Burts Bees Honey Lipbalm

 

Burt's Bees Honey Lipbalm - £3.69

 

I think it's fair to say almost all of us get dry lips particularly in the autumn and winter months. It's so horrible having dry and chapped lips, it just feels awful. My lips also get like that when I have a cold, or if i'm just generally not feeling very well.

 

I feel like i'm not the only one who is always on the search for that holy grail lip balm. It's such a vital staple in our beauty routines, must keep our lips feeling and looking baby soft. And this is where this Burt's Bees lipbalm comes in.

 

I remember about 4 years ago when I was on holiday in Devon and my lips were very dry, and Vaseline did nothing to help. I was at a country house fair and they were selling homemade honey and almond oil lipbalm, I loved the smell of it and you could see the actual honey in the pot, so I got some and absolutely loved it. Sadly it's not a product I could buy online and I think they only made it for the fair, so I thought i'd go on the hunt to find another honey related lipbalm as the honey had worked so well in healing my lips and making them so smooth.

 

 

I soon came across Burts Bees and their honey flavoured lipbalm. I have been using their honey lipbalms now for years, and I can honestly say that Burts Bees lipbalms are my ultimate favourtie. I love the Mango one but the Honey one is my real favourite. It's very moisturising, leaves my lips feeling soft and smooth for about 6hrs or maybe more. I only tend to apply it in the morning and before bed, my lips don't feel dry for the rest of the day.

 

I just love the scent and taste of honey, and clearly my skin loves the effect honey has. It really does have some amazing moistutisng properties. Besides the honey it also contains:

Beeswax, Shea Butter, Almond Oil and Cocoa Butter.

 

I also love the packaging of the lipbalm, I prefer it in a tube rather than a pot and the honeycomb design on the tube is rather cute.

 

Another major plus point is that this particular lip balm is made with 100% natural ingredients, I really love products even more when I read statements like this. Knowing I won't be putting any harmful things on my skin or lips that really isn't needed.

 

 

If you're looking for a lipbalm and haven't tried the Burts Bees ones yet then I highly suggest that you do. They come in a variety of flavours and they really are just the best out there that I've found. Forget Vaseline, that's as good as useless.Burts Bees is the way forward.

 

Avaliable from Boots

HERE

 

Also currently on offer

3 for 2 on the Burts Bees website

HERE

 

Any comments/questions please leave in the comments.

 

Love

Amy

xxx

 

 

 

***DISCLAIMER***

All views/opinions are my own, product bought myself.

My Favourite Christmas Candle! - Yankee Candle Christmas Cookie

 

Yankee Candle Christmas Cookie Large Jar - £19.99

 We are well into that time of year where you just want to be snuggled up indoors on the dark and cold evenings and have a nice candle burning. Just feels even more wintery to me. And as it will soon be Christmas why not burn a Christmas themed candle?

So i've gone back to an old favourite from last year, Christmas Cookie.

 

If you're a fan of candles, or just have a bit of a candle addiction like I do, then you will be aware of the brand Yankee Candle. They are the world's best selling candle company, and without a shadow of a doubt my favourite too. I've tried many candles from different brands and they never come close to Yankee's offerings. The scents are amazing and just the whole design and look of them is beautiful, as are the pictures! Oh the pictures on the front are just amazing! Makes me want them even more.

 

For anyone who does not know about Yankee Candle, their candles range in sizes anything from their little wax melts and samplers which are under £2 and will last you about 15 hours or so, to their large jars like I have here which will last you a whopping 150 hours of burn time! Which is brilliant.

I picked this particular Large Jar up from House of Fraser in the sale back in November for about £15, so it was a bit cheaper. I don't ever buy the Large Jar candles for the simple reason I don't want to fork out £20 for a candle but if they are on offer, or if it's a scent that I absolutely adore then I will take the plunge.

 

The Christmas Cookie scent smells just like you'd imagine from the picture on the front, it smells like biscuits and cookies and vanilla, buttery goodness! Oh my, it's so good! If you don't like kind of bakery or vanilla scented candles then you may not like this one. It's not the strongest candle i've ever had from Yankee Candle, but that's what I like about it. You walk into the room and it smells of the candle but it's not too overpowering.  

 

 

I have some bad news for you kids, this Christmas Cookie scent has recently become discontinued *sad face*. I still can't understand this as I was lead to believe this was their best selling Christmas fragrance. But there we go, they have to make room for new scents I suppose. But if you look in places like House of Fraser, Clinton Cards, garden centres you'll find them, and of course you'll have the best luck online.

 

I tracked down this very candle in Large Jar form:

HERE

 

 

What's your favourite Christmas Candle?

 

Love

Amy

xxx

 

 

 

***DISCLAIMER***

All views/opinions are my own, product bought myself.

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers

 

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers - £6.49

 

 

These Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers have been a huge blogger and Youtuber favourite for a long time since they launched near the start of 2013.

I was completely sucked in by the hype and I got myself a couple.

