GOSH Soft 'n' Shine Lip Balms Supermassive Long, Picture Heavy Rave and Review

I am not joking. This has a silly amount of pictures. If you have a slow, rubbish laptop/PC like mine, please leave because you will be waiting for my pictures to load until your next birthday or something.



Superdrug has set up a dedicated stand for certain GOSH products that I think they're phasing out (or perhaps have all simultaneously come dangerously close to their expiry date, I dunno) and are selling them at half price. So these lip balms come in at £3, and I used my Superdrug voucher for an extra 10% plus my NUS card on top of that to bring it to a 20% discount on the total price. If they had more, I would have bought them - as it stands, I've managed to get back ups for Soft Touch and Kiss, but that's it. I've checked three different Superdrugs as well :(


I can't remember which blogger it was (swear it was A Vain Woman, but after checking her blog it doesn't appear to be) that posted about these initally, but the review was so convincing that I really wanted some. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any (and the price point was a bit steep anyway) so I soon left it alone. Fast forward to very recently, when I discover that they're on sale (so basically free) and all the old memories came flooding back. I slow-mo bounded towards them with an orchestral score in the background, young loves reunited...
 
^The shades I managed to rescue.

Some woman and her kid were in the way of the stand so I (politely) shoved them out of the way and got to work, taking all the unopened ones there. Woman and kid were opening the lipbalms and swatching them on their greasy hands. GROSS. STOP. I don't want to buy that if you've done that with it. Vile.


They're slightly vanilla scented but don't taste of anything.


One of the things that attracted me greatly was the classiness of the packaging. It's so sleek and functional - slips easily into a pocket, makes for precise application - that it looks more expensive than it actually was. These are the poor man's MAC Slimshines. I wanted to invest when MAC brought out Korean Candy but GOSH's Irony is just as good, aesthetics wise. I've renamed it Korean Candy and talk to it softly at night.





Left to Right: 30 Barbie, 31 Passion Pink, 32 Angel, 33 Scarlet (which is not scarlet at all and confused me greatly)

More gratuitous shots of the gorgeous:



Hand swatches!

Left to Right: 30 Barbie, 31 Passion Pink, 32 Angel, 33 Scarlet
Same lip balms in a different light:



Left to Right: 35 Antique Gold, 36 Mocha, 37 Soft Touch, 40 Irony, 41 Kiss

Lip swatches (I did warn you that it was going to be a long one):

30 Barbie
 
Barbie is a sheen finish light pink, leans towards lilac in some lights.

31 Passion Pink

It's passionate all right. Hot pink/fuschia blend! Doesn't go on the lips quite as smoothly as Barbie but feels good and moisturising nonetheless.

32 Angel

Quite similar to 37 Soft Touch, but with a little gold shimmer.

33 Scarlet

Like a darker version of Barbie...probably don't need both.

35 Antique Gold
 
One of the most unique colours in the range, you can tell from the bullet that it has a very fitting name...brown base, lots of gold/green shimmer. More flattering than it sounds!

36 Mocha

A very flattering 'jelly nude' (nice and translucent) on me, it's got a hint of pink in there which keeps it looking lifelike rather than corspelike. I like, I like a lot.

37 Soft Touch

As I said earlier, similar to Angel. A browny/purple/pink type colour, which looks pretty natural on the lips.

40 Irony

My cheapass Korean Candy, this looks orange on other people but coral/peach on me? Can't work that one out. Anyway, this is one of the least pigmented that I own, but it looks so cool in the tube that I can't help but love it.

41 Kiss

Insanely bright, pigmented neutral red! This is one in the line that I'd recommend having a mirror to apply.

These balms leave my lips feeling pretty moisturised, on top of the awesome colour/cool packaging factor. Taking into account the discounted price I paid, win win. Had I paid full price...not so much.

I love tinted balms, but dislike pot/finger application, so to have even more pigmented balms in stick form is exciting to me. GOSH, you have done well with these.

Anyone else seen these on sale?

Maybelline 818,237,900 and fifty seven billion years lasting Color Tattoo Eyeshadow

Colour Tattoo. I'm sorry, the word doesn't look right without a 'u' in it. You sell in our country, you spell by our conventions dammit. I jest, I jest.



There has been HYPE over these shadows. I'm not surprised. I've tried many a highstreet (i.e, cheap) cream shadow in my time and they've all been crap, so to hear of one that isn't is a big, big thing in the makeup world.

 
Tops are plain, no tacky stickers or anything.

I hate creasage. It drives me mad. My eyeshadow doesn't crease because I layer on that primer like it's nobody's business. So to wear this, and not have it crease at the end of the day, sans primer? YES.



