Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Intensive Lip Repair Balm

I must admit, I've always been a little fickle when it comes to lip balms and tend to move onto the next one pretty quickly, never finishing a pot or a tube, but nearing the bottom of this product after just a couple of months, I think it's safe to say that I have met my match when it comes to lip balm criteria and I can't get enough of this Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Intensive Lip Repair Balm*.

Eight Hour Cream is one of those products that covers all bases; dry skin, lips, cuts, cuticles, nails- you name it and the original Eight Hour Skin Protectant heals it and highly requested as a duty free product at work, a day doesn't go by where we don't sell out. Though not in quite a while, I have tried my fair share of Eight Hour Cream products, which I liked but I really can't get enough of this pot of Intensive Lip Repair Balm and have found it to work an absolute dream for me.

Unlike most potted balms, this is a super soft balm that I would describe as a rich in-between of a gel/cream/balm and not smelling too much like the original formula, which I remember not really loving, I am super impressed. 

I apply it when need be throughout the day and before bed when I remember and find it so hydrating and moisturising on my lips and love the subtle gloss that it leaves.

 Without any balm or treatment, I do suffer with slightly dry chapped lips and being as into lipsticks as I am, find it super necessary to have my lips as soft and moisturised as possible and this does the job perfectly. It's healed any dry or chapped areas that I have suffered with and find it lovely on my lips whilst on flights at work in the dry, horrible air conditioning.

Made up of Shea and Palm Tree Butter, Petrolatum, Arnica Oil, Vitamins A and E, Honey Extract and Menthol, this 15ml pot has become an absolute essential for me and available at Elizabeth Arden Counters in Boots, Debenhams, John Lewis and House of Fraser costing £20, if you're looking for an intensive treat for your lips I highly recommend giving this a go.

  

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Dr Lipp Nipple Balm for Lips

I must admit when I was first introduced to Dr Lipps Nipple Balm*, I was slightly confused as to what the product was intended for, but after finding out more and trying this little tube of balm on my lips, which if left uncared for are often quite dry and can become easily chapped and split, I haven't looked back as it has worked quite wonderfully for me.

With lipsticks being my favourite product, it's important that my lips have a nice base and are as soft and moisturised as possible and this super thick, natural, rich balm has made this so easy. Though it really is so thick that I have a little bit of trouble squeezing it out of the tube, once I have a tiny bit it's such a pleasure to use and a little goes such a long way. Although it appears as a clear gloss on the lips, I can very much feel it which although I wouldn't really love throughout the whole day, I don't mind as I normally go crazy with this first thing in the morning and last thing at night which leaves my lips feeling and looking perfectly moisturised.

Dr Lipps Nipple Balm is 100% natural and both paraben and fragrance free, made up of medical grade Lanolin and although I do use this Nipple Balm purely for my lips, this is one of those wonder products that can be used for so many different things including cuticles, itchy dry skin, split ends, burns and abrasions, eczema and even for mums on their sore & cracked nipples caused from breastfeeding and their babies nappy rash.

Available in Space NK and costing £11.50 for this 15ml tube, I don't think it's the most reasonable balm but I do imagine it will last a fair while and it does do a very lovely job.


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Nivea #DareToKiss Lips & Giveaway

Tomorrow on New Years Eve, Nivea are attempting to to break a lip-locking record for the longest kissing chain on Twitter and to get involved I thought I would share with you my #DareToKiss lipstick of the day that I will be wearing throughout my new years celebrations.

Of course, a long night is always ahead when it comes to seeing the new year in and in every aspect of getting ready, preparation is always key! I've decided to wear a Dark Red vampy lip and have chosen MAC Diva as my shade of the night, but as it's a matte lipstick and therefore prone to drying I have been using the Nivea Original Lip Butter to make sure my lips are beautifully soft and moisturised ready for that midnight kiss! 

