4 Summer Essentials: Avoid Looking Like A Hot Mess When It’s Hot as Balls Outside

I can only stand being outdoors for about half the year. Spring and Fall are my jam; Winter and Summer can go shit in their respective hats.

What’s not to love about Spring and Fall? The weather is perfect.  You can get away with going out in a cardigan or denim jacket, throw on a cute scarf and sunglasses and you’re good to go. Oh, and let’s not forget about ALL THE BOOTS!

Winter and Summer? I’m either getting all the moisture sucked out of me and constantly clutching my Carmex or on the complete opposite spectrum, I get to be constantly damp and feel like I’m living in Satan’s anus.

The latter is where I’m sitting today, but fret not, I’m going to share with you a few things that have helped me feel a little less like a puddle.

Avène Thermal Spring Water

Yeah yeah, I know. It’s fancy water in an aerosol can but I’ll be damned if I don’t love spraying my face with it all day. First of all, to anyone wondering, that’s no longer sweat that’s all over my face but ThErMaL SpRiNg WaTeR. Secondly and seriously though, I do find it to be quite hydrating and it is pretty refreshing to use throughout the day. I also like to use it before applying any serums or moisturizers to help them sink into my skin.

Revlon Kiss Balm

I love these! I have the Strawberry and Cherry ones and not only are they actually moisturizing, they’re not sticky, they leave a really nice and noticeable tint behind AND they’re SPF 20. Honestly, I can’t deal with lipstick in the summertime because I’m trying to use as few products as possible, it’s too damn hot to be fussing around with products! Don’t get me started on lip gloss in the summer, which practically slides off my mouth before I even leave the house. These lip balms are a perfect and they smell nice too.

Garnier Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream 

This is what I use as a day time moisturizer and I especially love using it when I get out of my (ice cold) shower. It absorbs pretty quickly, it smells nice, and the texture is super light. Its name says “Gel-Cream” but it’s definitely all gel. The product description says it has grape water, apple water (is that even a thing?) and Vitamin E, but I swear it also has some kind of cooling properties because my face feels cold for a while after I use it and that’s all I’m looking for during a never-ending heat wave.  

The Body Shop – Body Sorbet in Satsuma

We all know that Satsuma is an addictive, heavenly citrus smell from the Body Shop, so let’s get that out of the way. This is a great body lotion and my go-to in the summer. The texture is so weird to me, but I love it. The texture feels somewhat matte, it’s hard to explain but trust me on this, and it absorbs almost instantaneously.

Can we sense a theme here? I don’t want anything sticky on my body when it’s 40 degrees and my body is sticky enough! ANYWAYS, I also love the fact that it comes in a tube and you don’t have to screw around with a slippery lid, sticking your hand in a bunch of lotion and getting it under your nails.

So, that’s it. Apart from my constant bitching about how hot it is outside and how I feel like I’m on fire, these are some of the things that have been making my life a little bit easier. If I had to recommend only one of these products to you, it would be the Revlon Kiss Balm because even when I’m sitting in front of my fan looking like a hot mess, I look like a GLAMOUROUS hot mess. Happy sweating!

Nivea Pure & Natural Milk & Honey Lip Balm | Review

Here's a short and sweet review of Nivea's Pure & Natural Milk & Honey lip balm because there isn't much to say about it honestly, other than the fact that this is hands down my favourite lip balm of all time.

Come to think of it, I've actually tried a lot of Nivea's lip balms and for the most part I like them all (except for the "Pearly Shine" one which smells funny, isn't that moisturising and makes my lips purple). Their "Fruity Shine Strawberry" lip balm is really nice; it smells good and gives a nice tint to the lips. Their Lip Butter in Vanilla & Macadamia is what I use before bed and once again smells DEVINE (can we sense a theme here? Nivea has their smells on lock down!) and is also really moisturising.

But the #1 spot for me will always be the Pure & Natural Milk & Honey. I'm about to finish my second tube and I'm already feeling anxious that I'll run out before I have a chance to pick up a replacement.

What I like most about it is that it isn't waxy! I don't know when waxy lip balms became a "thing" but I really wish they would just go away. Did it come with the EOS lip balms fad? Does anyone really even like the EOS balms except for their smells? I've certainly bought a few of the EOS balms which I like to call "egg-balms" because let's be honest, their packaging is so damn cute. But as far as real moisturisation goes, the Egg-balms leave a lot to be desired.

