Review : Balmi Lip Balm / EOS Lip Balm Dupe ?

I love lip balm. I always seem to reach for a lip balm over any other make up product and find that it is an essential in my bag.

When I first heard about Balmi I was very excited as these are very comparable to the EOS lip balms that I have never tried and are less readily available in the UK.

Balmi comes in a spherical egg like container that twists to reveal the dome shaped balm. It also has an opportunity to use it as a keyring.This packaging makes application easy and fuss free and also more hygienic as you don’t have to keep dipping your finger in.The lip balm contains UVA/UVB SPF 15 which is a great bonus, especially in the summer months ( or weeks in Englands’ case).

When I use this I find it very smooth to apply and moisturising on the lips. I can apply this and after an hour or so my lips still feel moisturised however you can’t feel or taste the balm after 30 minutes.

The strawberry flavour is very pleasant, not sickly and I find is much like the edible paper you can find on cakes, this isn’t tingly on the lips. The mint flavour is very tingly and refreshing, much like toothpaste, but isn’t painful.

Although these are not my favourite lip balm ( I love my Medicated Chapstick for really chapped lips!) , I really like these balms and would consider repurchasing them in the future or buying them as a gift for somebody as my friends are often intrigued about them.

Makeup Wish List: September 2012

Meaning as I hadn't written one of these posts nor purchased make up / skincare in a while I thought that I would share with you the items that have recently took my fancy.

Origins SuperSpot Remover

Collection Shimmer and Shades

Revlon Kissable Balm Stain

Vivo Baked Blush

MUA Heaven and Earth Palette

MAC Soft and Gentle MSF

MAC Lipsticks

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

Revlon Lip Butter

So those were the things that have been featured numerous times on blogger/vlogger favourites and will hopefully be new additions to my collection in the near future!

Products that don't get enough hype - Inspired by JDRMakeup

After watching Jess's latest video on youtube ( JDRMAKEUP ) I was inspired to create a post of my own to share with you some products that I love that don't often get mentioned on the interweb.

Front Cover Eye Shadow

I've only seen these mentioned once but these are one of my favourite eyeshadow brands. They are pigmented, blendable, don't crease and will last all day - just fab.

Max Factor 2 in 1 Lipfinity

I don't know if I have mentioned this before but before I finished up the lip gloss part I would reach for this everytime I would go out as it smelt/tasted great, it wasn't sticky and was relatively long lasting too.

Natural Beauty (TK MAXX) Loose Eyeshadow

I received this as a gift and haven't seen it in-store since but this is most definitely my favourite loose eyeshadow. It is very finely milled, easy to pack on colour and lasts well on your eyes too.

No 7 Blush - in particular 

I love No7 Blushers as they aren't overly pigmented but still have a good payoff. They blend easily and look smooth and natural on the skin.

No7 Eyeshadow 

No7 is my favourite brand of eyeshadow. They have great pigmentation and pay off. They blend easily and last all day on your eyes.

Those were my favourite products that deserve more hype.Please check out Jess''s channel and blog (www.jdrmakeup.co.uk) and if you have written a post like this leave a link below!

Tips for a Car Boot Sale

(Source:Guardian.co.uk)

Last weekend I popped my car boot cherry and set out with my mum to sell some clutter that had gathered around my house. Being very new to the boot sale scene I resorted to google to find some tips and found some very helpful posts that helped me on my car boot venture and I found that as the day went on I found some useful tips myself that may be of interest to you.

Get there early – As we arrived very early (6.45) on Sunday morning we found a couple of people lingering around the car as we began to unload our boot. If you are on your own you may find this intimidating so the earlier you get there the better

Take a table – This is an essential as you need somewhere to put the items that you’re selling. I recommend a pasting or trestle table for this. We also used the crates that were used to transport the items for displaying the items which also worked well.

Take a clothes rail and hangers – If selling clothes, a rail is the best way. I didn’t take one and regretted it as soon as I arrived. I left my clothes in a box for customer to look through but this wasn’t practical.

