winter lip balm favorites Archives - Reviews and Other Stuff

winter lip balm favorites

Glossier Mini Haul

May 18, 2019 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hey there! Heard Glossier got a new addition to their beloved Balm Dotcom salves. Upon checking out their website, it looks like they’ve also added/updated a few more other products as well, including the newly reformulated Glossier Generation G sheer matte lipstick. Curious as always, I decided to try their newest Mango Balm Dotcom flavor, and I also ordered another flavor from the same line which I haven’t tried before. Also, in this review, I’ll feature one new Generation G lip shade.

See below.

Balm Dotcom (0.5 fl oz: $12) – This is probably my most favorite Glossier products of all and I keep buying this because I really love how versatile this balm is. You can use it for just about anything and it doesn’t irritate the skin. It’s a very thick salve that truly soothes and moisturizes the driest area of the skin no matter what the season may be. Also, the flavor/scent of this is always very rich and definitely true to its description. On top of that, the packaging is so cute and easy to store or carry.

Coconut – Untinted. This is the scent/flavor I didn’t talk about during my previous Glossier review, seen HERE. I’m usually not a fan of strong coconut scents, but this one is not overpowering. While this definitely smells like true fresh coconut, this actually kinda reminds me of that dreamy tropical paradise escape we all have in our bucket list.

Mango – The latest addition to the Glossier Balm Dotcoms, and this does not disappoint. It’s got a true juicy mango scent with a hint of bubblegum perhaps, and it has a light coral tint that disappears easily upon application. The scent of this travels easily across the room and you can notice it as soon as you unscrew the cap. It is that good.

Generation G ( 0.1 oz: $18) – This is Glossier’s sheer matte lipstick line that has recently been reformulated. I got so curious about this, and guess what? I actually prefer this new formula compared to the old one. See the Leo shade in its old formulation HERE. The old formula tends to get really dry on the lips over time.

Like – Described as light cool pink according to Glossier’s website, this appears like a light nude mauve on my pigmented lips with a soft-focus blotted effect, even though it looks kind of dark purple-violet inside the tube. I find this to be perfect for my lips this Spring and coming Summer for a sheer mauve pop of color, and it’s quite moisturizing as well. This also feels light, comfortable, and it doesn’t transfer much. Since this is sheer, the lasting power is around 2-3 hours after eating or drinking. I think the Dior Lip Glow in Matte Raspberry (seen HERE) is very much similar to this in terms of texture and finish. Further, this has a light jasmine scent that goes away a few minutes after application. I really like this sheer matte lipstick/balm a lot, and this “Like” shade definitely deserves a lot of likes because it seems universally wearable enough as an everyday lip shade with its perfect natural nude-mauve tone. Since I like this lipstick a lot, I’m planning to review the whole newly-reformulated Glossier Generation G lipstick soon. So, stay tuned for the swatches.

Have you been loving any Glossier products lately? Which ones?

The Glossier Balm Dotcom in Mango and Coconut and the newly-reformulated Generation G lipstick in Like are currently available at glossier.com

Dry Shampoo Favorites

February 20, 2019 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Dry shampoos are for me those things I try to avoid using as much as I can, but it’s always a good idea to have them for convenience because you’ll never know when life happens and you won’t have the time to wash your hair. For me, they’re not only a time-saver, but they’re also a life-saver. They help to make me look human in times of busy days, sick days, or whatever it is that has kept me busy which therefore prevented me from cleaning my hair.

I honestly don’t like the feeling of using dry shampoos on my hair, not to mention any hairsprays or any additional hair products that could weigh down my strands because my hair is quite flat and straight. So, most of the time I prefer to wash my hair every day. But you know, things don’t always go as planned, and also, there are times when you just don’t feel like moving or doing anything and you opted not to shower. Yeah, we’ve all been there, after all, we’re just humans in this world, right?

I’m very picky with dry shampoos. I don’t like anything with a strong lingering and overpowering scent, and they may require a messy application and leaves messy powdery white residues that could stick to my clothes. I mostly wear dark solid colors and I don’t want to spend some time dusting these residues off my clothes when I’ve got somewhere else I need to be asap. Because of these reasons, there’s literally only four brands of dry shampoos that I like so far. I tried two dry shampoos from some other brands before but I got disappointed. So, I’ve been sticking with these four.

