In search of the Holy Grail: lip balm that works (well, sort of)

Following my greasy hair confession in my previous post it may come as a shock to you that I have quite dry skin particularly the lips.
I’ve read articles that say lip balms dry your lips out, and I can believe it, but sadly I discovered this too late and had already fallen prey to their promises. I’m now a lip balm-aholic and I’m not sure there’s a cure. I always have one about my person (if I don’t I get a bit panicky) and have one for every handbag lest I forget to pop one in when I change bags.
I try to avoid petroleum when I pick up a lip balm as I heard it dries your lips event more apparently* and it can’t be good for the environment, but as I usually buy them in moments of desperation it’s not always possible. Such was the case when I picked up a Palmer’s lip butter on Saturday.

The lip butter itself is clear and gives you a slight gloss, but it’s not sticky. I’ve been out in the wind this week and my hair hasn’t stuck to my lips - always a plus point. It comes in a squeezy tube with an applicator so you can use it on the go and has the famous coco butter formula and vitamin E, which is meant to be great for the skin.

It claims to have a dark chocolate and peppermint flavour but it’s not very strong. It tastes kind of medicinal but let’s just say if I bought some actual mints with this level of ‘flavour’ then I’d demand my money back! Anyway, it’s not a problem as I don’t want to keep eating it off my own face.

All in all it’s very soothing and seems to have kept the flakiness away despite the change in season and the dreaded air con whirring into action at work. My lips still feel a little tight nearly a week after I first bought it, but the skin’s not peeling away. Joy!

It does have petroleum in it so that would be the downside I reckon, and it’s pricier than I would normally opt for at about £2.50. Overall I think I’ll keep using it for the time being. Have you tried it? Which lip balms work for you?

*I don’t actually remember where I read this but it might be true.

Feeling fruity: I Love Juicy shampoo

In my teenage years it wasn’t the traditional pimples that plagued me but the horror of greasy hair.

My locks are just too fine and start to look lank by the evening.

While my classmates caked themselves in orange foundation and Hide The Blemish and spent hours ‘scrunching’ their perms I was up at the lark’s cough washing my hair. Every day.

I remember one day – my 16th birthday and also the day of our school photo – I didn’t rinse properly and overzealous use of hairspray left my head looking like the inside of a discarded chip wrapper.

Lather, rinse, repeat has been my daily mantra for more than 15 years despite being told off by hairdressers. “Why?” was the incredulous, and slightly disgusted, cry from one stylist when he was told of my daily washing routine. He insisted I could leave until the second day by using dry shampoo and maybe even a third by ‘slicking’ it back into a ponytail.

Unfortunately I’m yet to be convinced by the dry shampoo thing. I mean they’re great if you like to look like a Georgian courtesan but the white powdered look is not for me.

 I Love Juicy

So it was with trepidation that I tried I Love Juicy from the lovely people at Lush. I read an online recommendation which promised to leave my crowning glory grease free. It has pineapple and grapefruit  in and lots of other yummy sounding things and many suggested I would, shock horror, be able to go a day without washing my hair.

I’m still not convinced on that front, although I have been known to skip a day of washing in recent weeks (I know, amazing). The stuff cuts through the grime and leaves my hair all swishy, but not all fluffy or static (the other bugbear of having super fine tresses).

Using it for a few days in a row left my locks shiny and glossy looking giving me a higher percentage of good hair days.

Cheers for making it, Caroline!

It doesn’t lather up the way ‘normal’ shampoos do so if you want to pretend you’re on a hair care advert then maybe it’s not for you, but a little does go a long way. The other good thing is that Lush are environmentally conscious and it’s suitable for vegans, meaning no bunnies were harmed in getting the product to market. Result!

Butter me up: Soap and Glory Righteous Butter

I’ve just got back from a staycation with lots of walking and the season has taken a lurch towards winter. It can only mean one thing – horrible, flaky skin.

My nose was first to start the trend but as a sufferer of dry skin my legs, and particularly my shins, weren’t far behind. So it was a relief to know I still had my Soap and Glory Righteous Butter to hand.

This body butter was actually part of a gift set I got for Christmas and it’s still going strong. It’s made with shea butter and is so rich and moisturising that a little goes a long way. It leaves my skin feeling really smooth. If I’ve been particularly neglectful of my feet then they tend to go hard and manky, but this sorts them out.