Take carrier bags and newspaper – You can never take too many carrier bags. I offered to bag and wrap up items as I sold them and many accepted my offer so these are definitely handy to have.

Be prepared to sell items for very little – Being new to the car boot scene I feel that we overpriced many of our items for what ‘car-booters’ were expecting to pay. What we thought was very reasonable, £2 for figurines in excellent condition, £2 for very good condition cds, many turned down our offer and surprisingly didn’t try to haggle down to a lower price. If you are wanting to just get rid it is definitely worth accepting any reasonable offer as you may not have any other ‘customers’ showing interest in that item again.

Take lots of loose change – We took £30 worth of change with us which was perfect, especially as somebody wanted change for a £20 note, and if you are selling items for 50p and the like you will need to have change ready. It is also worth saying that a bum bag or shoulder bag is best to keep your change safe.

Take a resources box – We took sticky labels, scissors,paper, pens, sellotape, baby wipes, cloths, table cloths and polish all ‘just in case’ we needed them and we found ourselves reaching for some of these.

Those were my tips, What are yours? Let me know.

My Essentials for a Cold

As we all know , autumn is swiftly creeping closer and with the colder weather and change of season we find that our ‘common’ cold starts to reappear. Unfortunately for me I’ve caught mine just in time for the school and have myself sniffing and coughing far too much for my sanity. During my ‘ill’ period I have found myself reaching for certain products which have now become my cold ‘essentials’ and I thought that some of you may find this useful so that you can stock up in readiness.

Cocoa Skin Therapy Oil - Now I will say that this is less of an essential but this did wonders when I was blowing my nose every two seconds and my nose was sore. This was 99p from HomeBargains.

Olbas Oil - This was my saviour when my nose was blocked. As a decongestant it cleared my nose so I could breath again ( well better anyway).

Vaseline - When I have a cold my lips get so dry so this worked great for moisturising my lips but also for my sore nose.

Tissues - Self explanatory, I needed numerous packets of these when my nose was running and these did a great job.

What are your essentials for a cold? 

Whats in my bag - Zumba Edition

A month ago I joined my local Zumba class and have been loving it. I thought that some of you may be interested in what I take along with me.

What I carry:

Water Bottle ( not shown) - This is essential as zumba is very active

Purse - I keep this purse exclusive to carry my loose change to pay for my class

Tissues - Just in case I have hayfever or a cold

Body Spray - To refresh after a long sweaty class

Deodorant ( not shown) - Again, to refresh

Snack (Raisins) - Sometimes I need a snack to follow the fitness class so these are a precaution

Face Cloth - I use this to wipe my face clean

Comb - To brush my hair before I tie it up

Bobble - To tie my hair up

Hand Gel - To clean my hands if I feel icky

Moisturiser - To moisturise my hands or face

Cosmetic Bag - To keep all of my gubbins in

Thats what I carry - What do you take with you to a fitness class?

Tutorial: How to Depot Eyeshadow from a palette using Heat

After neglecting one of my eyeshadow palettes, my avon 8 in 1 water colours palette, I thought that it may be useful to depot them into my DIY Z Palette to hopefully reach for the eyeshadows more.

As I had never 'properly' depotted eyeshadow before I decided to google and tweet about it. Unfortunately nobody I found had depotted an Avon Palette before so I decided to take a risk and try the heat method.

What I used:
Straighteners
Greaseproof Paper
A Kitchen Knife
A Freebie Magnet
Nail Glue
Scissors

Method:

To depot the shadows I first put my straighteners onto the highest temperature setting.I then placed the palette ( with greaseproof paper underneath) onto the straighteners until the glue started to soften. When this happened , I used the knife to pop the pans out of the palette. When I had depotted all of the pans out using this method, I turned them upside down and painted a small blob of nail glue. Next I cut a magnet, a freebie one, into small strips and attached it to the pans and left to dry. I then placed these into my DIY palette.

Have you depotted before?

* You can see a post about my DIY Z Palette *

Review: Garnier Dark Spot Corrector Review *

Although this product is primarily marketed as a Dark Spot Corrector,as I don’t suffer with dark spots, I wanted to try this product as it is also an Illuminating Moisturiser that fades the appearance of blemishes and leaves your skin more even-toned.

