lip balm

The Essential: Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Moisturizing Stick

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The condition of my lips cannot be described as anything but slightly mangled and disastrous; regardless of care and all that jazz, my lips are extremely sensitive, chapped, dry and all kinds of uneven. While I have not found a miracle balm to cure all ills, I’m pleased to report that I’ll fallen in love with this balm that not only does not irritate my lips – you wouldn’t believe how irritated my lips get from the most seemingly benign formulas – but even more than that provides nice soothing moisture on the lips without feeling heavy or leaving any sort of cast or wonky texture. The Nuxe Rêve de Miel Lip Moisturising Stick Stick ($9) is all kinds of awesome, coming in an easy, practical and hygienic chapstick form and containing nourishing ingredients like shea butter, oils galore and honey and none of those aesthetically-pleasing ingredients like copious amounts of fragrance, alcohol, menthol and the like. It may not be ideal for some, but I appreciate that this lightweight but very hydrating balm is suitable for daily wear even under makeup but does not contain SPF – I really tend to have sensitivity issues with sunscreen found in lip products. Being in a stick form, it doesn’t contain the greatest amount of product, amounting to 4 grams.

I was tempted to leave this post at the previous paragraph which would be impressively concise slash short and sweet for someone as wordy as me but let me paint the picture of how this balm came into my life. It was the end of August, with my third year of university in the near future and I was at the mall with my friends. Frustrated with the condition of my lips, despite many attempts to cure them, I had decided that I wanted to try the traditional Nuxe Reve de Miel pot lip balm that so many bloggers that I adore tremendously had declared their love for and as luck would have it, I was without lip balm and my lips felt like they were going to fall off. I scampered into the larger Shopper’s Drugmart and headed into the section with the like French brands, ready to shell out $17 dollars and then I realized that the cult-favourite formula was sold out. How rude. I was disturbingly enraged until I spotted the less expensive more traditional stick formula and convinced myself that it was worth a try and would be easier to justify to myself as a purchase. As soon as it was paid for, I aggressively applied the balm and things were instantly better, both on the moisture and sensitivity front. Maybe 4-5 months later, I’ve still held onto that little guy and have been enjoying the results and believe it or not, I’ve made a major dent in the stick. Pointless ramble over.

DSC_0236DSC_0241What’s your favourite lip balm?
Maggie, x.

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Unheard and Under-Appreciated #2: Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Cherry

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blended out vs. standard application
blended out vs. standard application

 

It completely astounds me that I don’t hear much about these Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments as the tinted balm kind of products keep on increasing and increasing in popularity and these have got to be the best formula if this shade is anything to go by. After enjoying the sample of the regular lip balm and enjoying it tremendously for actually helping to heal and hydrate my chapped lips, I asked for a tinted one for Christmas and surely enough this one appeared underneath my tree and although it may not be a product I rave about frequently it’s one of those rare lip products that also has significant skincare properties as well – it performs well as a balm regardless of it’s pigmentation but it does well on that front too unlike the rest that I’ve tried.

The Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Cherry retails for $26 CDN at Sephora, contains SPF 15 (with avobenzone and octinoxate) and 4.3 grams of product while promising to be a hydrating and nourishing lip balm while still providing a tint of colour. I’m one who tends to be a skeptic about products achieving their outlandish claims but I think this tinted balm does more than it even claims to do. It nourishes damaged and sore lips very well in the way that an effective balm only can while providing medium-buildable colour payoff that actually sticks around on the lips for 3-4 hours with some eating and drinking here and there without smearing or wearing off unevenly.

I’m someone who suffers from uncomfortably sore dryness on any sort of skin and in the winter here, I’m slapping on the lip balm like my life depends on it (and using the good stuff) and my lips are still sore and a bit chapped. The formulas that promise to provide moisture and colour that everyone and their cat raves about (Revlon Lip Butters anyone?) are just not cutting it, as my lips have gotten to that point where even these comfortable formulas are not sitting nicely and they need intense nourishment to soothe the less than ideal bits and without sacrificing the longevity and pigmentation, the Fresh Cherry Sugar Lip Treatment delivers. The balm feeling on the lips lasts for the full duration that the product remains on the lips and even when the product has faded, my lips are left feeling nourished which is extremely rare for me. They feel heavenly on the lips, just like a lip balm but without the waxy feeling of the lip butters etc.

