Clinique Lip Pop Lipsticks Review

I have had my eyes on the Clinique Lip Pop  (£16) lipsticks since they released earlier in the year. I love a good, bright lipstick. but I already have so many that for once, managed to resist and not make an impulsive buy. So you can imagine my delight when I went to pick up the December issue of Glamour (simply because the gorgeous Tanya Burr was on the cover) and discovered the free gift was a choice of Clinique minis that included 2 shades of the Lip Pops. I went home with both shades; Nude Pop and Cherry Pop.

I'll start with Cherry Pop as I have the most to say about it. As you can see, this shade is a bright, bold red with a strong pink undertone. It is stunning on the lips. A great colour for the upcoming Holiday season, too. I love how it is bright, yet still one of those "wearable" reds. I think the pink helps to mute it down slightly. I think it is really flattering.

The formulation of these lipsticks is pretty amazing. They are super long lasting for a start, which I did not expect when I applied it at first, as they've got a very creamy, moisturising feel to them. I wore Cherry Pop out all day and actually forgot I was wearing what would usually be classed as a "high maintenance" colour, this formulation means it is quite the opposite. I had to touch up once, just in the very centre of my lips but that was it. It did not feather or bleed, which is usually what happens when you mix a highly pigmented shade with a creamy formula. But most importantly, it felt so comfortable all day long, almost as if I was wearing a lip balm, it has that same buttery texture. So, you get the best of both worlds here; a long lasting colour that is comfortable and low maintenance to wear. What more could you ask for?

Nude Pop, whilst being a stunning nudey-pink that matches my lip colour almost perfectly, I found was no where near as long lasting. In fact, within an hour it was pretty much gone. However, because it is what I'd class as a "my lips but better" shade and has that low maintenance formula I don't mind as it is super easy to reapply throughout the day. It is a nice, easy one to keep in your handbag for on the go.

I am now super interested in picking up some other colours, most likely from the more bold and bright end of the scale. Do you have any shades you'd recommend for me? Let me know in the comments.

Thank you for reading!


Zoe x

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Skin Saviours for Oily/Blemish Prone Skin From La Roche Posay

Having oily/blemish prone skin can be difficult, especially when a lot of the time, the products marketed towards that skin type can end up making things much worse. That is something about the skincare industry that really winds me up. Not all brands do it (f course) but you'll find more often than not every foaming, stripping, sulphate based product is marketed "for oily skin". A brand I love and trust for oily/blemish prone skin is La Roche-Posay. I think they're one of the best, most trustworthy brands out there for oily skin.

As someone who has an oily skin type, I rely on these 2 products I am going to talk about a lot. I recommend them to pretty much anyone who mentions they suffer from spots, congestion, excess oil ect. You'll have heard of them before I am sure. Not only are they some of La Roche Posays well known products, they caused quite a buzz in the beauty blogger world, too.

The first is Serozinc; The product that caused such a buzz that consumers demanded La Roche Posay brought over to the UK immediately. And thankfully, they did!
Serozinc, for such a simple product, is amazing. It contains only three ingredients; La Roche Posay's thermal spring water, zinc sulphate and sodium chloride. Serozinc can be used as a "traditional" toner, I love using it after an acid tone as I feel after using the two together, you've got a clean, fresh and prepared based for anything you then want to layer on top (serum, moisturiser). Now anyone can use Serozinc, no matter your skin type but the reason Serozinc works so well for a more oily/acne prone skin type is because of the ingredients. Zinc sulphate is a very healing on the skin, so if you have any active, open (such a gross description but you know what I mean!) blemishes, the zinc is going to help to heal them and get them to disappear faster. The sodium chloride is great for killing off bacteria. As you can imagine, where there are active blemishes, there is bacteria. The sodium chloride helps to kill any bacteria from the surface off the skin, whilst also reducing excess oil (which also carries bacteria) So you can imagine with the combination of the two ingredients, the amazing effect it will have on the skin, also the thermal water helps to sooth and calm any redness or irritation on the skin. You can also spray Serozinc throughout the day too. I like to use it when I feel my skin is slightly too oily.

The next product really is my number 1 holy grail product. I've talked about it countless times on my blog already but never dedicated a whole post to it and as I am gaining new readers all the time, I want everyone to know about this product.
This is La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo [+] or as I like to call it, "the product that saves my face." This, without a doubt, is one of the best skincare products that I have ever used. If you suffer with any form of congestion, blemishes, excess oil, uneven pigmentation, uneven texture on the skin then you need to try this. It is a treatment product designed to basically fix all of the things I just listed above. The main difference I see when I use this is in the texture of my skin. Effaclar Duo is amazing for completely wiping out any congestion within the skin (so if you run your fingers lightly over your face, your cheeks are a good place to test this, and you can feel little bumps, that is congestion). I don't have bad skin, by any means, I am very lucky. I do, however, have blackheads on my nose and chin and those pesky under the skin spots that usually appear on my cheeks, Effaclar Duo helps to get rid of all of that. It uses an ingredient called salicylic acid that penetrates into the pores and breaks down congestion from within, which means it is also amazing for preventing breakouts and blemishes. It is amazing. The "+" is for evening out pigmentation and any marks that are left behind after blemishes. I will always have this product in my collection and not only that, I will always have a back up too. It is amazing!

Those are my skin savoiours from La Roche-Posay. I hope you check them out if you haven't already. If you have tried them, what do you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Thank you for reading and I hope you found it helpful.


Zoe x

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October Favourites 2015

My first favourite of the month is the YSL Touche Eclat 01. I used this before applying my favourite No.7 concealer. This is very pink toned so I find it helps to conceal any darkness and really brightens up the under eye area. I never noticed that it made that much of a difference until I forgot to apply it and spent the rest of the day wondering why I looked so tired. It blends really nicely and never looks cakey or heavy under the eyes. The combination of this plus my No.7 concealer has been a dream!

I've gone back to using The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil and reminded myself just how much I love this stuff. It is fantastic for removing makeup, especially eye makeup and leaves the skin feeling so smooth and soft. I am happy to have it back in my routine again!

Anastasia Brow Powder (Ash Blonde/Taupe) is a new staple for me. It took a while to get use to using a powder after being an avid brow pencil user all this time but it makes such a difference. I find I get a cleaner, more precise look when using a powder. I use the Anastasia 07 brush with it and the two together are a great match. I might write a whole post on this duo at a later date.

Vichy Idealia Skin Sleep is a product I've dedicated an entire post to already(right here!) but I had to mention it again. It is a great product that provides the skin with a serious boost of hydration whilst you sleep. The light but nourishing mask sinks into the skin quickly and provides continuous hydration throughout the night. I highly recommend this product!

The Nails Inc polish in Knebworth is a gorgeous dusky, pinky nude that looks stunning on the nails. I made an appearance in my Autumn Nail Colours post and I have a feeling it'll be on my nails for the next few weeks. It looks so pretty but very chic, too. The formulation is great as well, this kind of colour tends to be quite hard to work with but it was opaque and even in 2 coats.

A random one that I only discovered a few days ago, hence why it isn't in the main photo, is the KORRES lip butter in Jasmine. This just makes your lips look good. It has the tiniest tint of baby pink/nude to it that just evens out the lips and adds a slight sheen. It is very pretty and because it is a lip butter it is so comfortable and moisturising on the lips. Doesn't last the longest time but I never expected it to, it is a lip butter after all!

Those are my favourites for the month of October! What have you loved this month? Let me know in the comments.


Thanks for reading.


Zoe x

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