery or glittery as most colours like this are. hallelujah! i'm considering purchasing a few more lip butters in the current 3 for 2 offer at boots. it'd be rude not to! revlon lip butters retail at £7.99.

revlon lip butter - berry smoothie

    

 

i've been waiting for ages to get my hands on some of the highly anticipated colorburst lip butters by revlon and finally managed to get hold of a couple this week! those of you that regularly read blink.pout.glow will know that slowly but surely i'm persuading myself to jump on the bright lips bandwagon. it's taking longer than anticipated though and revlon's lip butters seemed a perfect way to get involved.

as far as i've read, these are a mix between a balm and a lipstick and, according to revlon they have a 'hydrating mango, shea and coconut butter formula that boosts lip moisture by 156%'. this all sounds promising. it should also be noted that originally 20 colours were released in the U.S.A but only 14 made their way over to the U.K... boo!

firstly, i think i'm the only person that seems to think the packaging is actually a bit - dare i say it - tacky. not overly so, i'm just not a massive fan of the quilted effect although i do think it looks better in person than on any pictures i've seen (including my own!) i am a fan of the colour coordinated lid and the see-through top though, which makes it easier to find the right colour.

applying the lip butter is really easy and the formula is soft like a lip balm. the colours are sheer enough to use on the go aswell without worrying about messy application, although this probably wouldn't apply to more pigmented shades like lollipop. i wouldn't say it had the same moisturising effect as a lip balm but i would consider it less drying than any other lipstick i've tried.

berry smoothie is a pink colour with a cool undertone that isn't too dark and because it's quite sheer is very wearable. i'm looking forward to wearing this out and about and am considering purchasing a few more lip butters in the current 3 for 2 offer at boots. it'd be rude not to! revlon lip butters retail at £7.99.

chanel nail varnish - ballerina

   

 

 

 

ooo chanel!! probably the most luxurious nail varnish around. such a pretty bottle, amazing quality and shine and in the cutest colour ever! 

ballerina is a really light pink, almost off-white nail varnish and is nothing like any of my other nail varnish colours. it's extra shiny even without a top coat and dries in about a minute, even after two coats.

the only problem is the price tag (this was a present... i don't actually have £18 to spend on a nail varnish...) but if you also consider it to be an essential dressing table decoration then maybe you could justify the price. so happy saving people, i know i will be!

lush - sweet lips lip scrub

as promised here, i thought i'd finally review one of the products i picked up at lush recently. this is their sweet lips lip scrub and seemed like a good investment as i suffer from dry lips quite regularly! i'm constantly on the look out for soothing lip balms and treatments but never really thought about purchasing a specific lip exfoliator. silly, silly me!

this is such a nice product to use. it smells like chocolate (always a plus in my book!) and leaves your lips feeling really smooth. admittedly, it's definitely something that needs to be done at home as it's quite messy so wouldn't be appropriate to take out and about but if you leave it in your bathroom then its easy to use in the shower or before brushing your teeth.

the only problem is is the same i feel you get with every exfoliating product, once you start using it you can't stop! but lush more than make up for this problem by making sure all the ingredients used are natural (mainly brown sugar) so after scrubbing you can just lick it off. mmm... :) for once, i'm almost looking forward to winter! find out more about lush lip scrubs here.

sleek - kohl eyeliner pencil: 'sapphire'

sleek isn't a brand i've tried before and i'm not sure if i'm yet to be convinced. a lot of fellow bloggers seem to rave about some of their products but this eyeliner pencil in sapphire isn't quite what i expected. 

application was quite smooth and didn't drag much which is always a bonus with a cheap eyeliner but overall i'm disappointed with the colour. i expected it to be a lot more navy as the pencil itself appears to be, and less blue. although i've been told otherwise, i felt a bit like pat butcher wearing this out (sorry pat!)

unprimed, it lasted for about four hours on the rim of the eye and not much more than one on the waterline but i suppose this can be forgiven for the £2.59 price tag. really, it's not so bad and i think i feel overly negative about it because the colour wasn't what i had expected. i promise not to let it put me off sleek though and hope to give another one of their products a go soon!
 

french manicure with a twist

   

 

today i decided to do a summery manicure, just in case the beautiful weather here in the U.K decides to disappear any time soon... a likely story unfortunately!

i used models own - jade stone as a base which took two coats and is a nice summery mint green colour. i then thought i'd do a twist on the classic french manicure so painted on light blue tips with models own - blueboo (review here). it's quite a subtle colour combination (hence two of the same picture in a different light) but i like it because it's something different but not so bold that it isn't wearable. 

finally, i added a matte top coat just to soften the join as well as attempting to make the pastel colours a little more grown up! hope you like it :)