Zoella Beauty: Kissy Missy Lip Balm Review

Some I know this may come as a shock to you, especially hardcore dedictaed YouTube fans, this is the first Zoella beauty product I have ever tried, although I was intrigued by the line when it came out I didn't actually go and purchase anything, mostly due to the swarms of young girls in front of the counter, but one weekend just before Christmas I was feeling spendy so I bought this along with a couple of other things including the Tanya Burr Nail Polish in Duvet Day. 

Although I haven't heard a lot about this product beforehand I didn't really mind with a small price tag of £3 it wasn't going to break the bank. The packaging I must say is adorable although kind of appeals to a younger audience, I mean it doesn't look the most sophisticated when you are getting it out of your work bag. 

This lip balm is part of the Tutti Frutti Collection, when I saw Zoella explaining it on her channel I imagined it to smell similar to the Estee Lauder Bronze Godess perfume, I don't know why I just did. Just to warn you, it doesn't. I don't really know what it smells of but I am not the biggest fan.

Now on to the actual lip balm, when I applied this to the lips it didn't feel very moisturising, it almost felt a bit greasy on the lips. Although I do have to admit it does give a good colour, so if you are looking for a lip gloss, this may be for you. For me personally, however, when I am applying a lip balm I want my lips to feel extra nourished and not greasy and chapped. 

I weary to give this a bad review, as Zoella is one of my idols and I have been following her for six years now. (I think). But this product is just not for me. 

See you soon. 

Jess
x 

Gift Guide for Teens

So buying for teens can be a little tricky. It can be hard to know whether they will be happy with what you get or it will be a complete flop. It is hard to get the balance right I remember getting some terrible presents when I was a teen just because relatives still thought I was a child.

So I have divided this up into categories to make it a bit easier if you know the general thing your teen is into. 

For Teens Who Love YouTube:

Chances are that if you have a young teen in your family they will be into YouTubers, the likes of Zoella and Tanya Burr have millions and millions of fans, so it is lucky that they also have some products that you can purchase that they have bought out. From the Zoella range there is a whole range of make-up bags, body products and bathing goodies. And from the Tanya Burr range there are nail varnish, eye lashes, lip glosses and lots of lovely palettes as well. A few of my faves are the Kissy Missy Lip Balm, the make up bag and the Tanya Burr nail varnish in Duvet Day. There are also a number of different books by different YouTubers from The Glam Guide from Fleur de Force or The Pointless Book from Zoella's boyfriend Alfie Deyes. 

For Teens Who Love Beauty: 

I started getting into beauty when I was a teen and every beauty product I was given I coveted, I always wanted one of those huge collections that you see on YouTube. The best places to get products are in Superdrug and Lush, as things are not too expensive. You can get some lovely baths bombs in Lush especially some of the Christmas ones. You can also buy some nice palettes from the likes of L'oreal or Barry M. Another favourite is Soap and Glory products, you can buy little minis in sets which will please any teen. Another fave is Essie nail varnishes you can buy a nice set, which I would get if I din't have most of the shades or you can buy them individually. 

Everything Else:

Some other things I like to receive when I was younger (well still now too :p) pyjamas, dressing gowns and slippers, I'd go to Primark, Topshop and Next as they have a nice selection. Anything from Paperchase which looks cute, vouchers to your teens favourite shop and maybe even baking bits and pieces. 

Just try to think about what you would have wanted when you were that age.

What are you going to buy your family? Buying for my family is my favourite, just getting to see the look on their face is priceless. 

See you tomorrow. 

Jess

x

My Body Shop Picks

So if you are signed up to The Body Shop Loyalty Card like me you'll know that they are always sending out really good discount codes. I actually can't remember the last time I paid full price at The Body Shop, as there is a deal on so often. There products are really good quality and I am big fan of the skincare as well as the body care. 

So I though write a little post about my top picks from The Body Shop. 

First up is the Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil this is one of my favourite cleansing oils I have ever tried. It takes of all my make up so easily. It also lasts a super long time I have had mine since January I think even though I have used it nearly every day and I still have got the tiniest bit left. I think that is definitely worth trying for the price and the longevity. 

Next up along the same lines is the Camomile Waterproof Eye and Lip Make Up Remover. I use this when I have very heavy eye make up to remove it before I go ahead with the Cleansing Oil to prevent the panda eye effect. This is a part oil and part water mix so you have to make sure you shake it before hand as otherwise it is no where near as effective. 

The first of the coconut smelling products is the Coconut Hand Sanitiser. The coconut scent is one of my faves from The Body Shop and when I was younger I even owned the body spray. As I get on a lot of public transport I like to have a hand sanitiser with me wherever I go and a coconut smelling one is just the best.  

Another essential for me is a hand cream as there is nothing worse than having dry hands and not being able to do anything about it so the Almond Hand and Nail Cream does the job for me. It nicely moisturises my hands while making them smell lovely, probably my second favourite scent to the coconut scent. 

The Coconut Body Butter I have been using for what seems like forever. I think it has been ten years since I had my first pot and I haven't looked back since. This is a fave with a lot of beauty bloggers and for good reason it has a delicious scent and moisturises your body the perfect amount that you still feel moisturised for hours later. 

