Nivea Lip Butter - Raspberry Rose Review

Finally, a blog post after two long weeks! I've been wanting to write this review for ages but haven't had the time to get on my laptop and do anything at all. I can't believe it's March already, time is definitely flying in. I'll have to get my February favourites sorted soon!

Anyway, on to the review. After I read quite a few times how popular these were starting to get in America, I obviously had to buy one for myself since apparently the UK had had them for ages. I bought mine in Superdrug for only £1.49, which is pretty cheap for a lip balm in my opinion.

There are three flavours available in the UK. I choose to buy the Raspberry Rose one, but there is also Caramel and Original. The original was out of stock when I was in store, but the caramel one was there, but I personally found it a bit too sickening for a lip butter, so decided on this one instead.

 

As you can see, the lip butter comes in a little round tin, about the same size as Vaseline. The lip butter itself is a pale pink colour, and the smell is gorgeous, it reminds me of petit flous! Unlike a lot of other flavoured lip balms, it doesn't have much of a taste to it, but that hasn't bothered me too much.

The texture reminds me of hair wax, as it seems very sticky. This isn't a bad thing however, as it makes it really easy to apply to the lips, and it stays on for quite a while.

The colour is one I'm not too fond of. When applied, it comes out the same colour as it is in the tin, and looks too pale for my lips. I've found I have to really rub it in if I'm putting it on in public or else it just looks very strange. It has been good however for a base under lipsticks.

Most importantly, it does its job for moisturising. It's not the most amazing lip product I've ever tried, and I wouldn't go around recommending it to everyone if they want to combat dry lips, but it's been better than a lot of others so I would probably purchase it again if I just wanted something inexpensive.

All in all, I do like this product, it has it's pro's and con's, but it's definitely not beating my Maybelline Baby Lips!

If you'd like to purchase this product online, you can do so at the Superdrug website by clicking here.

Have you tried any of the Nivea Lip Butters? If so, what do you think?

Lush - The Kiss Lip Gloss Review

Of course, a new Lush review for you all! I've been testing this out for a week, and I have to say, I love it. Before I go any further though, I'd like to point out that this is a lip gloss, not a lip balm. When I bought it I thought that it was, and after applying it the same amount as I would any regular lip balm I was very confused as to why my lips have been super dry. I thought I'd came across my first Lush product which wasn't working for me! However, this is not the case.

The Kiss is one of Lush's first lip glosses, and has a new, whipped texture from their balms. I had read about this online, and hadn't actually intended on buying it until I got to the checkout.

Firstly, the texture. It was surprisingly soft and it is super smooth when applied to your lips.

I'm combining the scent, and the taste in one, and they are amazing. The scent is absolutely glorious, and the taste is devine. It tastes like drumsticks lollies, or love hearts sweets. I have to resist licking it off straight away.

The colour is also very pretty and subtle. It is a light shimmery pink, and looks perfect by itself, or over a lip colour if that's what you desire.

Pros: 

• Taste, scent, taste, scent!
• Subtle colour for those who like to remain natural.
• Not overly expensive for a lip gloss, £5.50 for the tin.
• Appearance, really cute and simple.
• Easy to carry around as it is such a small tin it fits easily into your pocket.

Cons:

• For me, not overly moisturising. This may be however because I've went the last week thinking it was a balm....
• Depending on you, it's a bit unhygienic for me. I have to wash my hands before I can use it.

Overall, such a lovely product which I would buy again despite my confusion. I'm going to keep mentioning this as it has literally taken me to open up this post to realise that it was a lip gloss, I still can't believe it!

If you'd like to try this product, you can buy it in store or online for £5.50 by clicking here.

Have you tried any of Lush's lipbalms before, or this product? If so, what did you think?

Lush - Grease Lightning Review

Another Lush review for you all. I've been saving this for a while so I could give it a few uses to see how I really felt about it. I bought this product just after Christmas, around the same time as I picked up my Lush Breath of Fresh Air which I have reviewed here.

Grease Lightning is one of Lush's spot treatments, and I'd been wanting to try this for a while. I have never tried a spot treatment before, so I can't compare this to any other products. I've always just left my skin alone in that way, but decided I should just give it a try and see if it helped.

To use, simply clean your face as normal, following your normal skin routine. Then using just one pump (I actually try just to use a half one) apply to affected areas. I usually apply the pump to the back of my hand and then put it where I think it's needed. I also apply it to any areas where I think a spot might pop up, just to try and stop it in advance.

