Review: Dr Organic Lip Balms

Hiiiiiii all!

Today I will be talking about my new favourite lip balms.

Back a few months ago when me and M attended the Bristol Blogger meet we were lucky enough to get some Dr Organic products in our goodie bags.
This was the start of a beautiful friendship!

I have been using the other products so much that when I saw these lip balms on offer in Holland and Barrett  I couldn't resist.

Dr Organic are a relatively new brand to my ears but I love their ethics; organic, natural and bioactive ingredients, no use of animal products or harsh chemicals, preservatives, mineral oils, or GM ingredients and they do not test on animals.

There were a few different types available but I chose the Manuka Honey and Vitamin E balms as they are both supposed to be super moisturising and that's exactly what I was looking for.

Both balms are paraben and SLS free with no artificial colours, fragrances or harsh preservatives.

They're also BioActive, moisturising, soothing and hydrating with both UVA and UVB SPF 15.

I very much like that they are all individually packaged and you know that nobody else has been dipping their fingers into it or spreading it over the back of their hands.

I also like that the packaging is colour coded, all the Vitamin E products are yellow and the Manuka Honey are in orange. There are plenty of other products available in their range including Aloe Vera, Pomegranate, Argan Oil, Lavender and Rose Otto.

After taking them out of the packaging the tubes are quite simple in design but really sturdy, something you need with lip balms knowing you're going to be throwing them into your bags.

So.....what did I think?

These balms are so hydrating they've worked perfectly. I've had trouble with my skin being dehydrated for the past year or so, and my lips have been cracking terribly.

Both these balms are really moisturising but not greasy at all. I like to be able to feel lip balm on my lips but not still be there a few hours later like Vaseline. These balms sink in quickly enough but also last long enough on your lips not to need reapplying all the time.

My lips haven't been cracked now in a good few weeks, largely down to these beauties!
They're so soft and have lasted me well, they're still both over half way and I use them multiple times per day.

When they are finished I will definitely be picking up some more!!
The Pomegranate and Rose range are both for anti-aging so I will be heading there, as well as the Coconut range as I'm partial to the smell of that!

I have really enjoyed using these products and can see me repurchasing regularly, as well as wanting to try out their other products too!

I've personally got my eye on their award winning Coconut Oil Moisture Melt and Pomegranate Eye Cream!

Have you tried Dr Organic products? Which is your favourite??

L xxx

NOTD: Essie's Watermelon

My Essie obsession grows more and more, mostly down to the massive array of colours that they have available and the great quality of all the polishes I have so far used from them.

My latest purchase was 'Watermelon', a beautiful bright pink and perfect for summer!

I love pinks, and have actually used many up over the past few years of my polish addiction.
My favourites are colours like this, although the pink is really bright, it's also wearable all year around including winter due to it's raspberry tones.

It applies opaque in 2 coats as you'd expect from Essie and the colour is so flawless, its beautiful!

I love how shiny it is with a top coat, and the nails stay like this for a few day before chipping.

What's your favourite pink? What's your favourite Essie?

L xxx

Urban Decay Oz Palette: Glinda

Goooooooooooooooood morning!

I previously wrote about the Urban Decay Theodora palette from their 'Oz the Great and Powerful' range with Disney. You could read how much I loved it here, and therefore my need for their 'Glinda' palette was quickly solved by purchasing it with my birthday money.

I've no need to tell you really how much I love UD, they're a fantastic brand with amazingly pigmented eyeshadows and produce some of the most well known and sought after palettes on the planet.

On top of this I am a rather large fan of limited edition products particularly with a Disney/Fairytale/Bond theme, hence my obsession with these palettes, OPI Bond polishes and also their Oz collection.

So let's get to talking about Glinda. Clearly this is a photo heavy post so please be warned!

There are 6 separate eyeshadows in this palette, 2 of which are duos so you get even more for your money!

They are all completely brand new and very pretty, delicate shades.

The palette also contains a 24/7 eye liner in Rockstar and a Super Saturated Lip Colour appropriately named Glinda, as well as a 'Get the Look' card detailing how you can recreate the same look as Michelle Williams in the feature film.

So here are the beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeautiful shades that the palette contains:

Clockwise they are called:

Tornado - a shimmery deep aubergine colour
Aura - one of the duo shades containing a shimmery white and a shimmery pale icy blue
Magic - a beautiful pinky lilac colour
Illusion - peachy shimmery nude
Oz - the second duo eyeshadow contains a shimmery gold and silver
South - a shimmery dirty pewter colour

The photo is the same below but taken in natural light.

The 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil is in 'Rockstar' is described as darkest eggplant, more commonly known as aubergine to us Brits!

This is a super soft pencil that doesn't drag on the skin but leaves a beautiful clean line with great pigmentation.



Here is a look I created with the palette:



I covered by eye area using Illusion, lightened the inner corner using the white shade from Aura, applied South to the outer corner for definition in the crease area and Tornado to the lash line.



This was a really simple quick look that I applied before work one day as the colours blend easily enough for day wear and the purple adds the definition to make my eyes stand out more.



The Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Color is really natural looking but super glossy.

It's a great colour for work (when in comparison to the Theodora lip color!) and would suit so many skin tones.

As you can see its so natural but really pretty and feels so hydrating on the lips.

I LOVE these palettes for the range of colours that I wouldn't try otherwise, the GREAT pigmentation of the shadows, and the fact they come with lip pencils and eye pencils.

I love trying new products and with Urban Decay you know that they will be good value for money so I will continue for a loooooooooooooooong time to buy their new products!

What are your favorite UD products? Have you tried Glinda too?

L xxx

Review: Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean

This is a post I've been meaning to write for a while. As you'll see from the pictures my bottle is almost empty. Both L and I are huge Soap and Glory fans as you probably know and there isn't much we don't like from them. The cleanser are something we've found hit and miss. So when I saw this in last years big Soap and Glory set I took my time before I started using it.

Scent wise if you don't like peach or strong smells this definitely won't be for you. Personally I love the smell. It's fruity and creamy smelling almost. It's a thick white cream that comes in a pump dispenser which is my favourite type. The packaging is as expected for Soap and Glory product with it's traditional colours. I love soap and glory packaging and I always like that it clearly stated what you can expect from the product.

As the bottle shoes it claims to smooth skin with fruit acids, soften skin with Jojoba Oil and Quillaja Bark. purify and deep clean and shrink pores. That's a lot for a cleanser to offer!! I absolutely love the texture of this. It glides on, sinks into the skin and doesn't cause any irritation. It easily removes make up too. My skin is left feeling soft and smooth without feeling tight or that squeaky clean feeling that soap can leave.

As for purify and deep clean, my skin is much better when I use this. It doesn't break me out and helps for if I'm having a break out. As pore shrinking I'm not too sure about that. I don't think anything works for that really.

Peaches and Clean does say on the back in the evening (I use it for mornings too). It's easy to use massage it into the skin focusing on the T Zone and spots more with the massage and rinse off.

As Peaches and Clean contains AHAs (Alpha Hydroxy Acids) if used in the morning you do need to make sure you have a moisturiser with SPF in. AHAs are great for exfolitating dead skin away gently without uses rough scrubs.

Peaches and Clean will definitely be a repurchase for me. Have you tried it?

Love M

xxx