Berrisom - Oops - My Lip Tint Pack - Pure Pink

I got this from Memebox (before they stopped shipping to Australian customers) and thought it was a fun idea.

A peel off lip tint, how fun!

But there were two issues to this novel lip stain:

1) If it gets on your teeth, it will stain your teeth as well.

2) Want to know how I got these marks?

It irritated the sides of my lips, making them red and dry. It took a while for my lips to recover after this.

So I can't recommend this, as I found it to be irritating and bad for the health of my lips.

'I want lasting colour on my lips' Solution:

Universal Beauty Lip Tint works really well and is non-irritating.

Price: 4/5 ($8.36 for 15g)
Scent: 0/5 (like off vanilla yoghurt and plastic)
Effectiveness: 1/5

Palmer's - Cocoa Butter Formula

I love how this smells! Cocoa butter smells really good to me.

I also appreciate how rich the formula is, but it doesn't just sit on the top of your skin, it soaks in well.

I can't really fault this product.

Price: 4/5 (RRP $9.99 for 400mL)
Scent: 4/5
Effectiveness: 5/5

Maybelline - Express Remover

I got this for easier nail polish removal while traveling (U.S.A.) and it worked well for that purpose.

I was intitally worried that it would be bad for my fingers (the non-nail side being exposed to nail polish remover) but the formulation isn't harsh.

My three issues with this product:

- It did start to leak after a while.

- The remover evaporated over time (even when closed).

- After a few uses (especially for glittery polishes), the colour builds up and can stain your fingers and make them sticky.

At the end of the day, the foam on the inside just acts as a cotton wool ball you would usually use. And the foam is not biodegradable.

So this is for lazy, littering fools XD

Price: 3/5 (RRP $9.95 for 75mL)
Scent: 0/5 (don't sniff nail polish remover)
Effectiveness: 2.5/5

T. N. Dickinson's All Natural Witch Hazel

This is my favourite toner, I started using it years ago.

It smells clean, herb-like and almost hospital-like.

It does contain alcohol (a result of the distillation process), but I didn't find it drying or stinging. Although don't put it in your eyes!

A little also goes a long way, so a bottle lasts a while :)

Price: 4/5 ($6.59 for 240mL)
Scent: 4/5
Effectiveness: 4/5

Art break - Sunken Treasure Chest for C

C had a pirate themed 30th birthday party, so I thought what better gift than some treasure pulled from its marine resting place!

So I started with a chest-shaped cardboard box. This was easier than making a box to the correct shape and it would retain better structural integrity.

The next step was to use modelling paste and pistachio shells to make seaweed and clams stuck to the box, respectively.
Once attached, the entire outside of the box was painted white (with poster and spray paint).
I used blue painters tape to protect the leather-like accents on the box.

The shells and seaweed were then spray painted gold (the spray paint making it easier to get into all the nooks and crannies). I did the inside of the box a blue-teal colour to keep that marine theme going. I latter added a bit of gold dusting to the inside as well to keep it looking valuable and not too clean.

The next step was to start adding brown paint, for the wooden outside. This took a while because like a goose, I bought poster paint, not acrylic paint. Poster paint is less viscose and has a lower colour pay-off (more translucent).

Starting to look real!

After that it was a matter of adding acrylic paint (gold, blue, green, red), some beads, gems, glitter (treasure is shiny), netting (like fishing netting), and a bit more modelling paste until I felt it looked like a real pirate treasure chest.

- I made the outside of the shells more rose gold, for a bit of contrast.

- Modelling paste was put at the base to make it look like the chest had been underwater so long it had started to integrate into the ecosystem.

- I put little pearls into each open clam and added some bigger pearls on top... nothing says the ocean like pearls XP

- I added some rose gold painted date pits because they looked interesting and added something extra other than 'clams'.

- The netting is like old fishing netting that got caught on the chest.

- I added the little gems on the outside and the glitter to make it look a little 'richer'.


Inside is a bottle of 'James Plank' ... Jim Beam... get it?! XD
Also some shiny candy, chocolate coins, and a pearl necklace (hur hur hur).
These sit on gold tissue paper and red shredded paper.

I made the replacement label with parchment and incense and acrylic paint made the 'wax seal' on top.

Verdict:  C loved it!!!

Same Product, Different Scent: Crabtree & Evelyn Hand Therapy - Somerset Meadow

I can't say I liked the scent of this hand therapy... too 'white floral' for me

But I can't fault the formulation <3

Elemis - Minty Moisture Lip Balm

The demise of this product was at my hand... I left it in my car and it melted :O
I am such a goose!

Liquid state aside, this is a nice basic lip balm.
Paraffin base, peppermint oil, a good barrier, and unisex lip balm.

I can't fault it. This is the type of thing you want on wind-chapped lips.

Price: 1/5 ($19 for 3 on ebay, hard to find)
Scent: 4.5/5
Effectiveness: 5/5