Beauty Sample Sunday: Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment Duo!

Hi there!

As per usual, I'm late making this blog post  -__-

This time though, I'm blaming the lateness on family members. Namely, my father who came into town this weekend unannounced. Gotta love when the parentals show up without warning! Anyway, bla bla bla, get to it right?!

I'm going to be talking about a makeup "mini" I received wayyy back (almost a yeat ago) from Sephora which was part of their Beauty Insider Birthday Gift for 2012.

(photo credits to google images & Beautezine.com)

This adorable duo was a miniature of the quite popular Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment Lip Balm. There is also a Rose tinted lip balm in the duo. Both of these contain SPF 15 and are 2.2 grams each. The packaging of the product is identical to the larger version, a plastic tube which is coated or covered in a metal finish. I personally am a *huge* lover of anything minature so I automatically loved this sample!

The product itself is basically a stick lip balm. The "Rose" one in the pink tube is tinted a slight pinky color where the other darker tube is just a clear lip balm.

The following information is from the Fresh website:

Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15 moisturizes, protects, and smoothes the lips with a proprietary blend of moisture-preserving sugar, nourishing precious oils, antioxidant-rich polyphenols, and essential SPF protection. Fresh’s #1 best-seller, Sugar Lip treatment SPF 15 is proven to provide 6 hours of significant moisture for soft, supple, and youthful lips. Its sublime texture and addictive citrus flavor make it positively irresistible.
 

Key ingredients:
-Sugar, a natural humectant, prevents moisture loss
 
"A superior blend of nourishing oils, including meadowfoam and black currant seed oils, deeply moisturize dry areas."

 Description for Rose Tinted Balm:
  
Sugar Rosé Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15 moisturizes, protects, and smoothes the lips while leaving a rosy tint with a proprietary blend of moisture-preserving sugar, nourishing precious oils, antioxidant-rich polyphenols, and essential SPF protection. It is proven to provide 6 hours of significant moisture for soft, supple, and youthful lips. The unique formula also offers buildable coverage to customize a sheer or rich hue and is the perfect partner to the best-selling Sugar Lip treatment SPF 15.
 

Key ingredients:
-Sugar, a natural humectant, prevents moisture loss 
-Grapeseed polyphenols protect, smooth, and soften

I was desperate for something that would heal my dry, chapped lips this winter so I finally put these little guys to good use!

At first I was skeptical because I know the full size of these products is $22.50/4.3g which (imho) seems a bit expensive for a lip balm. That being said, if I had the extra $20 to splurge I would certainly consider picking up one of these!

The texture was soft and creamy feeling, not waxy at all. It also didn't feel like it was sitting on top of my lips, it felt like my lips were actually being nourished and comforted. After only one or two days of using this I noticed my lips were less flakey and much more conditioned. I also really liked the light raspberry pink tint the Rose version left on my lips. It is such a pretty wash of colour!

Such a pretty light pink shade ❤

 The other bonus is the SPF 15 which I've had in other lip balms but they always manage to taste unpleasant. Not with either version of this one although both have a distinct fragrance.

If I had to describe it, I'd say it smells a bit like rose but also kind of citrus-y and slightly herbal. Personally, I didn't mind it but some people may prefer something unscented.

The only two "strikes" against this product for me are the price and I could see this lip balm easily melting during the summer. Especially in a pocket, beach bag or car because it is such a creamy balm. That could easily be fixed though by simply tossing it into the freezer for a few minutes ; )

Overall I feel like if you have the extra cash to splurge on something or are looking for a more "high end" lip balm, try this product!

Did you get the 2012 Sephora Beauty Insider Birthday mini? Have you tried any Fresh products?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments ❤

Beauty Sample Sunday: LUSH Dream Cream!

Happy Sunday everyone! Hope you're enjoying the weekend so far. Today I'll be reviewing the LUSH Dream Cream Body Lotion.

Most of the time when I visit LUSH, I know what I want. I don't venture too far into their products because really I'm a bubble bar & Cupcake FFM junkie. This means I tend to just grab what I want and head for the register. Usually there is someone standing right there waiting to ring me up but not on this day.

