DHC Premium Lipstick GE PK102 Petal Pink

It's only just recently that my interest in lipsticks decided to randomly soar sky high (alongside highlighters - ohhhh Charlotte Tilbury: Bar of Gold, I got my eye on you!), before that can walk through any lipstick section without a batting an eye as my passion lied in foundation and BB cream in search for that flawless canvas. Even though the search is still on for my HG foundation, it will be taking the back seat for now as boyyyyyy, priorities change!

Let me introduce to you: DHC Premium Lipstick GE in Petal Pink (PK102) priced at $19.00 (approx £11.36) it is quite affordable :) and has 2.4g worth of product. Unfortunately, it is not available at DHC UK yet -sigh- but all is not lost as luckily EBAY exists! I bought mine at Ebay a few weeks ago shipped from US but its gone now :( Keep on checking back! :D 

It first sparked my interest when popular beauty blogger musingsofamuse raved about it here on her blog and after seeing the lip swatches, I needed it in my life!

Description:

"Age-defying lipsticks. Hydrating, satin-finished DHC Premium Lipstick GE helps your lips look younger with revitalizing ingredients and Pure Color Technology—micronized pigments that deflect light for a fuller, plumper appearance. In six wearable shades perfect for any occasion. Helps fight vertical fine lines with olive oil, vitamin A and skin-conditioning germanium."

Elegant and light packaging. I love the floral etchings on the base and the two tone colours goes beautifully together

2.4g worth of product

PK102 Petal Pink :)

Indoor Indirect daylight: Light swatch (L), Heavy swatch (R)

Indoor direct sunlight: Light swatch (L), Heavy swatch (R)

Indoor evening, indirect artificial light: Light swatch (L), Heavy swatch (R)

Indoor direct arttificial light: Light swatch (L), Heavy swatch (R)

Shade:

The shade is best described as a soft medium muted pink when swatched on my hand, however translates to more of a baby pink MLBB shade on my lips. It wears sheer but the intensity can definitely be built up by adding more layers. But if you are expecting a vibrant pop of colour this is not for you as it leans more natural. It has fine micro shimmer particles in it creating a subtle lustre shine, and the shimmer is not noticeable on the lips.

Formula/texture:

Smooth, creamy, buttery goodness. Glides on easily and sinks into  the lips as it is very moisturising. It does not accentuate any fine lines or dry patches on me :) whoop! And best of all it feels just like a tinted lip balm. Best of both worlds!

Longevity:

It only lasts about 2 hours but that's to be expected as it is a moisturising lipstick. I don't mind reapplying this baby throughout the day :') and if you do decide to eat/drink anything within the two hours, there would be nothing left on your lips :P 

Taste/scent:

No scent detected from my nose and doesn't have that horrid taste if you do decide to lick your lips xD

Packaging:

I'm the type of person who does pay attention to the execution of products, if its pretty enough i'm a sucker to buy it without looking at reviews first >_<" Haiiii! This lipstick has a gold lid with a silver floral etched base.. Loveeeeee. It looks so elegant and sophisticated. It is also very light weight too :D

My natural lip shade

Errr, if this picture is creeping you out.. your not alone, I feel the same way too haha! I wanted to show you the full face with the lippie. 

I tend to look super unnatural when i take frontal face shots, so tense and solid like a had a tonne of botox done! Can't help it T_T Tried my best...

Oh oh, I also did my eye make up differently today, lined my upper AND lower eyes - something I rarely do as i feel it closes my already small eyes up! But i felt the need to mix up my eye look. What do you think? Likey? Hmm..

Here's my more flattering side angle shot :D Hehe! 

I love how the lippy makes my lips look so smooth, plump and kissable -oh la la- ;)

It doesn't really change my lip shade too much apart from making it a bit more milky with a subtle sheen due to micro fine shimmer particles. I like it ^_^

Pro's:

- Piggy bank friendly! Can't beat the price for the quality you get for this! 

- Amazing soft, smooth texture, makes lips look slightly fuller

- Natural pink colour pay off. 

- Fragrance free! Great for those who do not particularly enjoy fragranced lippies or sensitive to fragrances! 

- Highly moisturising, does not accentuate the dry flakes on my lips

Con's:

- Sheer, not good for those who likes to pack a punch in the opaque shade department

- Not long wearing

- Not easily accessible for those living in UK, you must buy online.

Overall Verdict: Though i'm not a big lipstick kindda gal, as a lot of lipsticks just dry my lips out and i end up with prune-like lips within a few minutes. Yes you, MAC! Not attractive. This one is just perfect for all you dry lips sufferers out there!  

Do I recommend it? Yes, you guys need to try this lippie out! Especially those who are into more natural and subtle looks :)

Would I repurchase? I've already have another shade on its way so to speak :P This is my favourite lipstick to date so far :) I do plan on collecting ALL the shades if possible as I just LOVE the formula that much! 

