Maybelline Baby Lips Review

 

The Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balms were FINALLY released in the UK a few weeks ago.  I bought all 6 of them as Boots were doing a 3 for the price of 2 deal on them so pretty much got 2 free.  First of all I like the packaging, the colours are fun and cute.  Although that is personal taste, I've heard people comment on how they dislike the packaging for it.

 

 

All the balms glide on so easily.  I was expecting them to be hard and tug on the lips during application but it did the opposite.  There are 3 SPF ones: Hydrate (blue with pink letter) has a lemon scent, Mint Fresh (green with purple letter) obviously has a lemon scent and Intense Care (yellow with orange letter) has a cherry scent.  The other 3 have a slight tint to them, it isn't a full on tint.  Pink Punch (pink with yellow letter) has a passion fruit scent with a slight pink tint, Cherry Me (orange with red letters) has a lovely cherry scent with a slight red tint and Peach Kiss (purple with peach letters) has peach scent with a slight nude tint.

 

I bought these lip balms as soon as they were released so I've had a couple of weeks to try each one out and although I would use all of them I do have my favourites.  I love Pink Punch and right now my lips are very cracked and sore so I am find Hydrate is helping them.  I like to put Mint Fresh on  before bedtime as well for some reason.

 

I recommend them, for £2.99 each from Boots I am impressed with them.  I really hope that Maybelline release more of them in the UK.  I would love to try to Electro collection next.

 

~* Jo *~

Skincare routine update and life

So I have been very MIA recently but with it being the summer holidays I have been busy with my daughter.  It is hard to keep her entertained now she doesn't go to nursery for 2.5 hours a day! lol  It was also her 5th birthday at the weekend.  Her dad and I had decided to split the day with her this year so she spent the morning and afternoon at his and then came home at 4pm.  I am having a birthday tea for her this weekend with the family and I've ordered a really fancy cake, I literally cannot wait to see it!

 

Just over 2 weeks ago I blogged about my skincare routine.  I have been doing routine for nearly a month now and I am so impressed with it.  I find the cleansing wash a bit thick though, it does the job but the pump is hard to press down.  The dryness on my forehead and nose has cleared up, my foundation no longer looks cake-y anymore.  My skin feels so much more hydrated now.

 

I have got a few blogs lined up for the next few days including a review of the 6 Maybelline Baby Lips lip balms that have been released in the UK so far and an MUA haul and review.

 

~* Jo *~

Review: Neal & Wolf Harmony Intensive Care Treatment

If I had to sum this product up in one sentence it would be: Heaven in a tube! 

 

 

 

My natural hair is brown (not a nice brown either, a proper mousy brown), dry, dull, frizzy, wavy and thin.  I have put my hair through a lot over the years.  I have bleached it twice in 5 days in an attempt to remove black dye.  I have dyed it red so many times I have lost count.  I then bleached it again but went progressive this time doing over the space of 10 months via highlights until it was 1 shade from white!  I decided to give my hair a rest from all the chemicals I had inflicted on it and I went back to my natural brunette colour.  Back in spring I decided to go for an ombre 'do which meant more bleach on the ends of my hair.  Now when I wash my hair it has the worst tangles in it, it feels rough and difficult to brush through.

 

I actually got this product in my first BeautEco box which I blogged about here.  I had never heard of the brand before so I doubt I would have ever bought it.  My first impression was it has a nice scent.  There is a bit of a coconut smell to it.  I used the Great Hair shampoo which I love, I've been using it for a few months now, I've been using it on my daughters long hair too and I've only just had to buy a new bottle so it has lasted a long time! The second I put the treatment on my hair I instantly felt the knots and tangles dissolve.  My hair felt softer and I was able to massage in it without my hair getting caught up or knotted.  I did that for 5 minutes like the directions said and rinsed it off.

 

After combing my hair through (which was the easiest comb through I've done in years!) with a wide toothed comb I left my hair to dry naturally for an hour and then gave it a little blast with my hot air styler to straighten it a bit.  I was impressed with the outcome.  My hair was less frizzy, not tangled or knotted at all, it didn't feel dry and my hair looked like it had a bit more life to it.  I would definitely buy this once I have used this up.  I found it on Beauty Bay for £7.96 right now as it is in a sale, regular price is £9.95.  It is definitely worth it if your hair is in need of repair, dry or just needs a boost.

 

~* Jo *~

BeautEco Box

I discovered BeautEco Box last week, I have no idea how long it has been around but I love the idea of it.  It is basically the beauty version of a graze box.  Once a month you receive a box with 5 products inside.  You get the choice of 3 boxes.  It is £10 + p&p a month and you can unsubscribe at any time.  So even after the first month if you don't want to continue it you can cancel it.

 

 

For the first month I chose this box.  Inside it had Neal and Wolf Elevate Volumising Lotion (full size), Neal and Wolf Harmony Intensive Care Treatment (full size), Art Deco Clear Mascara./Brow Gel (full size), Pukka Radiance Serum (10ml sample) and Eyes of Agnes Exfoliator (15ml sample).  I have tried the Brow Gel and the Radiance Serum so far, I am impressed with the serum.  I put it on after I used my toner and before I put my moisturiser on.  Right now I am having a tiny bit of a spot breakout on my forehead which I think it down to the humidity in the air and the fact I have been sweating a lot with this heat so it is hard to see the full effect of the serum.  I am going to continue using it and if I like it then I would consider buying the full size version of it.  Although at £32.00 for 50mls of it I would need to REALLY like it and see a visible difference in my skin.

 

In other news the Maybelline Baby Lips lip balm is finally onsale in the UK.  Boots are selling them for £2.99 each and are doing a 3 for 2 right now.  Given that there are 6 of them I simply HAD to order all six.  I can't wait to receive them, try them and review them!