The Cherry shade is a fairly bright cherry-red (as the name would suggest) that seems to lean brick red on me with neutral-warm undertones. Although the treatment first applies somewhat sheerly, they quickly are built up to full on colour. This is everything that I had hoped that the Revlon Cherry Tart Lip Butter would be but wasn’t — much more saturated with pigment, without shimmer while being intensely more moisturizing and forgiving on sore lips. This seems like the perfect shade to wear to class as it provides the nice red tone that adds life to my face in the mornings, requiring no maintenance while still moisturizing the lips very effectively.

the Fresh on the top with a sheer layer, the Revlon on the bottom built-up
the Fresh on the top with a sheer layer, the Revlon on the bottom built-up

I’m afraid to say that this balm is worth the hefty price tag and I foresee myself picking up a few more shades in the foreseeable future. The only thing I can find to criticize in the product is the size of the bullet — as it does not taper to a tip, it can be difficult to apply due to its strong pigmentation – but I really can’t complain on any grounds.

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What are some of your favourite under-appreciated products?

Maggie, x.

Daily Makeup #4: Non-Festive Holiday Makeup & Playing With New Products

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FACE: Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in Ivory, MUFE Cream Concealer Palette in 1, Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer/Highlighter in Ivory, MAC Powder Blush in Harmony, Benefit Boxed Powder in Rockateur, MAC Semi-Precious Pearl Mineralize Skinfinish

EYES: Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded, Marc Jacobs Beauty Style Eye-Con No 7 in The Starlet, Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in Black, Maybelline The Falsies Mascara, Revlon Brow Fantasy in Brunette

LIPS: Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Cherry

Upon receiving some angelically beautiful beauty products for Christmas that I may or may not have casually hinted that I’d like with retail prices, colours and the location where they could be purchased, I had express my adoration for it somewhere and I figured it would be the most appreciated here. This is completely non-Christmas-y but I was completely happy with the result … ahhh

I used the nice-but-slightly-too-warm-toned Revlon Brow Fantasy in Brunette through my brows but I forgot to put it in the picture – whoops — but it’s growing on me. I also appear to have forgotten to include my limited-edition MAC Semi-Precious Pearl MSF — a wonderful product for highlighting regardless of whatever champagne-esque shade is currently available; it’s Christmas, forgive me?

I used my Real Techniques Fine Liner Brush for the first time today and I’m loving it for it’s precision and winging ability, although one might not assume that based on my questionable liner application. That’s not the star feature of the makeup for me though. After seeing the unique colours of this interesting neutral palette and reading Christine’s from temptalia.com shining review of it, I had to have it and thus far these might be the best shadows I’ve ever tried. They are so buttery, smooth and pigmented – and interesting! I stuck to the more plummy-taupe shades with the taupe in the crease, the lilac-tinted champagne on the lid, the burgundy-leaning shade in the outer v and underneath the eye, and I have got to say that they apply and blend like a dream. As an afterthought, I placed the silver in the inner-corner and it looks nice and festive. These shades, albeit more expensive, do give Urban Decay a run for their money.

My skin has been good the last couple of days, which I can only attribute to diet and my latest morning routine of applying organic rosehip oil after the Kiehl’s Stress Rescuer. This duo leaves my skin looking less dull and more dewy, allowing foundation to slide on and look more fresh. I used the tiniest amount of Rimmel Wake Me Up, concentrating on my cheeks, chin and nose and barely applying any to my forehead, leaving any blemishes covered with my recently-neglected concealer palette. I was actually quite happy with the skin, as it looked lightweight and glowy, while still covered somewhat.

The cheeks were the usual, MAC MSF and  MAC Harmony Blush to add much-needed shape to my face and Benefit Rockateur was stippled onto the apples and blended back. Note to self: this trio creates lovely radiance while still looking winter-appropriate.

The Fresh Lip Treatment in Cherry was another Christmas gift and another surprisingly impressive one at that, providing the moisture from the original treatment while still packing a not-so-sheer amount of pigment onto the lips with a neutral-toned pop of a mixture of cherry and brick tones. These are Revlon Lip Butters on your preferred drug of choice, but I have only used it once. I do plan on a review in the near future.

Thanks for reading my daily beauty musings!

X,

Maggie

What makeup did you rock on Christmas Day/ winter holiday of another religious denomination (I at least try to be politically correct when I remember to….)? What did you think about today’s daily face? Er, I apologize if this post is a bit less focused and more jumpy than usual, but in my defense I’m more than a little over-caffeinated and over-excited.

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Merry Christmas/ Happy December 25th! 🙂