DeLush

DeLush is Crazy About Lip Balm Week: NEW! LUSH Honey Trap Lip Balm

I thought we should end our week about lip balm with another true winner in the category. This new balm by LUSH has been a pleasant surprise!

And, dear gorgeous readers, DeLush is going to be undergoing some changes in the next week or two. We're going to be easier to search, include a ton of new categories, and tackle even more of your beauty questions - all the while continuing to bring you the most straightforward, FUN, and relevant beauty product reviews you can find online!

What They Say: "In the world of international espionage, a honey trap was a beautiful woman sent to seduce a spy and tease his state secrets from him using every means at her disposal. James Bond seems to encounter at least one in almost every film. In the Lush world, Honey Trap is a gorgeously tasty, white chocolate balm, sent to tease your lips into a soft, sensual state, capable of seducing anyone they touch. Our Honey Trap hides secrets like nutritious wheatgerm oil and soothing oatmilk infusion behind its honey and wild orange flavour."

Melissa's DeLush Downlow: Okay, first off - don't let the phrase "white chocolate" throw you. While there's a touch of that, the honey and orange work with it to balance each other out into a slightly sweet flavor. And the soothing honey is the predominant scent out of the ingredients. Also, don't let the idea of the honey fool you into thinking this balm is at all sticky.

When I first opened the tin, I saw a sort of hard-looking circle of balm sitting inside, and I got a little nervous. I wasn't too sure how that could possibly feel good on my lips. But the initial impression was deceiving, because once your body heat comes in contact with the balm through swirling your finger on the product and applying it to your lips, it truly becomes one of the softest balms I've ever tried. It's incredibly comfortable, and lasts quite a while.

This is absolutely going on my list of favorites.

Retail Price: $6.95 (lushusa.com)

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DeLush is Crazy About Lip Balm Week: BeneFit Benetint Lip Balm

Haven't we heard a lot about Benetint and Benetint Lip Balm? Well, I have, and I always wanted to find out what the hype was all about. So a while ago, I broke down and got some.

What They Say: "Created from our legendary Benetint, it’s benetint lip balm. This delicate blend, with vitamin E, spf 15 and a light rose-petal fragrance, protects and innocently colors lips. Pop this little ruby gem in your bag for the ultimate soft rosy pout."

Melissa's DeLush Downlow: This definitely has a pretty sheer rosy tint to it, so plus points there. The only thing I've noticed, though, is that it doesn't keep my lips moisturized for a really long time. In fact, I have to reapply it quite a bit to keep them from feeling dried out from the formula. Pretty? Yes, VERY. Long-lasting? For all the hype, not really. For the price, I expected a bit more. Let's just say, I haven't added this to my list of favorites - but I will keep it around for fun once in a while.

Retail Price: $18.00 (benefitcosmetics.com)

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DeLush is Crazy About Lip Balm Week: MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner SPF 15

What They Say: "Conditions, heals protects, soothes and softens lips plus a sheer tint and all-natural sheen. Formulated with SPF 15. Lightly flavoured with vanilla. A great lip saver!"

Melissa's DeLush Downlow: While I know this is on the 'fancy' end of the balm spectrum for most of us, I simply can't get over it. This pot of very sheerly tinted balm is soft, soft, SOFT and has MAC's wonderful signature vanilla scent/flavor. When I want to nourish my lips but add a little extra oomph to the look without having to mess with lipstick or gloss, this is an indulgent treat. Lasts a fair amount of time without reapplying, too.

Retail Price: $14.00 (maccosmetics.com and department stores)

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DeLush Is Crazy About Lip Balm Week: The Roundtable

Your DeLush Divas are passionate about all beauty products, but we get pretty excited when we start talking about lip balms.  Because who doesn't like to have soft, moisturized lips?  I mean, my work purse is loaded up with stuff for my lips, but even in a tiny purse, ya gotta have the lip balm.  We're going to be talking about lip balm all week long, but today, we want to hear from you.   So what's YOUR favorite lip balm?

DeLush is Crazy About Lip Balm Week: Pookie APOOKALIPS

That's right...this is going to be Crazy About Lip Balm week at DeLush! We'll be having a Roundtable about your favorites tomorrow, and will be sharing some of OUR favorites Wednesday through Friday! So if you're a balm junkie (like me!), check in every day to see what's happening!

