Review: Tropic Skincare - Organic Lip Satin

A few weeks ago, I won a Twitter competition with Tropic Skincare. I was super pleased as I've wanted to try something from this brand for a while now. Tropic Skincare products are 100% plant-derived so you know that there won't be anything artificial in there to hurt your skin.

I found out recently that Tropic Skincare had started selling cosmetics and I've been keen to try something out. It's not difficult to find natural moisturisers, face washes etc but I do find it tough to search for natural cosmetics. Some of you may know that I absolutely love lip products so, as if they read my mind, I was happy to see that they'd chosen to send me their Organic Lip Satins.

First of all, the packaging is so nice. The box is nice and sturdy with a simple design on the front. I'm definitely going to be keeping this little box to store either my Lip Satins or something else!

The Organic Lip Satins contain organic pomegranates, vanilla extracts, and grapefruit essential oils.

They do two shades at the moment: Nude and Tulip. They sent me both, which was lovely! Nude is pretty much a clear glossy lip balm. Tulip is quite sheer as well but there is the softest touch of pink in there, along with shimmer particles. I love giving my lips a natural rosy tint so Tulip is definitely my favourite out of the two.

I haven't used squeezy tubes for a while now, and I don't recall seeing many around anymore, but I'm glad that Tropic Skincare have chosen to use them. I find that they are so much more practical. You can control how much product you squeeze out, and it has a lovely lipstick-style slant for ease of application.

These glosses go on very smoothly and I was surprised at how moisturising and light they felt. They feel like silky lip balms. The name, Organic Lip Satin, is definitely very fitting! 

Staying power is pretty standard but I love these so much that I don't mind having to reapply them!

I'll definitely be purchasing some more once these run out because I can see myself using these a lot! I'm a bit of a lip product junkie and I like trying new glosses and balms, but I rarely stick to them. This, however, has definitely made it to the top of my list!

I'm definitely going to try out some of their skincare products in the future so any recommendations would be great!

Have you tried anything from Tropic Skincare?

Getting Into The Festive Spirit

For some reason, I've not been feeling very festive this year. So I've compiled a short list of the things that get me into the festive spirit!

My Mini Christmas Tree!!!

Ahhh how cute is this? I'm not sure if you can tell how small it is but it's about 7 inches in height. It's also got fibre optic lights which flash in an array of colours and it's so pretty when I turn my bedroom light off in the evening. I have a large Christmas tree downstairs as well, but I love having a little one in my bedroom. 

Christmas music

Christmas music is almost always guaranteed to make me feel all festive. And yes, I do still have the Pop Idol Christmas Album from all those years ago and I still listen to it! I'm loving the Glee Christmas Album the most at the moment though. I think I got it for Christmas last year but I can't quite remember who bought it for me. 

A Christmas story

I don't normally buy books specifically for Christmas. In fact, prior to the above, I've only done this once and I didn't actually read it because I didn't finish another book in time! This year though, I've been hearing a lot about "I Heart Christmas" by Lindsey Kelk. As I finished reading a book the other week, I figured I'd purchase this one onto my Kindle. I'm loving it so far! I only purchased chapters 1-5 as it was free and I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but I do, so I'll be purchasing the full version very soon!

Tub of chocolates

Okay, this is a bit of an odd one because I actually don't eat much chocolate but we always seem to have a massive tub of chocolates in our house every Christmas! As soon as a see a big tub of Celebrations, Quality Street etc, I know it's almost Christmas!

Christmas markets

I absolutely love going to the Christmas markets! I've been twice this year but I'll probably go again once Christmas is nearly on our doorstep. The first time I went this year, it was mid November and it was a little too early for me to feel festive. I went again in late November but I was in such a rush that I didn't really walk around much. I always find that going in December when all the Christmas music is blasting out always makes me feel super festive! Plus, there's always so much good food. I've been to various Christmas markets but none of them compare to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park London. The atmosphere is unrivalled and there's so much to see and do (and eat!). If you get the chance to go to Winter Wonderland, I definitely recommend trying out their weird but wonderful burgers (unless you're a vegetarian, of course). 