For ingredients, it has some great ones for tackling problem skin. There is tea tree oil which is a great antiseptic to clean out any infection. Witch hazel is included which helps in shrinking any spots so they are less visible. Another big ingredient is Aloe Vera, which is very soothing for the skin.

I've really loved this product as I've found it's really helped in getting rid of spots, and stopping me from getting anymore. I apply this quite sparingly over my skin, and it hasn't dried it out at all, which was one of my biggest concerns.

Pros : 

• Not too expensive, £5.95 for a 45g bottle.
• Long lasting.
• Doesn't dry out skin.
• Instantly calming.
• Helps combat spots in advance.

Cons :

• None

I highly recommend this product, so you should definitely check it out! A little question for you all, do you apply your spot treatment before or after moisturising? I've been doing it before, but I just wanted to check if anyone does this differently.

If you'd like to buy this product, you can do so online by clicking here.

Have you tried Grease Lightning? What are your thoughts?

Lush - Breath Of Fresh Air Review

As I've been promising for the past week or so, here is my review on one of my latest Lush purchases, Breath of Fresh Air. I bought this in their Boxing Day sale as it was 50% off, so I ended up paying around £3.70 for it instead of the usual £7.25. I will admit, if it wasn't on sale, I probably never would have bought it. However, I'm very glad I did!

Breath of Fresh Air is a toner water, but is also good at giving your skin a little refresher if you need it. It contains Aloe Vera which makes it great for locking in moisture, and helping if you have suffered from sunburn (not that you would in this weather, but maybe if we actually get some sun in the Summer!). The bottle also states that it's perfect if you travel a lot, or on a long haul flight, as it gives your skin some life again.

To use, you can either spray directly on to your skin, and then wipe off with a cotton pad. Or, you can spritz on to the cotton pad and and then gently wipe it across your face. I personally, do the second. I use about three sprays, but my sister only uses two, so it's really up to you. This should follow your normal make up removal, as it helps to remove any excess make up and dirt.

Pros :

• Inexpensive, only £3.95 for the smallest bottle, or £7.25 for the 250g bottle.
• Excellent at removing any dirt or make up left on skin.
• Doesn't remove any moisture from the skin, and instead, locks it in.
• Soothes sunburn.
• Can be transferred to a smaller bottle for travel purposes.
• Can be used as a pick me up at any time of the day.

Cons :

• Honestly, I still haven't came across any!

I really love this product, and I will most definitely be repurchasing once mine runs out. I've used this since I bought it on boxing day, which means it's been a month tomorrow, and it doesn't seem to have went down much. Once you see the excess make up that comes off your face, you won't want to be without it! I'd hate to think how much I leave on my face when I think it's clean.

If you'd like to purchase this product, you can do so by clicking here.

Have you tried this before or any of the other toner waters? What are your thoughts?

Lush - Christmas & Boxing Day Haul

As promised, here's my Lush haul, this includes the gifts I received for Christmas, and also what I bought myself during their big sale (which was amazing!) Although I already mentioned it in my Christmas gift post, I'll say it again. I'm extremely grateful for all my gifts, and I'm not trying to show off in any way.

I'll start first with what I got for Christmas. I received pretty much all of these from my boyfriend for Christmas, because he let me pick my gifts, and as this is my favourite shop, I wanted quite a lot!

I decided I wanted to choose one of the gift boxes, and as it's my favourite, I decided on Snow Fairy. I love the soap and the shower gel already, and I haven't used one of the Shimmy Shimmy Glitter Bar's in years, so I was really happy that I got to try one out again.

One of my friends also got me a bottle of Snow Fairy which I'm very happy about, you can never have too much, ever! I then got the Popcorn lip scrub, because every person and their dog has raved about it and I needed to have it!

Something I've been lusting after for actual months, was the Imogen Rose solid perfume. They sell it in a bottle as well, but it was the solid perfume that I wanted, which is surprising as I've never owned one before. This smells so amazing, and smells even after after it's been on your skin for a while. I'll be doing a review on this very soon! You can buy it by clicking here.

The first bar of soap (at the top) is Angels Delight, there will be more on that further down as I bought this myself.

Karma is the second bar, and I've always wanted to buy this, but for some weird reason, I never have. I adore this scent in the shampoo bar, so I'm glad I finally have my hands on the soap. You can buy it by clicking here.