What Garnier says: “Dark spot innovation.Clinically tested efficacy Daily illuminating moisturiser Fades discolourations for even skintone: dark spots, age spots and blemish marks For all skin types & tones Brightening vitamin C”

The first thing you’ll notice when using this is the fact it is in a metal tube instead of a tub or plastic container. This means you don’t waste any product and this way is much more hygienic.

The moisturiser is quite runny, much like a gel consistency that isn’t sticky  and spreads easily, a little going a long way, and sinks in quickly to your skin. It doesn’t feel greasy on my normal-combination skin however those with oily skin may feel differently. I also found, much to my delight, that this doesn’t irritate my very sensitive skin – it isn’t left sore nor is my face left more red than before I applied it.

After using this my skin feels soft and smooth and is left looking even and glowing, as it claims, and my skin is left hydrated all day.

I am unsure if this is just a coincidence but since using this my blemishes have been less red and I have had less than usual. I don’t think this product has broken me out.

Overall I feel that I would recommend this a great lightweight but effective moisturiser that leaves your skin looking radiant but I am unsure on how effective this is as a ‘Dark Spot Corrector’

Have you tried this?

Monthly Beauty Empties: August 2012 Empties/ What I've used up

Another beauty empties post for you. When I first started to draft this post I didn't think that I had finished up many products but I am proud to say that I have used over 10, again. Yay!

My Favourite Used Up Products:

Escada Taj Sunset Perfume: I bought this perfume last summer and since then I have absolutely loved it. Unfortunately it is now discontinued but this fragrance was very fruity, long lasting all whilst being affordable.

Boots  Essentials Cucumber Eye Makeup Remover Gel: I love this eye makeup remover. It's cheap, doesn't irritate my eyes, removers all of my eye makeup and mascara and is just great. I would definately repurchase this and highly recommend it.

Montagne Jeunesse Glacial Clay Spa - I loved using this face mask, it left my face soft and smooth whilst making my blemishes appear less red and reduced.

Dove Summer Glow - I love this fake tan. Although this still has the fake tan scent this is my favourite gradual tanner as it isn't streaky and doesn't develop into an orange colour but a 'nice' subtle glow.

Garnier Mineral Deodorant - Garnier is my favourite brand of deodorant as I feel that it is the only one that works for me.

Boots Extra Large Cotton Pads - These are great as they are big enough to use only one to remove a whole face of makeup.

The so-so products I've used up:

Amie Petal Perfect 2 in 1 Cleanser and Toner:  This removed my makeup without irritating my skin but I still felt that I needed an eye makeup remover to remove my eye products and I needed to follow with either a wash cloth or toner to remove everything.

Pearl Drops Daily Toothpaste: This did make my teeth whiter when I used this however it wasn't anything to phone home about. This is effective, as it says, as a daily toothpaste that is cheap and affordable but I wouldn't say that it is a whitening product.

Estee Lauder Firming Serum: As it was a sample I haven't had chance to use much of this but I did enjoy using what I had. It moisturised my skin and left it soft and smooth. I would use a sample again but I don't feel the need to buy this product yet.

Footner Exfolating Socks - I think I am going to devote a whole post to these as the concept is very new to me. Basically these are a chemical peel for your feet that removes dead skin and on first impressions this is good.

The not good products:

Head and Shoulders Itchy Scalp Care: I have a very sensitive scalp where currently only one shampoo
(TGel) works for me. This is one shampoo that murders my scalp and when I use this my scalp is left more itchy and irritated and full of dandruff than it was before.

Thats all, Hopefully these posts will start to feature some makeup bits sometime soon.

Back to School Series: Whats in my bag & Back to School Organisation Tips

Unfortunately I was unable to post my 2 days to high school post so I thought that I would merge the last two posts into one today and show you what I am carrying for my first day back (tomorrow) and some little tips.

