Clarins Instant Light - Lip Comfort Oil

I know I’m officially “too late” for this post, because winter is over, and this product would have been the perfect lip saver, but this product is an “everyday of the year” lip product. I’m going to start off with my reaction when everybody started talking about Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil, I had complete mixed feelings about this product. Lip Comfort Oil? Oil? All I could think of was the taste of oil and thick weird feeling lips, because well… I’m fussy like that. 

I searched around for this product, and discovered I could choose either a golden Honey coloured Lip Comfort Oil or a limited edition Raspberry coloured oil, of course I chose the LIMITED EDITION!! With all excitement I thought about the product the entire road home, would I like it? how would it feel? what is all the hype about the product? will I be able to rave about this product? I generally push away trying a product as soon as possible if I’m feeling skeptical about trying out the product, I mentally prepared myself for a week, and took the dive on a Saturday morning, (I’m such a drama queen) this product made all my worries go away, not all… but any that were related to this product. So let’s get down to details on this product...

The box screams classy, like classy at its best, the gorgeously deep red box really works for me, because it gives you high expectations to see what is in the box… of course the Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil doesn’t fall short of anything. The product is packaged in a powerful small “square style” lipgloss tube, which is a perfect size to hide in your clutch on a night out. I really loved the packaging, with the shimmering gold lid and the see through glass, showing the glistening product made me kind of excited to try it out. The Lip Comfort Oil comes with a lovely large doe foot applicator, which makes applying the product much easier, with one or two simple swipes of the product. The Lip Comfort Oil has a light, sweet smell which I could get as soon as I opened the product, the scent eased my feelings towards the product as I took the plunge, one light sweep of the applicator on my lips and this product owned me… WOW all my negative thoughts were out the window and I was glad I had spent the R250 for this lip product. 

The Lip Comfort Oil has a thick gloopy kind of texture, like a really thick kind of lipgloss, however on the lips, the Comfort Oil has a light gloss silky feeling, with no sticky or tacky feeling on lips. My lips instantly felt hydrated and comfortable during the harsh dry and cold winter weather. After a week of using the product, I could feel the difference, my lips looked more nourished, softer and much more comfortable. I used the Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil during the day, and in the afternoon, however I didn’t want to use it in the night before going to sleep because the idea of sleeping with the product on my lips made me think of waking up with an oily pillow, face and probably hair too. So I would suggest keeping this product away from the bed time usage because it could get kinda messy. 

I was definitely impressed with the Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil, the only disappointment that I had with the product was the gorgeous red hue from the lip oil wasn’t really noticeable, so it looked like I had clear gloss on, but I guess if you’re in the mood for some colour, there is no harm in applying lip liner completely to lips and then topping off your colour with the Lip Comfort Oil. I’m going to really give Clarins five stars for this product. It is amazing, and perfect for when lips need some extra attention. The product is available at Foschini, Truworths and Edgars, and retails for R250. You might not be able to get the limited edition Raspberry, but I’ve heard the Honey is just as amazing!

The Balm Cosmetics: Mary - Lou Manizer

After a long, long, long wait, The Balm Cosmetics have finally hit the South African shores, which brought complete and total happiness into my life, as I've been lusting after some of their gorgeous products for years and one of those products happen to be the Mary - Lou Manizer, which I am sure isn't a surprise to any of my reader, because every single girl is lusting after the "perfect highlighter".

I purchased the Mary - Lou Manizer from Retail Box for R399, which may seem like a steep price for a highlighter, but I promise, it is definitely worth every cent! This multi tasking product can be used as: a highlighter, to add shimmer and as an eye shadow. 

Retail Box's review of the Mary - Lou Maniser: "Meet Mary-Lou Manizer, a seemingly innocent honey-hued luminizer that catches everybody’s eye. This highlighter, shadow and shimmer diffuses light so your skin looks softer and younger while adding a subtle glow. "

My thoughts: Firstly, look at that packaging!!! It has to be the most gorgeous vintage looking packaging ever, from the box to the actual compact! It has a simple yet classy look to it, which I really appreciate, because it will definitely catch eyes when you whip this compact out of your bag.

The actual compact is quite sturdy and gives me a good feeling, as if my Mary - Lou Manizer will see me many good years, plus the compact includes a lovely mirror, which will make sure you see perfectly highlighted cheekbones every time. Excuse my pun, but ever since I've gotten the Mary - Lou Manizer, it has really been the highlight of my life! I've been playing around with it, since the day my package got delivered.

I find the Mary - Lou Manizer to be soft and buttery, feeling like it will melt into skin apon application, which is exactly what it does, no cakey feeling, no flaking, just gorgeously glowing skin every time. I find the Mary - Lou Manizer to be a little too shimmery for my everyday make up as it really highlights on my olive skin tone.

When I apply my highlighter, I use a soft angled brush to make sure I get a perfect application, I also apply my highlighter with a light hand, as this is a very pigmented highlighter. I do love the summer glow this highlighter gives me, making my skin look radiant and sculptured, a definite must have, to make sure your make up will always be on point.

My Final Thoughts: I've you're willing to splurge out for this Mary - Lou Manizer highlighter, I say "why not?", this impressive highlighter is a multi-tasker, and completely life changing, plus this highlighter will see you a couple of good years, mainly because the highlighter is so pigmented, you need very little to complete your look.

To purchase this Mary - Lou Manizer highlighting compact, or view any other The Balm products, follow the link - The Balm Products from Retail Box. Have you purchased any The Balm Cosmetic products? What are your thoughts on The Balm Cosmetic products?