EOS Pomegranate & Raspberry Lip Balm

Last month marked the end of my spending ban, and you may have read that I received an amazing mystery prize package from Hannah in the USA!  As promised, I'm back with the first review of one of the products I received, and it's the EOS Pomegranate & Raspberry Lip Balm.

EOS is a brand that I had heard of, so I was really looking forward to trying this as it's a well talked about product from overseas.  The thing that attracted me most to EOS is the packaging.  I absolutely love the matte, smooth sphere that it comes in.  Far more hygienic than a pot lip balm, and it just looks neater than a stick lip balm - I always have a habit of winding my lip balm right down to see how much product is left in it...anyone else?

The base is flat, so it doesn't roll around on a flat surface - perfect desk lip balm -  and it has a small indent for you to press your thumb into to twist off the cap.  The cap also has a screw thread, so you won't have any messy accidents when this is rolling around the bottom of your bag.

EOS spheres contain shea butter and jojoba oil for super smooth lips.  I've found that it applies really nicely and feels amazing on my lips; not too heavy or greasy.  I have noticed though that the moisturising feeling does wear off quite quickly, so now it's getting really cold, I'm applying it a lot more than what I would normally to ensure that my lips don't get dry!  The scent of Pomegranate & Raspberry isn't at all overpowering, it's a really lovely subtle scent with a tiny bit of taste!  I'd love to try the Vanilla Bean flavour next!

They are available to buy in the UK, but I think they're a bit pricey.  You can buy them here from Selfridges for £5.99, and if you use the code SELF2013, you can get 10% off your beauty order and if you're really going for it, 20% off fashion until Sunday!  You can also probably find them on Amazon.  I think these would make really nice stocking fillers for friends, or as a Secret Santa gift!

Have you tried EOS balms?  Which is your favourite lip balm?

ASOS #TonightIs...

Tonight is...one for me, one for you!

If you didn't already know, I am a very lucky lady and am part of the Access All ASOS team.  As part of the #TonightIs campaign, I am here today to show my appreciation to my bestie, Kristina!  She doesn't know it yet...but she will...she will...

Kristina and I met at University in 2010 and have been pretty inseparable ever since.  We are so like minded and just know exactly what we are talking about...we got communication down to looking at eachother; no words necessary.

She is pretty hysterical, a bit dim at times, but hilariously dim (not that I can talk at all, I've had my moments, one particular one that I KNOW she will bring up at any opportunity...I thought the Philippines was somewhere where you went skiing.  Found out last year it's not.  Geography isn't my strong point...)

My friend Kristina definitely deserves a treat this year.  We both graduated University in September, and they were literally the BEST years of my entire life.  I've never laughed so hard ever, and so often.  We've gone from lugging car tyres through town, to having horrific spray tans, to tweeting R-Kelly his own lyrics on Twitter and loads more in between.  Best three years of my life.

She also laughs like this.  Almost always louder than any noise in the room.  Hilarious.  Love you, Kristina!

 

What do you love about your bestie? Tweet @ASOS with #TodayIs for a chance to win a prize for you and your bestie!

Life on the Inside: House of Hackney X ASOS

Tonight I have a super sneaky sneek peek for you.  Last week, I was invited to have one of the first looks at the House of Hackney X ASOS collection!  I'm feeling pretty excited about it to be honest; House of Hackney isn't a label that graces my wardrobe, but I absolutely love the bold prints.  It's a shame they're so out of my price range, because they are gorgeous pieces.

"House of Hackney was founded in London 2010 by husband and wife team Javvt M Royle and Frieda Gormley. Originally founded as an interiors label the founder's quest was 'to take the beige out of interiors' with an emphasis on quality, design and Made in England."

House of Hackney 

 

 



The new collection, Dalston Tart, is embracing the tartan trend this season with some pieces that I seriously love, but what I like the most about this collection is the encorporation of the black and white floral print.  The combination of tartan and floral patterns is something that I haven't seen this year, and isn't something I would have thought to have put together myself, but I really, really like it.

I've picked my favourite three items from the collection which I have compiled into my House of Hackney X ASOS Lust List...I really ought to try shortening that for future!  This year, I don't know why, but I've been really craving these baggy smock style dresses.  I am pear shaped, dramatically pear shaped you might say, so I just like the waist band on these sort of dresses as they tuck me in at my slimmest point.  I also think they look really nice with thick tights and, as always, chunky boots.