Here now are my four favorite dry shampoos as of the moment.

Dove Beauty Refresh + Care Detox & Purify Dry Shampoo (5oz: $4.89) – My first favorite dry shampoo and one of my fave drugstore finds. This dry shampoo is affordable, easy to find, and it works. It may not work as well as the high-end dry shampoos, but it gets the job done. It’s perfect for a hair that is unwashed for a day, but after two days, this may not be that good at absorbing oil anymore. Well, it depends, if you have normal hair, this might work for up to two days, but on me, this doesn’t help much if I go on two days without cleaning my hair. The scent of this is nice, kind of like perfumey fresh and it doesn’t leave any residue. FYI, I will be reviewing more types of this Dove dry shampoo soon, so stay tuned for that.

Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk (1 oz: $10, 3.2 oz: $20) – This is the dry shampoo that impressed me immediately after spraying it on my hair. I love this a lot because this has a mild scent and it works well at absorbing oil from my hair. It also doesn’t weigh my hair down, and it can make my hair look clean and normal up to the second day without washing it. It also makes my hair look a bit volumized. This also doesn’t leave any residue but I don’t like that the regular/large size of this is a bit small for its price. Also, this dry shampoo used to be so easy to locate at my local Sephora, but now I have to order this in Sephora online or at Amazon. There are also other types of Klorane Dry Shampoo available, so I will be reviewing them as well here in the blog pretty soon.

Oribe Gold Lust Dry Shampoo (1.3 oz: $22, 6 oz: $44) – This is a luxurious dry shampoo with a very luxurious scent. It doesn’t leave any residue on the hair and its packaging is large. For me, this restores the look and volume of my hair and it makes it look really clean, crisp and airy. On the second day, with my hair being oily and all, this was almost impossible to work with and that’s after putting a lot of it on my strands. I can totally understand why some people gave this dry shampoo some lukewarm reviews. I think because this is a bit mild for those with oily-prone hair like mine. I believe this would work best if you have a normal hair type. Nevertheless, this dry shampoo is one of the best out there.

IGK First Class Charcoal Detox Dry Shampoo (2 oz: $14, 6.3 oz: $27) – This is a superb dry shampoo that doesn’t have a very strong scent. Instead, it smells fresh and it leaves no residue. I love its large packaging and for its price, I feel like this is probably the best dry shampoo out there, especially in terms of its performance. This makes my hair look totally clean and fresh-looking, not just for one day without washing it, but even up to the second. This can definitely handle a greasy hair, although I think you may need to put a lot of it somehow. Overall, this gives me that normal-looking hair with some volumizing effects.

Do you have any personal favorites when it comes to dry shampoos? Do you use any dry shampoo at all?

Winter Lip Balm Favorites

February 7, 2019 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hi there! We have another Winter favorite lip product roundup today. This time, it’s all about my favorite lip balms in this cold harrowing Winter season. Yes, it’s been really cold outside but thank goodness I haven’t had any chapped or cracked lips so far, and I guess it’s because of the lip balms I’ve been using. In fact, I’ve upped my usage of lip balms lately and that has really allowed me to rock my favorite matte lipsticks without some sort of dryness issues at all.

I’m quite picky with my lip balms quite honestly. I don’t like the ones that have a heavy feel on the lips. I like my lip balms to be lightweight, super moisturizing, not extremely oily and shiny, and if they have any flavor/scent, then I’d prefer them to be not as obtrusive to my senses. For these reasons, I tend to stick only to a few lip balms that I’ve tested over time. I mostly use a combination of untinted and tinted lip balms. The untinted ones are my faves at night and they keep my lips hydrated throughout my sleep. The tinted ones are the type that I use mostly everyday or whenever my lips feel dry. I sometimes layer them with my favorite lipstick, but mostly, I use them whenever I feel like not wearing any lipstick at all. They’re my go-tos for a lazy day “no makeup” makeup look.

