Tinted Lip Balms

It's pretty funny, I am a freelance make-up artist but when it comes to doing my own make-up, I usually opt for whatever is the fastest. I have two kids who usually don't give me any peace while I am getting dressed, so I don't usually have a lot of time to do something elaborate or overly artistic.

One of my favorite "go to" items is the tinted lip balm. It's quick and easy and some of them are sheer enough that you can apply it without a mirror. Back when I first remember seeing tinted lip balms, I tried Tarte's and Delux Beauty's. I am not sure how Tarte's are now, but about 12 years ago they were very dry and the color was pretty heavy. I bought two that I never ended up wearing. The package was a pain too because it was a plastic lip balm tube with a metal cylinder over it. My cylinder came off and when I tried to put it back on, I totally screwed it up. Delux Beauty's lip balm was a lovely rosey, pink. But again, it was more like lipstick in a lip balm tube.

Over the years, one of my favorite tinted lip balms is Aveda's Lip Tint. I'm not a huge fan of the flavor, but the color "Peony" is the most beautiful, shimmery pink that can be worn by anyone. For the longest time, it was pretty much the only color I'd use on brides. My only gripe is sometimes it can be a tiny bit gritty because of the sparkles, but it's not enough to keep me from going back to it time and time again. Although, to my dismay, it looks like Aveda no longer makes this product.

Aveda Lip Tint - Peony

A few months ago, I picked up a couple of Tokidoki's Gelato Lip Balm Stain. They come in fun colors, but there are only 3 to choose from and a clear one. They are all creamy colors, without shimmer or sparkle. I have Donutella, which is a coral/peach color and Pink Martini. The colors are nice and clear. I feel kinda like they are like the old mood lipsticks because they tend to get a little brighter on me after the initial application. But remember, I am a super-white redhead. Not many people are as pale as I am. I would still like to try Skeletrina which is a purple color. As for Ciao Ciao, I really don't see the point in paying $9 for a clear lip balm.

I recently picked up a new Baby Lips lip balm by Maybelline and decided to give it a try. I got the darker, purple one (grape) because I figured if it was sheer it would look nice. It was incredibly sheer. Great if you don't really want much color at all. It is light and feels nice on, but if you're looking for color payoff, this is not the product for you.

Maybelline Baby Lips - Grape

Last but not least, on my quest for tinted lip balms, I was sent the new World Balmination from Hard Candy. The packaging is hip and trendy, reminiscent of Tokidoki, but definitely in the Hard Candy style. The color I got is called Lovestruck and is a light pink. At $3.00 a pop, these are by far the most affordable tinted lip balms out of all of these. The texture is quite light and not sticky or thick. The color was very sheer. Now I have to take into account that it is a very light shade. There is a darker pink and a red that may have a little more oomph.

(On the right, Hard Candy. On the left, Tokidoki.)

(On the right, Tokidoki. On the left, Hard Candy.)

So here's the lowdown. If you want a balm you can just throw in your pocket and apply without having to look in a mirror, I'd say Hard Candy is the best deal. The Maybelline is nice, but is about $2 more and doesn't provide anything else for that added expense. If you want color I would have to suggest Tokidoki. Sure they only have three colors, but they are lovely! And $9 won't break the bank. I'm sad that Aveda no longer makes their Lip Tint, but there's nothing to be done about it except scour resources online for a good deal on leftover stock. And I don't really even factor Tarte in since I saw that the packaging has not changed. I really like some of Tarte's products, but I am so not a fan of their packaging. (I once had concealers by them and the names were on the caps, not the other ends of the tubes. So it wasn't hard to get them mixed up. No bueno.)


Bonus - When I got my Hard Candy World Balmination, I also got one of their new sparkly eyeliners, called Stay In Line. The color is a lovely chocolate brown with a lovely splash of sparkly glitter!

Halloween Giveaway

Guess what time it is ghouls and boys? It's time for another Glamourpuss Giveaway! This time it is a really fun contest. The prize is the great new House of Horrors collection from Madd Style Cosmetix. As you can see in the photo below, these colors are really fabulous. The white has lovely, shimmery sparkle. The photo doesn't show much detail, but it's a beautiful color!


I used the colors from this collection for the sugarskull photos I shot for the promotional materials for Madd Style Cosmetix. I can tell you from firsthand experience that these colors blend well and look wonderful over a white eyeshadow base. I used NYX eyeshadow base. It really makes the colors pop!


So, what do you need to do to enter? It's very easy. I want you to be creative with make-up. Use whatever you have on hand and go wild. I would prefer that the photos you submit be new ones, not ones you've used from the past. Email the photos to: glamourpuss_make-up@hotmail.com. What I will do after that is post the photos in another blog. From there people can comment and "vote" on the one they like best. The photo with the most votes will win. Very simple, very easy.