What I am carrying:
Bag (from Peacocks)
My Pencil Case (from Tesco)
My 'Emergency Bag ' (from France) - See post here
Calculator
Two paper document wallets (from HomeBargains) - One with lined paper and a space for any loose paper handouts and the other to put any homework in and things to hand back.

*I will only be carrying this bag until my 'proper' school bag is delivered in the post. *

As for Tips, I have compiled a small list of things I can remember doing from last year, if I can remember any more I shall update if you're interested.

>Don't Procrasinate ( i.e Do it now and don't put it off) - I try to do my homework as soon as I can and this way it is done and I can do other things that I want to do, for example blogging, without having to think of the homework. I tend to do the homework that is due the soonest first and if I have multiple pieces due on the same day I do the larger tasks first.

>Do your homework - It can be tempting just not to bother with homework, do it badly or leave it to do on the bus but I find that some, not all, homework can be helpful as revision for topics and can also be good exam practise.

>Write everything down -Nobody is invincible - we can't remember everything. I try to write every little thing down in my planner otherwise I have a large tendency to forget and you don't want to forget to do your coursework.

>Keep all loose papers in one place -I know that if I put a loose paper into my  bag on its own that it will not come out alive or I won't be able to find it when I need it. To avoid this I like to keep loose sheets either in a plastic wallet or in a folder.

>Get Involved - This is a tip I would like to act on more this year. Don't just sit there in lessons and take a risk. Try to answer questions, ask questions, contribute. By getting involved you should hopefully learn more and get more from your education.

Shopping my stash #5 - Back to School Edition

For my Shopping the stash post this week I thought that I would merge it in with my short Back to School Series. Here are my picks for my back to school makeup bag - hopefully something that will look natural and will hardly take any time at all.

Face:

Garnier Original BB Cream

Collection 2000 Concealer

Natural Collection Loose Powder

17 Blush & Glow Blusher

MAC Cream Colour Base - Pearl

Eyes

No7 Eyeshadow

Eyeshadow from Avon 8 in 1 Watercolour Palette

Natural Collection Eyeshadow Duo in Mink/Sable

17 Maximum Volume Mascara

Lips:

Balmi Mint Lip Balm

If there are any product you want me to dedicate a post to let me know. 

What makeup do you wear to school/work? 

Monthly Beauty Favourites: August 2012 Favourites

( Apologies for the lighting, I decided to take my camera out into the garden during a small glimpse of sunshine)

August is now over which means one thing - school is upon me. Fortunately this month I have discovered more favourite products than last month. Onto the favourites...

17 Maximum Volume Mascara - I've been using this mascara for months now and it is only recently that I have realised how I like this. It adds length to your lashes and thickens them without clumping.

MAC Studio Finish Concealer - Over the month of august I found myself needing more coverage on my blemishes and this does the trick. This is drying so I won't use it anywhere near my undereyes ( error has already been made) however for my spots this helps to cover them up and dry them out slightly.

MAC Bare Study Paint Pot - This alongside my frontcover eyeshadow = eyeshadow that lasts all day without creasing. I also have loved wearing this on its own , although it does crease on its own, or with a matte eyeshadow over the top in my crease.

Boots Botanics Face Mist - I love this as a novelty product really. I am not sure if this has made a difference to my skin but I love to use this after my cleanser to remove my last traces of makeup and my skin is left very soft and smooth.

Garnier Dark Spot Corrector ( Review to come) - I love this as a moisturiser. It leaves my skin hydrated all day and is very lightweight.

Technic Natural Lashes - This is actually a clear mascara for your eyelashes but I use this for my eyebrows. I use this to comb through my brows and I can rely on this to set them for the rest of the day.

Front Cover Eyeshadow (Shades:Silver Dollar (White),Powder Puff (Champagne),Frosted Almond (Lighter Brown),Copper Coin (Brown/Purple) - I love these eyeshadows, they are shimmery, pigmented, long lasting , do not crease and blend effortlessly - worth checking out online on the Boots website or larger Boots ( if they still have FrontCover counters)

Garnier Oil Free BB Cream - Need I have to say anything - this product has been featured far too many times on here. Its amazing, lightweight but with excellent coverage - an overall great product!