Now, to start the week off, here's a recent find that I'm currently crazy about!

What They Say: "An ultra-soothing mint and vanilla sensation in a jumbo cobalt tube. See for yourself why we call it 'the last line in lip nourishment.'"

Melissa's DeLush Downlow: They are NOT kidding when they tell you the tube is "jumbo". Compared to most balm tubes, it certainly is. Now at first, the minty intensity surprised me a little. But once I started using it, I became addicted to its cool/sweet flavor and its smoothness. With peppermint and spearmint oils, APOOKALIPS is bound to help freshen breath a little, too. This balm is now in HEAVY rotation for me - in fact, it's sitting next to my keyboard right now!

Want another plus? Pookie's products are never animal-tested, and its packaging is 100% recyclable!

Retail Price: $8.00 (cosmeticmall.com)

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Urban Decay Surreal Skin Liquid Foundation

What They Say: "Oil-free liquid foundation that won't clog pores or cause breakouts. It is vitamin infused with a light, silky texture. This product feels sheer and light, yet gives a medium coverage to the skin. Even better, you can layer it all over for a more polished look, or just in those places where you need it--total flexibility and it won't cake! It's everything you always wanted in a foundation: oil-free, vitamin-infused, buildable coverage, lasts all day, slips right on, doesn't break down, won't clog pores, a totally natural look."

Jen's Experience: I am always in the market for a great foundation.  In the summer, I go for something thinner, in the winter something thicker, but something that makes my complexion look even and flawless is invaluable when you're trying to look great.   The color I was set to try was "Hallucination", the medium tone for this product and I was a little concerned that I was going to have flashbacks of when I was 12 and bought my first drugstore foundation that was (at least) two shades too dark for me.  When I applied it, though, it melted into my skin.  It blended perfectly even though the shade was a little darker than my skin, leaving me a little more golden looking, but not like I am wearing a mask at all.  It did a great job covering up my pores and small blemishes, and under my eyes reduced my dark circles.  I've worn this to work as well as out on the town and I find that it last all night, till I wash it off.  Yes, this is definitely a fabulous product!  One complaint: I can't get the hang of the dispenser at the top.  I think this would be the perfect product if they used a more standard dispenser.  It doesn't make a mess or anything, I just have a hard time getting the foundation out of the bottle.  If I can just figure that out, this may be my new every day foundation!

Retail Price: $24.00 (Urban Decay)

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LUSH Godiva Solid Shampoo and Conditioning Bar

What They Say: "Scented with the sensuous Flying Fox fragrance of jasmine, ylang ylang, cypress, and palmarossa oil and chock full of macadamia nut oil, shea butter, and coconut oil, this shampoo and conditioner in one will leave dry hair rejuvenated and smelling beautiful. Works especially well on long and dry hair."

Melissa's DeLush Downlow: Yes, my dears, I DID find this as strange a concept as you may be finding it right about now. How intriguing...and then I opened up the little tin mine came in. Um, yeah. Wow. It was actually pretty strong; it really took me (and my husband!) by surprise. In fact, he kind of looked at me like "you're going to use that?" It wasn't a BAD smell, just shockingly strong right out of the container. But being the brave soldier that I am, I forged on to try it out for you guys.

And here's the kicker. I really like it! Much to my surprise, I truly thought this did a fair job of cleaning my hair; and while it didn't quite smooth to the same degree that some of my typical conditioners do, my hair definitely didn't feel like straw. In fact, my hair came out quite soft. A bit more flyaway than usual, but this can be remedied with some product after-the-fact. While I was using it, I was concerned that the lack of much sudsing foretold of a horrendous greasy-because-it's not-clean outcome. I was also proved wrong there, as my hair actually felt VERY fresh and clean afterward.

And the ending result of that surprising scent? I LOVE it. Much more toned down than you think, but you'll catch the smallest draft of the natural, flowery-but-woodsy-sweet scent (yes, it IS that hard to describe!) throughout the day, and it just makes you feel happy and pretty.

I really enjoy this shampoo quite a bit. I don't know if I would use it for every shampoo (even though I believe some of you probably could if you do have fairly manageable and/or wash-and-go type hair to begin with), but for in-between or as a completely portable travel shampoo, you just might enjoy this. Overall, this was a great intro for me into LUSH's solid shampoos.

