Organic Wednesday - A'kin Rosehip Oil

Two organic posts for you today!  First up, A'kin.

Part of the Australian Purist Company, A'kin promises the following about their products:

[A'kin] and [Al'chemy] products are formulated free from sulfates, parabens, ethoxylated and petrochemical cleansers, propylene glycol, silicones, phthalates, mineral oils, DEA and artificial colours.Our products are ingredient rich, vegan, 100% natural botanical aromatherapy and formulated without animal ingredients or animal testing.


I'd heard a lot of good things about their rosehip oil - rosehip oil generally is considered a great skin-loving ingredient, plus, I have very fond memories of snaffling my baby sister's rosehip syrup as a child, so was looking forward to trying this.  I used it for a couple of weeks, and found it to be a lovely moisture boost to my dry skin, but my friend Seona was looking to try some oils that had some therapeutic benefits after a disastrous trial of an oil-based cleanser, so, being the kind-hearted soul that I am, I passed my bottle along.  Here's what Seona made of it:

I was given A’kin Rosehip Oil to trial. The bottle tells me it has Pro Vitamin A, Vitamin E and Omega 9,3 & 6. It also says it’s revitalising, brightening and restorative. I’m always look for a bit of revitalisation for my skin, so I was looking forward to trying it.


The recommendation is to apply 2-3 drops to the face and neck, once a day for oily/combination skins or twice for other skins. I tried to use it twice a day for the first week, switching to once a day for the second week as I am just not organised enough and my skin is combination.

The oil itself is bright orange, which I wasn’t quite expecting as the bottle is tinted brown so you can’t see what you’re getting. This isn’t fragranced and smells of, well, plant is the best I can do. It’s not an unpleasant smell, just a very natural one. The packaging is a medicinal looking glass bottle with an old-fashioned dropper with rubber top. The dropper does collect a lot of oil in it, so I generally squeezed most of it straight back into the bottle to avoid accidentally using too much. That’s probably overcautious of me as the dropper does only dispense one drop at a time, making it very easy to control the amount you use.

A little of this goes a very long way, so the 2-3 drops direction is about right. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly it absorbs, especially as I was using it in the mornings and worried I’d have to wait ages before applying make up. It sank straight into my skin and I could apply my tinted moisturiser almost immediately.

Results wise, I can’t say I noticed a massive change in my skin. My skin certainly felt soft, but it looked much the same as always. However, I do like this as a winter base for my tinted moisturiser. I felt like I needed a little extra moisturise and after applying the oil my moisturiser went on a lot smoother than without any sort of base. The other good point, and this isn’t on the bottle at all, but my hands looked a lot better from rubbing the excess oil in. Using this oil regularly meant all those little bits of loose skin around my fingernails disappeared, leaving me with much nicer hands.

Overall verdict: As an extra layer of moisture in winter I’d use this product, it was a nice extra boost. It just didn’t do much in the way of revitalising or brightening for me. Having said that, I do have fairly good skin and it might work better for someone with dryer skin than mine.

So there you have it, have you tried A'kin products, or rosehip oils on your skin?  How did you get along?

A'kin products are available from Wholefoods, and independent chemists.

The Small Print: This product came from my own collection, all reviews are honest and impartial regardless of the source.  Man, I could murder a Malteaster Bunny right about now.

Giveaway Winner!

Oh, I'm so pleased to announce that the winner of my recent OCC Liptar giveaway is ....


Silhouette Screams

Congratulations, lovely!  The winner was picked as follows: I asked MrLippie for a random number between 1 and 206 and he picked 176, which was Silhouette's second entry into the draw for being a follower.

Thank you so much to everyone for taking part, and don't forget there is still time to enter the draw on London Beauty Review  or place an order on The Make Up Artist Boutique with your Get Lippie discount code of LIPPIEOCC up until the 23rd March.

Normal blog-posting service will occur from Wednesday this week, thanks for bearing with me!

Happy Mothers Day!

There's no makeover this weekend, as I'm on holiday, so, in the meantime here is a picture of some giant daffodils, and some soothing music.

Incidentally, my giveaway is now CLOSED, and all entries/comments are now being rejected, so please, STOP ENTERING! The winner will be announced tomorrow.

