My Favourite Lip Balms

I am a lip balm junkie. I love the stuff. Doesn’t matter what the season, I will be using lip balm.  While my lips don’t go dry and flaky if I don’t use it, they will get tight and sore and stingy. And if I go ages without using it, I develop a sore red rash on the skin around my lips. I was one of those children who looked like I was constantly drinking red lemonade. As a result of that pain as a child I apply lip balm constantly now. I keep it everywhere. In the car, in my bags, in pockets, in most rooms at home, at work. I have amassed quite a collection at this stage but what are my ultimate favourites?

First up we have Carmex. This is my number 1. If I had to forgo every other lip balm bar one for the rest of my life, this would be my choice. I keep the round jar of it beside my bed and that is what I slather on before I go to sleep. I keep the tube or the stick with me for on the go but I generally only apply it during the day in the house as it has quite a thick consistency.

The rest of the lip balms are in no particular order.

Burt’s Bees are very nourishing lip balms. They do have a kind of waxy feel to them but I love them. They come in a variety of scents (tastes?) including the original minty one. They also do a great tinted lip balm.

The Body Shop Mango Lip Butter is a very silky feeling lip balm. I haven’t tried any of the other ones but the mango one is gorgeous.

Nivea Pure and Natural Milk & Honey lip balm. I was never a fan of the Nivea lip balms until I tried this one. I think it’s the scent I like more than anything! It’s definitely not a heavy duty lip balm but it’s a great one to apply during the day and it’s my favourite one to apply before putting on lipstick.

Manuka Doctor Lip Ease Balm This is a very recent one that I’ve tried but it fast became a favourite. It’s a very light weight minty balm which is brilliant for giving your lips that refreshing hit when they need it without the thickness of some other ones.

Are you a lip balm junkie? What’s your favourites?

Overnight Hand Treatment

I don't know about you but the winter weather always causes havoc on my hands. This year hasn't been as bad as others (one year my knuckles cracked and bled - em, eww) but they have felt dry, including my cuticles. (I've learnt so much this past year, before I would have been like - dry cuticles? you wha?) 

When this occurs I like to carry out what I like to call my intensive handcare routine....overnight. I've actually done this every year during the winter but before it only would have involved a thick hand cream as I wasn't as protective or knowledgeable of my cuticles back then. I tend to do this once a week but if I feel they need an extra quick-fire treat, I'll do it for a few nights in a row.

So what does the Intensive Hand Care Treatment involve? The original counterparts are the white MJ style gloves and hand cream. Newer additions include cuticle oil, cuticle cream and a hand salve.

Step 1

I use this hand salve as an extra intense hydration/soothing balm. I dig my finger into the tub and smear a decent amount over my knuckles. I don't rub it in properly yet.

Step 2

My chosen cuticle cream is the Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream. It is a lemon scented one and not too greasy.  I run each nail through the cuticle cream until there is a good blob of it at the tip of each nail. I don't rub it in just yet.

Step 3

My current night hand cream is a Crabtree & Evelyn Hand Therapy one. It is 'specially formulated with natural shea butter to soothe and help protect hands.' I adore the smell of this and while it is thick you could still get away with using it as a day hand cream as well. Another bonus of this hand cream is that it comes with a pump style top (which I somwhow managed to cut out of both pictures?!)

I pump 2-3 pumps on the back of each hand. Again I let it sit there and move on to the next step.

Step 4

Next we have the 2 cuticle oils I use. The first one is my main one. It's an Oro Gold one that I got in a giftset. It's a thicker oil than the China Glaze one. I really just use the China Glaze one for the smell. Again it could probably be used during the day or in the evening if you were just watching tv. It's not greasy enough to cause too much damage. Firstly I paint a thin strip of the China Glaze cuticle oil around my entire cuticle/nail bed. The I add a drop of the Oro Gold cuticle oil to the base of each nail.

Finally I am ready to mix it all up. I begin by massaging the cuticle cream and oils into my cuticles and nail beds. Then I rub in the salve and hand cream. Finally, I put on the white cotton gloves to help it all sink in and moisturise throughout the night. 

So there we go. When you type it out step by step it seems like loads to do, but in reality it is done in a minute. This is just the way I like to keep my hand soft and well conditoned during the winter time. 

Anybody have any other tips or suggestions?

Beauty Presents: Christmas 2011

I meant to have this post up nearer post-christmas but better late than never! I didn't want to do a 'haul' of what I got for Christmas so I just included any beauty related gifts that I received.

Somebody had fun opening her present!

On to the beauty stuff:)

I got a MAC lipstick in Half n Half, and eyeshadow in Honesty and the 209 brush. 

Korres lip butter in Wild Rose, Burts Bee lip balm trio and Maybelline Cat Eyes mascara

Flower by Kenzo perfume and body lotion set and Hypnotic Poison by Dior.

Moringa body scrub from The Body Shop

Gorgeous to Go by Aisling McDermott of Beaut.ie fame:D

A Stila Lip Glaze set containing 8 lipglosses

OPI Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees  and Essei Braziliant. (I also got Dulce de Leche from OPI but it's on backorder so still waiting for that to come, my mum informed me:))

Nars highlighter in Albatross, Benefit blush in Dandelion, Korres lip butter in Jasmine and Essie's Fair Game (meant to put those last 2 in other pictures!)

So that's the beauty gifts I got this year:)

Project Empty - Shampoo and Face Edition

 

Ah, the well loved and simultaneously dreaded Project 10/Empties Project (or as I like to call it - Project Empty- which is very bad English, I know). I've never done this before but after trying to shove yet another new shampoo into my bathroom cupboard, I decided the time was right. 

I may have mentioned on here at some stage that for most body/hair/face products, I like to change them regularly and rotate any I have. 

