Helen É lip crayon

This product (originally £8) was being given away free on their website (there was a P&P charge of £2.50) with the use of a promotional code. I chose the shade 'Red Carpet' (what can I say, I love having red lips!), and while they said to wait 28 days for delivery, I received mine within the week.


To confess, I have had this product for several months now (I am so far behind on reviews it's unbelievable), and whenever I have worn this product, I have always received compliments from friends about it! In fact, I am wearing this lip crayon in my profile picture (I had been trying out a basic 50s look), and I was definitely impressed by the way it defined my lip shape so effortlessly.

When applying it, you can immediately tell that this is not a shade for the faint-hearted! It is a bright red, the type most associated with Hollywood glitz and glam, hence why it is called Red Carpet! The lip crayon applies matte as well, which I think is a great option for this shade; you can make your lips the centre of attention without it being over-the-top, if you're not going for an overly-dramatic look.

Unfortunately, I found that if you wear this lip crayon on its own, it tends to come off quite easily during drinking and eating. Also, you may need to blot several times after application so that it does not transfer as heavily throughout the day. However, even though the product does come off quite easily, the pigmentation stays throughout the day -  this particular shade may require reapplication for any of the product that comes off on the inside of the lips.

Overall I would give this 3.5 kisses out of 5 - great colour, but comes off too easily during the day.

P.S. Helen É constantly offer free products (P&P is charged), so make sure to follow them here on Facebook to keep up-to-date on their latest offers.

Avon Perfect Kiss lipstick

So you might remember my previous post about the body spray that I got free from Avon. Well guess what - this was another freebie that came with that same order! I think I may have to start ordering from Avon a lot more in future...




This is Avon Perfect Kiss lipstick in the shade Lovey Dovey Pink, sample sized obviously. When I first saw the product, I was slightly worried that I wouldn't want to use it much because I'm not too much of a pink fan, but a freebie is a freebie, and I told myself that I would give it a go.





As I swatched it on my hand, I expected it to be quite a dark pink, but instead it was very light and subtle - I would describe it as a rose pink shade with silver sparkle hidden throughout. Definitely a lovey dovey shade.

When applying it to my lips, not a lot of the lipstick shade was noticeable (though the sparkle came through beautifully), and I would say that this lipstick is better to use for enhancing naturally pink lips to give a more natural look. For this reason, I would recommend using it in a flirty look, as the sparkle is sure to make your lips the centre of attention.

Throughout the day, the lipstick stayed on incredibly well, with almost none of it transferring whenever I ate or drank something - definitely a rare thing to find in a lip product that isn't from a premium brand.

Overall I give this product 4.5 kisses out of 5 - incredible wear throughout the day, but would have been nice if there was a little more colour to the lipstick.

The Art of Couponing

So for just under three weeks I have been in America, and I certainly did not return from there empty-handed! Everything in the picture was bought using a coupon, available either online or in the Sunday edition of the local newspaper. (I also bought food items using coupons, but I didn't keep track of them, so to make it simpler I'll only include make-up products.)




Coupons can be separated into two different types - manufacturer coupons, and store coupons. Manufacturer coupons are usable in any store that stocks the specific item on the coupon, whereas store coupons can only be used in that specific store. If you're lucky enough to get both a manufacturer and a store coupon for the same item, you can combine them and get even more savings! (But be sure to read the conditions on the coupon, as different restrictions apply to different coupons!) Also, some stores will require you to have a store card with them to be able to use store coupons (an unfortunate problem that I had at Walgreens).

For these products I went to three separate stores - Walgreens, CVS, and Target. Maybelline Color Show Nail Lacquer and Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede Lipstick were bought at Walgreens; Covergirl intenseshadowblast and smokyshadowblast, Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow and Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Color were bought at CVS; and Almay Eye Makeup remover pads was bought at Target.