The Nivea Lip Butters come in three variations; Raspberry Rosé, Caramel Cream and Original and leave your lips feeling super smooth both on their own and with a lipstick. This evening, I have gently run my toothbrush over my lips to give them a slight exfoliation and applied a generous layer of the Nivea Butter to ensure that when I wake up tomorrow, I've have lipstick ready lips to see in the new year with a smile.

I'm all about Lipsticks and would absolutely love to know what shade you're going for on New Years Eve, so I would love for you to tweet me photos of your LOTD, of course using the #DareToKiss hashtag too! 

If like me, you want to be part of Niveas attempt at a record-breaking chain kiss, then simply follow @niveauk on Twitter to see what happens on the day itself.

Nivea have very kindly given the opportunity to give a set of the Lip Butters away to one of my readers. Simply comment below and tell me what your favourite party lipstick is along with your email address and I'll pick a winner at random. 

Added entries will be made if you tweet me photos of your LOTD with the #DareToKiss hashtag, just be sure to let me know you've also entered on Belles Boutique!

This giveaway will end on the 6th January 11:59pm! Good Luck!

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*This is a sponsored post

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Revlon Colourburst Berry Lip Butters

I'm surprisingly new to Revlon Colourburst Lip Butters, but after so much hype surrounding them I couldn't wait to try them out in these three Berry shades.

Berry Smoothie*, Macaroon* and Raspberry Pie* are all super pigmented lip products that work like a lipstick would in that they give great colour to your lips but at the same time work very much like a lip balm being super creamy and super easy to work with, whilst leaving your lips soft and moisturised after application.

 They have been extremely popular throughout this past year but with Berry shaded lips being very on trend this Autumn Winter, these three shades are more necessary than ever. Though I don't find moisturising products like this to last on the lips as well as a lipstick would, these are a dream as they do keep you moisturised and are fool proof when it comes to touching up, the colour fades very evenly and leaves ever slight a blushed tint to your lips leaving no real need to keep topping up anyway.

Swatched in the photos above, Berry Smoothie and Macaroon don't look too far apart from each other in terms of similarity, although in real life Berry Smoothie is ever so slightly more Mauve toned compared to the Pinkier hue of Macaroon. I've built these up a little, as I definitely prefer a more pigmented lip, but they can also be worn with just a quick application to give a little tint and as much as I hate to use this phrase, in doing so, they produce a pretty "your lip but better" shade. 

Raspberry Pie is the true Berry in this trio and the lightest application has such great colour pay off. It's definitely the most pigmented of the three and is a Purple toned Raspberry shade. I must admit that the photo above isn't the greatest swatch and in different lights it can look darker and a lot less bright, but it is absolutely beautiful and I can see myself reaching for it lots in the coming Winter months.

These are available to buy in Boots and Superdrug where they cost £7.99, although if you fancy trying to win one of these super softening lip butters, visit the Sweet Boutique on Revlons Facebook page where as of today running until 4th December, Revlon are very kindly giving away 100 lip butters per day. Eek! Good luck!

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Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balms

Over the last month or so, I've heard quite a bit surrounding these Revlon Just Bitten Kissable balms*, but to be honest I didn't think they would be very pigmented so although I was certainly intrigued, they wasn't top of my wish list.

Since receiving them in these seven shades, I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed wearing them. There are shades that I am definitely more fond of but overall I think they're a lovely product.

The darker colours especially offer such great pigmentation, that you would expect from more of a lipstick formula rather than such a lightweight balm. I particularly love Crush and wore it at the Cosmo Blog Awards and got so many compliments. It's such a deep Berry Purple colour and it sticks around on my lips for hours before any need of touch up.

Unfortunately, the lighter shades don't really have much colour pay off on my lips. The natural colour of my lips and the slight stain that these give don't work terribly well together and so it really is just a slight hint of colour on my lips.

They do feel ever so soft on your lips and are incredibly moisturising. They are retractable so there is no need for sharpening which is great, they just simple twist at the bottom and voila!