Hope all my readers have a wonderful Sunday!

Giveaway Reminder

Just to remind you that if you haven't entered my OCC Lip Tar Giveaway yet (you can win your choice of the colours above!), that I'll be closing it at midnight tonight!  Posts left after this time won't be counted, even though I'm not making the draw until Monday evening.

Go leave a comment on this post and I'll make sure you're entered.

If you've missed the deadline for mine, then you can enter  the giveaway that's being hosted by the lovely and amazing Gemma and Sarah over at London Beauty Review (and if you're not following them already, why not?  Did I mention that they're lovely and amazing?  I should have, because they are!) which closes on Saturday 20th March at 12 noon prompt.

And if even that seems too much effort, then you just go and blimmin' well BUY yourself one or twelve, but don't forget to use your discount code!  Just enter LIPPIEOCC  at the checkout on the MakeUp Artist Boutique website, and they'll knock a lovely 10% off your entire order, just for you, but only till the 23rd of March, so get a wriggle on!

Good luck!

The Small Print: I am not affiliated with Make Up Artist Boutique, and recieve no payment either for these posts, or if you click any of the links contained within this post.  I may, however, have placed an order myself, so I'm actually LOSING money on this one ... ;)

Lip Balm Roundup.

I've been collecting lip balms again! I know I do a lip balm post seemingly every other week (there is a reason the blog is called Get Lippie, you know ...)  but the last few have concentrated on more natural ranges, and I thought that this week that I'd talk about some which are chock-full of chemicals and science an' t'ings. 

I'll do this in ascending price order, first off:

Malin+Goetz Lip Moisturizer (It's American, mmkay?)

What they say:

Scientifically synthesized to instantly restore and replenish, our hydrating lip gel is easily integrated for daily maintenance, prevention, and treatment of dry, irritated lips.  Absorbent fatty acids, unlike traditional oils and drying waxes and silicones that are often licked off or wiped away, nourish upon impact while offering a continual layer of hydrating protection throughout the day and night.  Fragrance, flavor and color free.


What Lippie says:

Putting aside the rather unappetising descriptions of "fatty acid hydration technology" on the packaging, this is actually a knockout lipbalm, you need only the tiniest amount of this silky-textured gel to soothe even the sorest of dry lips.  Applied lightly, it makes a great base for lipstick, and it's one you can instantly feel doing your lips some good.  It's unusual in that it's not a grease-type of balm, and it's totally non-sticky.

A little of this really goes a long way, so you can expect your £9 tube of this from Liberty to last quite some time.

Now for Dior Addict Lip Glow

 What They Say:


A balm which beautifies and enhances your natural lip colour, with a lasting effect. The result is immediate. Thanks to the “Colour Reviver” technology, Dior Addict Lip Glow reacts to the lips’ moisture levels for lips that appear rejuvenated, fresh, luscious and shiny.
Available in one shade, the SPF 10 formula, enriched with wild mango, continuously protects and hydrates.
Lips are soft and plumped, day after day

What Lippie Says:

80's-tastic packaging, or what?  This is another flavourless non-sticky gloss, but it's more traditionally "grease-based" than the Malin+Goetz formulation.  I find the colour effect to be very subtle, just leaving the faintest hint of baby-pink on my lips in a way that's really quite flattering. It's not at all dramatic though. It's not as good a treatment as the M&G, but it is quite moisturising, though the effect doesn't last all that long.  I suspect it wouldn't be as great for sore, or chapped lips as other balms, but it does have an SPF of 10 (not 15 as I was told in store).  It has a very soft texture in the tube, and I think it wouldn't last all that long in daily use, as you have to reapply it quite often.  Nice for a soft subtle look to your lips if lipstick and/or gloss just feels like too much effort.

Lip Glow costs £18.50 and you can find it in most department stores.