 

First of all the packaging is just, oh gosh it's amazing! To be able to see the colour on the end is brilliant and the design on the tubes is just so pretty. Packaging really makes a difference I think and Rimmel definitely pulled it out of the bag for this one. And don't even get me started on the names, anything with a space theme has got me hooked!

 

As you can see, the applicator is no ordinary applicator, it almost has a funnel effect on the end which holds a lot of the product, enabling it to distribute the product amazingly onto the lips. It enables you to be very precise and the pigmentation is just insane, as you'll see from the swatches below, i've never seen any lip product like it!

 

The product itself is very glossy, and if you want a pop of colour on your lips this will deliver that in bucket loads! They are very creamy and moisturising and feel great on the lips, and not sticky at all. The whole lipstick/lipgloss hybrid products, aka lip lacquers as these are, have become very popular in recent times and I'm definitely on the bandwagon. And I would go as far as to say Rimmel are the best i've come across so far.

 

The red colour I have below is called 'Big Bang' and the mauvey pink colour is called 'Celestial'. I get more wear out of Celestial as it is an everyday pink shade,  I could wear this any day with an outfit and it wouldn't look out of place. The Big Bang colour is very scary at first, as it is so bright, but when worn right it looks fabulous! Such a classic pillar box red.

 

 

The only problem I have with these is that because they are so glossy, they can move around a bit and i've found the red one to smudge ever so slightly if you apply too much. It is a very wet formula and I have found the best way to apply these is to put on one layer and blot it and do that a couple of times and then the colour will last all day! Whereas if you just apply it the once, because its so glossy it will come off if you eat or drink. It's almost like if you want them to last you have to set them on your lips and set it with layers to still maintain the glossy look. Might be a bit of a hastle but it is worth it.

 

There are currently 13 shades of these lip laquers, they initially brought out 8 I think but they have added more as they are clearly popular. The colour range is great and I would love to pick up some more, but for the time being i'm very happy with these.

 

Avaliable at:

Boots - £6.49

 

Any questions/comments please leave below.

 

Love

Amy

xxx

 

 

***DISCLAIMER***

All views/opinions are my own, products bought myself.



Eczema: The Importance of Drinking Water

Hi guys!

 

I thought i'd come back and have another eczema post.

This time discussing eczema and drinking water.

Now we all know that water is one of the key ingredients in achieving great skin. Sometimes we can all forget how important it really is, and especially for eczema sufferers it is even more vitally important that we keep up our water intake.

.

Your skin will become dehydrated, very dull looking and even drier if you don't drink enough water. Things like alcohol, tea, coffee and caffeine drinks are not going to help you, however tempting they are. And let's be honest, nothing can quench your thirst like water can, our body craves it, you can use after exercising as a good example. I bet almost all of you would want a nice cool drink of water afterwards, am I right? :)

I have a rule of drinking water all day from the moment I get up, and as I don't drink tea or coffee and I barely drink alcohol, I'm allowed to have fizzy drinks at my evening meal till about 10pm, anytime after that it is back to water again. I've adopted this plan for the past couple of year or so, and it's really helped my skin look much more refreshed. Now I know fizzy drinks are bad for you, but it's my treat for the day so it's not too bad.

You are supposed to drink eight glasses of water a day, this is different in different countries i'm lead to believe, but in the UK it's eight. Now I know for a fact I don't drink that many, but it would be amazing if you could (or do) drink that much. Hats off to you!

 

I always get asked if I would like a tea or coffee when i'm out somewhere or at somebodys house, and I always say how I don't like it and how I drink water instead. And the other day when I said I drink a lot of water someone actually complimented me and said that must be why I have such nice skin! This compliment was a very big deal for me, and I think if any other eczema sufferer heard someone say that it would make you smile too. So I really think this whole 'just drink water 80% of the time' regime must be doing me some good!

When my eczema was pretty bad a few years ago, and I went on holiday, for the entire 10 days I was there I drunk one glass of fizzy drink and the rest of the time I drank water. It was tough, but I stuck to it to see what a difference it made, and it really helped to make my skin look less dry. It was almost like a detox, a skin detox if you will. The holiday wasn't even in a hot and sunny climate (it was Devon, which is in the South West of England if you didn't know) so it was mildly warm but not that sunny if i'm honest, so I can rule out the sun in playing a part in making my skin look better, it was the water.

 

So girls and boys if you want to help your skin along, just drink some more water. It may not be the most exciting of drinks, but it's the best thing for you. And also don't take it for granted, which I know we're all guilty of doing!

 

I will be doing a second post continuing on from this, as water is not just for drinking after all. So keep your eyes peeled for that one if you liked this post.

 

Any comments/questions please leave in the comments below.

 

Love

Amy

xxx

 

***DISCLAIMER***

All views/opinions are my own.

Topshop Lipstick 'Wicked' - Mac Rebel Dupe?

 

 

Topshop Lipstick 'Wicked' - £8.00

 

The Topshop make-up collection called The Dark Side of Nude was released last autumn/winter and I wasn't that particularly fussed on the collection itself. I'm not the biggest fan of the kind of gothic look that this collection provided, however this one lipstick did catch my eye, but just for one reason.