The Drops of Youth Wonderblur is a lovely primer that apply before my make up. Although I do not use it everyday (as I am too lazy) but when I do use it it creates a lovely base and I always tell myself to use it more often. It has no colour to it and is like somewhere between a gel and cream, it makes your skin look like it has a filter on it. Perfect for achieving the Victoria Secret look. 

The Drops of Youth Bouncy Sleeping Mask  is an absolute life saver, whenever my skin is just feeling just a bit dehydrated I put this on instead of moisturiser at night and my skin is so soft and hydrated when I wake up in the morning it is a miracle. Although this is more on the expensive side the tub is so big and you have to use so little that it will last for so long. 

Last but not least is the Frosted Cranberry Lip Balm. I know this is a Christmas product I am sure that all of the Body Shop lip balms are similar. This is just so nice and moisturising and this one in particular has a nice red tint to it, which makes it a little bit nicer than just a plain one.

What would you recommend from the Body Shop? 

See you tomorrow. 

Jess
x

My Beauty Haul

Hi,

So last week it was my birthday, of course this meant that I decided to do a bit of beauty shopping (obvs). Being a bit of a newbie to blogging I have been taking part in a lot of blogger chats on Twitter (@JessieLou33 if you care) and this has made me write a list so long on my notes pages on my phone that I barely know where to start with. Here is a selection of things that I picked up when I went into the aisles of Boots and other such places that I am excited to tell you about...

The first product in my haul is this Ted Baker Body Wash. I have never tried Ted Baker body products before and so when I browsing Boots, these beautiful products caught my eye. The packaging alone is beautiful and could probably persuade me enough on its own as I am a lover of pink. The smell is also divine it is quite fruity and floral smell and is described as a mix of grapefruit, mandarin, mango, neroli, jasmine, patchouli, sandlewood and musk. Personally I think it is the jasmine that makes me like it so much as that is one of my favourite scents.

On a similar sort of vein this is the matching Ted Baker Hand Cream. This has the same brilliant scent as the body wash but in hand cream form. The one that I have is perfect for fitting into any handbag due to its small size although I can't find the small one on the website so it might just be in store unfortunately, Now all I need is the matching body spray and I can smell of the divine scent all of the time. Maybe that will be next on my list.

The next product that I have bought is the Maybelline Baby Lips Dr Rescue in Coral Crave. Although I have bought baby lips before in the normal range and was not too impressed with them I still wanted to try the Dr Rescue range. I don't necessarily want it for the colour pay off although I am big fan of a nice coral colour. I wanted it to see if it would moisturise my lips and keep them moisturused. Although I am yet to try it so I will get back to you on that one.

After reading up on what make-up Little Mix were wearing in the latest music video, I had to run out to the shops and buy these two products. I was actually surprised at how many drugstore products that they used. First up is the Barry M Light Me Up Highlighter, which is a lovely golden highlighter, which is perfect for the cheek bones. I have also used it to give me a bit of a sheen on my eye lids too when I can't be bothered to apply proper eyeshadow. It makes the skin nice and radiant and like you have a glow from within.

The last product in my haul also my Barry M is the Barry M Make Me Blush Cream in Rhubarb Crumble. This is a lovely natural pinky flush of colour that is not too obvious. As it is a cream formula you make it blend easily and seamlessly into the skin, to make it look very natural. I use a stippling brush straight away after I place the blush on my cheeks to blend it in. I like this so much that I may have to get the other two colours as well.

Is there anything that you have bought recently? Tell me in the comments below what you bought, so I can make my wishlist longer.

See you on Monday!

Jess
x

Dark Lip Essentials

Hi,

Now that it starts to get dark at like 5pm and all the Christmas stuff is in the shops it is officially dark lip season. Here are my essentials for getting the perfect dark lip.

Lip Scrub 

A good lip scrub is essential to any dark lip. You don't want your lips covered in dry skin as otherwise whatever you put over the top will not look very good as it will all stick. My favourites are both from Lush the Mint Julips and the Santa's lip scrub, they are fantastic for getting the dead skin off and they also taste delicious. 

Lip Balm 

After scrubbing your lips, a good lip balm is an essential to make sure that your lips will take to the colour well. I usually put it on before I start putting my make up on and by the time I get round to doing my lips, it has sunk in. My faves are from Burts Bees Beeswax Lip Balm in either the original or coconut and pear scent the as they have no colour to them so don't interfere with the colour of the lip and they are nice and moisturising. 

Lip Liner

To get a good dark lip I feel a lip liner is essential, I usually outline my lips with the colour and then fill them I find that doing this makes the lip colour last a bit longer and when it starts to fade it doesn't look patchy. I really like the Maybelline Colour Sensational in Midnight Plum and Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Lip Pencil in Wicked, although the Urban Decay one is not a extremely dark it does go well with the lighter berry colours. They are both good at making your lipstick last just that little bit longer.

Lip Stick

Now for the most important part of a dark lip, the lip stick. Obviously there are thousands of different dark lips on the market but these two are my faves. From the drugstore is the Maybelline Colour Sensational Mattes in Divine Wine  this is a true dark lip colour and being a matte formulation means that it does not budge from the lips, deffo one to look into if you don't want to splash out a lot on a dark lipstick. Another one of my faves is a Mac lipstick in Plumful, this is what I would call an everyday sort of dark lip as it is not too dark but can be built if you want to, say if you are going out in the evening. 

What are you dark lip essentials? Tell me in the comments what your favourite dark lip is. 

See you tomorrow!

Jess 

x