lip balm and other rambles

as i'm sure you've noticed my absence lately, i have to tell you that it's not because of my lack of love for beauty products.

i've been on a bit of a small budget lately and therefore haven't had much room to buy cosmetics. and when i have had a few extra bucks, i haven't really found much that appeals to me lately. except for the occasional lipstick (which i have to remind myself that i have far too many that need love first).

anyway, so since i haven't been able to buy much lately, the only thing that i don't feel guilty buying is lip balm. i fight a never ending battle with keeping my lips smooth. i've overcome a habit of biting the skin on my lips so the more i have something on my lips, the better off i am.

i've become quite fond of carmex. i went through a tube pretty quickly and recently at walmart i saw something new by carmex that seemed like it might even work better than the regular tube version. it's called carmex moisture plus. it's fantastic! it's everything i've wanted in a lip balm. it's got a bit of a menthol feeling, much like carmex but on a less intense scale (which i like, sometimes if i put too much carmex on before i'd be eating menthol for the next few minutes. ew.). it's also super moisturizing and it's in stick form which is also nice as it's not as easy to overdo.

i love carmex products because they're one of the few lip balms that actually moisturize. so many of the lip balms you buy at the drugstore are just a bunch of wax that retain whatever moisture you already have in your lips, but don't add any extra. this doesn't help much when your lips are dry!

i also went browsing in rite aid today and finally got my hands on some eos lip balm. i've been wanting to try this stuff for a while now. no review yet as i haven't gotten to use it yet, but i'll keep you posted! they get high marks for design, if nothing else!

so besides lip balm, i've been re-loving my makeup a little to try and get some use out of what i have since i can't buy much.

i've been really into simple/minimal eyes and loving bold lips. i know, i know, bold lips are popular in the winter. but who makes these rules??

lately i've been doing a lot of looks with just a bit of black liner on my upper lid just slightly winged out with a bold lip.

also, i know you've seen my post gushing over make up for ever's full cover concealer. don't fret, i still love that concealer. but i find that it's so opaque (which isn't bad when you need it) that when i'm wearing little to no foundation, it gives me a bit of a white cast around the eye compared to the rest of my face. especially in photos. so i've been using lancome's effacernes waterproof concealer. it gives me excellent coverage just like mufe's but it's slightly less dry so it blends a little more naturally when i'm not wearing much else on my face. it's also just a tiny bit more of a natural match to my skin (emphasis on slightly, as mufe is also an amazing match to my skin, it's just a bit paler so maybe thats why its better for me in the winter)

so that's it. that's my update on where i've been at lately and what i've been loving. hopefully i'll have something again for you guys soon!