Beauty Budget Haul ~♥

It's almost impossible to go shopping & not pick up a few beauty items... What started off as a 'quick pop into the grocery store' turned into a 'take a detour to the nearest beauty store & grab something, anything - JUST BUY IT!'


Problem?

Well, luckily I was in a budgeting mood and stayed away from pricier brands Yes, you are welcome my dear Bank Balance.

Here's my loot:

From Left to Right:
♥ Essence Gel Eyeliner Brush
♥ Essense Gel Eyeliner in 'London Baby'
♥ Rimmel The Kate Collection Lipstick in '02'
♥ Catrice Lash Plus Intensive Lash Growth Serum


Reviews and swatches coming up!!

Q♥

A Random Skin Care Haul ~ ♥

It all began with a cleanser - I needed a replacement cleanser, nothing more. And then I ended up with this:

Some Avon stuff I had ordered and then forgotten about had arrived too. As if I didn't have enough new skin stuff already... Sigh. I really must learn to control myself. So here's what I got:

You'd think one body lotion is enough? Nope, not for me...
♥ Oh So Heavenly Beauty Sleep Collection Dream Cream - This thing smells DIVINE! Really, I sleep better when I use it.
♥ Vaseline Healthy Even Tone Body Lotion - Because it has an SPF!
♥ Johnson's African Nurture Body Lotion - It was cheap, smells nice and is a new range that uses African flora so, why not? 

My Avon Girl gave me my latest Avon package:
♥ Avon Naturals Milk & Honey Face Cream - which I'll give to my Grandma {^_^}
♥ Avon Naturals Cherry Blossom Shower Gel - which I'm hoping is a dupe of the TBS Japanese Cherry Blossom shower gel
♥ Avon Simply Pretty Cherry Lip Balm - Er.. I am obsessed with lip balms
♥ Avon Advanced techniques Styling comb - which has inexplicable accumulated dust. I got this to comb through wet hair and when conditioning

♥ Oh So Heavenly Beauty Sleep Collection Wish Upon a Star Pillow Mist - Love to spritz this on my pillow and doze...
♥ Garnier Mineral Even deodorant - it smells nice and works!
♥ Oh So Heavenly Beauty Sleep Collection Cool Comfort Lavender Talc - Best used after night bath-time..

♥ Good Things Stay Clear Purifying Cleanser 
♥ Neutrogena Deep Clean Daily Scrub

♥ Essence Colour & Go in Passion for Fashion
♥ Essence 2 in 1 Kajal Pencil in Flirty & Hip
♥ Rimmel Hide the Blemish Concealer in Golden Beige


I will do reviews on the worth while purchases - especially the cleansers!!

♥Miss. Q♥

Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butter

Dear Revlon,

What I want to know is...

Finally!!!! After months of pining & LONGINGLY reading about these sweet babies, they are FINALLY in South African stores. May I ask, what took so long, Revlon? Do you not realise that while the rest of the world enjoyed these lip marvels, us S.A. gals have been in the dark & deprived? Does it not occur to you, that by the time you launch in S.A. these lip butters are OLD NEWS??


Really Revlon, REALLY??


Ah never mind, it doesn't matter, they are here now. And I can't wait to grab them!!!! 

So far, I have my eye on Macaroon, Pink Truffle, Cotton Candy & Strawberry Shortcake, No, actually think I want all... *faints*


Yours in beauty,

♥Miss. Q♥

Have you tried Revlon Lip Butters? What do you think? I'd like to know! :)

Sleek Pout Polish

Hi everyone! Hope it's been a great week so far. :) 

I've been AWOL for a few days but it's with good reason! I've had my nose buried in a good book & pretty much halted everything else until I read the last page. ^_^*

A while back I posted about the Lakme Lip Love Conditioner (click here for the post!) & how much I loved it. Alas, I'd thought I'd never find them again, until now... Sleek you've come to my rescue! 

Sleek Pout Polish is a nifty little pot of tinted lip balm that does a great job in moisturising lips. This particular colour is called 'Electro Peach' & bears a close resemblance to my Lakme Lip Love Conditioner in 'Siren'. The good thing about this balm is that it is nicely pigmented - lighter than a lipstick but more pigmented than your average lip balm. 

The ingredients list a few parabens which might deter some people. It does have super moisturising & lip smoothing ingredients like jojoba oil, shea butter, sweet almond oil & avocado oil. It has SPF 15 which is a must & smells yummy, like vanilla.

My Verdict:
Would I re-purchase? Well, it's a really good balm, something that I would use daily. It's pretty cheap too, so why not!

My Rating:

★★★★☆

Price:
ZAR 60 @ Foschini

Lakme Lip Love Conditioner VS Sleek Pout Polish

Ah, so on to the crux of the matter - which is better, Lip Love Conditioner or Pout Polish? I had originally purchased the Pout Polish because it was so similar in colour & texture to the Lip Love Conditioner & I was hoping it would be a good replacement. 

  
Ok, so my camera DID NOT capture how similar these colours are, it looks completely off in this picture, so I've included some swatches to compare.

The Sleek Pout Polish has more of an orange pigment compared to the Lakme Lip Love Conditioner, which has a pinker undertone. Consistency-wise, The Pout Polish is much lighter & sheer, needing much more product to get  better colour. The Lip Love Conditioner, on the other hand is more opaque which ensures a more pigmented lip. Both smell of vanilla (coincidence?) and both have good moisturising properties.