And finally:


Kaplan MD Lip 20

What they say: 

This is a lip treatment with a difference. LIP 20 is the first dermatologist developed lip treatment designed to moisturise, plump, contour & protect with SPF 20 - all in one. This lip balm is enriched with anti-ageing marine collagen, peptides and antioxidants, vitamin A, Black Cohosh, Seabuckthorn Berry extract. In addition, Hyaluronic Acid Filling Spheres are micro-injected into the lips to fill out lines & plump. Unlike most plumpers this doesn't irritate, it gradually builds your lips

What Lippie says: 

This one is so scientific that it took me a fair few minutes to figure out how to open the thing (you turn the bottom, the cute little lid slides up, then the balm pops out).  Seriously, I've been stumped by an Estee Lauder mascara tube recently, then this, and the other day, I couldn't figure out how to open a cardboard box. Either this means that designers are getting too clever for their own good, or I really am a cack-handed muppet.  I know which explanation I prefer ...

Anyhoo, onto the balm.  Unlike the other two this is a plumping product.  It definitely lives up to the "no irritation" claim, as you can't feel any cinnamon or peppermint oil on your lips whilst wearing and as a result it doesn't have that familiar "tingle" that you get wearing plumping glosses. It does have a flavour, albeit a very faint one.  To me it's very slightly sweet and the taste makes me nostalgic for ... er ... something! It's a flavour that reminds me of my childhood, for some strange reason, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what it is! It's driving me nuts, I don't mind admitting. Lip 20 also has an SPF of, you guessed it ... 20.

I have fairly plump lips anyway, so I don't use it for it's plumping effects - you can definitely feel you're wearing this one, out of the three balms here, this has the most slip on the lips - but it's a very glam, and almost sci-fi tube that'll have people marvelling at you when you use it in public. In a good way, I mean, not in a "look at that weirdo putting on lip balm" kind of way! I have the clear version, but I've heard extremely good things about the coloured versions too, there are four shades, from nude through to red.

You can get Lip 20 from - again! - the lovely, lovely people at Cult Beauty, and it retails for £22.50.

I always have a lip balm in my makeup bag, and I bet you're wondering which one of these has made it into that hallowed container, hmn?  Well, in sad/mad/bad (delete as applicable) confession time: they ALL have. My makeup bag always has about twelvety million lip products - and the occasional eyeliner wondering how the hell it got there - and all three of these balms are in there, I've been rotating their useage.

How many lip products do you carry around with you?


The Small Print: I bought some of these with my own actual money, and I was sent some of these to review.  I'm not going to tell you which is which, so ner.

Eye of the Day - ELF and The Balm

 (Please ignore the stupid look on my face) 

This is a look I've been wearing a lot lately. I was sent some samples of the new ELF Cream Liner in Coffee, and The Balm Shady Lady 2 eyeshadow palette recently, and I have to say, I adore them both.  A closer look at the palette:

It's BEEYOOTIFUL.  Unlike many palettes, this one is endlessly versatile, and doesn't have any "random" shades thrown in just to make the numbers up, it's enormously flattering and will be suitable for a variety of skin tones. The shadows themselves are silky, buttery soft, and extremely blendable.  This has just become my desert-island palette, I've been carrying it around with me since it arrived.

The look I created above is a very neutral one, I used the pale pink (bottom right) on my mobile lid and brow bone, with the coppery brown (middle right) in the crease, and the taupe (top right) on the outer corner and as a liner underneath the eye.  Very quick, very polished, and very easy to kick up with a pop of any of the blue/purple/dark brown shadows on the left there as liners.

Here's a close up of the look:

Can't really recommend this palette highly enough to be honest, I love it.  You can buy yours from the lovely, lovely girls at Cult Beauty  for £38.  Pricey? Possibly, but you won't need any other eyeshadows for the rest of the year, if you get it, and these are really super-high quality shadows.

And I'm about to rave about the eyeliner as well.  Sorry, this is turning into a hella-gushy post!  I've always found ELF products a bit hit and miss, to be honest, but when they get things right, boy do they... I'm always dubious about cream eyeliners, sometimes they're difficult to use, being a bit "draggy", and then you have the transference problem if your eyelids are hooded at all, as mine are.