Retail Price: $7.35 (lushusa.com)

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Smashbox Lip Glosses

What They Say: "A consistent request from celebrity makeup artists at SmashBox Studios, smashbox LIP GLOSS is smooth and moisturizing, never tacky or dry."

Jen's Experience:  When I ordered the Smashbox Cover set from Sephora, I was excited that it contained so many lip glosses (2 full size and 6 mini glosses).  The little mini glosses are so cute and small, they will fit in any purse.  They may even be smaller than the Lola Lip Glosses.  Unfortunately, they just don't work as well as the Lola Lip Glosses, or really most other glosses I've tried.  The texture is good, not at all sticky, but I find that I am constantly reapplying.  And wearing these a lot will make your lips very, very dried out I find.  They come in a very wide range of colors, a lot of which were included in my set, but none of the colors are really perfect for me.  So... Size?  Great! Colors?  Okay.  Wearability?  You can find much better.

Retail Price: $14.00 for Full Size (Smashbox)

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Tarte Pressed Powder Blush

What They Say: "Come on, fess up… you can’t radiate a “natural glow” without a little help. Our powder blush does the trick - seven flattering shades (with a touch of shimmer) for maximum wearability. In a mirrored leather compact for on-the-spot touch-ups - it’s the ultimate cheeky accessory!"

Melissa's DeLush Downlow: I have to start with saying this: these compacts (and all of Tarte's packaging, for that matter) are absolutely adorable. They are magnetic, so flap shut easily to tuck away in your purse. But...Drawback Number 1...there's no brush. This really isn't much of a problem if you mostly apply your blush at home, or have a decent travel-sized brush to throw in your purse as well.

That aside, the texture of this blush is excellent. It's very fine and doesn't have that dusty powdery-ness (do you know what I'm talking about?) that you get with less expensive blushes; it also stays very true to color after you've applied it. For some of you, the price may be Drawback Number 2, but if you want to take a chance on something a bit more expensive, this should be a very safe and pretty bet.

Retail Price: $19.00 (tarte.com)

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Frédéric Fekkai Full Volume Shampoo and Conditioner

Alterna Caviar Shampoo and Conditioner were my first love when it comes to making my hair look shiny and healthy, but eventually, my bottles were empty and I had to search for something new.  It is so rare that I find shampoos and conditioners that I really, truly love, so I expected the worst.  I've had tremendously good results with the other Frederic Fekkai products I have tried, so I decided to give them a try!

About the shampoo: "The ideal shampoo that goes beyond gently cleansing, by giving hair that extra lift. Naturally based, plant-derived volumizers add fullness and body. Yarrow, oak root, kukui, and cherry bark nourish the hair so that it looks and feels thicker, fuller, and more manageable. Hair will be infused with volume, yet totally controllable."

About the conditioner: "Impart a smooth sheen to the hair with this lightweight gel-based conditioner that adds volume, and never weighs hair down."

Jen's Experience:  My first experience with this product wasn't even my own.  I bought my shampoo and conditioner when one of my friends was visiting from out of town.  When she went to take a shower at my house, I suggested she try out my new products.  Now, her hair is much, much thicker than mine and not fine like mine either, but I really wasn't expecting the results to be all that dramatic.  But oh, wow.  She blow-dried her hair, and it had so much volume, so much body that she nearly looked like a comic book character.

Since I only have 5 baby-fine strands (okay, 10), I was excited about seeing what this product would do for me.  My initial impressions were that it smelled great; it made my hair smell like I just stepped out of a high-end salon.  And while my hair didn't have any obvious tangles, it definitely didn't feel like it was coated and weighed down at all when I emerged from the shower.

When I blow-dried my hair, I was amazed.  The body in my hair was amazing.  It has a lot more volume, almost as though I put mousse or a volumizer in my hair.   What also amazed me is that it doesn't appear to cause buildup.  I have great hair days even when I am using this every day for 3 weeks straight.   

My only complaint is that these products seem to strip shine away from my hair.  This is very easily remedied by using Frederic Fekkai's Glossing Cream or their Technician's Glaze, but this product is expensive enough that it is discouraging to have to buy yet another product to make your hair look as healthy as possible.

That aside (since I tend to use the Glossing cream daily anyway), I am really in love with this shampoo and conditioner.   If you've got baby fine or thin hair like mine, this is something you should definitely check out.

Retail Price: $18.50 shampoo/$20 conditioner (Sephora)

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