Healthy & Natural Lips with Burt's Bees

I've always been a fan of Burt's Bees lip balms.  They are just fabulous & really help my ultra dry lips.

Well, when I heard they did actual lipsticks too, I was pretty keen to try them! 

So I did! 

More on that later....

Now, a little bit about Burt's Bees.  They have been around for about 30 years when Burt the beekeeper met a lovely lady named Roxanne.  And the rest as they say is....history!  Their products are 99% natural - in fact, it says on their website that over half of their products are actually 100% natural!

They are also proud to sponsor the British Beekeepers Association.  You can find out more about the scheme here - www.burtsbees.co.uk

So, as I said before, I love their balms; I have a lot of different flavours! And, my blog is called 'Mabel's Beauty Bee' & my name is Debbie which means Bee, so it makes sense to try some Burt's Bees products, right?! (Any excuse!!)

Ok, first up....

The lipsticks....

I have two - 

First shade - number 501 Blush Basin.

And what a beautiful colour!  My kind of natural pinky corally shade - your lips but better! 

Second shade - number 523 Sunset Cruise.  

Another beautiful colour.  Very similar to the previous colour but slightly deeper.

Both colours are so easy to wear & will go with most makeup as they are so natural.  These are both said to be a satin finish with 100% natural ingredients.  Both are so comfortable to wear, leaving my lips feeling really hydrated.

I love the packaging too with the 'hive' detailing on the sides of the lid & its interesting to know that it is made with 60% recycled materials.

Finally.... 

The lip gloss....

Shade number 239 Spring Splendor.

Such a gorgeous pink shade which looks fairly dark & a sparkly mauve colour in the bottle but on application is not as intense & looks really natural on your lips.  Again, so comfortable (the gloss is enriched with nourishing oils) & easy to wear, with a high shine finish.  And of course, made with 100% natural ingredients.

I'm really impressed with these products.  I'd be really interested to know what their other lipsticks & lip products are like.  I may just try them!

Do you like Burt's Bees?  What products by them have you tried?  I'd love to know!

Bee x 

Trying out some Aloe Vera Treats!

So recently, I was gifted some 'Forever Living' products.  These contain Aloe Vera which are great for all kinds of problems - dry skin, digestion, etc.

I was given two items.  They are Forever Bright Sparkling Aloe Vera Toothgel

& Forever Aloe Lips lip balm.

The toothgel, as well as containing Aloe Vera, also contain bee propolis.  I have read that this has many health benefits too, so I knew straight away I was getting good, natural stuff! 

My teeth are a tad on the sensitive side, so I can be a bit choosy with what toothpaste I use.  After the first use of this toothgel, I was pleasantly surprised!  It tasted really nice, kept my breath fresh & my teeth looked a lot whiter. 

After the next couple of uses, my teeth did feel a bit sensitive but I wasn't totally sure if this was down to the toothgel or something else. (Please don't let this put you off - it probably is just my teeth, as they have always been sensitive!)  So, since then, I have alternated between this & my regular toothpaste. 

As regards to the whitening of my teeth, it did start to make them look a lot whiter, so I think that if you just used this & nothing else, you would have a lot whiter teeth.  

Overall, I'm really pleased with this toothgel & knowing that it's full of natural healthy ingredients, is great with me!   

Onto the second Aloe Vera item - the lip balm....

This is in a stick formulation & contains jojoba - another great natural ingredient. 

I remember getting sunburnt in Spain a few years ago & I had booked a massage at the hotel.  The therapist noticed my bright red back & said that jojoba would help calm it down.  And she was right!   Instantly, the stinging went away & my back was completely soothed.  The redness more or less disappeared!

So, like my back, as soon as I applied this lip balm to my lips, they were instantly soothed & moisturised.

Now, as I have mentioned before on my blog, my lips are so dry & I absolutely love a good lip balm.  I have many that I rave about & this is no exception!  I really do love this!   It tastes amazing & really makes my lips soft & supple & feels great.  Another great Aloe Vera product.

All in all, I think if I had to repurchase only one of the items, I'd definitely go for the Aloe lips.  A brilliant product!  

Have you used Aloe Vera?  What do you think?  Let me know!

Bee x  

My Night Time Skin Care Routine

My skin care last thing at night does vary, but I thought I'd share with you my current routine.

So, first up, if I have quite a lot of makeup on, to give my skin a good cleanse, I will use a facial wash.  My current favourite is the Kind to Skin Vital Vitamin Foaming Cleanser by Simple.  It's gentle on my skin & contains vitamin B5 & vitamin C.  I clean this off with a muslim cloth (I have many by Liz Earle - I use her hot cloth cleanser too sometimes, which is another product!).  Then, I pat my skin dry.

After that, theres usually still a bit of residue makeup, so I soak a few cotton pads in Garnier's Micellar water (I LOVE this stuff! - see my review here) & thoroughly cleanse my face & neck.

Onto cream - I apply my Garnier Miracle sleeping cream (see my last post) & then under my eyes, my Garnier (I know; a lot of Garnier products!) rollerball eye gel (review) to relax my eyes.  While I mention it, I am still on the look out for a new eye cream, if anyone can recommend one?

Finally, before bed, I apply my Songbird Naturals lip balm in vanilla - it's really thick & moisturising.  Perfect before bed.  Then, my current hand cream, which at the moment is Emma Bridgewater's Feels Like Home.  It contains camomile, lavender & orange blossom & smells divine!  I also apply a bit of This Works: Breathe In pulse point gel & then I spritz my pillow with This Works: Deep Calm pillow spray & take a deep breath!