 

~* Jo *~

E.L.F Haul

I treated myself to some E.L.F products after getting a 50% off email last week.  I have been on the fence with a lot of E.L.F products.  There are ones that I cannot live without and then others that are useless and not good quality at all.  Here is what I bought.

 

 

I didn't quite know why I bought this E.L.F Shimmer palette as I don't really use shimmer.  I was impressed with how smoothly this glides on skin.  I read reviews online that it is good as an eye primer so I gave it a go and quite liked it.  It is good for the brow bone under the eyebrows too.  You can't see it in the picture but it comes in 4 different colours - white, peach, pink and beige.  Once you apply it to the skin they all look very similar, there is not a great deal of difference in them however the pink shade is a bit more obvious, only by a tiny bit though.  At £3.75 it is not too bad a product and I will be using it more.

 

 

The E.L.F Zit Zapping Concealer in Corrective Green at £2.50 was disappointing to me.  I tried it on my red cheeks under foundation and I looked like the hulk.  It has a very thick consistency which made it hard to blend into the skin and it was very obvious under foundation.  I am not a fan of this product for myself so I won't be using it again.

 

 

I am not one for lip gloss as I always end up with it around my lips like a clown as the day goes on but when I saw the Studio Glossy Gloss I had to try it.  The shade I bought was called Twinkle Pink, the colour isn't as bright as the picture on the E.L.F website but it is still a lovely shade.  For some reason my photo make it look peach/coral, it isn't.  It is definitely pink! hehe It has a lot of colour to it and the applicator for it is a brush.  If you like a lot of sparkle on your lips then this is the product for you!

 

 

I bought the E.L.F Brightening Eyeliner in Coffee for my brows mainly.  I find actual brow pencils are too dark for me, even the lighter shades!  Eyeliner works better.  I have sparse light brow hairs and zero outer brow hairs (seriously, my eyebrow hairs stop half way so I have no ends. lol) so I have to draw them on.  I am still trying to master the technique though as I've only started doing my eyebrows so I won't be doing a before and after picture anytime soon! hehe  For £1.50 it is a great bargain and I would use the black one as an eyeliner too.

 

 I treated myself to some new brushes.  A concealer brush, eyeshadow brush and brow wand.  I've used the concealer and eye shadow brushes before and they are great for when my Real Techniques brushes have been washed and are still drying.  Never used a brow wand before (mostly used the brushes or combs) so I gave that a try last night and was impressed with it.

 

I bought an E.L.F sharpener as well but didn't think anyone would want to see a photo of that. lol  And also Studio Lotion Wipes in Shea Butter.  Like I said in my previous blog I have given up with wipes but I had ordered these before I made that decision so I gave them to my mum who reported back to me this morning that she used them last night and again this morning, she loved the smell and her skin felt more refreshed and soft.  As you may tell I did not get my dry, sensitive, rosacea skin from my mum as she can use almost any product on her skin and know she won't get a reaction to it (I am jealous! hehe), my dad takes the credit for giving me sensitive skin! lol

 

~* Jo *~

My current skincare routine

I don't have a regular skincare routine as I am still trying to find what works for the skin.  I have decided to give up using facial wipes full stop now.  They hurt my face so much, even ones that claim to be gentle, moisturising and for sensitive skin.  Even when I use them softly it feels like I've just rubbed sandpaper over my face so I have admitted defeat with them. 

 

Last week I treated myself to some new products after getting an email from Feel Unique about a one-day 20% off Elemis products.  This is what I got.

 

 

It is the Elemis Sensitive Cleansing Wash and the Elemis Rehydrating Genseng Toner.  They are £21 each from the Feel Unique site.  I have been using them twice a day (in the morning and about an hour before bedtime) for little under a week now and I am seeing a difference with my face.  It hasn't been dry once despite the fact the UK is in the middle of a heatwave right now.  My problem areas are mostly my forehead and nose, I get terrible flaky dry skin in those areas but so far nothing.

 

I have teamed it with the Cetaphil Moisturising Lotion.  I am so impressed with this moisturiser. For the last couple of months I have been using the Garnier Moisture Match for Dry to Very Dry skin but I found it took a long time to absorb, my face felt greasy for hours afterward and I couldn't see it helping the dryness at all.  After reading a lot of great reviews for Cetaphil I decided to give it a try. It was £8.35 for a 236ml bottle from Feel Unique.  From the first use I felt my skin feel softer and it absorbed within 10 minutes of applying to my face so I no longer have the shiny, greasy looking face.

 

Right now that is all I use on my face in terms of skincare.  I still have red cheeks from the rosacea but my face feels so much more hydrated, soft, smooth and more importantly no longer tight feeling!  I highly recommend the Elemis products, the toner is great to spray on your face (or even your arms and legs!) as well to freshen up throughout the day.  It has been great with this hot weather, very cooling and good for the skin as well.

 

~* Jo *~

Manicure Monday!

It is Monday which can only mean another Manicure Monday! yay!

 

 

This week I am wearing a new nail polish I got last week so this was the first time wearing it.  It is Cosmic Blue by W7.  I was actually quite disappointed with this at first, it was very thin and not much glitter.  With a lot of glitter type nail polishes this is the case but the colour through the bottle looked like it would go on better.  I applied 3 layers of it along with my usual 2 base layers of OPI Nail Strengthener and a top coat of it too.  I like the colour though.  I don't often wear blue but I think this looks very cute.

 

Last week I ordered a few things from E.L.F and was so excited to find they'd arrived at my parents today.  I will do an ELF haul blog tomorrow for it. :)

 

Also I am now on TWITTER and INSTAGRAM so feel free to follow me.

 

~* Jo *~