SKINCARE | The Best and the Not So Great Sunscreens Round Up 2023 with "Swatches"

Some press samples (indicated with *)

It's that time again where every day is a new sunscreen to try! I actually try to be really careful now of keeping track of my sunscreens since they expire so as much as I wanted to do a little Korean beauty sunscreen haul to review for you, it will most likely not be until next summer as I have more than enough sunscreen to use for the next year! I am not on the press lists for any Korean beauty brands/stores, but if one or two sunscreen REALLY pique my interest then mayyyybe you will see it here (*ahem* Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun)!

MAKEUP | Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm SPF 30 with Swatches

 

Press samples

Summer is officially here as is sunscreen season, though it is technically ALWAYS sunscreen season, there is something about experiencing actual heat that really puts you in the mood! One area that I often neglect to apply sunscreen to is my lips and though I have never been been burned on my lips, whenever I go out on walks, I try to cover them up with something as much as possible because a lip sunburn just sounds painful! Thankfully, Burt's Bees has a new tinted lip balm (yay!) that also has an SPF 30 (double yay!) and are a mineral sunscreen formulated with 19.5% zinc oxide. I have never used a tinted lip SPF product before and I thought it was cool that I would be able to look a little more dressed up yet still being protected from UV!

SHEET MASK | Burt's Bees Hydrating Sheet Mask #EarthMonth

The next Earth-friendly product I have is one that I was unexpectedly disappointed with so it's possible I might get a bit ranty with improvements. Burt's Bees - we know and love this brand for skincare, makeup and being one of the earliest brands to have "natural" and affordable products right at the drugstore. I keep feeling like I want to apologize for what I am about to say about the Hydrating Sheet Mask*, but I just don't get how this mask can be given a passable rating and it seems I'm not the only one from reviews I have seen on Influenster and the Burt's Bees website!

PR sample

BEAUTY | Burt's Bees Fall Makeup Look

Yes, I still have makeup posts that involve me NOT wearing a sheet mask! At last month's London Drugs Beauty event, I had the pleasure of visiting the Burt's Bees booth and experiencing a couple of the makeup products I hadn't tried yet. While I have only tried their lip products and skincare, I was curious about the quality of their face and eye products as I hadn't read or heard too much about them. Obviously the great thing with Burt's Bees is that I know the packaging and the ingredients will always be good for me and the environment.

PR samples

FAVOURITES | My Current Top 7 Lip Balms

I have forgotten how much fun it is to do round-ups! They are quite liberating and let's face it guys, do you REALLY want to read a WHOLE post about one little lip balm? Unless the lip balm is glittery, bubbles or changes colour, I dunno if I'd even be that interested in writing the damn post! Originally, I had just five lip balms to share with you, but I couldn't decide on just five. Since the beauty world likes odd numbers for favourites (hello numbers 1, 5, 11 or 13!) I have upped the number of favourite lip balms to lucky number seven!

Some PR samples featured

EVENT | London Drugs 2017 Fall Beauty Event

I rarely do event posts because I never know if you guys are interested in reading about them, but this year's annual London Drugs Beauty Event was something totally different than from previous years as it was an overnight event taking place in beautiful Whistler! London Drugs very generously hosted all media at the Fairmont Chateau in Whistler with each of us having our own accommodations. For me this meant lounging in bed and watching Food Network! Though it was a bit of a challenge to attend the event, as it was in the middle of the week, I did a bit of soul-selling with my boss and even SHE thought this was something I needed to go to! I am going to apologize for the quality of the photos now with their different sizes (I had to crop out the hoardes of people passing by the products!) and horrific lighting! I promise the photos will be better when my reviews are ready! 

MAKEUP | Burt's Bees Lipsticks in Fuchsia Flood, Brimming Berry and Scarlet Soaked with Lip Swatches

Looking back last week, I realized that I never did any makeup posts. Granted, I was struggling through yawns to write what I managed, but never realized that last week was a little heavy on the skincare. I'm still feeling a bit blurry whether it'd be from work or general fatigue that a part of me wonders if I am coming down with something. I mean, it's gloriously sunny outside on my (weekend) and all I want to do is curl up with my kitties and sleep.

For the sake of keeping things cozy, let's talk about a brand that I feel is cozy and warm - Burt's Bees. I always feel like I have something good on my skin when it's Burt's Bees. I am an almost religious follower of Burt's Bees Peppermint Lip Balm having used it for more than 10 years now so when, in April of this year, Burt's Bees announced that actual lipsticks were being added, I wasn't completely sold on whether I would love them as much as the lip balms. I had set the bar so high in my mind. 

HOLIDAY | Burt's Bees from Head to Toe!

It's Christmas Eve and you probably should be done all of your shopping, right? Well, just in case you haven't OR you if just like reading about more tempting beauty things (raises hand), I've got a few more holiday gift ideas from none other than Burt's Bees! Burt's Bees has become such a fixture in my life that I almost forget how much I need to have their Peppermint Beeswax Lip Balm in my life! To this day, it is what I crave the most after I come out of the shower and my lips need some protection. It is truly peppermint perfection! Burt's Bees does make a number of other products though and I can vouch for every single one of them as I have used everything from their hand cream to mosquito repellent!