And now.....
To bed...
Night night!

Bee x

MARCH MONTHLY FAVOURITES

Better late than never, yep, it's my March favourites! 

So, let's dive right in, shall we?  Here's what I've been loving last month....

Keeping my lips smooth....

So, I had read previously about this funky little sphere shaped lip balm. A lot of celebrities seemed to be raving about it, so I had it in my head that you could only get it in America.  Now, I'm off to New York in September (I'm SO excited!!), so I thought I'm definitely picking it up when I get there....until, my friend had a little search on Amazon & found it & bought it for me! (What a star!) 

This special lip balm is by EOS.  It comes in a variety of flavours, including Lemon Drop, Summer Fruit, Honeysuckle & Blueberry Acai.  The one my friend gave me was in the flavour Strawberry Sorbet.

It is gorgeous! 

It contains Shea butter, vitamin e & jojoba.  It's organic, natural & free from parabens.

It feels so lovely when you apply it & I love the funky shape & packaging.  It keeps my lips feeling lovely, moist & smooth for hours.

It cost around £3.50 & was really worth it! I'm definitely going to purchase some other flavours now! 

An Oldie But a Goodie....

I've purchased this item longer than I care to remember (in fact, it was one of the first items of makeup I ever owned!) & every time I decide to move on to something else, I ALWAYS go back to this! 

It is of course, Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent.  

I had to run out to buy some more today as I was running low & also I couldn't photograph the one I'm using in it's current state, but I guess that when you saw it, you'd know how much I use & love it! 

It's just great to set my makeup & also to top up in the day.  It's just one of those items that does what it says on the tin & at a price of only £3.99, you can't go wrong! 

Cheap But Luxurious....

I love YouTube.  It's great for picking up hints & tips & watching your favourite vloggers.  One of mine is BroganTatexo.  I really love her positivity & also her obsession over the shop Home Bargains! So, I thought I'd pop along to see if Home Bargains is all it's cracked up to be!  

And yes, there are a few great finds there & one of them I've discovered (& worthy of a monthly favourite) is Creightons Vanilla Macadamia Cocoon Hand Wash.  That stuff is amazing & only 99p! 

It smells wonderful & it really moisturising on your skin.  I just can't get over how much it feels like a luxurious product but is so cheap.....so I've stocked up & bought 3!!

Taste of India in a mug....

For my final two favourites of last month, it's not beauty but two new drinks I've discovered! 

Firstly, it's Twinings Bollywood Chai Latte.

Now, I am in no way a 'proper' tea drinker (believe me, I've tried to be 'normal' like the rest of the British public, but I'm afraid it's coffee all the way!) but this does really hit the spot sometimes! 

I love the bright turquoise & purple packaging, but what's inside is more important!  It contains 12 loose leaf pyramids of Assam Tea but it's the Indian spices, almond & honey that makes it yummy - it smells divine & adding hot frothy milk (in my case, almond or soya) it makes it a lovely alternative to my usual coffee.

And I really agree with what it says on the back of the packet....

Chat. Laugh. Sip. Savour. 

Water that's a Little bit Clever....

So the final fave is something that Jennifer Aniston & I have in common. We both love Smart Water by Glaceau.

It says on the bottle that it's 'inspired by clouds' & I think it is.  It has a lovely, clean taste - it's vapour distilled & has electrolytes added to it.

I really think that since drinking this water, it's helped me keep going between meals during a busy day.  I suffer with anemia & find my energy & sugar levels can drop quite easily & this Smart Water seems to have really helped & stopped me feeling so weak at times.

Why don't you give it a go & see if it makes a difference to you? 

So, there we have it - that's my March! 

I can't wait to find out what favourites are in store this month....

Bee x 

A 'Pop' of Colour!

Yesterday, I was freezing.  The wind was giving everything a battering including my face!  And what takes the brunt of it, is my lips!  They get extremely dry at this time of year & its a constant battle to keep them moisturised.  It's hard to make lipstick look good with flakey skin!  So, I think Clinique have been thinking about me!

Last year,  they released their 'Pop Lip Colour & Primer' Lipstick & since then I've been hooked!  They have about 24 shades in their collection & all the colours look amazing!

The colours I have are -
Nude Pop
Beige Pop
Cherry Pop

They contain lots of moisturising ingredients including Shea Butter, so you know you are constantly keeping your lips soft & supple against the elements.  They claim to keep your lips moisturised for 8 hours & I must admit they are longwearing & comfortable. 

'Nude Pop' (which was the first one I purchased) has a lovely pink tone to it which blends perfectly with my natural lip colour.
'Beige Pop' is a slightly lighter shade with a 1960's look to it, but very wearable.
The final shade was actually a sample shade from a magazine I bought!  I really wanted to try out a red, so when I came across this, I had to get it!  'Cherry Pop' has a good colour payoff - as have the other shades.

All in all these lipsticks are so comfortable & perfect for my dry lips.  And I adore the colours - I'm sure I will soon be trying the others in the collection!

The packaging is classic Clinique.  The lipstick is 100% fragrance free & the bullet is easy to apply.

These lipsticks are definitely perfect during these cold harsh winter months to protect your lips - but I will be wearing them all year round!

I have noticed that Clinique have also recently released their 'Sweet Pots' - A sugar scrub & lip balm (the packaging looks amazing for starters!) - I may just have to try these out too!

So, what are your favourite lip products?  I'd love to know!

Bee x