TRAPSTIX LIP BALM GIVEAWAY ~~ ends 12/31

Welcome to the TrapStix Lip Balm Giveaway!

This giveaway is part of our Holiday Gift Guide. Stop by to see all the great giveaways and products!

Music-Inspired Lip Balm Flavors!

Why Changing Beauty Products During the Winter is a good idea

** alwaysblabbing was compensated for this post ** 

Do you buy New Beauty Care Items for the Winter Season? Should you buy new beauty products for winter? The answer is Yes you should!!

Did you know there are good reasons to change your beauty care products in the winter in order to protect your skin from the damaging affects of colder temperatures? You may notice that your facial and body skin changes during the winter as you are exposed to cold air. To remain warm in the winter, you use a furnace that emits warmed air that tends to dry your skin quickly, leading to itchiness. In addition, you are likely unable to get outside as often in natural sunlight that is vital for manufacturing vitamin D.


Use Moisturizing Bath Soaps and Body Creams

While in the summer you might have oily skin that requires cleansing with astringents, you can develop dry patches of skin on your face, knees and elbows during the winter. Instead of using deodorizing bath soap that removes excess oil, you can switch to using gentle or moisturizing soaps. After you are finished with a bath or shower, apply luxurious body creams and lotions to keep your skin from becoming drier in a home’s climate-controlled air. Take extra time each day to apply lubricating serums around your eyes where the thin skin develops dryness quickly.

Apply Protective Lip Balms Throughout the Day

One of the first areas of your face that you will notice a change from winter weather is your lips. The reduced amount of humidity in the air in the winter can lead to having lips that split and peel. To prevent this problem, begin to use lip care products throughout the day, including lip balms that contain ingredients designed to protect the skin from sun damage and windy conditions. Find small containers of lip balm to keep in your handbag or the pocket of a winter coat so that you can apply the product anytime that your lips begin to feel drier.

Switch From Powder Makeup to Creamy Makeup

You will also need to change your makeup products in the winter in order to have glowing skin that isn’t dry and itchy. Buy a new moisturizing foundation that matches your skin tone to provide more protection for your facial skin. Before applying this foundation, use a moisturizing lotion that contains sunscreen. Rather than using powder blush or eye shadow, find liquid or creamy eye shadows and blush that are in an attractive color for wearing with                            winter garments.

Savannah Bee

When i saw Savannah Bee products I thought they were so interesting and I was very excited when I had the chance to work with them for a review. Their products are made out of Bee Honey so you know it's full of natural ingredients.

I was raised around bees my grandpaw was a bee keeper. I was always fascinated and watched him intently. He would come out with the smoke can in full gear and I would follow him as far as I could. Then he would come with the honey comb and we would eat a lot the put the rest in jars.

So the thought that Savannah Bee is making lotion and chap stick -- plus a lot of other products was so amazing to me.  There are gift sets that come with a piece of honey comb and that's amazing

I got to review the Tupelo Honey Body Lotion and three amazing southern scented lip balms. The Tupelo Honey Lotion is a soft scented lotion and the consistency is on thick side. It absorbs in seconds and is not greasy or oily.  My hands stay soft and silky for a long time after using.

Now the chap sticks are scents that are perfect for a southern girl like me.  They all go on smooth and stay that way. They don't flake and isn't cakey nor does it make my lips feel sticky. There are some lipgloss/lipbalms that I cannot stand on my lips. This is not on of them.

Everybody knows that we love our Sweet Tea in the south so I was leery about that scent. But it's amazing. It smells so good and it's not an overpowering sweet smell. It smells identical to sweet tea with a hint of lemon.

The Key Lime smells edible just like a key lime pie. It is a nice strong scent but nothing too overwhelming. I would not have thought it but this is my favorite scent out of the three.  Actually it's the best smelling lip balm I have used in a long time.

The Peach is awesome as well. That one is not quite as strong as Key Lime but it's a distinct smell.

I love all three of them and wear them all the time. I hate when my lips are cracked and dry. These keep my lips hydrated and prevent that from happening. I will need them more during the winter because my lips tend to crack really bad.

Check out all that Savannah Bee has to offer on their site.

I received this product complimentary in exchange for my honest opinion but the opinion expressed is all mine. 

August Ipsy Glambag

Check out my Ipsy Glambag review! 

Want to subscribe? - Use my link please Join me on ipsy and subscribe to the Glam Bag! You get 4-5 beauty products every month delivered to your door, for just $10. Michelle Phan curates the bags! Check it out here: http://www.ipsy.com/r/2d9v?sid=ipsypoints&cid=email

Cailyn Lip Balm

When I first saw the Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm in my Ipsy Glam bag I was very excited. I tried their eyeliner and I loved it.  It sells for $19.00 and there are lots of pretty colors to chose from. 
The lip balm comes in the same packaging as the eyeliner which I thought was very cute. It's a little pot and the top has brush built in.

I was so shocked when I first applied, it was the driest balm I have ever used. Most balms I have used are very soft and go on sticky or gooey. I would have never known it was considered a balm if I was not reading the package. If this had been a blind study I would have bet money it was a long lasting lipstick. The brush makes it very easy to apply with preciseness, I could use it as a lip liner if I wanted to. Also with brush built in you'll never need to hunt for it. 