This is Maybelline Color Show Nail Lacquer in the shade Crushed Candy, a dark pink with a purple shimmer throughout. I used a $1 off Maybelline Color Show nail product manufacturer coupon that I got from Seventeen magazine. (Unfortunately I cannot remember the price of it, and the price being quoted on the Walgreens website is definitely less than I paid for it.)

This is Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede Lipstick in the shade Couture, which is red (what can I say, I love red lips!). I used a $1 off Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede Lipstick manufacturer coupon that I found online (I did also have a $1 off Revlon lip products store coupon, but no store card so was unable to use it). Now this was a more expensive buy for me at around $9 (approx. £6), but I had been interested in the product for a while before finding the coupon, so I thought I might as well save some money on it!

These are Covergirl intenseshadowblast (in the shade Forever Pink), and smokyshadowblast (in the shade Tempest Blue) eye products. I have to say, these are probably the biggest bargain I got whilst couponing - each of these should have been around $9 in price, but were reduced by 50%, making them about $4.49 each (approx. £2.99). Then the manufacturer coupon I had was for $4 off of two Covergirl eye products, so after all savings these only cost roughly $2.49 each (approx. £1.66)!

This is Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow in the palette Wild Orchids. For this I used a $3 off Revlon makeup products manufacturer coupon from the local Sunday paper, meaning that this only cost me around $3.99 (approx. £2.66). Sadly, an eyeshadow applier is not included in this palette.

This is Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Color in the shade Black Diamonds. Originally I was going to buy this in Walgreens, but I wasn't able to use the store coupon. I used a $1.50 off Sally Hansen nail products manufacturer coupon from the local Sunday paper, bringing the cost down to about $3.99.

These are Almay Eye Makeup remover pads, with a total of 80 pads in the tub. Originally $5.29 (approx. £3.53), I had a $2 off Almay makeup remover store coupon, making them $3.29 (approx. £2.19) after discounts.















So these are all my couponing rewards - I hope you've enjoyed a glimpse at one way in which you can cut down on your makeup costs!

Balance Me face wash

This was a freebie that I got with InStyle magazine. It is an organic face wash for normal to combination skin, and this sample size is 50ml (1.7 fl. oz).






At first glance, I thought that since the packaging appeared professional, it would be a quality product which was both kind to my face and the environment.








Opening the tube, the first thing that hit me was the smell of the face wash - it was horrendous. However, I put this down to the fact that it was organic, and that the product wasn't meant to be focused on its scent.

The instructions seemed a little strange, as it said to mix the face wash with warm water in the palm of your hand. Typically, when a facial product and water are mixed, disaster shortly follows.




Once I applied it to my face, I found that I was unable to bear the stench of it, and so washed it off only a few seconds of application. However, that was still long enough for it to react badly with my face - any area it had touched turned red.





Overall, I give this 0 out of 5 kisses - the product smelt horrible, and it didn't seem to do anything while it was on my face.

Born Lippy pink berry lip balm

Today, I went and picked up this free lip balm from The Body Shop using a voucher from VoucherCodes.co.uk (with an original retail price of £3). They had a selection of pink berry, toffee, and pomegranate to choose from, though it seemed like most of the ones that were still available were pink berry (I only saw one toffee lip balm that wasn't a tester).


As I began to remove the cellophane from the lip balm, the scent of it became apparent - fruity and sugary, just like berries. However, removing the lid and smelling the actual product hits you with a wave of strawberry bubblegum, which could become off-putting during the course of the day.

Now, since I constantly have dry, chapped lips, I tend to avoid lip balms as they tend to dry my lips out quicker than usual. At first I thought that it would add a tint to my lips as the product is pink, but it does in fact apply clear. I only used a very small amount on my lips, and the lip balm coated my lips evenly. For about five minutes after applying the lip balm, my lips did feel slightly sticky, but this then faded. I didn't feel like it dried my lips out, so I would definitely consider this product a success.

This freebie is available here - but be quick, it ends Sunday 30th June!

Overall I give this 4 kisses out of 5 - a typically good lip balm, though the scent is a little overpowering.