Tinted Lip Balms - Round Up & Review

Over the past few weeks I seem to have lost the love for lipsticks and glosses and prefer  a quick slick of tinted lip balm to keep my lips hydrated and had a tint of colour.
I've manage to accumulate a fair few of them and have decided to do a quick review on all of the ones I have to give you all an idea of which one I like and the ones that I don't.

MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner £11

One of the most popular choices and also the very best! Nice selection of shades, very pigmented for a tinted lip balm and they moisturise brilliantly.
The texture is quite slick and ever so slightly greasy but they don't feel uncomfortable and they last a considerable amount of time on the lips before you need to re-apply.
Some people won't like these because they come in pot, however MAC also makes a stick version which is just as good.

Clinique Chubby Sticks £15

One of the most moisturising of the bunch, but also one of the more sheer options. A lot of the shades look quite different in the tube but pretty much look the same on the lips, the shade I have is Wopping Watermelon which is a sheer, medium pink shade.
The texture of these is quite thick but by no means sticky however it does feel a little heavy on the lips,  they do last ages on the lips though.

 YSL Volupte Sheer Candy £21

The most expensive of the bunch but the packaging on it makes it worth it in my opinion but it's the product inside the packaging that I'm more intrested about.
Nice sheer, juicy shades that sort of stain the lips even after the balm as worn off, non sticky or greasy these have a light gel texture and feel comfortable on the lips.
Because of the light texture these need re-applying quite often which I don't mind, also they are not as moisturising as I would like but they don't dry out you lips either.

Dior Addict Glow £20

Not you're typical tinted lip balm, this is clear in the tube but changes colour when you apply it to your lips and creates you're very own personalised  shade of pink.
Sounds quite gimmicky but it's actually really good, texture is slightly waxy but light at the same time and really does moisturise your lips while leaving them with a pretty pink sheen.

Korres Mandarin Lip Butter £7

These are more like a gloss stick than a lip balm, nice sheer, slightly shimmery colour but not all that moisturising.
The texture of these is thin, not sticky or heavy and wears off fast and when it does wear of my lips are left quite dry which is a shame as the shades are really pretty.
I find these are better used as a gloss on top of a lipstick of similar colour.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment £14

My absolute favourite of all the ones I've tested!
I adore the packaging, a metal tube with a twist off lid which means it does not come open in your handbag and it's also a lot easier to apply because of the stick format.
The texture is lovely, very creamy and moisturising but not heavy or greasy and surprisingly it lasts ages on the lips before you need to reapply it.
I have it in two shades (rose and Honey) and I love them both, they look more like a translucent stain than a tint and look very natural, they also smell really nice like sweet lemonade.
The only negative thing is that they are not so easily accessible, you need to buy them trough mail order which can be a bit of  a pain.

ELF Conditioning Studio Lip Balm £3.50

The cheapest option but also the worst one in my opinion. Quite thick and heavy in texture, it seems to just sit on the lips but does nothing in terms of moisturising. The smell is atrocious, vanilla mixed with plastic and quite frankly I just can't manage it on my lips for longer than 10 minutes.
The only good thing about these is the colour selection  which is quite varied and very pigmented for a tinted balm.


What do you think of tinted lip balms? Which ones are your favourites and which ones should I try next?

August Favourites!

Skincare

Alpha H Liquid Gold
Used to used this all the time a couple of years ago and my skin was always clear and glowy, I stopped using it and my skin looked awful so I finally decided to get a new bottle.
It's a glycolic acid treatment that you put on before bed to gently resurface your skin as you sleep, it does it's job quite effectively and I would recommend it to anyone who is breakout prone or suffers with dull uneven skin tone.

Chanel Hydramax Lotion
Another old favourite, it suits my skin type brilliantly and provides just enough hydration without breaking me out.
Expensive but so worth it.

Garnier Tinted Roll-On
I like to use this as my morning eye treatment as it cools and de-puffs eyes while helping to conceal dark circles.

Makeup

Chanel Vitalimiere Aqua
Brilliant light/medium coverage foundation that looks natural on the skin, this is a step up from tinted moisturiser.
I have the colour B10 and it's the best match out of all the foundations that I own, the only slightly negative thing about it is it doesn't last as long as I would like it to.

Bourjois Healthy Mix
This is perfect for days were I want a little extra coverage and a more matte finish, glides on effortlessly and provides medium coverage that lasts all day.

Christian Dior Diorskin Nude Powder
This can be used like you would a mineral powder foundation but I find that way useless however it makes a great setting powder for all my foundations and a little goes a long way, I feel I've had my pot forever.

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes
I was given a sample a few weeks ago and I absolutely love it!
The tapered brush means you can get every little hard to reach lash and it leaves them looking long and full.
Will re-purchase as soon as my little tube runs out.

Hair

Joico Color Endure Violet Shampoo

I've recently had my old colour stripped and gone back to blonde so I needed a purple shampoo to keep my new shade brass free and bright looking.

I did my research and this was the one everyone recommended and it's brilliant, it's so rich in violet pigment and works so well to cool down any gold tones in your hair, it works so much better than the L'Oreal one I used too use.

Joico K-Pack Deep Penetrating Reconstructor

Like I said above I've gone back to blonde after two years of dying my hair brown, (it took 4 hours to do, I had my hair stripped 3 times and some highlights put in) and the process can be quite harsh on your hair and leave it feeling dry and weak.

It took one application of this treatment to restore the strength in my hair and make it feel normal again, it's a miracle worker but needs to be followed up with a moisturising treatment as this one is protein based and can make your hair feel dry.