You have until Wednesday at midnight EST to submit your photos. I will have the photo blog posted shortly thereafter and voting can begin once it is posted. Voting will end on Friday at midnight EST. The winner will be announced very soon after voting ends.

Have fun with this! I cannot wait to see what great creations you come up with! Thanks and good luck to all!

Giveaway Winner!!

I am so pleased to announce that Angela Antagonist Grujičić won my very first Glamourpuss Giveaway!

Angela requested some colors that will work for daytime looks, so I put together a great collection of neutral products from Ruby Kisses Cosmetics. (Although I did have to add a really fun, purple-y lipstick!)

All in all, the giveaway was quite successful! I want to thank everyone who participated and I hope you had fun. I do have another really awesome giveaway in the works, there will be more details about that next week. But start thinking "Halloween Looks!"



I am working on some new product reviews to post soon, so be sure to keep an eye out and spread the word!

Prettia Bubble Hair Color

Something has been going on with me lately...it's exciting for me and annoying for my friends, I am finding. I am pretty infatuated with my local Asian market. Anyone who knows me knows that I love all things British and Japanese. When I went to Japan a couple of years ago, I took an empty bag so I would have enough room for whatever neat goodies I'd find!

But I digress. This market that is near me is FANTASTIC. It's the nicest one in the Charlotte area, that's for sure. There is a great selection of food, drinks, spices...CANDY...but the best section of all is the health and beauty section! There is such a huge selection of haircare, bath stuff, skin care...it makes the mind boggle! Then they have hair dyes. They have a few different varieties by the brands Palty and Prettia. There is also a men's line called Gatsby. I love the packaging. The models are so cute and the faces they make are a trip!


I decided on a brand called Prettia, because they had a color that was closest to what I have been looking for. I wanted a nice, bright copper. I figured since my hair was closes to the lightest shade on the box, this would be a sure thing!

Contents: Gloves, Conditioner, Toner, Nozzle & Developer

The Nozzle, Toner & Developer

This was a nifty think (above). This was the card that was around the gloves. I couldn't figure out what the circle was for until I looked at the instructions. While I couldn't actually read them, I figured out that they tell you how to mix a drop of toner to two drops of developer for a patch test. This circle is where you'd do that. There was a depression within the circle so the liquid wouldn't just run everywhere.
I think this is a VERY smart idea.


Mixing the toner and the developer.

Here is the mixed toner and developer, with the nozzle screwed on. There are a couple of important things to note: when mixing the color, you just tip the bottle forward and bring it back upright. You do that a few times, but you do not shake it. And the nozzle is not a pump. It is completely stationary. To get the color out of the bottle, you simply squeeze the bottle. It's very simple and easy.

Here's what the foam looks like.

All in all, it was a very nice hair color. It was extremely lightweight. I didn't even use half of what was in the bottle and my hair falls below my jawline. You leave the color on for 20-30 minutes and then you rinse. For there to be such an ample amount of hair color, there was the tiniest amount of conditioner to use after you rinse. I did have to supplement it with conditioner I already had. The color rinsed out easily, there was no running or traces of color left. When the water ran clear, it was clear...my pillowcases were spared! And the best part is that my hair didn't feel absolutely fried. It felt very nice, not like I had colored it at all.

Now, how was the color? Let's see...


The color wasn't all that I had hoped for. I was hoping for a richer color, but Prettia really didn't do much at all. I think it is a hair color that is best suited for people with darker hair or super-bleached hair. The hair color I really long for is what you see below. The two photos on the left are of this great photographer from Poland. The photo on the right is a customer appreciation photo for Pravana Vivids hair color. I've been wanting to try it for ages, so I am going to have to resist the urge to buy things because of cute packaging and hold out for the things I really want.

GIVEAWAY!! 400 Fans on Facebook!!

So, it's happened! I have 400 fans on Facebook! If you haven't checked out my page, you may want to do so now because I am planning a fabulous giveaway!

http://www.facebook.com/IAmGlamourpuss

All you have to do is "like" my Facebook fan page and then comment on this blog post with your Facebook username (I will make sure you have "liked" the fan page) and what the sort of colors you like to wear or would like to try out because I am going to customize the prizes around what the winner likes or requests! From there I will use a random number generator to choose the winner.

That sounds easy enough, right? I'm not a fan of the contest that have a list of things you must do like it's some sort of wild scavenger hunt. So I wanted this to be sweet and simple.

I figure a couple of days is enough time to give everyone a chance to enter...so, you have until midnight EST on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning to get your posts posted! I don't think that's such a long time that people will get impatient. Then I will have the winner chosen before the end of the day Wednesday. The way I see it, this will be all wrapped up and winnings will be out in the mail this week!

I really look forward to this. I have some great products to put together for you, I will include items to create an entire look! And if all goes well, I have plenty of ideas for future giveaways.

Thank you so much for your time. I do appreciate each and every one of you checking out my fan page and now, my blog. My goal is to provide useful and informative information and to have some fun.

Thanks again!