Finally, the last soap I received with Rock Star. The label has came off this, but you can definitely tell from the scent which soap it is. This has always been a favourite of mine, and is the one I always choose for a present for people as it just smells so good. You can buy it by clicking here.

I got some really good bargains in the Lush sale, and I was so happy afterwards (it's like a shopping high). They had 50% off all their Christmas products, and also off some regular priced products. When I went into the store, every single inch had a person in it, and it was nearly impossible to move. Everyone was going for all the gift boxes so naturally I went there first as I knew they were great value.

The one I ended up with (after much thought, and swapping about) was Jolly Hollydays. It cost me only £12.75!

One of my friends got me the Sandy Santa for Christmas (I somehow forgot to put this in my overall photo), but I also got one in this box. I decided on this one in the end as it had three products which I hadn't tried before. I already love the smell of the Karma shampoo so I know I'll love the soap. I can't wait to try all my new things!

I love the Fair Trade Honey Shampoo (you can read a review by clicking here) so I was delighted when I saw it on sale for half price. I ended up getting the 300g bottle for £7 and I had ran out so this was a great bargain. You can buy it full price by clicking here.

My boyfriend got me a large version of the Twilight shower gel, and I love the smell so much that I bought a mini bottle just for whenever I run out.

I love trying new cleansers, so as it was half price I decided to try the Buche De Noel one which I found as I was checking out at the till. Hopefully it's good (although nothing can beat Angels on Bare Skin).

Next was the Angels Delight soap. I bought this last year and hadn't restocked at all this year, so since it was half price I thought I might as well. It smells so lovely and sweet!

You all know already that I love Full of Grace, there's a review if you click here. Half price? Why not!? I paid £3.90, but you can buy it full price by clicking here.

I'd been wanting to try one of these toners for a while, so I picked up Breath of Fresh Air and I've been using it every day since. I can't believe how much make up there is still left on my skin after I take it off at night. I'll definitely be repurchasing this! It cost me £3.95 but you can buy it full price by clicking here.

I have it included in the photograph, but it wasn't half price, but I also bought Grease Lightning because I'd been wanting to try it. I'll be doing a review on it soon, but if you want to go ahead and buy it anyway, click here.

There you have it, my long list of Lush products. I really won't need to buy anymore for a while, but well, I probably will.... Although I definitely don't think I need any shower gel or soap for a good few months, or even until next Christmas. I love them though.

As mentioned, I''ll be reviewing most of these products in the near future. I'd like to know though, is there any particular products you want to hear about first?

Did you receive any Lush products this year? I love to know!

Blogmas Day 22 - Lush Angels On Bare Skin Review

Another review from my favourite brand, Lush. I've been meaning to write this review for a while now but keep forgetting somehow. This is the Angels on Bare Skin cleanser and I absolutely love it. It's perfect for sensitive skin like mine.

I done a bit of research before I choose this cleanser. I have quite red skin and its quite uneven so this seemed to be perfect. I try to use this every night if I can after I've taken my make up off and I've noticed the redness on my skin goes down straight away after using.

To use, I just pinch a small amount out of the tub and place in the palm of my hand. I'd say you only need product the size of your big finger nail and that should be sufficient. I then turn on the tap very slightly so only a small amount comes out and put that over the top. I then mix this around in my hand to form a paste. Next just apply all over your face, using circular motions. It's also quite good if you want to exfoliate as well.

Pros :

• Inexpensive, £6.25 for a 100g tub.
• Long lasting, this has done me a while now.
• Great for sensitive skin.
• Reduces redness (and actually works)
• Helps to even out skin tone.

Cons :

• Honestly, nothing. I can't think of a single thing wrong with this product.

Another great thing about this product is that if you bring back 5 clean tubs like this, you'll get a free fresh face mask.

Have you tried this product before, if so what do you think? If not, have you any other cleansers you would recommend for sensitive skin?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blogmas Day 19 - Maybelline Bit of Berry Lipstick

I am *this close* to missing Blogmas day 19. It's currently 11.32 pm here and I'm only back from going out for my Christmas dinner and I've been freaking out in case I missed this blog post as I haven't missed one yet!

Anyway, I decided to let you all see a lipstick I picked up while I was away. It's by Maybelline and it's in the colour number 175 - Bit of Berry.

If you watch Ingrid (Missglamorazzi)'s videos on YouTube then you may have seen this lipstick before. She wore it in quite a few videos and I loved it so much I made sure to get it. It's a lovely maroon red colour that I think is perfect for the season.

