Showing posts with label lip balm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lip balm. Show all posts

Friday, January 17, 2014

Products I Want to Use Up - 2014

Disclaimer: All of the products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own. 

Last year I did a couple of posts about products I wanted to use up. It went okay. Looking back, I thought I had done more updates than I actually did.

I'm going to try it again this year.

When I went through and picked out the products that I plan on working on, there were a couple of things I looked at. Some of the products were chosen because they are products in which I've already made a big dent. I also chose products that were getting old.

Another motivation for doing this is to get rid of some of the products I own that aren't cruelty-free.



Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Balancing Foundation in Fair - I've had this for a really long time, and you can see in the picture that I've used a lot of it, so I'd like to go ahead a finish this off.

Nars Sheer Matte in Siberia - This foundation is in the same boat. I've had it for a while, and it is about half gone, so I want to try and finish this one too. I know using up both will take a while.

Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer - I have several full-sized primers in my collection, so I decided to use up all of my mini sizes. This is the last mini size that I have. It's hard to see in the picture, but it is about half gone already.
 

Benefit Erase Paste in Fair - Benefit isn't a cruelty-free company, so I'd like to get this gone. I would guess I have about a third of this left.

Tarte Park Ave Princess Bronzer - I have a lot of bronzers, so I'm taking the same approach that I took with my primers. I'm using up my mini ones first. I'm just about to hit pan on this one.

Hard Candy Concealer Pencil - This little pencil came with the Glamoflage Concealer, which I threw out a long time ago. I've been using this to clean up the edges of my lips. I can't sharpen it anymore, so it should be finished in the next week or so.

Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil in CIA - I've had this for a long time, and it seems like it is drying out a little bit. It's crumbled a couple of times when I've tried to sharpen it. I've really like it though, and I might repurchase it once I work through some other concealers first.

Too Faced Wrinkle Injection Extreme Wrinkle Filler - I got this in a swap a long time ago, and I tend to forget to use it.


Milani Eye Shadow in French Vanilla (largest pan) - I need to work my way through my extra matte browbone shades. Wet n Wild's Brulee is my absolute favorite, so I'd like to clear the clutter and stick with that one in the future.

ELF Shadow from the Day to Night Palette (triangular pan) - I pulled this out as a shadow to use up a while ago because the pan is relatively small. It's a cream with gold shimmer that I can use on the inner corners of my eyes nearly every day.

Everyday Minerals Eye Shadow in Funnel Cake (darker brown) - I have a ton of mineral eye shadows that I've pressed, and I don't use them often enough. I pulled this out because it is an easy crease shade. It does have some shimmer, but it doesn't show when applied.

Everyday Minerals Eye Shadow in Driftwood (lighter brown) - Another pressed mineral eye shadow. Again, I chose it because it is an easy color to use.


Stila Lip Glaze in Splendor - I was really sad when it came out that Stila is no longer cruelty-free. This is an easy gloss to throw on, so I hope I can finish it relatively quickly.

Chapstick Lip Balm in Cake Batter - Chapstick isn't cruelty-free either, so this will be living in my pants pockets until it is gone. I have another Chapstick balm to go through after this one.


Tarte fRxtion Lip Scrub and Balm - Another old product. The darker side is the sugar scrub, and the white side is the balm. I have a feeling this will break off before I can finish it.



Silk Naturals Blush Samples in Candie and Tart Light - I have a lot of mineral blush samples sitting around, so I pulled out a couple to work on. 


Tarte Double-Ended Lip Liner - I got this at the same time that I got the lip scrub. The colors are okay, but I'm much more likely to swipe on a balm or gloss.

Stila Smudgestick Eye Liners - Again, with Stila's change in cruelty-free status, I'd like to clear out what I can. Eye liners are easier to go through than powder products, and these colors are pretty easy to wear, so I'm going to try and wear them as much as possible to finish them off.

Urban Decay 24/7 Liner Pencils in Whiskey and Rockstar - It should be pretty obvious why these made the list. They are nearly gone to begin with, so I might as well use them up.

Those are all the things that I specifically pulled to use up. I've already mentioned that I'm working on my stash of lotions too. I didn't add in any pictures of them because I'm going through them relatively quickly using them twice a day on my arms and legs.

Are you trying to use anything up in the new year?

Disclaimer: All of the products mentioned in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own. 

Friday, January 25, 2013

Fresh Sugar Lip Balms - Worth the Price?

I was thrilled when I found out that Sephora's 2012 birthday gift for VIBs was a duo of mini Fresh Sugar lip balms in original and Rose. There's a lot of hype about these balms, but I just couldn't justify the $22.50 price tag to try out a full size (Ouch!). Getting to try them for free was a much better deal.

Here's a look at the duo from the day I brought them home. The packaging itself makes these balms feel fancy because they are metal tubes and the cap twists on and off.

Sadly, this is what ended up happening to my original balm after a handful of uses:


This balm is SO soft, you can't keep it in your pocket, which is where I always keep my lip balm that I'm using for the day. The packaging gives the balm too much wiggle room. It would work a lot better in a more traditional lip balm tube where the balm is formed to the side of the tube. I ended up having to depot this into an empty jar that I had on hand because I just couldn't use it in the tube anymore.

As for how well the balm actually performs, it is a nice feeling balm. It's not overly slick, but it isn't waxy feeling either. It has a citrus/lemon scent that is nice but not over-powering. One major positive is that it has SPF 15, which is always nice. As for how well it moisturizes, I don't find it amazing. Since I'm trying to use it up, I'm using it pretty constantly right now, and the edges of my lips start to feel dry, and I don't know why that is. After doing a scan of the ingredients, my best guess would be because it has benzyl alcohol in it, but I have no proof to back that up. 

Final Thoughts

Is this balm worth $22.50 for a full size? Not for me. I don't want to have to be super careful when slicking on a lip balm or keep it in my purse instead of my pocket, and the formula isn't amazing enough to overcome that negative. If it were in a value set that I already wanted, I wouldn't object to using it again, but I'm not going to go out of my way to pick more up.

What do you think of the Fresh Sugar Balms? What is your favorite lip balm?