July Favorites and the Return of the Happy Caturday Poll!!

  Happy Caturday, guys and gals!!  August came in like a lion, lol, with a big night-long thunderstorm.  It's though to choose between watching a spectacular light show and sleeping, I must admit, but sleep sort of naturally won out.  It was wonderful to drift off to thunder rumbling, though... Just the coolest thing ever, electrical storms (as long as the lightening doesn't touch down).

  Anyhoo, July was a really fun product month as I discovered four products that I've been pretty much living in.

July Favorites-- L'Oreal Youth Code Texture Perfector day/night cream, Butter London Ladybird, e.l.f. Tone Correcting Powder, Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Striking

e.l.f. Lip Balm in Nude

  Hey guys and gals!!  You know I like going super minimalist with my makeup much of the time, and that includes primer and tinted lip balm and that's IT, and I gravitate towards reds (of course).  I was in Target the other day specifically to scope out e.l.f. and to see if they had any tinted balms, and they do-- two.  They're not particularly exciting, either-- a light pink and a nude.  I went ahead and bought the nude balm because, well, e.l.f. honestly has yet to let me down and for around $3, it's practically risk free.  Plus, it's a balm!  If I don't love the tint, I can wear it around the house on days I don't plan on going anywhere and get my money's worth that way.

Butter London Lippy Tinted Balm Strawberry Fields

*press sample

Hi everyone!  The Butter London Rock Your Colour subset I've been most excited about is the Lippy Tinted Balm collection.  Like the cream blushes, there's something for everyone in the Balms, whether you're into a classic, minimal, or more colorful look.  It's a full spectrum lineup with a peach, nude, pink, rose, wine, and red shade.  I'm stoked to be able to try the red one, Strawberry Fields.

In my experience, tinted balms are very sheer and deliver a wash of color while being adequately moisturizing.  The cool thing about Strawberry Fields is that it's more pigmented than your average balm, so it feels and looks like a medium coverage lipstick with the slip and moisturization of a balm.  The bullet is very soft.  Mine leaned off its base a little with my first swipe, at room temperature.  This seems to be par for the course, as the same thing happened to Gotham Polish and I couldn't help but notice The DIY Lady's tube is a little off center, as mine is.  Just an observation... don't swivel it up too far and be careful to not use too much pressure.

Strawberry Fields is a super creamy warm red with a hint of pink and a touch of brown and the combination truly make the shade reminiscent of a ripe, juicy strawberry.  The peek-a-boo factor gives this a great summer feel but also makes Strawberry Fields a nice, not so dramatic everyday red.  If you've always wanted to try a red, but have been intimidated by the boldness, this is a great place to start.  For a balm type, the color is long lasting and the moisture is satisfying.  I do like reapplying this every four hours or so but it does leave a pretty stain on lips for an even more undone, casual red lip look, no liner necessary.  It's got a subtle vanilla scent, too.

 Action shot, paired with BL Cheeky Cream Blush in Naughty Biscuit and a workout top.  I don't often exercize in my makeup... but when I do, I wear Butter London. 

Strawberry Fields is available for $20 at Ulta and on butterlondon.com.  Like Butter London on facebook to stay abreadth of specials and new releases.

Thanks for reading and have a lovely day! 

*press sample

L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm in Sundays By the Seine and Come By My Windows

I've always been drawn to unusual lipcolors, even if they get minimal wear time when I'm outside the comfort of my own home.  When I first started seeing photos of L'Oreal's spring collection, Versailles Romance, one Balm shade in particular jumped out at me, the pastel mint green tinted Sundays By The Seine.  I ended up loving it and, being curious about the more traditional colors in the set, picked up the pale pink, Come By My Windows.

Both have a lovely, soft vanilla sugar cookie scent and glide on beautifully.  They provide a good amount of moisturization and last as long as any traditional lip balm.  The scent does not translate into flavor, so I haven't been eating these off my lips, lol.  The color payoff is the biggest difference between these.

If you saw the pretty, minty green of Sundays By the Seine and got all excited thinking your lips will be tinted that color, you weren't altogether wrong.  It is a balm, so the color is going to be very, very sheer, and so, pleasantly wearable.

The green is barely perceptible, but it's there, and it doesn't make for a garish or extreme look at all.  It's just a nice, glossy, pretty balm with a hint of shimmer that lightens your natural lip shade a bit, if anything.  I like to go makeup free often, and Sundays By the Seine is a beautiful and fun alternative to my standard lip balms, without depositing too much additional color.

Come By My Windows is the lightest pink of the collection of six shades.  I was expecting something to boost my natural color a bit, but this didn't exactly do that.

 If your lips have any sort of color to them, this one will wash them out.  It likes to settle into those fine little lip lines.  It reminds me of that 1980's California girl pale lips against tan skin look, or even a pinkish zinc oxide treatment.  Either way, it's no bueno for me.  Come By My Windows has more pigmentation than Sundays, and that somehow makes it a little less moisturizing, too.

So there you go!  Sundays By the Seine is a total winner in my book, so much so that I'm considering a backup of this limited edition balm.  The Versailles Romance collection is available now wherever L'Oreal products are sold, and the Balms retail for around $7.99.
 
Questions?  Comments?  Tried any of the Versailles Romance Balms, or any of L'Oreal's regular line Balms?  What's the weather like in your neck o' the woods today?
Thanks for reading! ;)