IN part 3 of our summer beauty reviews, Carene Chong tries three different products to give the lips a burst of summer colour while keeping them soft and supple.
Caroline’s Skincare Lip Balm, $14.95
Having used my fair share of lip balms in my lifetime (I have four in my bag alone), I have to say a good one that keeps the lips soft and hydrated all day long is hard to find. Until now.
Unlike generic balms on the market, Caroline’s Skincare Lip Balm is medicated and specially formulated to treat problematic chapped lips. In fact, its healing properties allow it to treat dermatitis and eczema as well, and you can apply it to other parts of your skin too.
It was created by local skincare expert Caroline Monet, who has dedicated her life to developing products to treat problem skin.
I used the lip balm once in the morning and once at night before I went to bed and I woke up with soft lips every day.
In Australia where the weather can be quite dry, I reckon this is a winner. I loved it.
Buy Caroline’s Lip Balm in major pharmacies or online at the Caroline’s Skincare website – they offer free shipping for all Australian orders!
Australis Velourlips Matte Lip Cream, $9.95
Photo: Carene Chong
I picked up this lip cream in the shade TO-KI-O, which is a deep rich purple colour. There were plenty of other bold colours to choose from, like RIO-D – a bright orange colour and MA-LI-BOO – a neon pink (props for the creative names).
I didn’t know what to expect, but having looked for a beautiful purple lippie for quite some time, this caught my eye and cost less than $10, so I really had nothing to lose.
I was so excited when I tried this on. It had a grapey smell, which was pleasant. It had a very wet consistency when you put it on, but dried matte.
Photo: Carene Chong
The colour is rather out there, but perfect for a night out or even a nice summer’s day.
The colour stayed the whole day and hardly budged. It’s perhaps not an everyday colour, but certainly a fun one to make a statement with.
It felt a tad bit dry on my lips after a while, so next time I’ll be sure to hydrate my lips well before I apply this.
Australis Velourlips Matte Lip Cream is available from Priceline.
Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer, $15.95
Photo: Carene Chong
Lipsticks are so yesterday. Now it’s all about lip lacquers like Rimmel’s Apocalips, which gives you both the colour and the shine. Lipstick and lipgloss in one. Need I say more?
I picked up the shade Stellar in a cherry red colour.
Photo: Carene Chong
The colour is true to what you see on the tube, an intense red with a lot of shine. Two swipes were all it took to get a full blast of colour.
I’m impressed with how well this stayed on. After a full day out with some drinking and eating (no touch ups) the colour was still noticeable, albeit not the full intensity and shine as when freshly applied.
Overall for $15.95, this is a great 2-in-1 product that is definitely worth a spot in your beauty bag.
Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer is available from Priceline.