Beauty Bay The Collection Eyeshadow Palette: Flawless Rose

Being an avid online beauty shopper, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to grab this palette while it was 35% off for a limited time at beatybay.com.. I even broke my make up spending ban for it, which only lasted a measly -ahem- 2 days. Yes! 2 days! God, i'm weak.. T_T

Amazingly, I also had a code for an extra 10% off all products offered on BeautyBay too! (found online, can't remember it >.<) So, i had an incredible 45% off for this baby! Near 1/2 price! *squeals* I good price reduction like that can ALWAYS push me off my pedestal! RRP: £15.00. Total Price paid = £8.78!! Hallelujah! 

Anywhos, beautybay is an online cosmetic and health and well-being giant selling some of the most luxe lines and cult beauty favourites. They have recently (i think) launched their own line of products, "Beauty Bay The Collection", ranging from foundations and powders to ;lipstick and nail polish.

They have a total of 3 palettes so far: Flawless Chic, Flawless Couture, and Flawless Rose.

I bought Flawless Rose as i don't seem to own a pinky neutral eyeshadow palette and didn't feel like splurging on the new UD NAKED 3 because i tried pink/rose/purply shades in the past and don't seem to work well with my complexion (looked like both of my eyes took a K.O. as quoted by my sisters -_-") and unsurprisingly avoided it ever since (this was 7 years ago - dayummm time has flown!). So, this palette is perfect for me to experiment with pinkier shades again ^_^

Comes cased in this attractive cardboard sleeve

Sleeve removed, the packaging is simple, slim and sleek :)

I was pleasantly surprised by the size of this palette - was much bigger than anticipated for sure! The 12 eyes shadows are housed in a lightweight yet sturdy plastic casing and cushioned in some-sort of plastic sponge material? o_O which looks a bit cheap in my opinion - mine is actually coming off on one corner :( humph!

Inside is a protective piece of transparent plastic

The 12 shadows, they are very reasonably sized but i'm not a fan of the sponge interior - it's already peeling off at the edges >_<" ugh!

Left quad shades

Heavy Arm swatches from top row to bottom row
 (daylight)

Finger swatches (oh my, got dry wrinkly fingers >.<)

Middle quad shades

Middle quad shades heavy swatches from top row to bottom row

Right quad shades

Right quad shades heavy swatches (from top row to bottom row)

The quality of the eyeshadows are not bad for the price paid, but not worth the £15 retail price tagg though. It lies more on the sheer side and requires a lot of layering to get maximum pigment. I was expecting a teensy bit more pigmentation though for its £15 rrp. The texture feels dry and a bit chalky and needs a lot of blending to get rid of the powdery residue..No buttery smoothness here ladies, unfortunately. I haven't tried it wet yet (i never do) so it may be smoother and give better colour pay-off that way? 

None the less, the shades do look quite beautiful when swatched :) and guess what?! I tested the pink and purple shades on my lids (no pictures, sorry.) and NO PUNCHED EYE EFFECT! Horrah! :D It's perfect for your everyday sweet natural look :))) Every shade seems to have some fine shimmer in it but doesn't translate on the eyes - it looks completely matte.

The only shade i absolutely detest the is black shadow on the right quad of the palette. It has got to be by far the worst quality of eye shadow i have ever tried. No pigmentation - can't even be built up! I tried sooo many layers but to no avail. And it's the driest of the bunch.. very, very dry.

The longevity of the shadows do fair quite well without eye primer (i don't prime my eyes anyways.. lazy me!) and seems to stay on for the whole day without creasing (i have very small lids ho-hum) however, is rubbed off easily though.

Comes with its own dual ended brush. 

Pros:

- Affordable for the price i paid

- Large amount of shadows

- Great for neutral lovers, especially those trying out more rosy shades

- Decent sized mirror

- Sleek packaging

Cons:

- Is not worth its RRP at £15, you can get better palettes out there for that price

- Lack of pigmentation, hard to build up colour - need to pack on the shadow

- Texture is horrible -dry and needs a lot of blending in

- Interior of palette is weak and peels off easily

Overall verdict: The shades are quite beautiful in my opinion and perfect for your everyday nude colours and i love the size of the shades. However, i am disappointed with the quality of these shadows. If the texture and pigmentation were to be improved, it would be worth trying out.

Recommended? No, don't think you should waste your money on this palette. 

Will I buy again? 100% Nopes. After trying out this one, i won't be testing the other palettes either even at offer price.

Hurraw! Lip Balm [Review]

Hey guys it's been a LONG while!!

I went to visit my aunty in Kent, London for a few days and saw a lip balm called Hurraw! in Earl Grey flavour! Yes, EARL GREY TEA! Mmmmm! Sadly, I didn't pick one up as I was a bit rushed for time - gahhh! >,<

"Hurraw! lip balm is all natural, vegan, made from premium raw, organic and fair trade ingredients!" 