I really like these and at the £7.99 that they retail for, I think they are perfectly reasonable as an all round product.

These are available to buy at Revlon stands at Superdrug and Boots.

What do you think of these balms? What shade stands out to you?

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Vaseline Pink Bubbly Limited Edition Lip Therapy

For as long as I can remember, I have had a tin of Vaseline in my make up bag. I remember everyone in school having one in their pocket and applying it throughout the school day for a natural glossed look.

From the original Blue Vaseline that I'm sure we all automatically link with the brand, Vaseline have come very far with their range and now with a spot of luxury in the form of Pink Bubbly*.

I'm sure you're aware, I love a beautiful bit of packaging and this is a pretty posh little dream. It's so classy looking and I absolutely love having this in my bag. 

It's enriched with Champagne Grape extract and used on top of a lipstick or on it's own, it works to intensively moisturise and smooth your lips.

Yesterday saw this limited edition Vaseline Pink Bubbly lip therapy hit the shelves exclusively in the fabulous Selfridges. 

It costs £3.49 which is slightly more than a standard Vaseline tin, but in my opinion it's very fabulous and so very much worth it.

Will your lips be enjoying the champagne lifestyle?

xx

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L'Oreal Paris Caresse- Lovely Rose

I didn't really need to buy another lipstick, especially when I mentioned before that I'm kind of going off wearing a Pink lip and opting for more Nude shades again, but with the hype that is surrounding the L'oreal Rouge Caresse products- I couldn't resist.

I must admit, when the lipstick/lipbalm phenomenon hit the UK, I was initially swaying towards the Revlon Lip Butters, but after swatching away like a crazy woman in Boots, I decided that none of the colours were really for me. 

I first came across these on a little bit of a whim really, and absolutely fell in love with this shade. After a little research into it and finding out how similar they were in formula to the Revlon Lip Butters via so many blog posts, my search to find somewhere that actually had it in stock was well and truly on!

I eventually found it in a smaller Boots and being a part of the 3 for 2 offer, I was a super pleased girl.

There is ten shades in the L'oreal Rouge Caresse range, but Lovely Rose is the only one that really stood out to me. There is only one shade lighter and thats Fashionista Pink but I found that far too light and sheer for me. The rest are all much darker and didn't really appeal to my taste.

 The formula is lovely and the application is super easy, however in terms of the formula I don't think I could wear it too much. I like the feel of having a full on lipstick on my lips and with this being a lip balm like formula, I often find this feeling a little too glossy and maybe too moisturisingly sheer- if that even makes sense?

I like the occasional touch up or addition of a lip balm to revive my lips, but not continuously. In saying that, I do think that both this product and the formula will be perfect for me for work.

In such a dry, dehydrating environment it's extra important that my lips are looked after and if they can look pretty whilst being moisturised then that's just brilliant.
I think that for such a soft, moisturising product this has pretty good staying power. I assumed that it would come away from the lips quite quickly, especially with me rubbing my lips together with the softness so often, but it shocked me at how long it actually lasted.

The colour of this shade, Lovely Rose isn't completely what I thought it was from swatching it in store, but it isn't hugely different so I'm not in the slightest bit disappointed. It's a Sheer Rose toned Pink and other than it being Glossy or Sheer, it isn't much different from the other Pink shades I would normally go for. 

It's quite buildable, but I do much prefer both the colour and the feeling on the lips less built up. 

I haven't yet experimented with it, in terms of mixing it with other shades but that is how I often find my perfect colours so I'm pretty sure I will.

When I was looking into these products beforehand, I heard a few raves about the packaging, but to be honest I'm not super keen. I like the Gold, but I think the clear plastic cheapens it slightly and makes it a little more clumpy than it really has to be. This really isn't a huge deal though, and didn't put me off- we can't always have it all and it doesn't take anything away from the fact that this is a lovely lip product.