I used the shade "coffee" in a very fine line for this EotD, and I applied it with the ELF small smudge brush I bought recently.  It's very soft and smooth, meaning it can be easy to put too much on the brush, but I find just taking the excess off on the lip of the pot works fine.  You will probably need two passes of the brush over the lid to get the depth of colour you'd like, but with a formulation this soft, it's not a hardship!  The liner sets in a minute or two, and it's unbudgeable once it does.  (Is unbudgeable a word?  I guess it is now ...) No transferring to the crease, and no flaking or smudging on the eye, even when you wear it as a thicker, more dramatic line, as below:

As far as I'm concerned, this little baby has outperformed liners costing up to five or six times as much you can get hold of one for £3.50 from the ELF website. I'll definitely be buying the black and the blue, and I'll just have to live in hope that they'll eventually add a green and a purple to the range too, they're fantastic.

Okay, enough gushing from me (I'm really sorry, but you know perfectly well that I'm not this impressed with anything very often, so I hope you'll forgive me), what are your favourite beauty products at the moment?

Organic Wednesday - Melvita

After it's unscheduled two-week break, Organic Wednesday is back!  And it's back with some lovely treats, so sit back and have a look ...

Melvita are a French skincare brand - in fact they're the sister-company to L'Occitane - and they've just recently launched their products into the UK market.  They're Ecco-Cert compliant, and they promise that their products  contain:

■ No paraffin and no silicone.

■ No PEG (polyethylene glycol) and no PPG (polypropylene glycol).

■ No ethoxylated products.

■ No parabens or phenoxyethanol.

■ No formaldehyde or chlorine derivatives.

■ No synthetic fragrances or colouring agents.

■ No di-ethyl phthalate or nitromusk.

They also use no animal based products (aside from honey, in a couple of products), and do not carry out any animal testing, under any circumstances, as they are BUAV-approved.  Good news for my vegan readers!

There is a massive range of products to choose from, so I picked a few to showcase:

First off, the absolute star of the range - in my eyes at least: Naturalift.

Containing extracts of hibiscus seeds, chestnut, buddleia and beech buds, my (normal/dry, and fairly sensitive) skin just drinks this up, and is left smooth, silky and velvety as a result.  The cream has a faint scent of rose geranium, and sinks in very easily.  I adore it.  The cream is  of 99.11% natural origin, and 29.91% 0f the ingredients are organic. It claims to help with fighting wrinkles and signs of ageing, I've seen no evidence of that in my two week of using it as a night-cream, but it's still been a pleasure to use, and it's something I'll definitely look into purchasing again. Naturalift costs £30 for 50ml.

Rose Nectar Day Cream

Again, another cream that's a joy to use, scented as it is with rose oil - reminding me greatly of Ren Rose Otto bath oil - this is the cream I've been using as a day cream for the last few weeks.  It sinks in easily, and, as it's slightly less hydrating than the Naturalift, it makes a very good base for foundation.  The product contains rosehip oil, and an extract of rose seed, and is very gentle on even the most sensitive skins.  I find it very soothing, and love the scent.  This cream is 99.68% natural origin and 57.37% organic.  It costs £24 for 50ml. 

Apricosma Fondant Balm

This is a gloriously sweet-smelling body cream, that's rich and thick, and leaves you smelling a little of apricots, or other stone fruit.  Made of cocoa and shea butter, with hints of honey and thyme, it soothes your dry body parts, without taking a huge amount of rubbing in.  It is very sweet-smelling though,  and this scent lingers (it was a little to sweet for me, if I'm being completely honest) and if you're sensitive to smells, that might be something to take into account. The cream is 99.15% natural, 20.34% organic, and costs £19 for 150ml.

Two products I didn't get on so well with were the Eye Contour Gel, and the Foaming Facial Scrub, but this is because my skin is stupidly sensitive, and doesn't do well with gel formulations, or anything that foams, no matter how gentle.  I thought, rather than give you a negative review of a product that I know doesn't suit me, I'd ask one of you to review them for me, what do you think?

If you'd like the chance to review these products for me, please leave a comment on this post telling me why you'd be the best person for the job, and you MUST leave me your email address. Winners will be picked at my discretion, and two winning entries may be selected.  I'll make the decision on Monday 15th March, and products will be despatched by Wednesday 17th at the latest.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Melvita products are available to buy from the Melvita Home Page or from Lookfantastic who currently have a special offer, where if you buy any two Melvita products, you will get a free discovery pack worth £15!
 
The Small Print; Some of these products were sent as samples to review, some of them were presents.  Reviews are honest yadda, yadda, yadda, regardless of source, and so on.