BUT... I do like the Lip Love Conditioner more because it's a better product over all, & comes in a cute pot!!  ^_^*

 ♥ Miss. Q♥

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick Sheer Tint in 'Blush'

I remember back in high school, EVERYBODY had a Labello lip balm (or Nivea in some countries) & if you didn't have one, well then you were a dork. Ok, ok, truth be told Labellos were just a 'thing' in my group of friends, but still. Everyone had one in either cherry or some tinted variation. Besides keeping our dry, chapped lips moisturised, if were weren't allowed to use real make-up in school, we had to use something, right?

I've come a long way since those make-up-less days..... Gee now I sound like an old dinosaur when it's only been a few years! :D 

Anywho, Labello was my go-to lip balm, until I decided that a gal in her early 20's should be using something a little more... sophisticated. 


Then I found the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick Sheer Tint in 'Blush'. Now that's a mouthful! Here's what it looks like a brand spanking new...

Elizabeth Arden etc. etc. in 'Blush'

It's sleek & ultra grown up packaging really caught my attention, like a lip balm cleverly disguised as a lipstick.

And here's what it looks like after 8 months of rolling around the bottom of my handbag:

Tsk Tsk. My tube has seen better days. See that glaringly huge crack running down the bottom? On the day I bought it, it fell to the floor & cracked! I mean literally on the day it was bought! You'd think Elizabeth Arden packaging is built to last... proved me wrong!

 Well, that sad event led to this:

The entire bottom half of the tube detached itself, which means that every time I tried to pull off the cap to apply the balm, I was actually pulling off the bottom. Sigh. 

Packaging flaws aside, I reckon this balm really works. My lips were badly cracked & on the verge of bleeding - yikes! But it saved my lips. It goes on really soft & smooth and immediately softens lips & kinda heals them too. Within 30mins you'd swear you never had cracked lips! It's also non-greasy, non-sticky & ultra-light, unlike the actual Eight Hour Cream. Plus it has SPF 15, which is essential.

However, very much like the Eight Hour Cream, it smells repulsive to me. It has this odd lemony, medicated smell. Tastes none the better. But it's a small sacrifice coz this stuff works!!

As you can see in the swatch above, it is a really sheer & rosy tint. I suppose it gives lips a really flushed look. Very pretty & subtle. 

There's one small problem though: this stuff definitely does not last 8 hours. In mean, after eating, talking, drinking & in my case, lip-biting it wears off. Actually, if you're like me & forget to reapply often, it dries off and leaves flaky skin. I've noticed that this happens often with tinted lip balms, but the plain colourless variety doesn't have the same flaky effect. Maybe next time I'll try the plain Lip Protectant Stick.


My Verdict: <3
 I'm on the fence with this one. I mean, the Eight Hour Lip Protectant really works (I think I've said this like 5 times already :D ) that's the sole reason I'd repurchase. But, why the flimsy packaging Elizabeth Arden????? You can do better than that!!! Also, the scent could be better & for accident prone gals like me, the frosty white tube casing attracts way too much dirt. No, I'm not being fussy, just a discerning shopper. :)


My rating:
★★★☆☆

Minus 2 stars for the flaky drying & weak packaging. It's pricey! I'd expect packaging to be better.

Price: 
ZAR 125! Yes, it's quite pricey! I bought mine at Truworths, but its available at any Elizabeth Arden counter.


Thanks for reading!


♥Miss. Q♥

P.S. Am I the only one whose 'Follow' button in the Nav bar has mysteriously disappeared??? What's going on Blogger????

Lakme Lip L♥ve Conditioner

I didn't really intend on purchasing a lip conditioner, but the sales assistant at the Lakme counter was pretty persistent on showing me every single product in the Lakme range. There's only so many times that I can say 'NO' to a sales assistant before feeling guilty, so, being the lip gloss addict that I am, I relented and bought this:

Lakme Lip L♥ve Conditioner in 'Siren'.

Sadly, even though I peeled off the hygiene seal extra gently the metallic paint on the lid came off. :( Boo hoo.

It's a lovely, peachy, coral colour and comes in a super cute, heart-filled pot! When I first applied Lakme Lip L♥ve Conditioner... it was L♥VE! It glides on smoothly, like butter & has a yummy vanilla scent!

One coat of Lakme Lip Love Conditioner...

One coat of this lip conditioner gives a pretty & flushed coral lip colour. It can be layered on for a better colour, but beware! Too much & your teeth will be nicely glossed too. ^_^

Layer on more for a richer colour

The Lip L♥ve Conditioner is really moisturising & doesn't have a greasy or sticky feeling. It makes my lips feel baby soft & has a pretty colour- what more could I ask for? 


In addition to 'Siren' there's 3 more colours available: 'Hottie', 'Charmer' & 'Flirt'.

Why, oh, why did I not buy all 4 colours!????? I haven't been able to find these lip conditioners in South Africa yet. Ah, I should have listened to that sales assistant when she insisted advised me to take all...


My verdict?
Lakme Lip L♥ve Conditioners are ridiculously cheap, smell great, are sooooo cute, have pretty colours & deeply moisturises. It's an irresistible combination, I tell you! Thumbs up, for me!


My Rating:
★★★★☆

Minus 1 star because it's not easily available.

Price:
I can't remember the price! It must have been something like Rs. 230 (approx. ZAR 34!!!!). Mind you, if you live in SA & do manage to find these lip conditioners, expect the price to be 3 times higher.


That's it for now... Thanks for stopping by! :)


♥Miss. Q♥