I really love the packaging, it's so simple and I love that you can see right through to the lipstick container. It also is quite a good reflection of the colour inside.

I feel like the photographs don't give a true image of how lovely this colour is. It's more pinky looking than red in my photographs, and I've just realised whilst typing this up that I never swatched it! I promise I'll do that tomorrow and add it in if you'd like to come back and see it. It's quite a strong colour, so I put only a little bit on my lips and then blended the rest in as I didn't want it to be as dramatic as it wanted to be.

Have you tried this lipstick, or do you have a current favourite lipstick that I should try? Let me know in the comments below!

Blogmas Day 16 - Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub Review

If you are a fellow lover of Lush then I'm sure you will have tried one of these lip scrubs. If not, you need one of these in your life.

I have went through a few of these, but strangely, only in the one flavour. The bubblegum one just smells so good that I find it hard to try anything nice. I am getting the popcorn one for Christmas though so maybe ill convert.

To use, simply put a small amount on your finger and rub your lips in a circular movement. Continue doing this until you feel as if your lips have been sufficiently scrubbed. Then you can either lick the remaining sugar off, or wipe it off, the decision is up to you. I personally always lick it off as it tastes so good.

This one little pot should last you a good few months, although I'd make sure to store it in a cool, dry place as I noticed one of mine started to evaporate!

Also available in Mint Julips and Popcorn.

Pros :

• Tastes delicious
• Removes dry skin
• Leaves lips feeling super soft
• Inexpensive at £5.25 compared to other lip scrubs
• Long lasting

Cons :

• Possibly tastes too good, and isn't sugar bad for your teeth?! I say this as I literally just tasted it on looking at it for this blog.

Have you used any of the lip scrubs from Lush? If so, what's your favourite flavour?

 

 

 

 

Blogmas Day 13 - It's Here! Lush Rose Jam Review

If you read my Blogmas Day 7 - Lush Fragrance Party Exclusive! post, then you'll know I've been patiently waiting on my parcel from Lush. Well, today, at 8.10am, it finally arrived! As soon as I heard the postman I leapt out of bed to get my parcel. However, I decided to wait until I got home from work to open it, as I knew I would be so distracted by what was inside that I would be late. I'm home now, and it's time to open my parcel...

I love that once I cut open the side of the box, and began to open it, I found this little note printed inside. So cute, and company's don't usually do things like this, so it was a nice touch.

Another lovely thing I noticed, was that when I looked at the invoice which was at the top of the box, there was a signature from handy, which I could tell was hand signed, and not just printed on, to say that he had personally hand picked my items for me. Not really a big deal to many people, but I just thought it was a nice thing to add to a boring piece of paper.

Now to the good part...

Nicely packaged and padded, to protect my lovely products. By this point I was so excited and couldn't wait to tear into it to see what I'd got, but of course I had to take my photographs first. A spicy scent reached my nose as soon as the box was open, and I knew this must be my soap.

At the last minute, I decided to throw in a bar of soap from the Limited Edition section of the website, as these are the products which aren't available instore, and I thought I might as well while I was placing an order. I had a quick look and decided on this bar of Spice Mountain soap. I've just checked and this is now no longer available to buy online, so I can't link you to a place to buy it, but it smells like Christmas. It is a combination of clove, lime and cinnamon, and is a spicy scent which I think is perfect for this time of year. I'll be using it very soon and I'll have a review up for you very soon!

Now, on to what you read this post for... the Rose Jam perfume! My first thoughts when I saw the bottle was on how small it was, it's only 27ml, and I'm really sad that they only have bottles this size, as I don't want it to run out! I'm smelling it on my wrists right now, and it just smells ah-mazing. It's exactly the same scent as the Rose Jam Bubbleroon (yes, this is what Lush calls them, I didn't make this word up). I just want to eat it up. I can't even describe it in any other way than to say it smells like roses, jam, and a hint of lemon!

I've seen posts and tweets from other people talking about the Lush fragrances and I'm assuming they may be coming over to the US sometime soon? Hopefully they are, as you all need to experience this. To the UK, please bring this as a permanent item, as I'm going to have to ration this until you do!

Did anyone else manage to get a hold of any of these exclusive fragrances? Link me to your blog post if you did so I can read all about it!

Blogmas Day 10 - Lush North Pole Soap Review

A little Lush review for you all today, a nice seasonal one. I purchased this soap about a month ago and have been using it along with my Avon shower gel which I mentioned in my November favourites post. I love Lush at Christmas time because they always get such nice products in so I was pleased to try out a new soap as  they're usually my favourite thing!

