Burts Bees Radiance Night Cream with Royal Jelly

I'm going to say it: this night cream is the bee's knees. Oh lord, yes I went there with that horrendous pun but in all seriousness, it truly is a wonderful night cream. 

I was recently given the opportunity to try out some of the new Burts Bees skincare products and after having looked at the press release, I was immediately hooked. Believe it or not, I'd actually only owned one Burt's Bees product myself (the Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream) but had stolen a lip balm of my Mum's and used something from a friend and knew it was a brand I was be a fan of. It's one of those brands that also has cult products that everybody knows about too, so I was sure I couldn't go wrong with their skin products.

I received a moisturiser and toner and the moisturiser has made it into an absolute staple in my skincare routine. I've decided I cannot go without a night cream anymore because they have that extra bit of moisture and are just so luxurious. I love waking up to the most beautifully soft skin!

The first thing I noticed about this moisturiser is the texture. It's kind of reflective of most body butters I've tried, although perhaps the slightest bit softer. Despite this, it doesn't feel overly thick on my face and soaks in really well (however this could be because I've had stupidly dry skin lately). It is, however, a night cream and I don't think makeup would work well over the top because it would probably slide around a little bit.

The next thing I became aware of was the fragrance. I am one of those people who love scented products, particularly for the body, but when it comes to the face I steer clear. All the additives and strong scents are too much for the skin on my face and it just all ends badly. This night cream isn't completely scent free but has a lovely fresh, slightly honey based scent that seems so natural and hasn't caused any problems.

Though it claims to be a 'radiance' moisturiser, I've not personally noticed any difference in my skin but that's probably because I've been unbelievably stressed out with school work and have not been taking care of my skin, diet or anything really of late! In terms of the ingredients within it, royal jelly is obviously the big one! Apparently "Royal Jelly is one of the world's most nutrient-rich substances ...and offers many skin benefits."

I absolutely love the little glass jar the product is kept in, I think it is classy and just the loveliest thing to have on your dresser. For a retail price of $39.99 (although it's currently on sale at Priceline) it is one of the more expensive moisturisers I've tried, but I do love it. I'm not sure I'll repurchase it while I'm on a student's budget (aka. no money whatsoever) but I am really enjoying this product! Burt's Bees, I'm impressed!

5 Spring lip picks

Spring is here and my goodness, I don't think I've ever longed for it so much. I've never been a fan of Winter for I find it totally miserable, but this year it was even worse as I plodded through endless amounts of school work and struggled with depression trying to tear me down. As you can imagine, when Spring burst out from hiding I was absolutely thrilled and have soaked up every second in my old friend the sun since, my new diet consisting of paddle pops and strawberries!

I always instinctively change my makeup according to the seasons, so here are the lip products I've been reaching for in this new change of weather.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous
I'd never quite felt I was able to wear orange lipstick until this little beauty made its way into my collection. A stunning tangerine shade, at first I would wear it all blotted out and barely visible but now I layer the magical stuff on. I actually find this shade really flattering on my skin tone and people have complimented me on the shade. I think it is a lovely change from the traditional reds and pinks (although I do love them oh-so much too!)

Maybelline Colour Sensational Vivids Lipstick in Shocking Coral
I must say, I'm not normally a huge fan of neon type shades but for some reason this crazy bright pink that borders of fluorescent really needed to be in this post. I don't usually wear this at full opacity because like I said, it is ridiculously bright, however this is just such a fun and happy shade that I couldn't not include it. I wouldn't personally describe it as a coral because it is definitely a supercharged barbie pink but if you are brave you must give it a look!

Rimmel Kate Moss Spring Collection lipstick in #16
This has been a favourite of mine for a while but there is certainly no better time to pull this out than Spring. A gorgeous fruity, medium toned watermelon pink, this is just perfect for any outfit you could possibly go for in Spring. This lipstick is so affordable you have no excuses not to pick it up!

Revlon Lip Butter in Sweet Tart
Ugh, this medium rich pink shade is just so gorgeous yet for some reason I rarely pull it out. This is so creamy and highly pigmented that it steals the show when you wear it! As is the case with literally every Revlon lip product (you'll notice that they make up 3 of the five lip products in this post) it is such high quality and beautiful to work with - you really can't go wrong.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Berry Allure
A slighly different kind of shade, I included Berry Allure because although it might fit Autumn a little better, it is a gorgeous purple/pink that on the lips just looks so beautiful. I think I would wear this at night or going somewhere special because it is just such a rich jewel toned shade but my oh my, I never knew I would like a shade like this so much!

Well there are my top 5 picks for this Spring, I know I'll be getting a lot of use out of these gorgeous products! Do you tend to change up your makeup according to the seasons like me or do you use shades all year round?

Monthly Favourites - September

I haven't done a favourites post in such a long time so I really enjoyed looking back at the products I had on high rotation last month or two.

Without a doubt, my most used favourite of all was, of course, the Urban Decay Naked Palette I asked a friend to bring back for me from her holiday in America. Having wanted this for so freaking long, I have used it non stop since. I recently did a review on this including my favourite shades from the palette.

For my lips favourite, it was kind of unexpected. I owned 6 Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains  when the matte versions came out and for some strange reason I just didn't feel compelled to look at the matte ones (I know, what was wrong with me?!). I was at Chemist Warehouse when they were having one of their 50% off sales and saw that they had the balm stains down to less than $10 so I figured I would try one out. I picked up the shade Elusive, a beautiful everyday pink shade and I've not looked back - I love it! I'll be doing a review on it soon.

