Review - NYC applelicious lip balm in Red Gala

Hi Beauts.

Today I bring to you another review of a product I've wanted to try put for a while: NYC applelicious lip balm in Red Gala

I won't lie, the packaging is the thing that most attracted me, how cute is the apple in the centre of the product? Speaking of the apple, that is actually the balm and the outside is the colour.

I wasn't expecting this to be as pigmented as it was because it's a tinted lip balm, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's such a pretty red shade, it gives that 'Just bitten' look. Is that even an actual thing? It is now ;) 

As with most lip balm products, this was smooth to apply and left a glossy finish as well as a high pigment behind. The colour on my lips lasted around 2 hours before  wearing off, but my lips felt soft for a few hours after the full product had worn off. This is definitely a product worth trying if you're looking for a tinted lip balm, with great pigmentation as well as something to keep your pout perfect. This smells as you'd expect it to, like apples. It smells good enough to eat, although I wouldn't recommend chomping on it! 

There are 4 (as far as I know) shades available in Superdrug and on Fragrance direct. 

Have you tried these Beauts?

Stacey x

I've been shopping....

Hi Beauts.

Over the past week I've picked up a few bits in town, most are things I've never tried before, and I thought I'd do a little post to show you what I've bought.

I've had one or two things for a week now and can already say, they're going to be in my faves post this month.

Let's haul shall we?

Skin Care

Nspa Hot cloth polish and Deep hydrating facial oil 2 for £8.00 in Asda

B.Pure Miceller water £3.66 in Superdrug

Tesco sensitive antiperspirant (cruelty free) £1.00

Superdrug Crystal roll on (cruelty free & for Paris) 88p

Skin therapy cotton wool pads 70p in Wilkinsons

Lush Butterball bath bomb £2.50

Lush Ickle baby bot bath bomb £1.95 (for my niece) 

Make Up

Models own Pukka Purple £5.00

Gosh Click 'N conceal in Light £4.99 

MUA Extreme felt liner £2.00 (Holy grail eyeliner)

What have you been buying lately? 

Stacey x

Brands that are against animal testing

Hi Beauts. 

You probably all already know by now, that I've stopped buying products that have been tested on animals. It's something that's actually hit me pretty hard after seeing a picture online (by accident) and it's something that I feel really strongly about.

I've made it my mission to find out as many brands as I can that don't actually use animal testing, and wanted to post a list of the brands I've found. A couple of lovely girls actually sent me links to online lists, so I shall link those too at the end.

Not everyone has the same opinions on animal testing, and that's fine. I'm not going to bang on about it in every post I write, but I just wanted to give my two cents in this post. Anywhoo, for those that are interested here is said list I have compiled: (I've tried to link as many as I could)

A

Ardell

Along came Betty (Sold at Tesco)

B

Burt's Bees

B. Skincare and make up

Barry M

Balm Balm

Butter London

Beauty UK

Balance Me

Bourjois 

Batiste

Balmi

Baylis and Harding

C

Ciate

Carmex

China glaze

CoverFX

D

Deborah Lippmann

Dermalogica 

E

E.O.S

elf

Essence (Can be found in some Wilkinsons stores)

Eyeko

Eco Tools

F

Fake Bake

FashionistA

Famous Cosmetics

G

Gosh

H

Hard Candy

I

I love.......

Illamasqua 

Inglot

J

Jergens

John Frieda

Josie Maran Cosmetics

K

Kat Von D

L

Lush

L.A Colors

Lime Crime

Liz Earle

Lee Stafford

Lavera

L.A Girl

Look Beauty

M

Miners

Marks and Spencer (Own Brand)

MUA

Molton Brown

Melvita

Models Own

Model Co

Murad

Milani

Mavala

N

NSPA

NYX

Nars

Nails inc

Nubar

Next (Own brand)

Neals Yard

O

O.C.C

Orly

Organic Surge

P

Paul Mitchell

Physicians Formula

Prestige

Pixi

Q

R

REN

S

Superdrug (Own branded products)

Stila

Sugarpill

Soap and Glory

Sainsburys (Own branded products)

Sally Hansen

Soft Lips

Sleek

T

Too Faced

2 True

The Balm

Tesco (Own branded products)

Tarte

The Body Shop 

U

Urban Decay

V

Vivo (Stocked in larger Tesco stores)

W

Wet and Wild

X

Y

Z

Zoya

* The Body Shop and Urban Decay are both owned by L'oreal, however both brands are PETA/Leaping Bunny approved

If you know of any other brands I've missed out, please feel feel to leave them in the comments and I'll be sure to add them in. 