There are two different types of North Pole soap, a white one and a pink one. I had a sniff at both in the shop and I have to say, I couldn't really smell anything from the pink one. I don't know if it was just me and maybe my nose was blocked from having the cold nearly all month, but it just smelt like soap to me! Is it just me, or did anyone else find this too? I went with the white one anyway because it had a lovely mint smell to it.

Pros :

• Minty, clean smell. Like peppermint!
• Creamy texture which feels like it's really making you clean
• Long lasting

Cons :

• No smell to the pink version

Has anyone tried any of the Lush seasonal soaps? Which was your favourite?

Blogmas Day 7 - Lush Fragrance Party Exclusive!

I'm typing this as I'm ordering and I'm super excited, but getting super impatient at the fact the website is lagging and crashing so much! Clearly because everyone else loves Lush as much as I do and the products only went live at 10pm tonight. I really should explain firstly what I'm talking about though to those who don't know...

For this weekend only Lush is releasing exclusive fragrances of some of their popular products. It went live at 10pm tonight and finishes on Monday (10th December) at 9am. If you're interested, I would get in there quick before they sell out!

There's 6 fragrances to choose one and I've had a hard time choosing which one to go with, and naturally my final decision had to be the most expensive one!

Firstly there is Rose Jam. I'm  naming it first as it's the one that I wanted most, and it's the one that popped out at me as soon as I got the email. This is usually a bubble bar and out of everything in Lush, it's probably the one I'm most likely to eat. I swear, one day I actually will. It smells like a mixture between roses and jam, and is similar to the scent of the Ro's Argan Body Conditioner. This is priced at £25.00 for 27g.

Second, there is Big. Lush quite recently came out with a conditioner to match the every popular shampoo by this name, so hopefully any Lush fans out there will already know of this scent. If not, it is a mixture between orange and vanilla, so it's quite a fresh scent. This is priced at £22.00 for 27g.

Next we have Creamy Candy, another one of my favourite scents (incase you can't tell, I'm very into the sweet, edible scents). This is another one of my favourites, and it's the one I always choose for my mum on present occasions because it's her favourite as well. I can't really describe it in any other way except that it just smells like sugary

 sweets and deliciousness. This is their cheapest and is priced at £18.00 for 27g.

Another scent we have is Snowcake. This is one that I'm not quite familiar with so I can't really give a personal answer in terms of the scent, but the online description says it smells like marzipan. This just reminds me of Christmas from the sounds of the scent and the name, so this sounds good in my books! It is priced at £22.00 for 27g.

The Comforter is another scent in the collection which I imagine is another one that I would like to eat. It's described

as having the scent of blackcurrant and is quite fruity, and it comes from another one of their popular bubble bars so you may already know this scent. It is priced at £20.00 for 27g.

Last, but certainly not least is Twilight. From looking at the blog, and YouTube world, I know this could be their most popular. It is inspired by their bath ballistic, and also the seasonal shower gel which is currently being sold. This will have a lovely lavender scent, and it may just be me, but I could imagine it being lovely as a pillow mist to help you sleep at night, but it may be a bit too pricey for that. This is priced at £25.00 for 27g.

So there you have it, here's my little post on the fragrances that went on sale less than 2 hours ago, for this weekend only. I'd advise you to get your orders in fast if you're interested. As far as I can see, unfortunately they don't appear to be on sale in the US, it's UK only, but that was only from a quick glance at their site.

If you'd like to place an order on any of the products, you can do so by clicking here. You know you want to.

I've my order now placed and I'll do a review on the Rose Jam fragrance once I've received it. I'm so excited!

I also definitely did not just order the Spice Mountain soap from the Retro range at the last minute...you're lying! 

Blogmas Day 5 - MAC Creme Cup Lipstick Review

As mentioned in my November Favourites post, MAC's Creme Cup has been my favourite lip colour recently. I bought this during the Summer and used it a few times then, but I've been using it a lot more now. It's not the most Autumn/Wintery lip colour, but I love it. I also love that it's the exact same shade as the nail colour I'm wearing in this photograph, which is Fun in the Gondola by Essie.

It's a lovely nude/pink colour which is only just a bit lighter than my natural colour, so it's nice and subtle to wear on a daily basis.

If you're interested in this product, you can buy it for £14.00 by clicking here.