My thirsty shins tend to lap it up so it sinks in quite quickly and doesn’t sit on the skin or make you feel clammy, soothes my skin and the smell is pretty delicious too. I adore putting it on after a nice long soak in the bath as it makes me feel thoroughly pampered (I hate the word pampered but it’s the only word to use for such an occasion).

It’s only available in Boots and is classed as luxury bathing, but the prices are very reasonable, especially when you consider you can use it all over. I’ve even used it on my lips in place of lip salve and, to be honest, it’s probably better than lip salve.

On the more frivolous side of things the packaging is fantastic with kitsch vintage images and a humorous tone, plus I love how all the products in the range have witty names.

I can’t really complain at all about this product at all except maybe the packaging doesn’t have to be quite so pink. But if that’s all I can quibble on then it’s pretty safe to say it’s a winner. Lovely.

Witch Anti-blemish Skin Clearing Primer

Anti-blemish witchcraft from Witch.

http://www.boots.com/en/Witch-Anti-Blemish-Skin-Clearing-Primer-With-Witch-Hazel-Extract-30ml_1160734/

I’m in two minds about primer. On the one hand I can see the sense in preparing your skin for make-up. After all, an artist or even a painter and decorator would prepare their work surface ready for painting. On the other hand, I’m quite lazy and this seems like an extra step that denies me snozzing time in the morning.

I’ve tried primer (Smashbox) before, and have been impressed by its ability to ‘airbrush’ my face. I wasn’t so impressed that it seemed to react against my sensitive skin. 

Nonetheless, I was keen to try the Witch primer.  It promises to mattify the skin “absorbing excess oils, providing a smooth, silky base that helps you achieve an even and long lasting finish. My face is dry and flaky yet terribly shiny. I’ve also been suffering spots of late, so on reading the description I was hooked.

So was I impressed? Well yes and no. It didn’t deliver the airbrush magic of the Smashbox primer, but then it is around a quarter of the price at around £6.99. But it gave me a great base and my foundation lasted a lot longer. 

It’s also supposed to protect you skin from getting further blemishes, and it certainly did that. The way it works is by forming a ‘barrier’ to stop your pores being blocked by make-up gunk (nice) and I say it performs really well. It even seemed to reduce existing spots much quicker than with my foundation alone.

It didn’t react with my skin but I found I had to leave it to ‘settle’ on the skin for a minute or two first; otherwise I ended up with strange splodges of foundation/ primer gloop around my nose.

The downsides? Well, it didn’t mattify as much as I’d have liked. Maybe I’m just born to shine.

The other thing was that it had a bit of an odd smell. Witch Hazel I imagine, but it bugged me for hours until I figured out what it was. I made my boyfriend smell my face to see if he could detect it (weird I know) and I can confirm that no one else will get a whiff of it. 

I’d probably buy this again, but being quite fickle it would only be until I found a more mattifying formulation, or if I had a massive spot outbreak. 

Did you buy this product and what did you think?

The one where I set out my stall

How many times have you bought a bit of make-up, a DVD, moisturiser, a book or even a tin of soup and found it’s, well, a bit rubbish?

If you’re anything like me it’s a few thousand times. And when you’ve found something that is amazing and that you loved, or experienced some great customer service, have you wanted to sing it from the rooftops? Me too.

That’s the thinking behind my scribblings here.

I have to admit that even though I’ve got a little bit of a background in marketing sometimes all my cynicism goes out of the window. A mascara that will give me the doe eyed of Cheryl Cole you say? Let me at it. A hairspray that turns my fine and feeble tresses into a lustrous, full volume, glossy mane. Where do I sign up?

Every purchase I make could be the one. The one to change me into the ‘me’ I want to be. That’s what those marketing bods want and I fall for it every time. It inevitably leads to disappointment when the scales fall from my eyes and I realise it’s just another bit of stuff to clutter up my house.

But no more – I can’t promise I won’t buy anymore goodies, but I will promise I will make a note of what I’ve bought and, more importantly, whether I thought it was any good.

Everything featured will be stuff I’ve bought and will not be purchased specifically for the blog. If for some reason a company decides to send me something then I will tell you and review it fairly and objectively.

I’m not here to put people off, just give my honest opinion, as I know everyone is different and what works for me may not work for you. Besides, the economy could do with the fiscal boost from our purses and who am I to argue? All I can hope for is that this blog saves me from my shopaholic side and if anyone else reads it then, frankly, that’s a bonus.