Lip Balm Face Off Week 6

Round 1 Recap:

Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch- It sells for $3.99, has a really nice fruity scent, good color that isn't too harsh, and lasts 4-6 hours. 

ELF Moisturizing Lip Tint in Nude- Sells for $3.00, it's minty, has a beautiful natural color, and lasts about 4 hours.

Choosing between these two brands is difficult. They sell for about the same price provided you buy the ELF in Target, if you have it shipped it will cost more.  They each deliver beautiful flattering color and each come in a wide varieties of colors so you are likely to find something that suits you. The ELF has a nicer texture going on, it's creamy a lot more like a lipstick than a lip balm. I prefer the scent of the Maybelline to the scent of the ELF, for me fruit punch trumps mint every time. The conditioning effect of the Maybelline is better. My lips felt softer and conditioned for longer with the Baby Lips than with the ELF. Honestly though no matter which of these you purchase I think you'll be happy. That being said I have to choose one so here it goes: 

So why did I choose this one? Fruit punch over mint, the longer lasting conditioning, and the availability. ELF is only sold online or in Target, but the Maybelline is available at any drugstore and even some super markets. 

Next Week: The Final Round Maybelline Baby Lips vs. Bonne Bell Lip Blush

Have you tried either? What do you think?

Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Polish

I tried this out in the color Polar Purple. I LOVE IT. First, the polar purple is such a pretty shade of purple that even if it didn't do the magnetic thing I would wear it. Second, it is really easy to use. The cap of the polish is in two parts. The large cap you see in the picture is actually the magnet, the large part comes off of the top and under it is a normal polish cap. All you have to do is brush on the polish like normal and while it's still wet hold the magnet over it to create the design, the magnet lid has a small lip on it to prevent you from accidentally touching the magnet to your wet nail. I recommend doing one nail at a time otherwise the polish gets too dry to create the magnetic effect. Overall, it is a really quick way to get a nice design on your nail if you like nail art but are short on time. Finally, the quality is everything you would expect from Sally Hansen. It is a high quality product with a thick consistency and nicely shaped brush that makes the polish easy to apply. I will definitely buy other colors. If you have thought about purchasing this it is completely worth the $8.99.

I just want to mention that I received  this for the purpose of review from Sally Hansen and Influenster. 

Have you tried magnetic nail polish? Do you want to?

Lip Balm Face Off Week 3

THE NEUTROGENA - Right off I didn't care for the texture of this. It has a really greasy texture that smudges easily like it needs a lip liner. The texture also means that when I ate or drank something it got all over my face, straws, napkins, whatever came near it. The scent and the tint can be described in a similar way; it's there and it's noticable but very light and subtle. This is a decent nice quality lip balm, but for $8.99 I would expect more. Similar quality stuff can be purchased for much less.

THE ELF - Mint isn't my favorite scent for a lip balm but a lot of them are doing the mint thing now. Other than that I really like this lip tint. The texture is very creamy and applies a lot more like lipstick than lip balm and this shade of nude is the perfect one for me (which I know doesn't really mean it will be a great color for you, but if you know how hard it is to find a flattering shade of nude you will know why I had to mention it). This comes in 5 colors plus clear so hopefully they will have a cute shade for you.

THE OVERALL - I'm picking ELF this week because while I like the Neutrogena it is not a $9 lip balm. ELF is a quality product for a reasonable price. The only drawback to the ELF is that the company is mainly online, which means that you can't just decide "Hey I want to try that $3 lip balm" because it would still cost $6 to ship it. Ordering from the only makes sense if you want to order enough stuff to justify shipping charges. On the upside Target does carry a limited range of ELF products and this just happens to be one of the items you can get there.

NEXT WEEK MAC VS. MAYBELLINE

Have you ever tried ELF? What do you think?

True Blood Cosmetics on HSN

Thursday August 9th Deborah Lippmann is launching a True Blood inspired line of cosmetics at 8pm on HSN. I love True Blood and I love a good tie-in product, I spent most of the summer in Ulta staring  longingly at NYX's Dark Shadows palette and China Glaze's Hunger Games polishes. I am interested in the polish collection, and will definitely watch the presentation but don't know if I will make a purchase. Deborah Lippmann's other polishes cost about $16 a bottle which is a little steep for my drugstore tastes. Here's a peek at the collection:

Whether you are going to buy or not you should have a look at these hysterical trailers HSN has put out to promote the line. I'll put up links because for whatever reason the videos won't let me embed them. 

Scratch and Bite

Embrace

Are you a True Blood fan? Will you buy?

The British Are Coming!!

The Olympics started this weekend! Have you been watching? I normally don't care about sports at all. Football...huh? Soccer...what? Baseball...meh. But for some reason J'adore the Olympics. So I was really excited to watch the opening ceremony Friday. Watching it made me miss living in London. So I decided to share some of my favorite Brit things with you here.

1. The V&A Museum

If you are in London GO. Just GO. Admission is always free (admission to all of the national museums is free) It is my favorite museum. The European Sculpture room is AMAZING. In one room you can see plaster cast reproductions of all of the greatest works of sculpture from across Europe. Standing there surrounded by all of that beauty and history is literally breath taking (and I do mean literally I suffered Stendhal Syndrome the first time I saw it). Plus there is a fashion room...CLOTHES & SHOES!!!!

2. History

3. The Scenery

4. The Television

Doctor Who, Downton Abbey, Misfits, Being Human, Ab Fab, My Family, Rosemary & Thyme, Midsomer Muders, Keeping Up Appearances, Last of the Summer Wine, The Good Life, House of Cards, Poirot, Ms. Marple. There are so many good shows, in so many different genres, I could make an entire blog about noting but British television.

5. Beauty Products! (Pictured: The Kate Moss Collection for Rimmel)

Getting back to the overall theme of the blog. My fave Brit cosmetics. No. 7 by Boots, Butter London, Rimmel, Soap & Glory, Lush, and The Body Shop.

Do you have any faves from Brit culture? Let me know.