Shampoos

At the moment I have 2 shampoos in my shower that are rotated but these 4 in the picture have been dossing around in my cupboard for a while, so they are now perched on the shower tray ready and waiting. 

L-R in Photo 

Toni&Guy Detox Shampoo

Herbal Essences Curl Shampoo

Pantene Nature Fusion Shampoo

Naked Detox Shampoo

Body Lotion

I only have the one body lotion that's been abandoned as I am extremely faithful to my Dove Supreme Body Silk but I had forgotten how much I loved the Burt's Bees one until I opened it and smelt it. I put it on straight away!  

Centre Left of Photo

Burt's Bees Aloe and Buttermilk Body Lotion

Face Stuff

I also discovered quite the array of face stuff that I want to use up 

From Centre - Right in Photo

Dr. Organic's Manuka Honey Face Scrub

Bioré  Pore Perfect Face Wash/Scrub

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Daily Scrub

Clean and Clear Morning Burst Face Wash

Simple Deep Cleansing Face Mask

I will either update this when I'm halfway finished or in a month's time - whichever comes first:)

Anybody else in desperate need of a product clear out?

January Favourites

This is my first monthly favourites blog post and I think that it's something I will do every month as it is one of my favourite type of posts on other peoples blogs as it gives me ideas about new things I want to try (it's not always good for the purse though lol!)

I can't believe that January is over already, it has absolutely flown!

My favourites for the month are mostly beauty related with the odd random item thrown in for good measure :)

Foldable Shoes

These were an absolute lifesaver over Christmas/New Years. I had seen flimsy, rollable pumps for sale a few times in the shops but I never bothered getting them. I saw these ones in Dunnes Stores a few weeks before Christmas for €10.
They have a really thick sole that is cut halfway in the middle allowing them to fold. They are black with a satiny finish and even have pretty little gems on the front of the toe! I wouldn't have cared if they were just plain but the little gems give it that little bit extra. I didn't see them in any other colours other than black.They also come in a pouch for easy storage in your handbag.

                                                                      The shoe

                                                        Close up of the gems/stones 

                                                                   The shoe folded

The shoes in their little pouch

On the package it says that they are not suitable for everyday wear, which is fair enough but they are incredibly comfortable, surprisingly. The sides of them are ruched so when you put your feet into them they just envelope your feet keeping them secure. The only thing I did notice was one that of the nights  I was wearing tights and they were slipping off my feet a bit but still a hell of a lot more comfortable than my heels had been.
I saw them in 3 sizes - Small, Medium and Large. As they have ruched sides, there is a size that will fit everyone albeit maybe not perfectly.
A huge bonus was the strong rubber sole. It protects well against broken glass etc. as well as the wet Irish weather lol!
For €10 they'll get you from the club to the chipper and the taxi rank and after a long night in high heels there is nothing like sinking your feet into a cosy pair of flats!
What sealed it for me was that they are foldable and not bulky like a normal pair of pumps so they are a lot more discreet in your handbag and will fit into most small handbags
I was in Dunnes during the week and I saw a few knocking around, so if you spy a pair definitely pick them up, your feet will thank you!


Urban Decay Primer Potion

There's not a lot that I can say about this that I didn't mention in my recent post about it. I still love it! It still works, I'm so glad I got it and I suspect that it will be a firm favourite for months and months! And I haven't forgotten about the comparison pictures I said I'd take, with and without the primer potion.

Victor and Rolf Flowerbomb Perfume

I tend to stick with the one perfume, I don't like changing fragrances too often. Generally I have a heavier one for autumn/winter and a lighter one for spring/summer and a day and night one. I wouldn't change fragrances every week or every day. For years my staple perfume has been Flower by Kenzo. I love it. I got so many compliments on it and the smell of it just makes me so happy.
When I ran out of my last bottle of it, I had a stack of perfumes from birthday/christmas presents that I had accumulated over the years and just wanted to use up. So I've been working through those all year(2010!) and for christmas I was going to ask for a new bottle of Kenzo. But then I discovered Flowerbomb. I swear, I sprayed it on one of the testing strips in the pharmacy, brought it home and just smelt it the entire evening!
So I got that for Christmas instead of my beloved Kenzo and I've worn it every day since. It is obviously a floral scent, quite fresh but it also has a slightly sweet scent, but not overpoweringly so and it's funny I feel that I can wear it a/w and s/s as well as day and night. It really works on all levels, which is fantastic.

Cuticle Care 

This month I've been trying really hard to improve my nails and the big thing for me has been my cuticles. I hate them, and I want to improve them. I've been using Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream at night and sometimes during the day. At night I rub a generous amount into my cuticles, lather on a pile of thick hand cream and put on a pair of those white cotton moisturising gloves. As well as softening my cuticles, it has really strengthened my actual nails which I was not expecting. The only thing that I did not like about this was the scent. I like lemons but the smell of this is quite strong and if it wasn't as good as it was, I would be reluctant to use it. So if you can't handle strong smells, this may not be the best cuticle cream for you.

Burt's Bees Cuticle Cream

I bought Sally Hansen Gel Cuticle Remover a couple of weeks ago. I've used it about 4 times so far,  before I do my night time hand cream regime and I definitely think it's working.

Sally Hansen Gel Cuticle Remover

Bring on the beautiful nails!

Lemon and Ginger Tea

I love herbal teas. I discovered this particular one just before Christmas and it is one of the tastiest herbal teas I've drank.  There is such a zing from it with the ginger, freshness with the lemon and just an overall boost from it. If you're sick of the fruitiness of some teas and fed up of the blandness of green tea, this one is nice neutral ground.

That's my favourites for this month, I think I might include my favourite herbal tea of the month in every month's favourite post:)

What has been your favourites for the month of January?