MY FAVOURITE SUMMER LIP PICKS

From corals to hot pinks, I love a summer lip pick. Today I thought I would let you in on which lip products I've been reaching for in summer 2013.

As you may be able to tell from the photo above, I'm not a huge matte lips fan in the summer. The glossy, shiny lip is more my style. My first pick is a long time favourite, Rimmel's Moisture Renew Lipstick in Soft Coral. I purchased this god knows how long ago, but our love affair is still going strong. It's a beautiful 'soft coral' colour, with some slight shimmer in, which really brightens the face and looks laarvley. Next up is the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Lovesick. I wanted to pick this one up for summer so when I saw they were £5.99 instead of £7.99 I nabbed this hot fushia pink up. This looks amazing with a simple outfit, and I've been wearing this a 'hella-lot' recently. 

Onto glosses, the Rimmel Stay Glossy Lipgloss in All Day Seduction and No7 High Shine Lipgloss in Smile have been gracing my lips this summer. Both have a non sticky formula, with the Rimmel one being on the more coral side, almost like the Rimmel Soft Coral Lipstick but in gloss form. The No7 High Shine is on the pinkier side, but by gosh this doesn't half brighten and awaken your complexion. How does it do it? I don't have a clue. (Be aware my No7 Lipgloss is in the old packaging if you're thinking of picking it up). Finally how could I not include a lipstick/lipgloss hybrid in the form of a Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple. There is no doubt about the fact that I was enabled by essiebutton to buy this, a beautiful bright basic red that just looks gorgeous. 

So there's my picks! What have you been lip loving this summer?

Help for your hands

There's nothing worse than having sore dry hands, so I thought today I'd bring you some of the beauty bits that I use to help my hands. 

First of all, I work in a cafe and so I often have my hands in washing up liquid and water, which are really drying for your hands. As soon as I get out of work I squeeze out some Soap and Glory Hand Food, which is not only amazing smelling but is also great to knock some moisture back into those paws. Sometimes (in winter) I need something a little thicker, which is when the Nivea Soft Moisturiser comes in. It's not sticky and sinks in quickly while still adding a lot of moisture. 

Finally, I always carry some antibacterial gel with me, to get rid of those pesky gems when a sink isn't too accessible! My choice is the Cuticura Mango and Passion Flower which is super sweet smelling and leaves you feeling fresh without any slimy residue. 

Have you tried any of these products? 

Revlon ColorStay Lipstick in Front Row

While wondering the aisles of a new boots I came across these lipsticks, and naturally popped one in my basket. The annoying thing was, I picked up the one behind the tester I'd swatched (assuming that would be the same colour) and it turns out it wasn't. I was going to pick up Womenswear but ended up with Front Row. Either way, today I'm going to be reviewing the Revlon ColorStay Lipstick. 

First of all for the formula, these don't glide extremely easily onto the lips, I find that a lot of building up is required to make the colour substatial enough. A glossy finish at first application then settles down into a not so comfy matte lip, which I find settles into the lines of your lips and doesn't look too appealing.  The wear is average, 4/5 hours at most, but it does feel pretty uncomfortable on the lips nearer the end of its wear time. The packaging is more positive; the lipstick clicks up, meaning that you can control the amount you use and you also don't get the lipstick everywhere when winding it down (Revlon Lip Butters, I'm looking at you!). So you may be left feeling a bit confused, I'll summarise. Nice packaging, not nice formula, pretty colour, not so pretty looking after 4 hours. 

I do wear this lipstick, with a gloss over the top to counteract the matte finish I'm not too keen on. I can't say I'll be rushing to pick more of these up anytime soon. 

Have you tried these? What are your thoughts? 

Makeup Minis

My final holiday themed post has come around, I've spoken about In-Flight Essentials here and Packing Light here but today it's time to talk about mini makeup. Not only is it cute, but it's also really handy to pop in your bag when packing.

The first mini makeup item is the Urban Decay Lip Junkie in the colour Naked. This came with my Naked 2 palette, and is such a beautiful gloss which gives a bit of colour while making your lips tingle a tiny bit (not burn though). For a mini product, the packaging is unbelievably cute, I adore the lid. Next up is the Clinique Superbalm Moisturising Gloss in Rasberry. I don't actually know where this came from as my friend donated it to me, but I think it came in a free set that Clinique were giving away when you spent a certain amount. This gloss is not sticky, and provides a beautiful flush to the lips, perfect for summer. Finally there's Benefit's They're Real Mascara, which came free in an issue of Elle. Magazine freebies are great to pick up and usually worth the price! This will be great for holiday rather than carrying a full/big tube of mascara. 

So that's it, all holiday beauty bases covered! I hope you have enjoyed these posts, please let me know your holiday essentials down below.

Nivea Eye Makeup Remover

When it comes to eye makeup remover, I don't feel like I've ever found my 'holy grail' one. Today I'm going to be talking about the Nivea Daily Essestials Extra Gentle Eye Makeup Remover (long enough name?) and telling you my thoughts on it. 

Unlike many eye makeup removers this is not a bi-phase one, no shaking required. Purely pop some on a cotton pad and remove. I like to put a bit on 2 cotton pads and rest them on my eyes for about 10 seconds to really break down the makeup. In terms of removal, this is good, I can't comment on whether it removes waterproof mascara as I'm not using one at the moment, but for everything else this is really nice. It doesn't leave the eye area feeling greasy afterwards, and the bottle is really handy (preventing spills until the Boots Botanics one!). Overall I like this, but I still haven't found that 'yes!!' product yet. 

What eye makeup remover do you use? 

Packing Light

Today is the second holiday themed post for this week. I'm going to be talking about sample shopping, and making sure you pack light when travelling, as I imagine there is nothing worse than being told your bag is too heavy! 

Samples are such a great way to pack light for holidays. The main places I tend to get samples from is online and in magazines. The Avene Redness Moisturising Protecting Cream SPF 30 and Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser are both samples from online. I don't know if they offer is still going on, but all I did was fill in a questionnaire about my skin type, and the samples were sent to suite my individual needs. Magazines often have sample products, in (Junes?) Elle there was a sample of Benefit's They're Real Mascara, which shall be gracing my lashes on holiday. Also, I find dentists often give away samples of toothpaste (I always stock up!), these are super handy and actually last longer than you expect. 

Then of course you can buy travel sizes of products. Boots and Superdrug both have sections allocated to mini beauty bits, Space NK have a travel section, and many brands do too. I don't know if I could cope without an Urban Decay Setting Spray when I'm on holiday, not only do they set your makeup in place (stopping it sweating off - gross I know) but they are lovely and cooling after a day in the sun. This year I will be taking Benefit's Triple Performing Facial Emulsion with SPF in to protect my face from the suns' rays. This came in a kit with some other sample sizes of Benefit's skincare range, which retails for £10! 

What are your favourite travel sized products?