For some reason the sales people at LUSH were really busy so to compensate for my waiting, the S.A apologized by giving me several different samples which I thought was really nice of her! One of which is the one I will be reviewing today, LUSH's Dream Cream body & hand cream.

LUSH sample

Texture of Dream Cream

The sample I received wasn't large enough to test as a body lotion so I decided to use it as a hand cream instead. Because it was so small, I thought it would be perfect to keep in my purse until the first time I went to use it...

At first, the scent seemed light and harmlessly "herbal" but after about 10 minutes the scent was still lingering which I wasn't a fan of. It also didn't absorb very easily. In fact it was quite greasy! The label says "lotion" but I feel like this is closer to a body butter consistency. This would never work for me as a hand lotion so it was demoted from "purse hand lotion" to "overnight hand cream" and was transferred to my bedside table!
 

"Swatch" of lotion. Even out of focus, you can see how shiny it was.

You can see the slight sheen it left on my skin.

 It did a great job of softening and smoothing my skin, and I did notice that it was helping to reduce the redness and irritation from my chapped "winter hands". The problem is that I never saw a visual improvement aside from toning down the redness. My cuticles and skin remain dry despite using this every night for the last 2-3 weeks (off and on). I also found that using this overnight was causing me to wake up sneezing with a stuffy nose. Too much fragrance for me!


Pros:
~made my hands feel softer
~reduced the redness
~improved the texture & tone of my hands

Cons:
~greasy/doesn't absorb easily
~strong "herbal" scent
~not as hydrating as I was expecting
~slightly overpriced (in my honest opinion)

If you are looking for a heavy lotion with an herbal scent than this is the product for you. In all honesty though, it's hard to say that I would recommend this product. At $26.95 CAD (for 240g), I really don't feel that LUSH Dream Cream is anymore hydrating than The Body Shop Body Butters (which are $20 for 200 ml).

LUSH Dream Cream is available on their website here:
http://www.lushusa.com/Dream-Cream/00031,en_US,pd.html?start=1&cgid=body-lotions

3.8/5  ^_^

❤ Rockstar Hearts Nail Tutorial ❤

❤ Happy Valentines Day!!! ❤

 Today I'm going to show you how to create this simple and adorable glittery hearts nail look which is just in time for Valentines Day tomorrow! 

If I can do this tutorial then trust me, anyone can do it. So, if you want to see how to get these nails then please continue reading...

Soooo cute!!! ❤

You will need nail polish remover, cotton pads/balls, nail trimmer, nail file, buffer, toothpicks or an orange stick, a plate or other non-porous surface, two different polishes and a top coat. I'm using Sally Hansen XTreme Wear in White On & Rockstar Pink and for my topcoat I'm using Essies' "Good To Go" quick dry topcoat.

I forgot to add nail polish remover & cotton pads!

 
 

• Remove any old nail polish you may be wearing (otherwise skip this step).
• Trim, file, shape and buff your nails to create a smooth surface for the polishes.
• Scrub nails with warm soapy water and a nail brush to remove any residue and dry well.
• Next, apply the base nail polish colour you are using. In this case, I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in "White On" 

• Next, take your second polish and pour some into a puddle on your plate or other surface.
• Then, taking either a toothpick or an orange stick, dip the end into the polish and make two small dots on your nail like this: 

2 small dots, then connect them in the middle ; )

• Now, place the stick in between the dots to "connect" them together and pull downwards *very gently*! 
• You should end up with a heart that looks like this: 

Ta-da! Cute lil' heart ^_^

• Repeat this process however many times as you want hearts on your nails! You can make bigger & smaller hearts depending on the size of the dots you make. Bigger dots = bigger hearts, smaller dots = smaller hearts ^_^ 
• Once you have completed all of your nails, go over your adorable artwork with a good topcoat. This will help seal everything in, prevent chipping and also give more glossy shine to your nails & bring out the glitter! 

That's it!! In the end you should end up with something that looks like this:

How freaking adorable is this?!

If you are a little unsure, simply practice on a piece of paper (or a set of fake nails if you have any). After I practiced a little bit, I was even able to do my right hand   ^_^   I feel so proud of that LOL! 

Please let me know if you try this nail tutorial and tweet me a pic to my Twitter account here:

 https://twitter.com/honeybee519


❤❤❤ Happy Valentines Day ❤❤❤

Review: Essence Cosmetics Cherry Blossom Girl Collection

Hey everyone!