Anyway, the Nivea Milk & Honey balm is a definite must-buy as far as I'm concerned. 10/10!

Revlon Colorburst Laquer Balms | Review

Can we talk about the huge trend that we've all been seeing over the last year or two? Giant lip crayons! At first when all the drugstore brands came out with them one after the other I was pretty sure they were all going to be crappy knock-offs for the Clinique Chubby Sticks. But every new expansion in the budget friendly lip crayon realm keeps impressing me.

I swear my bathroom looks like I'm hoarding bunches of Crayola jumbo markers, but I'm addicted to these things!

The newest addition to my crayon pack is Revlon's most recent offering aptly titled "Laquer Balms". At the same time of their release, Revlon also gave us the "Matte Balms" and I have one of those, too. Although while I find the Matte Balms to be quite drying on their own, under a good lip balm they work nicely and have some powerful colour payoff. But it's the Laquer Balms that really have me jazzed, which is a nice surprise since I'm usually drawn to anything matte.

While the Laquer Balms come in a wide range of shades from light pinks to plums and firey reds, the one that drew me in was the shade 'Demure'. For starters, it's a little glittery. Nothing too intense, while you can't feel the "grit" of the glitter like with a lot of lip products, the glitter is certainly noticeable. Secondly, the colour - Demure is a light peachy pink (this is a running theme with me, I know) but it's so flattering! Probably my favorite thing about it is its ease, because the Laquer Balms are sort of glossy (and also moisturizing)  you don't need a mirror to apply these for them to look amazing and can feel confident that the product isn't smeared all over your face.

One thing to note is like the original Revlon lip crayons (which I also have in like, every colour) there is that lingering minty/menthol feeling. It doesn't really stick around, so it's not a big deal for me. Lastly, these also twist up to dispense more product which is awesome. I've been wanting to pick up the Nars Velvet Matte lip pencils because they have about 50 amazing different red shades, but the fact that you need go sharpen them yourself really gets to me. I don't know what it is...something about paying close to $40 for something that makes ME work for THEM and not to mention sharpening the product wastes about half of it! Urgh, Nars, why do you do this to me?

Anyway, I would rate Revlon's Laquer Balms a solid 9/10.

Have any of you jumped on the massive lip crayon band wagon?

Korres Lip Butter in Jasmine | Review

My husband had the glorious idea of taking a little road trip to test out his new GPS and suggested we go to...wait for it...SEPHORA! A new Sephora just recently opened about 40 minutes away from where we live and he figured it would be the perfect place to go. This is why I love this man.

Needless to say I spent way more than I intended to but sometimes you need to do that for yourself, right?

I got a few things that I plan on posting about eventually, but today I'm going to review one of my purchases.

The Korres Lip Butter in Jasmine.

I've heard a lot about these, mostly because they come in a range of really nice colours, they're non-sticky and super moisturizing. I'm happy to report that all of these things are true.

I know there's a big focus on red/berry lips these days with the wintery season and all but I seem to always go back to pinky neutrals. I can't help it! Jasmine is a really nice choice if that's what you're after. It looks slightly beigy in the little pot but when it's on the lips it's a light pink/nude colour which I think would look fabulous on a lot of different skin tones.

It comes in a little pot which some people would argue with since you're constantly having to dip your finger into it and possibly spreading germs around but what can you do? It also only has 6g (0.21 oz) which is quite small. The packaging is a little deceiving since it gives you the sense that there will be more product inside but again, I'm not complaining.

Like its name suggests, this is a lip BUTTER and thank god for that! Frankly, I'm tired of all these companies coming out with lip products that include the word "butter" into it, placing that shining beacon of hope that it will be thick and moisturizing without the stickyness that gloss normally brings (ahem - Revlon Lip Butters, anyone? No thank you, you crooks!) but I can attest that the Korres Lip Butters do exactly that.

I believe it was somewhere around the $16-$18 mark and although it's a bit of a splurge as far as balms go, I've seen a ton of them on eBay for a few bucks cheaper. So with that said, I would recommend the Korres Lip Butters whole heartedly!