The tartan ticks all my boxes for a nice tartan too - I hate bright, garish tartan, and this is just a perfect, darker tartan.  I also love the sleeve length!  Oh...god, you know what, I just need this tartan dress full stop.  It has to be mine.

The floral printed items really remind me of some cushions that my Grandma used to have at her house, my favourite of the two is obviously the dress for the same fit reasons as above.  I am usually quite dark in the clothes that I wear, so this creamy dress would be really nice to switch it up a bit, whilst still leaving me with the chance to keep my own style.  I do like the t-shirt, but on my frame, I don't think it'd be flattering - but I really like the upturned sleeves so you get that hint of tartan coming through.

What do you think of the sneak peek of House of Hackney X ASOS?

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa

Carly here.  This year, I would love to see the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette under my tree.  Its rose gold hues have drawn me in and I need it to be mine.  I won't bore you with more details, because I'm sure every make up lover under the sun has told you all about it.  I swear I've been good this year, and nothing but nice. 

So please, Santa...I'd love a Naked 3 palette this year.

Illamasqua Apocalips

So this week I've been Christmas shopping...only I ended up buying myself  present.  You may have seen on one of my Wednesday Wishlists that I was eyeing up a certain Illamasqua lipstick, and well...I bought it.  I'm not even sorry!

I bought the shade Apocalips and I was a bit unsure about the colour, as you would expect, because it is nothing like any shade that I already own.  In fact, I don't know anyone else with a shade similar to this.  It is a gorgeous deep teal with a matte finish.  I've read reviews on Apocalips and I was a bit worried that the matte finish would be too drying, because I'd heard it drags on application and lips needed to be well prepared.


I was so surprised!  The lipstick applied amazingly well, and was very well pigmented.  I did a few swipes to ensure a total opaque finish, and I was so impressed.  I was too excited to try this when I got it, so didn't prepare my lips at all - they're averagely dry, but I thought that it applied really nicely!  It didn't cling to my dry areas, and I was left with a beautifully smooth, even colour application.  Because of the matte finish, this colour on your lips is going nowhere!



I can't tell you all enough how pleased I am that I bought this.  I am so happy with it, and I think that it is such an easy colour to wear.  It is an unusual colour and I do think that it will take other people to get used to me wearing the shade, but I don't think that it looks odd or an unflattering colour at all.  Apocalips came from the Human Fundamentalism collection released in 2012, and Illamasqua said that "Human Fundamentalism is an explosion of your alter ego.  It's becoming who you are and not who you're told to be" and I couldn't agree more!  If you want to try it, you can buy it here on the Illamasqua website!

What do you think of Apocalips?  Will you be trying it?

Bershka Lust List

I'm going to do something a little different today...normally my wishlists would come on a Wednesday, but some things just can't wait.  So here is my Bershka Lust List.  I'd never heard of Bershka until I was browsing Kavita's blog, She Wears Fashion, where she is currently giving away a £100 gift voucher to spend at Bershka.  See the post here if you fancy a go!  But anyway...I didn't think much of it at first, you can't usually get that much for £100, but on browsing...wow...yes you can.

 

It sort of reminds me of H&M in the way that it has a lot of nice, basic clothing for very good prices. 

 

1/2/3/4

 

The odd one out on my Bershka Lust List is this grey marl maxi skirt.  I love this texture and pattern on t-shirts, and I don't own any maxi skirts at all, so this would be really nice for winter.  I literally live in leggings and my one pair of jeans, so this could be a nice change!

Onto the t-shirts.  I have been looking for a Nirvana top for FOREVER.  I can never find one that is reasonably priced with a ladies fit.  This white t-shirt will contrast with the majority of my black and grey wardrobe, so again will be a welcome change!  Secondly, I'm obsessed with Disney.  I love this Mickey t-shirt, and I need it in my life.  I've just managed to get hold of The Little Mermaid t-shirt from Primark, so this could be the start of a Disney clothing obsession...

I also opted for a basic wine three quarter sleeve top.  It's a really nice colour for Autumn/Winter, and this length is one of my favourites.  I was going to end my wishlist here, but on browsing, I had to edit another image to continue my wishlist because there are too many nice things!

1/2/3/4

 

The necklaces on here are very Zara-esque, but slightly cheaper.  They're big, chunky statement necklaces.  This one stood out as my favourite, but it was a tough choice!  I also need this bag.  I'm pretty fussy for bag choosing, because I feel like I don't own coats that they go with...reading that back, that's the stupidest reason ever really, but I'm just fussy.  This is just a plain and simple black back pack, and this would make me happy.  Plus, all of my bags are ruined, so I actually do need this.