The consistency is a little oily, not creamy as you might expect, but as soon as it's on your eyelids the consistency changes to a nice paste-like substance. Once you've got to that stage, move quick. You have about ten seconds before it becomes unblendable.

I purchased On and On Bronze (it's more a platinum/pewter/bronze, but I'll let it go) and Turquoise Fever, to start with, though I'm likely to be going back for more considering payday was very recent. Swatched:



Turquoise Fever has visible silver glitter particles in it, which give it a lovely reflective quality. I look at it and just think of a gorgeous Caribbean beach or some other place that I can't afford to go to. Very summery.
The glitter in this doesn't fall out on me or during application, which is one pro it has over powder eyeshadows. Mess free, fuss free glitter is a win win situation.

On and On Bronze is a shimmery finish (no glitter) that is more complex than it first appears. Sometimes it appears almost metallic brown - others, it's leaning towards silver. I really understand why there is hype around these, because the colours are phenomenal and the products perform. Maybelline, feel free to pat yourself on the back.

Application for On and On Bronze is fine. With other cream shadows, I find I carefully measure the amount I use so as to not induce creasing, but this is fine - I can go for a sheer wash with eyeliner for a really lazy/rushed school look, or build it up for opacity. If you blend quickly enough, it finds uses as a highlighter either for the brow bone or the Cupid's bow - I find that it's staying power means it won't move from my lips if I eat/drink/sneeze or whatever. No idea whether it is lip safe or not, but that's how I use it.

Turquoise Fever can be a little patchy upon initial application, but to combat this I go in for a second layer and then just pat rather than rub the colour onto my eyelids. No problems with opacity, and it stays put for however long I want it to. Not 24 hours, I do like to wash in that time, but still. Clearly, to adequately test the 24 hours claim, I need to take these on Duke of Edinburgh with me...

At £4.99, I think these are pretty damn affordable (and you never hear me say that), considering they double as a coloured eyeshadow primer, too. I've used On and On Bronze as a base for the grey eyeshadow in the Sleek Paraguaya palette, and this results in a slightly shimmery, copper/grey colour. Gorgeous, and of course went the distance in lasting power. With the brighter colours in the range, you can use these as a base to make coloured shadows pop, and especially with the finicky mattes from the Sleek palettes, the slight tackiness of these shadows as a base really helps to 'grab on' to the shadow and keep it in place for more vibrancy. I'm very pleased these finally made it to the UK.

Sleek Pout Paint Review. Long, long overdue.

I said I bought all of these after getting my GCSE results, as a sort of 'yey me' reward. Dad gave me money for every A or A* I got, and I used some of it to buy these at Superdrug. Using my 25% off voucher and the fact they were on 3 for 2, of course.

That was last year.

Only now have I got round to swatching and talking about them. Feel free to beat me.


I have, from left to right: Lava, Peek a Bloo, Cloud 9, Minx, Pin Up, Pinkini, Port.



One thing about these that annoys me greatly is that some colours seperate. Observe.


Because of their tube format, I don't really now how to change this? Massage gently? *shrug*

Cloud 9:


Minx:


Lava:


Pin Up:


Pinkini:


Peek a Bloo:


Port:


I like these. I did try the suggested method of adding melted Vaseline to create a tinted lip balm (similar to Sleek's Pout Polishes) but I'm not keen on Vaseline as a lip product anyway, and I found this took away almost all the colour from it and left me with a really sheer balm. Wouldn't repeat.

I do like mixing these up to create different colours, and they're especially good for creative makeup looks or simply wanting to wear a lip colour that no one else will have. While they do dry your lips out slightly, I combat this by applying the Pout Paint, blotting off, then applying lip balm and then going back over with the Pout Paint. I find that my lip colour will survive eating and drinking with this method, and will last all day/the duration of an outing.

All in all, I think Sleek are really expanding the market with these. It's not a product that other high street makeup lines have out, and it's pretty unique, so they get a thumbs up from me.

More cool things you can do with your Pout Paint stash:


BRACEFACE


rawr.

Miss Sporty 'Dr. Balm'

I remember these being on some sort of offer when I bought them, maybe 3 for 2 or something along those lines. Out of five shades in the range, I picked up Honeymoon Kiss (deep, purple/red), Gossip Kiss (juicy coral, bordering on orange) and Sweet Kiss (light pink)





They smell like watermelon or bubblegum (can't make up my mind as to which, bearing in mind I consume neither) which seems to be a theme throughout all Miss Sporty lip products - read back to my review of their 'Bubblegum' lipstick and I wondered whether it was a one off to fit with the name.
None of the balms seem to taste of much though.



It was probably really unnecessary to buy these in different colours because they really are quite sheer. Observe:


...yeah.