Drunk Elephant Lippe Balm (0.13 oz: $18) – This is probably the best and one of my most favorite lip balms of all time. This has the perfect formula for being lightweight, untinted, made-of-clean-ingredients, and a super hydrating balm that lasts for several hours. It really protects the lips from drying in this cold Winter season. However, this does have a flaw. While this lip balm may look big due to the fact that it does have a larger tube diameter than most lip balms out there (see more photos HERE), you’ll actually find that there’s really not a lot of product inside its packaging. So this doesn’t really last that long, and for the price, I feel like this is quite a lot for a lip balm.

Bite Beauty Agave Lip Balm (0.15 oz: $18) – This untinted super thick lip balm has a sleek comfy velvety matte packaging that looks very unique and different. It is so moisturizing, but it needs to warm up on the lips first prior to the application. Once it does, it tends to melt easily then, so just take heed. This does a good job of preventing and/or healing dry cracked lips. I love that this has no strong scent as well.

Farmacy Honey Butter Beeswax Lip Balm (0.12 oz: $10) – Never underestimate the power of this tiny lip balm because this packs a punch. It’s made of clean ingredients and it has Echinacea GreenEnvy honey, beeswax, and Cupuaçu butter that hydrates the lips like no other. This is a very good high-quality untinted lip balm that delivers hydrated moisturized supple lips without making it feel heavy, and I do feel that this is the best alternative to the Drunk Elephant Lippe Balm above. In fact, they both have the same simple clean organic scent, and they also both apply and feel the same on the lips. However, this Farmacy one has more products in its tube and it comes with a much cheaper price than the DE Lippe Balm. I love this a lot.

DIOR

There are two tinted lip balms I’ve been using a lot lately, and they’re the Dior Lip Glows. I mean, who doesn’t love Dior Lip Glows, right? They’re great everyday sheer hydrating balms that not only protect my lips this Winter, they also give off a nice stain/tint on the lips that last for hours. You just swipe them on the lips and you’re good to go.

Dior Lip Glow in 008 Ultra-Pink ($34) – sheer bright pink. Every time I see the color of this lip balm, it just makes me happy. It’s got the prettiest perfect popsicle pink tint to it and it brightens the face to a youthful look.

Dior Lip Glow in 006 Berry ($34) – sheer berry. Currently on the list of my favorite lip products this Winter and there’s a reason why (read HERE). This is a beautiful berry-tinted lip balm hands down.

More Dior Lip Glow shades swatched HERE.

GLOSSIER

The Glossier Balm Dotcom is an all-purpose skin and lip balm. Right now, I really like using it as my lip balm at night and it’s so good. It’s not only hydrating to the lips, but it’s also very exfoliating. I’m currently using these two.

Glossier Balm Dotcom in Birthday (0.5 oz: $12) – untinted subtle shimmer. This balm tastes like a real vanilla birthday cake with bits of sugar in it that makes you wanna eat it somehow. It’s very exfoliating in the morning when applied at night on the lips. Try it.

Glossier Balm Dotcom in Mint (0.5 oz: $12) – untinted cooling feel. This is absolutely the best soothing lip balm I’ve ever tried. Its mint scent and flavor is never boring and it’s super tingly and plumping on the lips. I highly recommend this.

More Glossier products reviewed HERE.

Milk Makeup Kush Lip Balm (0.10 oz: $16) – described as a clear finish balm, yet in reality, this actually has a slight green tinge that is not really that visible once applied on the lips, so no worries. This balm has a minty scent and taste and it’s very moisturizing, lightweight and fresh. I haven’t tried the Kush Lip Glaze yet that was also released together with this particular product but I heard that it’s also good, so I will investigate that pretty soon. I like this lip balm a lot, and nope, this won’t make you feel high. The Hemp-Derived Cannabis Sativa in it is only for hydration purposes. Overall, I love the robust packaging of this balm and it looks really unique.

And there goes my favorite lip balms this Winter. What’s yours? Happy Almost Weekend!

*2018-2019 I Am Very Busy Planner is from Ban.do, available HERE

*Peonies Book by Jane Eastoe is available HERE

*Veranda Decorating Book is also available HERE

*Rose Book seen with the Glossier Balm Dotcom photo is still available HERE