For people like me that need to have that Peppermint Lip Balm like a drug or prefer a healthy shimmer of colour, trios* ($9.99 CDN each) have been created to either keep you well-stocked or well-covered in the colour department! The Cool Collection of Kissable Color contains the shades: Watermelon, Grapefruit and Apricot. All semi-sheer wearable shades for anytime of day each with that same addictive tingly peppermint twist. I love them all!

FATHER’S DAY | Burt’s Bees Natural Skin Care Aftershave and Bar Soap

Still searching for what to get dad for Father’s Day? No doubt you have already decided on what to do with dad or your partner, but there is always a great time to show appreciation for the men in our lives. Women get “just because” gifts all the time so why not the men? I never knew that Burt’s Bees had a line of products specific to men, but at the same time, why wouldn’t they?! They have pretty much everything else and it’s all done with nature’s best interests at heart from the ingredients and packaging to more importantly the planet. The men’s line isn’t huge at just five products, but is enough for a good shave, shower and splash of cologne. 

Loose Button | Fall 2014 Luxe Box

This is one beauty box that is actually in the right season! I have actually skipped the summer one for now and may or may not post it later if anyone wants to see what I received. For now, I was actually quite pleased with what I received in my Fall 2014 Loose Button Luxe Box and didn’t want to wait too long to share with you all!

September Empties

September was a bit of a blur when it came to products for me. I didn’t really have my “empties game face” on when it came to getting through product. I’ve been scared to mix up my skincare too much because the last thing I need is to have some sort of reaction on my face on the day of my wedding so I have been playing it EXTREMELY safe. I may as well be using baby products at this point!

January 2013 Glossybox

This month’s Glossybox theme is all about staying moisturized which I am all for in the winter months. Although this month didn’t have any WOW items, again most are items that I would use regularly. Was this box worth $21 though?

September Luvs

This post should have been up earlier, but when someone in the house gets the stomach flu, all resources get pooled for recovery purposes! Well, it’s now officially Fall and I am actually getting more and more excited for the colder days, new holiday collections and of course new favourite products!

Bath and Body

July 2012 Glossybox as Presented by Yoshi the Cat

Hello minions,

My human thought it might be a nice change for me to introduce July’s Glossybox because you can see from my face that I was quite pleased with its contents.

Here is what my human received:

Beauty So Clean Sanitizer Wipes

There convenient cosmetic sanitizer wipes are effective for sanitizing makeup that accumulates visible debris like dust, lint and food particles.

Thoughts: I really don’t use these at all…I can appreciate the concept of them and you’d think that after years of microbiology classes I’d be scared of little microbes living on my makeup, but I’ve never had any breakouts or weird skin upsets from my from my makeup so these will be probably just sit unused. I know some people really love them, but I don’t think these are for me…

Full size: 48 wipes/$12.50

I received: 4 wipes/$1.04

Dove Softening Creme Body Wash

Get visibly more beautiful skin in just 1 week. Use daily for soft, smooth skin.

Thoughts: The scent of this is somewhat strong so I’m not sure if I like it yet…even Yoshi backed off right away when he got a whiff of this!

Full size: 200mL/$5.99

I received: *FULL SIZE*

Alessandro Pedix Feet Heel Rescue Balm

Protects and nourishes your skin with shea butter, allantoin and tea tree oil.

Thoughts: I know foot creme has been a big thing for summer, but it has really come in handy! I don’t know how useful allantoin is, but manufacturers say that it does increase the smoothness of the skin due to increasing water content in the extracellular matrix of skin cells. I guess we shall see! This is a great little travel size and smells really nice! I also love the fact that it’s a German product. How exotic!

Full size: 100mL/$19.95

I received: 30mL/$5.99

Zoya Nail Polish in Arizona

Summer 2012 is going to be super stylish season for nails with the latest offering designed by the Zoya experts. It is kissed by sea and sand with the famous full-coverage Zoya formula.

Thoughts: Aaahh! A colour I don’t have! I love Zoya polishes so I had my fingers crossed that I wouldn’t get a colour I had already! From the swatches I have seen, this is a bright and creamy orange. Makes me want creamsicles…

Full size: 0.5oz/$8.00

I received: *FULL SIZE*

John Frieda Frizz Ease Sheer Solution

Shake to activate the dual formula – part lightweight serum, part smoothing elixir – to fight frizz from the outside while hydrating hair from the inside.

Thoughts: My hair actually gets pretty frizzy depending on the weather so I will definitely be using this. Did some people get a full size of this??

Full size: 60mL/$14.99

I received: 10mL/$2.50

Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer in Plum

                     

A kiss of colour and pearlized shine add a hint of glamour to this world famous lip balm.

Thoughts: It’s a little bit dark for what I normally wear, but the moisture factor was there and I love the minty scent and tingle. This is the first time I’ve tried a Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer so I’m tempted to get a lighter colour that I’d wear more regularly.

Full size: 2.6g/$5.99

I received: *FULL SIZE*

Total Value of Glossybox: $29.51

Okay, so you can probably tell that Yoshi didn’t get to present the entire Glossybox since he turned up his nose at half of the products…cats…so snobby. Anyway, I know the value of this month’s Glossybox wasn’t high, but I enjoyed the variety of products I received. The Zoya polish was what made it for me!