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.

Millie's Cookies red velvet cookie

So today I ventured out into the wide world and picked up a free red velvet cookie from Millie's Cookies with the use of a voucher from Red Online.

This red velvet cookie is a new limited edition flavour to the cookie range, and is also accompanied by a red velvet cupcake.

As soon as I received my cookie, I ate it down as quickly as I could - that's how good it was! (That's why I had to use the picture from their Facebook page - no time to take a photo.)

The main body of the cookie had a very soft and buttery taste, and melted in my mouth almost instantly. Dispersed throughout the cookie were white chocolate chunks, elevating the cookie to the status of a decadent treat.

The voucher for this cookie is still available from here until Friday 19th July, but you must have an account on Red Online. Also, Millie's Cookies are currently running a competition with their red velvet cookies and cupcakes where you could win a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes worth up to £450! Click here to be taken to the entry page.

Overall I give this product 5 kisses out of 5 - a guilty little pleasure that will leave you wanting more!

Avon Skin So Soft body spray

About a week ago I ordered a make-up grab bag from Avon, and this came along with it for free! This is a moisturising body spray, in a size of 150ml, and they recommend you use it after a bath or a shower to help lock in moisture.

I applied this to my legs (since I'm going on holiday in a few days and need my legs to look good!) spraying a somewhat generous amount to make sure that I covered every area. The moisturiser is clear in appearance, which I think is good as if you miss rubbing it in a certain area you won't have any unsightly white marks.

After using the body spray, I definitely noticed a difference in the way that my legs felt. They were a lot softer and felt more toned too, and it lasted for several days after just one application.


One problem that I found with this is that it took an incredibly long time for my legs to dry after I applied it - maybe this was due to the amount of product that I used, but even still it was a lot longer than expected.

Overall I give it 4 kisses out of 5 - it keeps skin soft for days after use, but takes an incredibly long time for skin to dry after use.

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.

Orly Nite Owl nail polish

I picked up this little freebie from ULTA using a voucher in Seventeen magazine. Originally there were several colours that you were able to choose from, but by the time I managed to get to the store they only had two colours left - both were more neutral shades which disappointed me a little as I prefer bolder polishes. However, a freebie is a freebie, and so I went with the Nite Owl shade.



On first appearance in the bottle, the colour looks like a mixture between a light brown and grey, with a hint of shimmer echoing throughout. This is only a small bottle, containing 5.3 ml (0.18 fl oz) of nail polish, but it would definitely last you for more than several applications.



Applying this nail polish is like a dream - it easily coats your nail in a few swipes, and the colour looks exactly as it does in the bottle. If you have longer nails like me, applying at least two coats is recommended as it is tricky to precisely cover one nail with a single dip in the bottle.

While the shimmer does help to hide any imperfections, I found that applying a light coat first can leave the tips of the nails looking a little streaky, even if you use more nail polish on subsequent coats.

Overall I give this 4.5 kisses out of 5 - nice colour and easy to apply, but can be difficult to hide any streaks from bottom coats.