My Perfect Red Lip

Since I tend to shy away from bold makeup, achieving the perfect red lip has always been a challenge for me…until now.
I have never been a lipstick type of gal and, while I love a red gloss, it’s quite windy where I live and my hair always tends to get caught in gloss and leave unpleasant sticky streaks of colour on my cheeks.
For the past two weeks, I have been layering Burt’s Bees 100% Natural Tinted Lip Balm in Rose over Benetint from Benefit. The result is a pigmented red stain that lasts for hours. The Benetint works perfectly as a base because it stays put and does not leave a harsh border on the lips. The Burt’s Bees balm is a perfect topper because it evens out the colour of the Benetint, makes the shade more vibrant, and adds non-sticky moisture to the lips. It also has a pleasant cherry scent.
I love how the combination brings a healthy, youthful glow to my complexion. Not to mention, I can add an extra layer of the balm throughout the day without needing a mirror.
What’s your perfect red lip combination?

NOTD: Butter London Queen Vic

Butter London’s nail polish in Queen Vic is the perfect berry shade for my pale cool-toned skin. Although the colour looks very pretty in the photos above and below, it is even richer in real life. Since my camera finds it difficult to accurately capture anything with red tones, the colour appears a lot more red in the photos. Queen Vic is actually deeper and more purple toned. In fact, Butter London describes it by saying, “Stunning, elegant and classy. Red wine meets cranberry. Fit for a queen.”
Aside from the colour, the formula of this polish is very impressive. It applied smoothly, dried quickly, and lasted for six days without any chipping. I couldn’t help but look at my nails every few minutes while wearing this polish to admire the way that it brightened up my hands with its rich tones and shiny finish. I received many compliments while wearing this shade.
My only complaint is that Queen Vic left my fingers with a red stain for a few days after I removed it with nail polish remover. To avoid this type of staining, I recommend using a good base coat and a strong polish remover.
Overall, Queen Vic is a gorgeous polish with a great formula. It will continue to be a go-to shade for me during the fall and winter months.

Sally Hansen Real Nail Polish Strips in Are You Single? (Review + Photos)

Back on June 22 I made a haul post featuring these nail strips from Sally Hansen. In the post I said that I would likely save the strips for Valentine’s Day because the little leaves in the pink, purple, red, and silver pattern look like hearts.
I wore them to a special dinner a few days after Valentine’s Day. I didn’t have much time to do my nails and couldn’t wait for regular nail polish to dry. Then I remembered that I had these nail strips in Are You Single? and decided to try them out.
The strips were very easy to apply. I only encountered a bit of difficulty with trying to find the perfect size strip to fit my nail. I have very small nails and a lot of the strips were just a tiny bit too big so I had to trim them with scissors. They were easy to cut though and I did not ruin any strips during trimming process.
The best part about this product is that it truly sticks to the nails and lasts for two weeks. I left mine on for 14 days with only minimal chipping on my dominant hand after 8 days. I didn’t have to keep pushing down lifting edges and there were no air bubbles. The strips removed easily with regular nail polish remover.
Overall, I really enjoyed this product and would definitely purchase more if I find them on sale because these strips can be a bit pricey where I live.
Have you tried these nail strips from Sally Hansen? If so, what are your thoughts on them?