You know sometimes in the winter (or all the time in the winter) when you get chapped lips? Well towards the end of every winter my lips can get pretty bad - this year was no exception. My problem too is that when I get chapped lips I tend to bite them. AWFUL I know but just something I find very difficult not to do! Anyway, I always do my best to give them all the moisture they need. This year something new happened though. I'm not sure if it was because (it felt like) it took the seasons forever to change, but my chapped lips maintained well into the spring. Well, that just wouldn't do.
My go-to products are Chapstick and Burts Bees. I also have been known to put Vaseline on my lips at night and in the morning for the ultimate moisture lock. I also tried out Maybelline's Baby Lips. Then of course brought out the big guns with Blistex. NOTHING seemed to work for me. Then one day I was wandering around a book store and saw the EOS lip balms...
I had heard about them before and heard awesome things about them. I think it might have been Kristin Cavallari on Twitter one day awhile back saying she couldn't live without them. With my curiosity peaked and necessity calling, I decided to get the Strawberry Sorbet one (middle). OMG. As long as you like flavoured lip balm, it really IS as good as they say, if not better! My lips seemed to instantly heal and rejoice. I know that like anything, everyone is different and reacts differently to every product, but this is my lip "holy grail". At about $6 a pop it's not cheap but not crazy and in my option, so worth it. I'm still on the first one I bought and it's lasted me quite awhile - and looks like it will still last quite a while longer. I could not be happier and had to share!
One more to add to my favourite designer quotes collection...
... and you could only bring one make-up essential, what would it be? My answer is and always has been: mascara.
I have straight blonde eyelashes and I never quite feel like myself without even one quick brush of mascara. Once I apply mascara, can't seem to stop my lashes from going straight within an hour or so. After some trouble shooting, my trick to mascara perfection is to curl my eyelashes, put on a coat of mascara, do something else for a minute or two, then put on a second coat of mascara. More often then not, they still lose their curl, but at least not as quickly. SO, I decided if I could just find the perfect mascara, all my worries would be over.
Enter: Benefit Cosmetics. They have a mascara called "They're Real" and yes, it's because they give you fabulous looking lashes! But my journey didn't end there. They also have a mascara called "Bad Gal" and yes, it's because it takes your lashes to the next level. I was happy using one or the other until my local cosmetician told me to layer them - do my usual layer routine staring with "They're Real" and ending with "Bad Girl". BINGO! I found my perfect formula.
The inspiration for this post came from the results of the Women's Health 2012 Beauty Awards. For the category of "Best Mascara" the winners were Cover Girl Lash Blast Volume (from the readers) and Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes (from the experts). I've tried the cover girl one and although good for the $8 price tag, didn't work out for me. I've not tried the Lancome one, but will keep in in mind if I decided to switch things up!
What's your make-up essential?
