The One Stick Balm To Rule Them All...To Me Anyway
/ LaurenHoly grail lip balm alert!
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Ever since my first time around doing seasonal retail at Bath & Body Works in college, when I discovered the C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Shines and balm, I've been a bit obsessed with them on again/off again for a good while.
This lip balm stick is my favorite of all balm sticks, and unlike others in the Mentha line, it's not shiny. It goes on very moisturizing, comforting, and oh so wonderfully minty. Not like punch you in the face minty, but sweet kiss of "aaahhh.."
It's also, obviously, pretty easy when on the go or traveling. After a long flight when my lips are dry and my breath debatable, this stuff becomes fairly Holy Grail-like. Plus, there's something so refreshing and comforting about mint at the end of a long haul.
It's just the right balance of coconut oils, shea butter, and peppermint oil so it's not super greasy like Chapstick brand or useless like the Maybelline Baby Lips. And it'll set you back about $8.
You can find it on C.O. Bigelow's site or in Bath & Body Works stores.
After lamenting the sadly discontinued Nuance by Salma Hayek Cleansing Oil, I've been hoping the drugstore could fill the hole it's left in my heart, and oh, it has!
Palmer's Cocoa Butter has thrown its hat into the cleansing oil game with their Skin Therapy Cleansing Oil, devoid of mineral oil and instead full of nicer ones like soybean, grapeseed, rosehip, etc. It is so so good.
I'm a bit of a cleansing balm addict. When you find a great one, it really feels like it can do anything: take makeup off, cleanse, treat, double duty as a mask, maybe pay off my taxes? Okay, that last one is reaching just a wee bit but hey, a girl can dream!
The Trilogy brand from New Zealand is slightly newer to the US skincare market, but every product I've tried so far I've ended up loving and gave the brand a nod in my winter skincare favorites. The Cream Cleanser, Hydrating Mist Toner, and Certified Organic Rosehip Oil Antioxidant+ are all incredibly lovely and constantly rotate their way into my routine. So when I saw they had released a cleansing balm when I was at Whole Foods recently, I had to try it.
I'm pretty sure by now it's no secret I love MUJI, especially for travel accessories. They have some of the best travel-sized bottles and containers, toiletries essentials, packing cubes and more. One of my favorite things they also carry are their Nylon Hanging Travel Case.
I picked this up on a whim at CVS, hearing some good about it. Alas, I think this is more suited for those who already have really good skin and don't need much coverage because it's pretty sheer. I make it work right now by using a lot of concealer where I need to color correct and even things out, but I wish it were just a little more packing in the pigments department.
Do you like cleansers that work well, smell great or maybe don't smell much at all, and don't burn the ever loving crap out of your eyes?
Then for the love of God, skip the Shea Moisture Peace Rose Oil Complex Sensitive Skin Facial Cleansing Oil.
I've recently gotten into cleansing balms, because quite frankly I think they're amazing. A good one removes makeup gently, cleanses, and leaves the skin baby soft. When Sunday Riley launched Blue Moon Tranquility Balm, featuring the blue tansy oil popularly in their night oil Luna, I figured it was a good time to test!
As someone with dark brunette hair, finding the perfect eyebrow pencil can be Sisyphean to say the least. So many pencils, even listed as dark brown, lean reddish brown and end up looking a bit rubbish on my brows. I've had luck with Tarte Emphas-Eyes and Anastasia Brow Whiz pencils, but they aren't cheap at $19 and $18 respectively.
And then L'Oreal said, "hey, let's dupe that!" Probably.
Much belatedly, considering I was in Paris in October, here is my French pharmacy/City Pharma haul. Given than it's been over two months now, I've had time to test these products pretty thoroughly so consider this a haul and a review after months of trial.
If you hang around the YouTube beauty community, you probably have heard the name Kathleen Lights. Kathleen is one of the most popular beauty gurus currently on the site, charming viewers with her bubbly nature, adorable dogs, and candid chats about her life and anxiety issues. I personally think she's great and has had a great track record curating collections and colors in her brand collaborations. And as things seem to go lately with the big name YouTubers, Kathleen launched her own brand in recent months, a nail polish brand called KL Polish.