 

Finally, I couldn't leave without adding these last two t-shirts to my lust list just because!  I love Metallica, and the wide sleeves on this tee.  And the monster was too cute to leave behind.  I like his silly little face...

 

Well...explaining my reasons for wanting things will certainly make it easier to part with my money, and will give me a well rehearsed speech for making excuses to my Mum!

 

Have you shopped at Bershka before? Where are your online gems?

Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm in Unique Pink

I'm back with another win and another pH reactive lip product.  Today, it's the Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm in Unique Pink.*  I won this on another Twitter give away sometime last week - I've been really lucky with Twitter giveaways lately!

 

 

I've read a lot about Pixi products, particularly the infamous Glow Tonic, but I've never actually tried any of their products because they're quite hard to find around where I live, and I don't often buy make up online because I like to see what I'm buying.  I absolutely love lip crayons, I only own the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains but I own most of their shades.  They're just so easy to use, and are really nice and pigmented.  I was really excited to try another brand of lip crayon, and more so because I've not got a lip crayon that is pH reactive.

First off, I really like the packaging for this.  It's so smooth to touch, it's a matte finish material so it's just nice to hold.  It has a handy twist up crayon, so there's no awkward sharpening!  I also like that there is a clear cap, and a nice band of the shade at the base of the crayon, so if you had a collection of them, you can easily identify which colour you're picking up.

 

 

Compared to my last pH reactive lip product, which was the Barry M TMLP lip paint that I reviewed here, this is a lot less pigmented.  The Barry M lip paint was so much more vibrant and very bright, this is more of a candy floss pink and is something I'd wear on a day to day basis.  It's nicer than my normal lip shade, and feels a lot nicer on my lips than the Barry M TMLP, and also feels a lot more nourishing than the Revlon Balm Stain crayons.

 

It's a really nice moistursing balm; it contains Jojoba oil, Vitamin E and A, Shea Butter and Rose extract.  All of these ingredients are great for nourishment and moisturising, and it also contains peptides that help to plump fine lines.  The staying power for this shade isn't the best, it's definitely less than the Revlon crayons, but I think that's because it's a balmier consistency.  It's not a hassle reapplying though, so I don't mind.

 

At £12 a crayon, they aren't the cheapest lip crayons on the market, but I think I'd like to try a different shade that's a little more pigmented.  Perhaps Rosy Red, or Bitten Berry...if you want to try one, or have a browse of the shades then you can find them online here.

 

Have you tried the Pixi Brilliance Balms?  What other lip crayons should I try?

*I received this Tinted Brilliance Balm from Pixi Beauty after winning a Twitter competition



Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask

Okay, so you may have seen me mention this Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask in my previous Skin Saviours post which you can find here if you missed it!  But that was just a quick breeze by, and this product deserves an entire post considering I've been reaching for it so much recently.

I literally love this moisturiser.  I can't see myself ever not having a bottle.  It smells so good I feel like I want it in my mouth squirty cream style.  I obviously won't...maybe.  It's a gorgeous fruity scent; I predominantly get mango through but there's lots of fruit based oils in the ingredients list.  It contains avocado oil and apricot kernel oil.  Both of these together are instant hydrators and it also contains Japanese Seaweed that's used to repair your skins barrier, and helps to prevent your skin becoming dehydrated again.  So it's a winning moisturiser right here.

 

My skin by the morning is amazing, I feel like I'm glowing, or as my friend might say, I feel as though I'm looking pretty radiant.  I feel like my skin is nice and plumped, and whilst it's obviously a little oilier come morning because of the richness of the moisturiser, it's not an issue because I'll be having my morning cleanse any second.

 

I've not finished this tube yet, maybe just under half left, but I've already got its replacement in the form of a Chrismas present for myself.  I've wanted to try some more Origins products for a while, but have never forked out the extra cash to get some.  Enter Boots Christmas offers.  Boots, I love you.

 

 

This is the Merry Moisturisers Gift Set and it is currently half price in Boots.  That's £29 for this instead of £58.  It only has a half size tube of the Drink Up Intensive, but that alone is worth £11.  The main reason I wanted this was for the Make a Difference Plus Moisturiser.  This is full size and usually costs £34, which is more than what I paid for the entire set!  So if you fancy trying Origins, go out and run to Boots, grab your advantage card and make the most of this amazing offer.  Or find it online here!

 

Are you going to be trying this?  What other Origins products do I need to try?