It is also the most pigmented lipbalm I have used it goes on very dark and very matte. The color I got was Big Apple 08 it is a red shade. I'm not a huge fan of red but if you are it would be a great shade. It stayed on for a very long time and it never got sticky or gooey. It felt like I had nothing on the entire time I was wearing it.

Would I buy this?  I've very torn about this one. If I'm being perfectly honest with you, I may try another color with my Ispy savings code but I don't know if I would spend $19.00 on a lip balm.  But I may buy it to wear as a lipstick because it wears so long and I don't want to wipe it off after a few minutes. Would I recommend this? Yes, if you are willing to pay the price it works very well fells like I'm wearing nothing.  

Looking at would you know it wasn't a lipstick? 

September's Ipsy Glambag

So it's that time again.. Ipsy Glambag time. I hope I'm not the only one that feels like a child during Christmas when my Ipsy bag comes in. I can look at every picture on FaceBook or Instragram and never know exactly what bag I'm getting.  I was never good with anticipation but I'm really starting to get into surprises. This month the bag was BEAUTIFUL, I'm totally smitten with it. I hope the pics do it justice. So when I opened it up, this is what I found.

Full size Cailyn Titnted LipBalm in Big Apple sells for $19.00 so I got my money's worth right there. I was a huge fan of the Cailyn eyeliner so I have high expectations for the lip liner.  

Deluxe Size sample of Elizabeth Mott's It's so Big Volumizing Mascara it's a nice size the full size sells for $19.99. I have never heard of this brand but I can never have enough mascaras. I have never figured out why that is because I doubt I really need as many as I have, but it's true. 

Full size NYX  Cosmetics Single Eye shadow in Lanikai sells for $4.50. I'm not sure about the color it is a light blue,we shall see. 

Full size Starlooks  Kohl Pencil in Obsidian which sells for $12.00. From the website the shade looks black. Can't go wrong with black eyeliner. I prefer gel but I'm excited to try this. The lip liner I got in another glam bag was very nice. 

2 sets of Skyn Iceland  Hyrdo Cool Firming Eye Gels they sell for $30.00 for 8 pairs. I have never heard of these or seen these before but I almost jumped for joy when I saw what they are. They are little cooling pads that you stick under your eyes to help get rid of bags and firm the skin under your eye.  I suffer terribly with allergies so I'm always carrying a set of luggage under my eyes. I can't wait to try these out. 

As a bonus I got a sheet sample of EM Cosmetics  The Life Pallete Out to Lunch. The Life Pallette is really awesome but it's $75.00. There are other pallettes to chose from as well. Maybe one day but that's a little much for me. You do get a lot in it so you might want to judge for yourself. 

So lets see how Ipsy adds up this month full size products add up to $35.50 so and that is not including the trial sizes. In my opinion Ipsy is the best subscription service out there. I have not TRIED others but I do see lots of pics and this one is amazing for ONLY $10.00. If you interested in joining please click here. I get referral points towards more make up. 

Stay tuned for reviews of my favs, and maybe my not so favs. Are you an Ipster? What did you get in your Glambag?  Leave me a comment and let me know. 

My thoughts on lip balm

There's Chapstick and countless others, scented, unscented, tinted and not tinted. Most of use some type of lip balm but with so many out there which ones do you chose. I use lip balm constantly truthfully I call them all chapstick so if I start talking about chapstick keep in mind I don't mean that particular brand. I was a long time user of Carmex and it works great but I found myself wiping it off after a few minutes because it gets sticky and gooey and I hated that feeling.

I tried the plan Nieva Lip care which sells for around $2.99 a tube and I liked it it worked great without the sticky nasty feeling. The plan one is fine but I tried the Olive Oil and Lemon and I didn't like the smell at all. It smells funny but thankfully doesn't taste like it smells.  Neither of them are tinted so they are just lip balms. Thankfully the Nivea does not go on green.  I would have gone back to the original Nieva but then I tried NYC Applelicious.

NYC New York Color Appleicious sells for around $2.99 a tube and it comes in 10 different shades. It is a tinted balm and smells fantastic plus it is made with lots great ingredients like Shea Butter, Jojoba and Avocado Oil so it makes your lips feel fantastic. There is no sticky residue and although the color makes it more appealing to wear when you are out and about.  Just because it's tinted it doesn't mean you can't wear it when you are in your PJs or even before going bed. I really love the way this makes my lips feel soft and smooth. The smell is a plus it smells so much like candy it might make you hungry.

I also was given Lancome Baume in Love I thought it was a lipstick and I freaked out. As you can see the color is BRIGHT pink, almost blinding. Thankfully it does not go on that way, this one is clear when applied. It comes in a few other colors which do not go on clear and they sell for $26.00. Why would you pay $26.00 for a lip balm my first though was "that is CRAZY?" Does it work any better than the $3.00? What could possibly be so different? In my opinion there is NOTHING different about this lip "baume" it does nothing that the others do not and it does not make your lips look any better than the others.




I do believe in splurging if it's worth it but I would NOT pay $26.00 for something I could get for $3.00, I'll save my money and buy other things. I can think of lots things I can get for the remaining $23.00. Do you think lip balms are worth splurging on? What is your favorite lip balm?