For more brands, PETA has an endless list of others too.

Another great site with a more extensive list is HERE and HERE

Hope this is helpful to some of you.

Stacey x

e.l.f Wish list

Hi Beauts.

Time for another wishlist, and today it is the wonderful elf's turn! Roll on Payday.........

Face:

Pressed powder in Porclain - £3.75

Blush in Gotta Glow - £3.75

HD blush in Headliner - £3.75

All over colour stick in Spotlight - £1.50

Eyes:

Glitter primer in Sheer - £2.50

Single eyeshadow in Amethyst - £3.75

Eyebrow lift and filler in Medium - £3.75

Mineral eye brighter - £3.75

Lips:

Lip exfoliator - £3.75

Long wear lip liners in Natural Blush and Mauve Luxe £1.50 each

Lip balm tint in Berry - £2.50

What's on your wishlist?

You can also find me on Tumblr :)

Stacey x

My Barry M nail paint collection

Hi Beauts.

One of the best brands on the hight street, in my opinion, is Barry M. The first thing I ever bought from their range was a dazzle dust, which lead me to an addiction and my collection kept growing and growing.

A while later I decided to try out their nail paint, which then lead to another addiction (I guess I have a pretty addictive personality....in a good way!) and that addiction has left me with 20 of their nail paints.

I always find swatches sway the decision making for me when I'm shopping online, so I thought I'd share the shades I currently have and hope that it can help out some of you too.

Barry M nail paints are probably the best on the market. They're pigmented (2 coats and you're good to go), smooth to apply, dry quite quickly and last for almost a week.

What are your favourite shades?

You can also find me on Tumblr too :)

Stacey x

Little Lush haul

Hi Beauts.

On Boxing Day I, along with the rest of you beautie junkies, hit the Lush sale. I kept adding things to my basket and when I came to check out, they'd sold out!!! Everything sold pretty fast, but I did manage to pick up a few bits online and instore so thought I'd share them with you all.

* Tea Tree toner water

* Grease Lightening

* Mr Punch soap

* Angels Delight soap x2 (My all time favourite soap)

* I want candy gift set - includes Rock star soap and Candy Mountain bubble bar

My room smells just like the Lush store!!! I can't wait to start using all of this, especially the Tea Tree toner and Grease Lightening!

Did you manage to get anything in the sale?

Have Tumblr? Come say Hi :) 

Stacey x

The Balm: Mary-Lou Manizer

Hi Beauts.

I hadn't heard too much about The Balm until I started watching YouTube and reading blog posts about their products. I think the thing that caught my eye first was the packaging - It's 50's inspired and I love it. I think the make up industry needs something a little different.

My sister bought me the Mary-Lou Manizer for Christmas and I have to say, it's definitely made me want more of their products. I have a slight addiction to highlighters for some reason and knew that I had to try this little beauty out.

Packaging:

As I mentioned earlier, I love the 50's themed packaging. It's definitely an eye catcher. On the front of the box (and the front of the compact) we have a blonde lady who has been arrested for being 'too pretty and too popular' The picture is actually really cool, it looks like a police mugshot - again full points for different packaging The Balm! On the back of the box we have the pretty blondes rap sheet and finger prints.

The compact itself is made from a pretty sturdy silver plastic and has a decent sized mirror, which makes it great for travelling or popping in your handbag.

Product:

Now onto the product itself. It is a stunning, highly pigmented, shimmery, neutral toned champagne kind of shade. When blended onto the cheekbones it gives a gorgeous glow. This is also a multi purpose product as it can be used as a highlight, shimmer or an eyeshadow - it makes for a very pretty brow bone highlight too.

You get 8.5g (0.3oz) of product in this little beauty for £15.00 ($24.00) which I think is a pretty great bargain. And another great thing (in my opinion) The Balm don't test their products or ingredients on animals! 

Overall thoughts:

In a nutshell, if like me you love highlighters, this is a must for your collection. It will work great on all skin tones, it's super pigmented, it's a stunning shade and it has more than one use. Lets not forget the amazing packaging too!

Are you a fan of the balm? Which other products should I add to my 'must have' list?

Don't forget to check out my Tumblr too ;)

Stacey x