Soooo, when I got back home I did some research and decided to order some online :)

Price & where to buy: I got mine from eBay (£3.99), Super Smoocher (Having a closing down sale at £2.42 & £2.73 for special flavours) and Cute Cosmetics (£3.99 & £4.29 for special flavours). The prices are pretty decent for an all natural brand!! ^__^

Size: 4.3g

You can check out the official Hurraw! website here ;D Go check out their range of flavours!

 L-R: Cinnamon (Tinted), Chai Spice, Pitta, Earl Grey, Coffee Bean

From my Hurraw! Haul, I decided to purchase interesting flavours you don't see often in lip balms (mainly tea flavours - I freaking love my tea: Cinnamon, Chai Spice, Pitta, Earl Grey, and Coffee Bean *drooools*

The lip balm has an oval shape and contains quite a lot of product of 4.3g in a tube

About Hurraw! (Read the full description on the website)

"Super smooth, not draggy, not sticky, not sweet, not too glossy, not too smelly, never grainy, long lasting; 

plus, it had to hold up to being in a back jeans pocket all day without melting! It took us several obsessed years to formulate Hurraw! Balm and put it through all the rigors."

- Vegan

- Raw

- Organic

- Gluten Free, No GMO's

- Non toxic

Core Ingredients: 

- Almond oil

- Coconut oil

- Cacao butter:

- Jojoba oil

- Olive oil

- Castor oil

- Candelilla wax

Flavors:
All of the flavors we use in our balms are derived from 100% natural sources.
Most come from pure essential oils, the others (Rootbeer, Chai Spice, Chocolate, Green Tea, Black Cherry) are made for us from 100% natural, organically derived flavor compounds through various processes of distillation and extraction. 

Chai Spice and Earl Grey

Chai Spice - This one smells spicy and slightly creamy sweet. However, unfortunately not my kind of smell. Its rather pungent and I find it pretty nauseating on my lips as I can constantly smell it. I prefer a more delicate scent. The balm itself is smooth and creamy. This is my least favourite flavour.

Earl Grey - This smells quite like the real thing (perhaps a bit tangy) - Earl Grey Tea! But when my sister came and smelt it she replied: "It smells like kiddy glue!" Like #@&£$%!! Now all I smell is glueee!! @.@ Noooo!! The balm is smooth and buttery on the lips.

Pitta and Coffee Bean

Pitta - (New special flavour) Coconut, Mint and Lemongrass as it says on the tube. You know what? ALL 3 flavours are distinctive and can identify them clearly. When mixed together it's a creamy, refreshing and mildly sweet concoction - yum! I just wish the Lemongrass would be less concentrated as I am not a big fan of Lemongrass. However, those who want a refreshing yet citrus-y scent  this is perfect for you. Application is smooth and glides on easily.

Coffee Bean - Coffee lovers! This is for you! :')) Smells slighty bitter and dark. Mmmmm! Wish it was a bit more sweet tho as I have a very sweet palette :P Hehehe!! Overall, quite a yummy scent and glides smoothly on the lips.

Cinnamon Tinted Lip Balm

Cinnamon Tinted - This smells just like cinnamon sugar! Very sweet, spicy and strong! :PP All of the other lip balms are colour-free and this was my only tinted purchase. This has got to be my favourite one forgiving the strong smell. And the colour? If you've tried the Vaseline Rose Pot  its very similar to that - has a slight pinky-red tint to the lips, however may not be visible on those with more pigmented lips and I would recommend the Tinted Black Cherry one from the same line. Texture is the same as the others - smooth, butter with the non-heavy feel. When applied on my lips there is a tingling burning sensation (caused by the cinnamon?) and seems to give it a more plump, fuller look ^___^ Whooo! All good! What girl doesn't like plump kissable lips? ;PPP

OVERALL OPINION

Pros:

- Quite affordable for a vegan, organic product that uses raw materials

- All natural with natural scents

- Soft and smooth that glides easily on the lips

- Light texture with light hydration (applies on richly without the heavy feeling and absorbs quickly)

- Can withstand heat better than other lip balms

- Unique oval shape that distributes product better on the lips

- Strong smell gets milder with time.

- Simplistic and attractive packaging: I just love love love the packaging + I love how the casing feels haha!! xDD

Cons:

- Strong scents, may be a bit nauseating for some but does fade away after some time

- Only hydrates for a limited time - not suitable for those with very dry lips

- Limited to only a few organic stores where not all flavours are available therefore have to buy online

- As it contains natural ingredients, will not be suitable for those sensitive to any of the ingredients 

Would I recommend: Yes, If you are into all natural products with unique flavours and don't mind strong scents. Why not try a few? ;))

Would I repurchase? No! I personally can not stand the strong initial scent ¬_¬"

Until Next Time :)

xoxox