What makes you feel festive?

Amorella by Kate - Bracelets

Amorella by Kate is a company selling handmade jewellery and wine charms. I love jewellery and I can never get enough so I was happy to be sent two of the pieces from Kate.

The first piece is the Ruby Red Heart Bracelet*. This is my favourite piece from the website. The sparkly red beads kind of reminded me of Dorothy's shoes (from the Wizard of Oz) and brought a little childhood nostalgia my way! The combination of the sparkly red beads and the white beads makes it look very festive. I'm definitely going to be wearing this on Christmas Day! It would also make a brilliant Christmas gift for any female who loves jewellery and, at only £8.99, it's affordable too. 

The little heart charm adds a nice touch and gives the added girly factor!

The second piece I have is this Full Hematite Angel Charm Bracelet*, priced at £8.99. This is one of the most popular items from the website!

I have to admit, this isn't the type of bracelet that I'd normally buy myself but I can see why it's so popular. The beads are super glossy and they're nicely weighted as well. I know that hematite bracelets are quite popular with both men and women. 

Hematite apparently helps to strengthen the body and also combat stress and depression. It is also said to help you sleep better at night, boosts your immune system, and allows you greater clarity, balance, and reason. This stone supposedly helps to eliminate negativity from your life as well. This all relates to crystal healing, a topic that I'm not all that familiar with so I won't say any more on it! I'm definitely going to be wearing this a lot to see if I feel any different though, especially as I've been getting insomnia lately. My intrigue always gets the better of me! 

If you love bracelets and you're not looking to spend a fortune, check out Amorella.co.uk. One of the things that I love is that you can select sizes for your bracelets to ensure that you get a better fit. So go on and treat yourself, or buy something pretty for a loved one this Christmas. 

Which bracelet is your favourite?

Review: Limerance Skincare

Limerance is a skincare brand specialising in mineral-based products. Ever since the whole mineral cosmetics craze emerged, I've been well and truly drawn in and now most of my cosmetic products are from mineral make-up lines. So when I was offered the chance to test out some of the Limerance products, I knew I had to give it a try.

The first product I got to test out was the Limerance Face Cream*. This face cream consists of 79 minerals, gold, peptides, and pressed peach kernels! That sounds like a lot of goodness to me! All of these ingredients are designed to strengthen, moisturise, and treat wrinkles on your skin. 

This product is supposed to be fragrance-free, however, I can definitely sense a smell to it. It smells a little like herbal tea. It's not a bad smell, it's just not one that I'm particularly fond of. 

Having said that, this face cream is luscious. It glides on so smoothly and it doesn't leave a sticky texture behind. Despite the fact that this is a face cream, I've actually been trying this out on my hands and arms as well just because I can't resist applying lotions and potions when I'm sitting at my desk. This has made my hands baby soft so it'll do the same for your face. 

I can't really comment on the wrinkles side of things as I'm only 21 and there doesn't seem to be a wrinkle in sight at the moment. This definitely gives you smooth and soft skin, though, so I imagine that it'll at least make your wrinkles look better! Now I'm wondering if any of my readers are actually at the wrinkle-worrying stage yet...

The second product that I tried out was the Limerance Lip Balm*. This is a natural lipbalm containing beeswax and a variety of oils. It is recommended that you apply this lip balm before going to sleep so that you can wake up with soft lips!

The first thing I noticed about this was the smell. It has a very strong natural honey smell which I really like. It applies smoothly to my lips and makes my lips feel moisturised but not sticky. It is recommended that you apply this product overnight so you can wake up with smooth lips. A lot of people get dry lips around this time and this is a great product to combat it.

You can purchase these products online from the Limerance website.

Are you a fan of minerals too?