Today I'm going to be talking about the Essence Cosmetics "Cherry Blossom Girl" Limited Edition Collection. This has been available in Europe and the UK for awhile now but just recently showed up in drugstores across Canada (so far, I have only seen Essence at my Shoppers Drug Mart).

The collection is limited edition and consists of 2 "lipstick pencils", 2 eyeliner pens, an eyeshadow quad, a two-toned blush, a body powder, a highlight pen, 4 nail polishes and a set of paper eyelashes.

From the whole line, I only picked up three items. The display in my drugstore was so tiny that some items were either missing or had been tampered with already. I also picked up some other Essence items (you can see them in the picture) which will be in an upcoming drugstore haul I'll be filming for my YouTube channel.

I picked up "Asian Sensation" which is a two-toned pale peach & apricot coloured blush with a pretty cherry blossom image stamped onto it. I also picked up one of the "lipstick pencils" in the shade "It's Peach Not Cherry" which appears to be a bright & fun peachy/orange toned jumbo lip pencil. The last thing I picked up was their highlight wand in "Konnichiwa Girls" a very light & sheer formula with a pearly kind of finish.

I also picked up their Cover Stick concealer and Longwear eye liner in Tu Tu Turquoise. Both of these will be featured in an upcoming drugstore haul over on my YouTube channel.

Swatches of "Asian Sensation" blush:

Left to right: Darker apricot shade, lighter peachy shade & blended together.

Close-up swatch of both shades blended together.

 "Asian Sensation" is a dual toned blush with a darker apricot shade and a much lighter peach shade. They can be used several different ways which is a nice option. The two shades can be blended and worn together or the lighter shade can double as a highlight while using the darker apricot as the blush. (my camera was acting funny so these shots aren't 100% accurate but fairly close)

When I swatched this with my finger there was almost no colour payoff and I was initially disappointed. Then I decided to try it on my cheek with an actual blush brush and was surprised that it showed up on me! I'm really happy with this blush duo and think it will be perfect for this spring!
 
Swatches of "Konnichiwa Girls" highlight pen:

Product, applicator tip & heavy swatch.

Closer-up view of swatches.

I love this highlight pen! It's a very fine, luminous, shimmery finish with a slightly pinkish tone but overall comes across as a typical ivory pearl highlight shade. I love the applicator which twists from the bottom and the product comes out through the brush tip. This makes it really easy to apply just about anywhere on the face and lately I've been using it not only on my cheekbones but also my brown bone and the inner corners of my eyes. In fact, I've been using this in place of an eyeshadow on days when I just want a quick "5 minute face" and have been loving it so much that I'm going to go back and try to find another one! For under $4, you just cannot go wrong!

Swatch of "It's Peach, Not Cherry" lipstick pencil:

"It's Peach, Not Cherry" lipstick pencil 

This is the one item I do regret picking up from this collection. The lipstick pencil seems like a great idea in theory but there is just something not right about it. The colour isn't peach to me but more of a neon coral and that would be fine except it also has a silvery-white shimmer to it which I'm not a fan of. It also has a strange scent, like a mix of vanilla and flowers that is kind of off-putting in my honest opinion. The last strike I put against this product is the formula. It's not a smooth application and after a few minutes it settles into the tiny lines in my lips and mine aren't even that dry or wrinkly! Unfortunately I was disappointed with this product and probably won't be using it much.


Overall, I was really pleased with the products I picked up and think this collection was just adorable! If I had known that highlight wand was so good I would have bought a backup and will be keeping my eyes peeled for another one.

What do you think of Essence Cosmetics? Have you picked up anything from this collection, or have you tried Essence yet? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

First Post!

Welcome to my new blog!

I decided to create this blog in order to do more in-depth reviews, show swatches and D.I.Y's etc. I also have a beauty channel on YouTube but my camera is not very good at recording video so for more detailed beauty posts, I will be making entries here.

I haven't decided exactly how I will manage this blog but have a few ideas I'm working on. If you have a blog, Tumblr, YouTube etc and have any tips for me, please feel free to leave them in the comments :)

Thanks for visiting and come back soon for a new beauty post <3