Joico K-Pack Intense Hydrator
I use this after I've used the Deep Penetrating Reconstructor, it's moisturising enough to leave hair soft and shiny but doesn't weigh it down or make it limp and greasy.
I think I could get away with using this as my daily conditioner as I don't find regular conditioner moisturising enough.

Perfume

Elie Saab La Parfum
Not usually the sort of perfume I go for as it's a floral and I normally go for very sweet, fruity scents but there something so addictive about this.
It's a strong neroli and jasmine scent and quite heavy and sweet something about it reminds me of summer back home in Italy.

Gucci Flora
Gorgeous summer scent,not that we've had much of a summer in the UK, very fresh and fruity without being overpowering.

What were your favourites of August?

MAC Semi Precious Haul

Semi Precious is the latest collection by MAC and one I wasn't all that intrested in, I knew I wanted one of the items and I ended up with 3.

I also got a cute little mini tube of strobe cream from the Sized To Go collection.

Semi Precious Rose Quartz 

Mineralize Skinfinish

This is the item I knew I would get, it's a soft rosy pink with a swirly centre of minty green, icy pink and copper.

It's a lot softer in pigmentation than I expected it too so I really have to layer it for it to show up on my (NC20) skin but it's very pretty and it just brightens the complexion.

A lot of people have compered it to Stereo Rose but they are nothing alike, Petticoat is actually closer but still too different to be called a dupe.

L-R Centre, Outer, Swirled 

Semi Precious Pearl

Mineralize Skinfinish

A soft champagne base surrounding a swirly centre of bronze, plum and white. 

Didn't think I would like this one as much as I do as I have tons of highlighters but this is actually gorgeous when swirled together, it's the most perfect peachy glow and I prefer it to Semi Precious Rose Quartz.

L-R Center, Outer, Swirled

Pressed Amber 

Mineralize Blush

This isn't a color I normally wear but I picked it up to use as a soft bronzer and contour color, turns out that when used very sparingly it makes a lovely warm blush too. I love the texture too it's so fine and silky. 

L-R Strobe Cream, Pressed Amber

L-R Petticoat, Semi Precious Rose Quartz, Stereo Rose

Stereo Rose is far to orange toned to be comparable to Rose Quartz, Petticoat is similar but a smidge warmer and darker.

What did you get from the new Semi Precious collection? 

MAC Latest Releses Overview

MAC as launched 4 new collections this month and I can honestly say that not one of them is in any way particularly exciting, they are Euristocrats 2, Baby Bloom, Love That Look and Graphic Garden.
I think the trouble with MAC is they release far to many collection all at once that none of their latest products are unique enough to make me buy them, if your make up collection is smaller than mine you wouldn't have that problem but for me personally to many of the color overlap with ones I already have so they are not deemed as essential for me.
I had a chance to fully test the products on counter but out of the 4 collections I got one one item and that was the Studio Moisture Tint.

Euristocrats 2

Probably much more exciting to people in the US because in the UK we got the lipstick part of this release over a year ago and I can't say it really impressed me back then.
The lip pencils are all permanent and easily dupable with drugstore brands plus I much prefer the Cremestick version to the regular pencils.
The lipstick are all very plain and boring apart from Saint Germain which is a bright pastel pink and one of my all time favourites and as much as I love lip gloss, especially Dazzleglass I have to many that are similar to these that I had to pass however they are all very pretty.

Baby Bloom

A collection comprising of 5 tinted moisturisers and 5 liquid lip balms that been launched way to late in the summer (not that we've had one in the UK)to really appeal to the consumer.
The lip balm were being described as a liquid version of the Tendertones however they are nothing like them, I found them to be thick and sticky and with absolute zero pigmentation in contrast to the Tendertones which are soft and balm like, super moisturising and while sheer they still provide way more pigmentation than the Suntints.
At £10.50 each they aren't cheap and actually I would rather use a regular 99p chapstick than these any day.
The Studio Moisture Tint is nice but again probably not essential, I really like the feel of it cause it's thick and moisturising and simply glides on skin with minimal effort. The coverage is sheer and while I haven't yet tested it on my face I feel it would do a good job at evening out skin tone but you would still need concealer which is pretty much standard for tinted moisturisers.
On a negative it stinks, I don't know of what but it's not pleasant but it does fade out after a while.

Love That Look

The largest of the new releases, some of the shadows are worth checking out but again not particularly unique.
The brushes and mascara are permanent so no need to rush out and get those and the Pearlglide liners are just average, the reflective sparkle they supposed to have really doesn't show up that well and I found the didn't go on as smooth as my UD 24/7 liners.
Some of the shadow are pretty but I'm not keen on the finish, it's very soft and smooth easy to blend and the pigmentation is great but they are a little to frosty for me, even more so than MAC Frost and Veluxe Pearl formula.
Having said that I'm tempted to go back for Smoke and Diamonds and Style Snob as I love those sort of shades but I do wish they were in a Satin finish.

Graphic Garden

Exclusive to the website and Harvey Nichols the collection consists of 2 palettes, 2 lip sets and 2 brush set.
The packaging is tacky and cheap looking and the colors are all very close to past releases.
Short Edition brush set are machine made and therefore not good quality, you can really feel the difference between the SE version and the regular single brushes. They may cost more but the regular ones will last you years while the SE ones I got a couple of years ago are now ready for the bin.
The lip set are pretty but not unique and the same goes for the palettes, I guess if you need to get a birthday gift these might be nice but otherwise I'd skip them.