OTHER - Cherry Coca Cola Lip Smacker by Bonne Belle

Hi, I'm back! Had a great time and have just about recovered despite having got home on the 1st of the month! Back to reality now, with work and uni dominating my life.
Because of this, I've not had time to review a red lipstick, especially as lipstick wearing is seen as a winter pastime. Maybe next time though, and if you go to the links on the right hand side, theres plenty of past reviews of red lippies to keep you going!

However I did feel the need to share my latest obsession with you - Bonne Belle's Lip Smackers!

For those outside of the US (like me), you may be fairly unfamiliar with Lip Smackers, but I hear they are quite a phenomonom in the States. They basically look like your average lip balm stick - but the flavour is not so average. They are in a huge variety of flavours, including some bog standard flavourings, and then stuff like Skittles flavours!



I haven't tried many of these but I did just receive some soft drink ones; Coca Cola, Cherry Cola, and Barq's Root Beer (above, L-R) through the post. The Barq's Root Beer one is a light brown (though I assume it'd apply clear), and the standard Coca Cola one is a darker brown than the Root Beer one, and it sort of enhances the pink in your lips somehow.

The one I am interested in most is the Cherry Cola one though because, yes you've guessed it, it's red! Well, it's a pinky red, like most red tinted lipbalms but it has the most amazing fragrance.
It really does smell of cherry coke and despite the fact I don't really like drinking real cherry coke (taste of it is too overpowering and sickly), I do love the smell of it so this is a great way to come across the scent without having to drink gallons of the stuff.

It's not just a silly gimmick though, it actually works really well at the job it's been given. It is really moisterising without getting too greasy like some lipbalms, particularly cosmetic ones, are. Lasting power is as good as lipbalms get, with eating and drinking being a problem, but this isn't all bad because you can keep reapplying it to experience the scent again!



If you can get your hands on this, I would reccomend it. They are widely available in the US but you can occasionally get them on Ebay if you are in other countries. The regular Cola one is divine too.
But for the rosey red lipped look, Cherry Cola is the way forward and it really picks you up during a hard day at work. Its also good underneath lipsticks to stop your lips drying out, so remember to pop it in your handbag along with your favourite red lipstick!


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OTHER - Festival make up

I'm going to be away for a couple of weeks or so because I'm going to Glastonbury Festival, the biggest music festival in the UK and possibly Europe! I'm backpacking around some of southern England beforehand, so will be absent for a while. I hope to commit to the blog as much as I can when I return, as long as work doesn't get in the way.

Before I leave, I thought I'd do an article on festival make up. I know festivals are meant to be laid back events where it shouldn't matter what you wear and what you look like, I sure don't give a damn, but sometimes people like to try at least look alive after a few days of dirt and no sleep!



Eyes:
If you are trying to avoid looking more tired than you are, don't wear dark eyeshadows. Smokey eyes may look amazing on a night out, but you will look far too overdone for a field. They will also draw attention to any undereye shadows or puffy eyelids you may have.

Try using lighter eyeshadows; pale purples, pinks, greens and silvers will wake your eyes up. Those with a significant yellow undertone should try light gold shades too.
Powder eyeshadows will not last very long though so either invest in a good primer, or go for cream eyeshadows for staying power. Both Avon and Maybelline have stick eyeshadows that are creamy and claim to be long lasting, and Benefit's creaseless cream shadows (above) are good if you don't mind taking an extra make up brush to apply it.

For undereye circles, invest in a good concealer in a cream formula that matches your skintone. I use Benefit's Lemon Aid, which hides discolouration/puffiness on eyelids and also cancels out the purple in undereye circles too. It is quite yellow though so may only be suitable for those who have a yellow undertone.

Eyeliner is up to you, as long as you try keep it natural or go for a smudgey rock chick look. Bright colours will liven up your face too, if you dare.



Lips:
You may be shocked as this is the focal point of this blog, but keep away from lipstick! Again, it will look OTT, you should try go for a natural look as much as possible. I would suggest you wear a lipbalm with SPF, I like the strawberry flavoured Chapstick, which has SPF15 (above).

There are many other lipbalm sticks available with SPF, but try avoid the tins like Vaseline (which I adore usually) as dipping your finger in constantly isn't very hygenic during a weekend of dirt, minimal washing and lack of running water.

Face:
A nice blush can wake up your face, even if you wear no other make up. Cream blushes are longer lasting in this sort of enviroment but I don't like them, so a personal favourite of mine is Milani Luminous minerals blush, which is only $6 USD in US drugstores.

It is a dupe of the lovely NARS Orgasm blush, which works for a lot of people and lasts for ages. I don't like taking expensive things camping so went for the Milani blush, which is still fairly impressive. Some people don't like the shimmer in it, but it really does wake your face up.
Because it is a light peachy pink, it probably won't work for those with a darker skintone though, but I do reccomend a peach/pink blush for natural colour and to make your face look that little bit more perkier.

It's best to leave the foundation and any other products at home though - you don't want to spend ages getting ready in the morning. Also, you will need to apply suncream A LOT, especially if the sun is shining brightly, so the last thing you want is to have to reapply make up after every time you do this.