 L'Oreal Rouge Caresse lipsticks cost just £7.99 which is pretty good, I got mine in Boots on a 3 for 2 offer which I think is running for a few more days.

Are you tempted by these products? I'd love to know what you think on both these and the Revlon Lip Butters

xx

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My perfect lip combination.

I mentioned before in this MUA post that I really wanted to get my hands on the MUA Love Hearts lip balm in Sweet Kiss and fortunately enough, I did. 

When I first saw this lip balm, I thought it was such a beautiful colour, and definitely the sort of shade I love and I am in no way disappointed. It's the most beautiful Coral Peach shade and like the other lip balms from the collection, smells like a vanilla sweet dream! 

The colour pay off on the lips isn't the most pigmented, but it is just a lip balm and doesn't claim to add a huge amount of colour. Used on its own or on top of another lip product it literally is wonderful and works delightfully well paired up with Topshop Coy- so much so that it is my new favourite lip combo.

MUA Lip Balms are available along with the rest of the collection from Superdrug and cost just £2

Topshop Coy is very possibly my dream lip colour. It's a brightened combination of a Coral, a Pink and a Peach which all together could only create a beautiful shade.  

If this was in a satin lipstick formula it would probably be my favourite ever, however what it actually is, is a lip colour stick which is unfortunately incredibly drying- boo!

It's super pigmented but with it being so drying, you couldn't possibly wear it alone and personally, I wouldn't ever want to.

I've been wearing it with my MUA gloss in Candy Pink up until now, but since getting Sweet Kiss, that has now been replaced. 

Topshop Coy is available from Topshop and costs £7 

These two products compliment each other so well. The shades and the formulations work together like a match made in heaven.

The moisturising lip balm takes away the dryness of how Coy feels on the lips and completes the look with a slight sheer/glossed finish which I think Coy lacks.

Sweet Kiss keeps your lips soft and adds a little confidence when wearing Coy, I know when I'm wearing a drying lipstick I'm constantly checking in the mirror that it doesn't look as bad as how it feels.

Although it's slightly annoying having to wear two products to get the look you long for, it can't be helped if your perfect shade and your perfect finish haven't yet been invented in one tube. Anyway, mixing it up a little bit is always fun!

 Costing only £9 together, this is my latest perfect lip combo and I would highly recommend it and both of the products. 

Have you tried Coy? Have you tried Sweet Kiss? Whats your favourite lip combo?

xx

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Make Up Academy and Love Hearts Collaboration

Hey sweets,

Last night I attended an MUA Event for the launch of there Love Hearts collection. Being such a fan of both make up and the super cute retro sweet, I was a very excited girl.

After indulging in a couple of cheeky cocktails with Corrie, Anna and Yu we made our way over to the event together.

The venue was the very cool Fruitbox at the Piccadilly Institute and right at the top of the building, we were greeted by lots of sweets and yet more cocktails- though not just any cocktail, the most beautiful sweet tasting cocktails in Jam jars which I thought was the coolest thing ever.

The event was showcasing the collaboration between MUA cosmetics and Love Hearts, as well as some new products from MUA.

There was a team of beautiful people on hand to do our make up or paint our nails with the truly lovely shades from the new collection- very spoilt!

The Love Heart collection has two different products- a nail varnish which is available in six delicious shades in the sweetest packaging, and a Lip Balm which I am terribly excited about which are available in five fabulous shades and taste of vanilla- yum. What makes these products even better is that they are super affordable, at only £2 each. 

At the end of what was a fabulous evening, we was all given a little bag of treats which included some wonders from the Love Hearts collection, some new things from MUA (keep your eyes peeled) and an exciting amount of sweeties! 

From the collection I got the lip balms Hot Lips and Great Lips which are both very fabulous. 

I had my eye on Great Lips from the very moment I saw it, along with another shade Sweet Kiss which is a beautiful Coral, so I am a very pleased girl. 

