A quick tutorial on adding natural-looking colour for everyone from the chronically ill to just the mildly hungover. (Hey, I’ve been both. And unfortunately, I can therefore guarentee that the same principles more or less apply.) (Think about that the next time you go out drinking. Man.)
It’s not okay to eat your lip balm, Rae. It’s not okay. It’s not okay. It’s not okay.
But oh, how I want to! Burts’ (surprisingly tasteless) Refreshing Lip Balm smells incredible – completely evocative of a fresh, juicy pink grapefruit, a bit tart rather than syrupy-sweet. It would be an entirely convincing scent (save for the fact that nature rarely produces anything just this perfectly scented), and the balm itself carries absolutely no synthetic or waxy undertones.
New this April at The Bay (in Canada) and Burts’ online site, Burt’s Refreshing Lip Balm with Pink Grapefruit is 100% natural; free of petrochemicals, phtalates, and parabens. The not-tested-on-animals formula contains key ingredients of beeswax, sunflower oil, coconut oil, and pink grapefruit seed oils (rich in Vitamins C and E).
It moisturizes as well as the rest of the Burt’s Bees stick balm lineup, which is to say: it’s far from terrible, but still not enough for my super-dry lips. If you’re a fan of Burts’ Replenishing (pomegranate), Rejuvenating (acai), or Nourishing (mango) lip balms, though, then you’ll like this one, to – they’re all based on a sunflower seed & coconut oil formula.
Strangely, I find Burts’ un-tinted “fruity” balms to be less hydrating than their tinted ones - the latter tout a formula that’s mainly coconut and vegetable oil, without the sunflower seed oil.
Burt, my dear, you and your bees had me at “pink grapefruit.” It’s the one citrus scent that I’m a complete sucker for, whether it’s in a scrub, moisturizer, or delicious buttercream frosting, and finding it in the most recent Burt’s launch was like a Summer dream come true.
Despite not being hydrating enough for me to wear it on its own or as an intensive lip balm, I have still found myself reaching for this over the past little while. It’s alarmingly fresh, and with a price tag that’s less than a latté, you can’t really go wrong.
Sephora’s yearly Sun Safety Kit is a constant bestseller, and for good reason – I mean, where else are you going to find that many adorable sample-sized sunscreens and fake-sun creams in one set? (I wanted to say sunscreens, sun creams, and [something else], but then I ran out of relevant word pairs starting with “sun.” Sun dreams? Sun teams?)
Anyhow, more relevant topics; this year brings the sixth edition of the kit, with 100% of the net proceeds going to the Skin Cancer Foundation. As far as I know, this item is not yet available on the Canadian Sephora site, but it’s $30 on the US one.
- Bare Escentuals bareMinerals SPF 25 Mineral Veil + brush
The ultimate finishing powder just got an extra dose of sun protection, for even more beautiful benefits. Apply using the Mini Flawless Application Brush that’s included to ensure medium-to-full sun protection.
Active ingredient: Titanium Dioxide 14.4%
Other ingredients: Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Corn Starch Modified, Zinc Stearate, Silica, Magnesium Stearate. +/- Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides.
Paraben and silicone-free.
- Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45 PA+++
A moisturizer, sunscreen, and treatment serum, this all-in-one product includes advanced brightening properties and mineral sunscreens to provide broad spectrum sun protection from both UVA and UVB rays so that skin is left looking smooth, perfect, and natural.
Active ingredients: Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide
Other ingredients: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Glycerin, Phenyl Trimethicone, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Hexyl Laurate, Dipropylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Arbutin, Cyclohexasiloxane, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Magnesium Sulfate, Aluminum Hydroxide, Stearic Acid, Calcium Stearate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Propylene Carbonate, Polysorbate 80, Propylene Glycol, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Talc, Tocopheryl Acetate, Adenosine, Alcohol, Lecithin, rh-Oligopeptid-1, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, PVP, Platinum powder, Steareth-20, Chrysin, N-Hydroxysuccinimide, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Propylparaben, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide.
- Peter Thomas Roth Max Sheer All Day Defense Moisture Lotion – SPF 30
An ultra-light, two-in-one antioxidant sunblock and hydrator that is oil and fragrance-free enriched with hydrators, anti-oxidant vitamins and SPF 30 protection.
Active ingredients: Octinoxate 7.5%, Octisalate 5.0%, Meradimate 5.0%, Oxybenzone 3.5%, Avobenzone 1.0%
Other ingredients: Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate, Peg-100 Stearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Stearic Acid, Gingko Biloba Leaf Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Phospholipids, Ceramide 3, Dimethicone, Panthenol (Pro Vitamin B5), Triethanolamine, Carbomer, Allantoin, Cetyl Alcohol, Tetrasodium Edta, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Propylparaben, Ethylparaben, Isobutylparaben.
Dug this one out of the archives. I’m not sure what possessed me to put together an eighteen-product assortment of lip balms, lip balms, and more lip balms, but… well.
Let’s just say I don’t regret it in the least.
Anything catch your eye?
At long last – I’ve finally gotten my act together! As promised, here are full-face swatches (honestly, though, what are those called?! I hardly think they can be referred to as “swatches” at this point) of Marcelle and Garnier’s BB creams.
So, without further adieu…
Bare, freshly-cleansed skin!
For my skintone, Marcelle’s Light to Medium was a good match – darker than I am, but not by too much. I really liked the neutral tone of the product, which did a great job of cancelling out both redness and sallowness, resulting in an overall illusion of evenness and “perfect skin.” (The satin finish is great, too, which also adds to the illusion.)
I was particularly impressed with the way it tackled my undereye circles and the redness I have in my eye area – I probably wouldn’t leave the house without concealer, just on principle, but I’d feel comfortable having forgotten to conceal if I was wearing this.
Wearing Marcelle’s BB Cream (both images)
Left: bare skin / Right: wearing Marcelle’s BB Cream
The weird little box in the left corner is a colour sampling of my skintone – the left side being bare, and the right, with BB cream. For consistency, I grabbed the colours from the same spot on my cheek in both photos. (Freckle-mapping for the win!)
As you can tell from the colour swatches, Marcelle’s BB adds depth of tone to my skin, and has a clever mix of yellow/greyish pigments to neutralize redness.
I was less impressed with Garnier’s product, but I wanted to share photos for a very specific reason – I think it would be great as a Prtty Peaushun-like product (but, y’know, for your face.) As mentioned in the review, I was sent Medium/Dark, which really isn’t a match for me. However, it turned out to be great for faking a darker skintone, with results that are still very “real skin.”
As a BB cream in and of itself, though, I was less impressed – I found it left me overly dewy, a bit sticky, and while it did a good job of adding warmth, it failed to counteract redness.
Wearing Garnier’s BB Cream
Left: bare skin / Right: wearing Garnier’s BB Cream