Sweet Kiss:


Gossip Kiss:


Honeymoon Kiss:

This one was more pigmented, so got a snazzier picture.

They feel pretty soft and moisturising, and you can layer for a little more colour (not much, but the option is there). The balms don't feel like they're choc full of petroleum (cough, Mirror Shine lipsticks) and I've never felt like they're going to break or melt if I transported them in a pocket (cough COUGH, Mirror Shine lipsticks!) so for those reasons alone, I'm very happy with them. I also like the shape of the bullet which allows for a little more precision during applicaiton. Low maintenance lip balms that do the job? Yes please.

Lena's First Circle Lenses. (Flower Black)

I'm going to open with a little anecdote about some of the poorest timing I've ever had in my life.

In October/November 2011 (ish) having just started Sixth Form and getting used to being a mature college student (and part time lifeguard).Visualise the Science block as being one long, narrow corridor with classrooms on each side. I walk out of one and bump straight into a friend and colleague (she's a lifeguard too) in the year above leaving her own classroom. Recalling at the weekend, she mentioned something about a gym induction on Sunday, and today being Monday, I asked her 'Hey! How was your gym induction?'
Her: 'Oh, it was....fine, thanks. Yeah.'
A little hurt, I turned to walk away, only to realise that a teacher was following her and she was holding onto a friend having a panic attack...

LENATIMING. ALWAYS PERFECT.

Anyway, I had this post schedueled but in the light of recent events, thought I'd edit this in because my internal appropriateness clock seems to be broken.

I made my first order from EyeCandyLens.com in the run up to my school musical. It took a couple of weeks to get to the UK (from South Asia, so pretty impressive I guess).

 
 The phials they come in are SO CUTE. Very sharp edges, though :/


 I'm not a noob to wearing contact lenses, but I only wear daily disposables so don't really have to faff with correct cleaning and storage. With these, I was really quite stupid and didn't read the leaflet properly, so put them in the supplied case (cleaned with hot water first, obviously) with some saline solution and allowed them to soak. Needless to say, when I put them in my eyes they were really quite uncomfortable? I could feel them every time I blinked, and they itched. But, having heard that circle lenses are less comfortable anyway and that they were a bit thicker, I put up with it, thinking I was just new to circle lenses. I soaked and cleaned them religiously, but not with the correct solution. I'm a numpty, I know.



Did this for three or four cycles, before realising that they were meant to be soaked in multipurpose solution, and not saline. I don't know if I've ever had a bigger Eureka moment than the first time I put them on after they'd spent the night in that...almost as comfortable as my usual daily disposables. Reading is fun!

Without:


With:


Please ignore the eyebrow forest and failed false eyelash application in both cases.

I ordered prescription lenses in the design 'Flower Black'.

Postage was free (and they came with a cute bag and a free contact lens case) which is what initially attracted me to them. I paid £14.19 in total which was pretty much the cheapest for just one pair of lenses that I could find, on the internet. Because I have poor vision, I needed prescription lenses. Lots of places on the internet, even some in the UK, do prescription lenses, but you have to participate in a 'batch order' which I thought was stupid and didn't want to do. Why not just keep a few of each in stock? I don't want to have to wait for everyone else to finish ordering before the store sends off for them, waits to recieve them, then package them up and send them to ME. I'm impatient, deal with it.

Some lens shops that I found on my searches only had a couple of very very popular plano (no corrective power) lenses in stock and everything else was marked either 'out of stock' or 'batch order only'. Go away.

Anyway, I was going to end this review with a little 'I'm very happy with how this went and I'm already saving up to order again' but yesterday my Twitter feed came up with this.

This is the 'poor timing' I was referring to earlier on.

I've got to reconsider now, my previous attitude towards my contact lenses...all that time I was happily soaking them wrong, cleaning them incorrectly...could have done some serious damage to my eyes. And that would have been entirely self-inflicted, through ignorance and carelessness - HystericMint was as careful as you can get and through no fault of her own, something this bad could happen to her eyes, so imagine what I could have done to myself?

The worst thing about her post, in my opinion, was that, considering the huge costs incurred in the damage to her education, optometrist bills, etc. (I always forget that not everyone is lucky enough to live in a country with an NHS-like system) the compensation she was offered was pretty minimal. The company isn't named so I don't know which one it is, but I would hope that the next time I shop with a circle lens supplier, in the event of one of their lenses being faulty (not due to my own cack-handedness) that they would fully support me in any way necessary, as a paying customer. In future, when I next purchase lenses, that will be something I investigate before buying - whether companies can man up and take responsibility when required.

Just to clarify, my personal order was great - nothing went wrong at any stage.

For the time being, I am happy.