Review: Rimmel Colour Rush Balm in 110 Make Me Blush

A few months back I went through a phase of wanting to buy pretty much every single shade of these Rimmel lip crayons. I was absolutely besotted with them and wouldn't wear anything else on my lips, but eventually my love fizzled out and while they haven't totally been forgotten, I don't reach for them quite as often anymore.

The really annoying thing about these lip crayons is that they don't have the shade name printed anywhere on them, so it took me a while to figure out that this is actually shade 110, "Make Me Blush". I do apologise for the weird tint this has picked up on camera. In reality this is actually a quite light and very blue toned baby pink!

The swatches show a much more accurate picture of the actual colour. It goes on quite sheer at first, but is build able to a more opaque finish. I definitely prefer it in a thicker layer, as it does have a tendency to look a little patchy otherwise.

As I've said previously, I absolutely cannot fault the formula of these lip crayons. They feel smooth and silky on the lips, go on without dragging in the slightest and offer a healthy hit of pigmentation with a delicate sheen. Longevity is excellent, though I have found that this shade in particular doesn't fade out into an even stain like the other ones do, but tends to settle into the lip lines instead. It's a real shame and though it's nothing you can't fix with a regular touch up, it does mean that it's by far my least favourite colour from the line up.

Monthly Favourites: March 2014

1) Sally Hansen Insta-Dri

I don't know how I used to paint my nails without a quick dry topcoat - oh yeah, I didn't, cause I never had the patience to wait around for hours waiting for it to dry. After my OPI Rapidry turned into a thick, gloopy mess it was time to get a new one and this topcoat by Sally Hansen turns out to be a lot better than the OPI one. Nails are dry within about 10 minutes and rather than make the polish peel off like the OPI topcoat does, I feel like my polish lasts longer with it rather than without. Now with this in my stash I'm happy to paint my nails all the time!

2) Percy & Reed Dry Conditioner

The lid of this product keeps falling off, so I eventually just gave up and got rid of it altogether. Packaging fail aside, this is exactly what it claims to be - basically softness in a can when you don't feel like getting under the shower to wash your hair. It works great after a spritz of dry shampoo when you get that feeling that your hair's got a tad too much texture. You can read a bit more of what I thought of it in this post here.

3) Melvita Rose Extraordinary Water

This is only a little sample, but I've been loving using this on a daily basis. I've been using it in place of a serum and just tapping it into my face with my fingers - and as soon as I do it's like my skin sighs a huge sigh of relief. It's extremely moisturising without being sticky or greasy. I'm guessing it's the hyaluronic acid in it that's doing all the miracles, but no matter what it is, I can see myself purchasing the full size as soon as my sample runs out.

4) Rimmel Colour Rush Balm

I've got two of these at the moment and you may have heard me go on about them on my blog before. The colour pay-off of these lip crayons is just spot on and it leaves a lovely stain on the lips that lasts for hours, even through eating and drinking. What I also really like about these is that the colours are glossy and balmy, but don't contain any glitter unlike similar products from other brands. The packaging could be a touch better, as the writing wears off really quickly, but apart from that these are pretty much the perfect lip product.

5) Murad Pore & Line Minimizing Hydrator

Even though I've been using this product for months it's never made it into my favourites. It's a bit of a quiet, modest worker in that you don't notice what good it's doing to your skin until you stop using it for a few days. It's hydrating, but feels incredibly light and layers well with any other skincare product I might throw at it. While it's not exactly on the cheap end of the spectrum a little goes a long way. I've been using this particular tube for about six months and I'm not even halfway through it yet. Click here to read a full review.

Review: Rimmel London Colour Rush Balm in "The Redder The Better"

Ok, I admit I'm late - very late - to the lip crayon party which started with the now legendary Clinique chubby sticks and now has pretty much every high street brand out there bringing out cheaper alternatives. One day I was at work and just felt the urgent, desperate need to go out and buy a lipstick (Does anyone else get that or is it just me?), so off I went on my lunch break to my local Boots to find myself a nice lip crayon. Revlon might have been the obvious choice to take my lip crayon virginity, but for some reason I bypassed their stand completely and found myself drawn to this Rimmel number instead.

And I can't say that it's a decision I regret. There's no doubt about the fact that there's a lot of fun in applying your lip colour with a big fat crayon. It makes me feel like a little girl again who is only discovering make-up for the very first time - those were exciting days indeed. But silly fun aside, the crayon shape also has its practical uses, in particular with brighter, bolder shades such as this one. You can use the tip to outline the lips first and then lay it flat against your lips to fill them in with colour - no liner needed!

It applies smooth and evenly and the pigmentation is fantastic. It can be layered into a really intense burst of red or dabbed on with a finger for more of a healthy tint. And it stains... boy, does it stain. I once wore this all day, reapplying every 3 hours or so and the next day, after brushing my teeth and washing my face TWICE, showering AND eating breakfast, there was still a visible amount of tint left. It's perfect for people like me who like to constantly sip on some water or have food on the go and don't want to worry about having to reapply their lipstick all the time.