I would suggest the most you'll need is a concealer, spf lipbalm stick, blush, eyeshadow/primer, eyeliner, and some suncream of course. And maybe some blotting paper/powder if you are very oily as you will have to deal with sweat too. Try keep it natural, if you overdo it you'll just look like a lightweight! You can always hide behind sunglasses if you look that bad anyway.

But try to travel light and not carry tonnes of cosmetics as you probably won't care about your appearance as much after a while anyway, just try to remember to apply suncream every 2-3 hours and drink plenty of water to avoid dehydrating your skin and yourself.
But remember to let go, leave all your usual tidy traits at the gate and enjoy yourself!

~

OTHER - Eyeko Strawberry Fat Balm and 3 in 1 Cream

Another distraction from red lipsticks, I am delving into my dealings with kooky British company Eyeko. They claim to be inspired by Japanese culture and have come up with this cute range of fat balms (suitable as a lip balm and cream blush), 3 in 1 face creams, eyeshadows, nail polishes, and much more.

Just because it's in the UK, I wouldn't put off trying this brand out as postage is currently free worldwide!! I don't know if it's going to remain this way seeing most the items are £5 GBP and postage is usually about half of that, so make the most of this offer at www.eyeko.com.



Sticking with lips, I got the Strawberry Fat Balm which looks like a muted pink/red in the tube, but applies less pigmented and would probably boost natural pinky lip colors. I think the Raspberry one is supposed to be more red but I have yet to test it out.

I do like the strawberry one though, it's really moisterising and doubles up as a sheer creme blush (which I haven't tried yet as I prefer powder blushers), meaning its versatile and great for when you don't have much space in your bag. It would be great under drying lipsticks (like many of the ones I have reviewed on here) and has a lovely soft scent.

It is also available in the mentioned raspberry flavour and also mint, which is a irridescent shade of pink.



The 3 in 1 cream claims to be a moisteriser, highlighter and eye cream. While I agree it is a great highlighter, I don't suggest you use it straight from the tub as a moisteriser as it is very thick and sticky.

If you do want to use it allover your face, I would use a pea sized amount of the cream and mix it in with your usual moisteriser in the palm of your hands. As it is quite thick and can set very quickly, I'd swish it around in your palms until it has fully mixed, but you have to be quick with it. It leaves a gentle gold shimmer on your face that isn't stupidly glittery, just glowy.

There is also a bronzing version of the cream for those who prefer tanned looking skin! As well as being on sale worldwide via www.eyeko.com, Eyeko items can also be purchased at Superdrug in the UK.

~

OTHER - NYX Red Sparkle/Plush Red lipglosses, MAC Cult of Cherry lipglass

I know some of you out there prefer lipglosses to lipsticks. I am not one of these people as I find them too sticky (my hair gets stuck in it, yuck) and I prefer my lips to be matte or near enough matte.

But today I have decided on a US friendly article, concentrating on cheap-as-chips drugstore brand, NYX.
The colours I will be looking at are blue toned cherry reds and my point of reference will be MAC's limited edition lipglass in Cult of Cherry. It's the only lipgloss I have ever bought (apart from those silly cheap things you buy aged 13/14) and rarely for me, I do love the color.

The two NYX lipglosses I am going to talk about were sent to me in a swap from a very kind girl in the US. I was too grateful to tell her I actually don't like lipgloss and kept them as the colours were too beautiful. Now, I can finally put them to good use.



First of all, I want to describe MAC's Cult of Cherry lipglass (above). It's a gorgeous rich cherry red color, almost pearly in tiny self-red shimmer. When I say shimmer, I don't mean glitter or sparkle, it is a bit of shimmer that isn't really noticeable when on your lips.

It is very pigmented so can be worn alone, but it can turn a bit pink so I prefer it with either red lipstick or lipliner underneath. But I recommend using lipliner, whatever red lipgloss you are wearing - it stops it from bleeding as much and gives the colour a bit more of a punch.

It turns it into the perfect red shade for me, a red with a slight pink tone but not TOO pink, like most cherry reds turn on me. My favourite look with Cult of Cherry is MAC Viva Glam 1 lipstick underneath it.



Sticking with the shimmer factor is NYX's Diamond Sparkle Lipgloss in Red Sparkle (above). As you can see from it's name, it is more sparkly than the shimmery tones of Cult of Cherry, but again, no glitter thankfully. It is slightly less of a rich red, possibly due to the sparkles being silver.



Lastly, NYX's Goddess of the Night Mega Shine lipgloss in Plush Red #126 (above) is darker than both of the previous lipglosses I have spoken about and also has no sparkle or shimmer at all. Well, when I say 'darker', it is a tiny bit darker than Cult of Cherry but not by that much. There is a slight purple tone to it.


(Pic 1 - in natural light / Pic 2 - with flash. L-R Cult of Cherry, Red Sparkle, Plush Red)
Click to see larger images


Coming up - Some future lipstick reviews I hope to do soon will include NYX Snow White, NARS Cruella, Benefit Flirt Alert, and finally Maybelline Empire Red with any luck.
I am also going to do an article on dupes of the cult classic NARS Orgasm blush (or blusher as it is called in the UK).

Thanks for reading! Elle X