For the face category it was an easy choice, going with Arbonne's Got You Covered Mineral Powder Foundation. I layer this on top of Garnier's BB cream and the two paired together work magically. They give the perfect amount of coverage and the Arbonne powder ensures that they last all day. I love the smooth satin finish it gives to the skin without looking powedery or cakey.

For nails this was a little harder to choose but eventually in the end I had to go for Revlon's polish in Siren, a stunning bright orange that is so summery and happy! I wrote a NOTD post on it and so many people seemed to like it too!

Last but not least is my 'other' category, and for September it had to be a new addition to my hair care products, the Garnier Miracle Oil Brushing Express Heat protectant. I never use straighteners or curlers so I didn't use it for its heat protecting properties, rather found that it was a gorgeous lightweight oil that helped my the damaged ends of my long hair. It made my hair silky and smooth, smell great and easy to brush through. I think it is under $15 as well so it is really worth giving a try.

Well there are my favourites for September, a bunch of products I am so excited about continuing to use over the next couple of months. Most of them are brand new to my collection as well and some weren't products I had planned on purchasing.

Have you tried any of these products?

The one and only...Urban Decay Naked Palette

Guys! I own the Naked Palette. THE NAKED PALETTE!

Okay, phew, now that I got out, I can carry on in a more sensible fashion.

Yes, I am the proud owner of the one and only Naked Palette by Urban Decay. This has always been, in my eyes, the epitome of eyeshadow and certainly when I think of eyeshadow as a product, this is what comes to mind.

When a good friend of mine went over to America I begged her to purchase this little beauty from Sephora because it is just so much cheaper and I always feel funny about ordering makeup online (probably crazy but I just don't do it). 

When she brought it back I almost died of excitement as soon as I opened it up. It is gorgeous.

With twelve warm toned neutral shades, this is literally my idea of eyeshadow heaven and contains basically every shade I could ever want. I love that it includes two matte shades because although shimmers are my favourite, there is always a place for matte shadows. 

Alright, so let's start with the packaging. I love that unlike the other two Naked Palettes, this isn't housed in a tin but a wonderfully cosy feeling (because palettes can totally be cosy!) velvet flip top box. Of course, it isn't velvet I just have absolutely no idea what the name of the lovely texture is. The gold imprinted letters are striking on the chocolate brown and it is all just wonderful. The only problem is that fluff sticks to the box so it looks filthy very quickly.

As for the shade range, I mentioned before how perfect it is. Beginning with Virgin on the far left it has a light shimmery white extending all the way down to Creep and Gunmetal, black and dark grey.

I personally think that every shade inbetween covers all that you could ever want with different browns, pinks and golds.  

Virgin: Very light pink champagne colour perfect for highlights. Super shimmery!

Sin: Light shimmery pink toned shade suitable for all over the lid.

Naked: I don't think this could be more perfectly named: a light matte flesh toned shade that barely shows up on my light skin.

Sidecar: gorgeous light brown chocolate shade that could be used as an all over the lid shade or crease colour. This shade is so beautiful and versatile.

Buck: Medium toned matte brown shade that paired with Naked in the crease works magic.

Half-Baked: This was the shade I was easily most excited about being a shimmery pale gold. Though it is beautiful it's not been my absolute favourite after all but it does get quite a workout.

Smog: Though this is technically a shimmery dark brown, I would go as far to classify it as a dark gold and my-oh-my, I am in love with this shade!

Darkhorse: Admittedly I've not used a lot of darkhorse but it is a very dark brown shimmery shade. I find that it can almost look a little bit dirty on the skin at times.

Toasted: This is another shade I think has been well named, a medium pink/brown shade that is beautiful and shimmery. I often use this as an all over the lid shade.

Hustle: This is a dark brown that almost has a hint of plum overtones to it. In my experimentations I was surprised to find just how beautifully toasted and hustle work together.

Creep: Creep really is a bit of a creepy shade, a black with silver shimmer running through it. Out of all the shades in the palette this is easily the least used and most scary to me! If you have any ideas how I can incorporate this shade a bit more I would love to know because at the moment it seems a bit of a waste with it just sitting there!

Gunmetal: Last of all is Gunmetal, a dark blue grey shade with silver shimmer. Though it's not quite as intimidating as Creep, it also doesn't get a whole lot of use.

Well I'm sad to say that this is where it started to go wrong. Despite the most gorgeous shades in the world (I've swatched my favourites below) with excellent pigmentation, they just did not last on me whatsoever. This was so disappointing me for because it's not like I ever really have a problem with creasing or wearing off but by the end of the day these were a complete mess. You can see in the photo that what once was sidecar on the lid and hustle in the crease ended up being one big yucky mess!

Of course, using an eye primer does help but I've never really had to do that before and for a palette so highly regarded (and the most expensive makeup item in my collection) I was a little let down. I'm curious to know if anyone else has had this happen because I don't think I've ever heard a bad word about this palette and I feel like I stand alone in this thought!

My Favourite shades: L-R: Naked, Sidecar, Half Baked, Smog

I do love this palette and am very glad that I finally bought the shadows I'd been lusting over forever but I am a tiny bit disappointed with their lasting powder. I will continue to love and use them but contrary to what I thought would happen, I will be using other shadows not from this palette too.