Rimmel London Colour Rush Balm in "The Redder The Better"

I'm not entirely sure what made me go for the brightest shade in the line-up, seeing as I'm not much of a red lip wearer, but it seems like I've almost been converted and I've since been rocking a bright red lip a lot more than I ever used to.
The ease of application, the long wearing, creamy formula and the budget friendly price make me want to rush out and buy all of the other shades right now!

Rimmel London Colour Rush Balms retail at £5.99 each and you can find them here.

Birchbox April 2013

There seems to be a reoccurring theme that whenever I get a delivery, it ought to be either just as I'm about to head out for a run, or just as I'm stepping into the shower. So, naturally, this month's Birchbox arrived just as I was leaving the door and I was way too excited to just leave it, so off came my trainers and my jacket and my headphones and god knows what else.

This month's theme is "In Bloom" and considering the warm weather that's suddenly hit us yesterday and caused all the trees on my road to magically explode into pink fluffiness, it couldn't have been a better choice!

1) Gerda Spillman | Renaissance Age Serum

Full size: £69 / Sample value: £6.90

Whoops, looks like a had a little silly moment and took a picture of the back side of the sample. But don't worry, the front is fairly unspectacular, so you're not missing much. I'm feeling much less rebellious against anti ageing products these days, so even though it is minuscule, I'll happily give this serum sample a go. It smells absolutely divine, but unfortunately it's going to have to wait on the back-up shelf until I've used up my current serum. And at almost £70 for the full size it would have to be beyond amazing for me to purchase it after the sample runs out!

2) La Societe Parisienne De Savons | Savon Maya

Full size: £8.50 / Sample value: £8.50

This was the first item I spotted as I opened the drawstring bag and it got me beyond excited. Just look at how gorgeous the packaging is! Then I realised it was soap.

Now, nothing against soap, but I'm just not a person that tends to appreciate it. I use shower gel in the shower and hand wash to wash my hands. Soap is slippy, harsh on the skin and always leaves this mucky, slimy residue on the soap dish. Having said that the scent of this one is absolutely beautiful, so it would be a shame to just leave it laying around. Nevertheless, this is more of an item I'd gift to my nan instead of buying it for myself.

3) Mirenesse | Glossy Kiss

Full size: £17.50 / Sample value: £17.50

This was the other product that stood out to me right away as I opened my box this month. I've never heard of Mirenesse, but pencil lip products are having a big moment right now and I'm excited to give this one a go. It's a full sized product, so I'll be getting plenty of use out of it. The colour I got (14. Perfect Kiss) is also really, really pretty. A fire-engine red studded with a light gold shimmer, absolutely gorgeous! From a quick swatch I can see that application is soft and very glossy, so this seems to be a winner!

Random side note: I keep accidentally writing "Glossy Kill" instead of "Glossy Kiss". Just to show what's on my mind these days...

4) Weleda | Skin Food

Full size: £8.95 / Sample value: £1.19

Considering what an institution Weleda has become, especially concerning natural skincare, I'm almost ashamed to say that I've never tried any of their products. Skin Food seems to be one of those cult creams, which I've heard loads and loads about and finally I get my mitts on a sample to try it for myself!

I do, however, struggle a little with multi-purpose balms like this, as I never know what to actually use them for. Give me a choice of options and I'll sit there fretting and eventually go without anything. I'm thinking of trying this on my feet, as my heels are pretty much the only dry skin area I have at the moment.

5) Green & Spring | Relaxing Conditioner

Full size: £16 / Sample Value: £2.67

I love the design of this little bottle, it's so cute! In this box you'd randomly get either the shampoo or the conditioner and I have to admit that I'm a little peeved, as I much prefer using the same brand shampoo and conditioner together. But oh well...

The scent of this is a tad strong for my tastes - you can really, REALLY smell the lavender and the rosemary that have gone into the product, but I imagine it would leave a beautiful lingering scent on the hair after washing. This is another product that will certainly get used up.

Lifestyle Extra: Birchbox | Paname Paris Mirror

Full size: £7.50 / Sample value: £7.50

Oh, c'mon. You gotta be kidding me. This is literally one of the worst compact mirrors I have ever seen in my life. It weighs about a gram and doesn't even have a lid! If I put this in my handbag it would get ruined within seconds. I don't know who they're trying to fool with the supposed £7.50 price tag, but yeah, good luck selling a mirrored badge for that price. I absolutely hate it when beauty boxes make their own shoddy tools and try to sell them as luxury beauty samples. At least Birchbox had the decency to include this as an extra instead of one of the actual five samples. But I would have much rather received a single tea bag or something, rather than this rubbish. Rant over.

So, my second Birchbox has been full of ups and downs to be honest with you. The only real highlight is the lip crayon, though I will certainly use every single product and I really like the fact that they're all brands I haven't tried before. The inclusion of two full sized products is also a bonus.

The soap on the other hand was a bit of a disappointment, even though it was one of the two full sized products and the mirror... let's no longer talk about the mirror.

The total value of this box comes in at £44.26 for those of you who are interested.