The nail varnishes that I received were I <3 U and U rok, which I am sure if you have read my past nail posts- you will know are completely my taste. I absolutely adore them. They are such me shades and I can't wait to use them this Spring/Summer.

I currently have freshly painted nails, so unfortunately haven't got any swatches yet- but most definitely watch this space as they will be up very soon and cannot be missed!

I really like everything about this range, the shades are super sweet and the prices are delicious! 

They are available in Superdrug mid-February, but as of now on www.muastore.co.uk.

 Will you be treating yourself?

xx

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Maybelline Baby Lips- Energizing Orange

I picked this up in Boots in Thailand purely because I thought it looked quite sweet, I liked the name and I hadn't seen it before. The powers of marketing!

I thought I had found something new but then I saw someone tweet about it a couple of days later, and though I haven't seen it at home- I'm guessing that it is? (I can't seem to find out online)

Really, this is just another lip balm, but it's Maybelline and it's Orange flavour- delish! It tastes very lovely.

This did work a little treat on my holiday and actually replaced my MAC Lip Conditioner.

It did the job well and kept my lips very moisturised. With the SPF20, it also kept my lips from burning which was probably the most important thing.

It cost me a little under 80 baht- which is about £2.

"After 4 weeks lips are deeply repaired, completely reborn. Guaranteed" - I have been using this for 4 weeks now and my lips are in good condition for this bitter cold weather, but I do think you would get this effect from using most lip balms- Carmex, Chapstick etc. 

It is a nice little product and its pretty in your handbag but I would only recommend purchasing it if you actually need a new lip balm- don't do what I did and just buy it because its Pink and Orange, well you can if you like.

If Orange isn't your fave like it is mine you can get it in three other flavours- Relieving Menthol, Anti-Oxidant Berry or Smoothing Cherry.

I hope you're all fantastic xx

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Vaseline Lip Therapy- Crème Brûlée

Hi dolls,

So pretty much every beauty obsessed girl owns a Vaseline Lip Therapy tin..right?

I do and have done since I was about 13 years old.

Already available in Original, Rosy, SPF15, Cocoa Butter and Aloe Vera- Vaseline have launched the latest to the collection- Crème Brûlée. 

This is available now in retailers such as Selfridges and can be found online here.

 

For deliciously kissable lips- will you be adding this into your basket?

xx

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Sleek Pout Polish- The Afterparty

Hey sweets,

Whilst I was at Westfield Stratford on Saturday, I fortunately managed to pop along to the Sleek Pop Up Shop for a little look. 

When I finally found it, it was pretty busy however I did get a little look around.

In the pop up shop, you was able to be colour matched, have your make up done, mix the pout paints to get your desired colour amongst other exciting little make up based things. 

All of the stock was 3 for 2 and I'm now incredibly annoyed at myself that I didn't pick up any Havana lashes- I was so tired at this point and I didn't even think about it.

I was given a little Sleek Pout Polish in 959 The Afterparty for simply giving my name and email address, which I was pretty happy about. 

I'm really pleased with this product, I wore it today and it feels and looks really nice on the lips. It feels just like the MAC lip conditioner that I use everyday which isn't really what I expected at all. 

It's not as bright as it looks in the pan which is nice too, I think in the pan it may be slightly too pink for me. It gives a lovely tint to the lip- I think over a lighter shade of lipstick this could look beautiful.

 I'm really not much of a glossed look girl so I didn't build it up too much, however I imagine it you would be able to create a bold lip with this balm-like formula it if that was the look you was going for. 

I'm a little bit of a Sleek make up virgin but I think that may possibly change now. Theres a few things I have my eye on- mainly the very popular Contour Kit and Pout Paints so watch this space!

A few little photos I took in Westfield before my battery died- including the Sleek Pop Up Shop itself. 

You can browse the Sleek Website and the Pout Polishes yourself here.

Do you have a favourite Sleek product and what would you recommend?

xx 

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