 

Before I came across this lipstick, the Mac lipstick Rebel was the hottest lipstick going, everyone was after it, and I must admit it is absolutely stunning and that was the colour I wanted, but I wanted a cheaper alternative.

 

On my hunt for a good dupe, I went to Mac and swatched Rebel and then went into Boots and tried all lipsticks that looked similar and nothing seemed to come close, I then went to Topshop and saw this and thought that is it. I've found it. It's the best dupe i've come across so far and I like it that much that I probably won't go out and get Rebel, considering I don't wear this all that often I can't justify spending extra money on colours that look very very similar.

 

 

Now you may have noticed the packaging is very different to the traditional white and spotty Topshop lipstick packaging. It's Matte black on the bottom half, with a spidery effect on the lid. I prefer the standard lipstick packaging if i'm honest, but for this particular colour and the name 'Wicked' it suits it well and it all just screams Halloween to me. It really is the perfect autumn lipstick.

 

 

As you can see from the swatch below, the colour of the lipstick bullet does not look anything like the swatch. It is a beautiful berry purple colour and is just gorgeous for autumn and winter. The formula is a bit more moisturising than the standard Topshop lipsticks, but still lasts absolutely ages and i've found that this lipstick leaves a stain as it is so dark. I apply this colour with a lip brush, otherwise I think it might be too intense for me, but that's just me, you may prefer to apply it directly onto the lips.

 

I did not hear much of a buzz about this colour in the blogging world, and I'm surprised considering so many people love Rebel and are probably looking for a good high street/drugstore dupe.

 

 

This was only released as a limited edition colour last year, but there is good news.

Topshop released this exact colour, still called 'Wicked', into their permenant line and now in their normal white packaging. So if you're interested in this colour then you can still pick it up. I really think this is a great dupe for Rebel and it is £7.00 cheaper than it too!

 

It is avaliable in Topshop stores, or you can order it online:

HERE

Any questions/comments please leave below.

 

Love

Amy

xxx

 

 

 

 

***DISCLAIMER***

All views/opinions are my own, product bought myself

Gingerbread Themed Jewellery

 

Big Baby Jewellery Gingerbread Necklace & Ring

 I don't know if it's just me but I love gingerbread. Whether it's eating it or just gingerbread themed things, I even have pyjamas with gingerbread print on it. Yeah I go nuts for it, especially as the colder seasons kick in and it just makes me feel even more festive.

 

I remember watching a Youtube video and seeing a girl wear this and I just thought it was so cute! I've had it for a couple of years now and I wear it a lot.

 

The brand is called Big Baby Jewellery and they create these sort of acrylic accessories themed on different things. The Gingerbread line they did a few years ago is hard to come by now, but if you look hard enough you should find it somewhere online.

 

This particular brown gingerbread colour with the pink bow was the most popular I think, it was hard to find, but they've also done it in other colours.

 

After wearing the necklace for a while I saw that they made a ring of it and so I had to have that too. The Gingerbread ring made my November 2013 favourites last month, I was wearing it a lot and getting lots of compliments on it, the ring is also adjustable too which is very helpful, especially when you have to purchase it online, so I couldn't try it on myself.

 

I've just discovered that Big Baby Jewellery is stocked in John Lewis, but I bought these from an online stockist called lisaangel.co.uk, which I buy lots of things from.

 

If you are interested in either of these Gingerbread Jewellery pieces i'd suggest having a hunt on eBay for them.

 

 

Love

Amy

xxx

 

 

***DISCLAIMER***

All views/opinions are my own, products bought myself.

Illamasqua Gleam Highlighter - Aurora

 

Illamasqua Gleam Highlighter - Aurora - £18.00

 

Just the name of this highlighter alone made me want to buy it, and when you see the actual colour of it I just wanted it immediately. Firstly I want to apologise for the dent in the product itself, I bought this a couple of months ago before I started blogging so it has been used. But anyway, shows i've used it and I can tell you my honest opinion after i've used it for 2 months now.

 

This is a beautiful champagne highlighter, which was released with the Generation Q collection a while ago. This was a very much raved about highlighter and has been in and out of stock on the Illamasqua website for months, and it just so happened to get back in stock just in time for my birthday which falls near the end of September. So with my birthday treat email code in hand, I used that to get the money off and I got it.

 

This is my first, and currently only, Illamasqua product and I just adore it. I am so impressed. Not only is the Illamasqua packaging so beautifully sleek but the colour is just, wow! It's a cream product so it goes on like a dream! It's actually my first cream highlighter and if this is anything to go by I will be buying more!

 

It gives a beautiful glow, worthy of Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty herself.

I'm such a sucker for a highlighter, it really adds that extra special magic touch to your make-up and this is definitely one of the most special ones I own, it's too beautiful to ignore.

 

You can pick this up online:

 

Illamasqua Gleam Highlighter - Aurora - £18.00

 

 

Love

Amy

xxx

 

 

 

 

 

***DISCLAIMER***

All views/opinions are my own, product bought myself.