Review: Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1

Kiehl’s is a brand that’s relatively new to me. I’d never tried anything of theirs before I started beauty blogging, but there are a few Kiehl’s items that are firmly in my skincare regime – including the Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleanser.

I first came across Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 when I was working with a girl who would apply is liberally every couple of hours. Being a sucker for pretty packaging I didn’t really give it a proper glance, but with Kiehl’s celebrating 40 years of Lip Balm #1, I knew that there must be something special about it.

The formula reminds me a lot of Vaseline but it feels a lot more moisturising. You can almost feel it sinking into your lips, which is really nice. I like it when I can feel/see a product working, so this definitely ticks those boxes.

Excuse the sore-looking lip line. I'd swatched lots of lip products and constantly been rubbing them off and reapplying.

My main issue with the balm is the fact that I feel I can only apply it at night. As someone who suffers with very dry lips, if I don’t apply balms constantly throughout the day my lips flake up like fish food and peel. So obviously I expect my lip balms to combat this.

However, I feel that this balm almost encourages my lips to peel. Not in a bad way – it kind of lifts the dead skin, so it’s perfect to use before and after a lip scrub. But not as a general day balm – loose bits of skin on my lips while I’m out and about? No, ta.

Plus it's got parabens in it. I do usually try to avoid products with parabens, as I don't think there's any need to include them in beauty products anymore - there are suitable alternatives. However, since I don't use this that much it's not a big issue for me.

The lip balm comes in original or scented versions. I have both the original and mango scents, but from the images on the website I think it comes/came in Vanilla and Pear too (perhaps just US?).

The scented version is probably my favourite over the original, as the original tends to have a bit more of an oily taste. They both do in fact, but the taste is masked under the strong mango scent.

The tube is 15ml, but feels very generous and I can see them both lasting a very long time.

Bottom line: It’s a decent balm, but I’ve tried cheaper alternatives that perhaps perform better. It only contains SPF4 so if you're looking for better sun protection then this isn't for you. But if you’re prone to a flaky lip, then I’d recommend trying this as a way to alleviate it.

Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 is available from Kiehl’s online and in store, priced at £9.50/15ml.

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Review: Kiehl’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser

My skin is really oily, and I’m not sure if it’s due to the weather but I’ve found that recently my oil glands have gone into overdrive and I’m a lot greasier than usual.

Formulated for normal to oily skin, Kiehl’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser is one of my new go-to products that I use to help combat my oil slick.

  

As I’ve said many times before, I love scrubs. But I find that it’s difficult to get products that are scrubby and help keep oil production to a minimum. However, this Kiehl’s cleanser seems to do both.

The product itself is like a thick paste, due to it containing Amazonian White Clay. It doesn’t have a scrubby texture, but contains bits that exfoliate and get rid of any dead skin. And trust me, the bits are a lot more potent than you’d expect – the boy used this the other day and scrubbed way too hard and his face was really red afterwards.

On my particularly oily days I massage this into my face and leave it for a few minutes for the clay to absorb the excess oil before rinsing.

  

It claims to help reduce the appearance of pores, but I can’t say I’ve seen a noticeable reduction. Unfortunately it doesn’t leave me with a very fresh feeling but I think that’s me just being pernickety, as my skin feel feels clean and smooth afterwards.

Bottom Line: It’s a good cleanser and I do really like it, but I think that it’s a bit pricey for what it is. I’m always trying different products so I’m sure I’ll find something cheaper that will do the same, so for that reason I probably wouldn’t repurchase.

Kiehl’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser is available from the Kiehl’s website, priced at £18/150ml.

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Mini Kiehl's and L'Occitane Haul

I took a little trip to Westfield recently and picked up a few little bits. Here’s what I got.

L’Occitane

Limited Edition Desert Rose Lip Balm £4.25 – I’m a complete lip balm addict, and when I saw this for half price next to the till I had to pick one up. It’s not as great as other L’Occitane lip balms I’ve tried, but it’s perfect for day-to-day wear.

Almond Smooth Hands Hand Cream £8 – I love the sweet smell of L’Occitane’s Almond range. Think it’s a tad steep at £8, but I couldn’t resist.

Almond Skin Supple Oil £29 – I would never usually pay so much for a body oil, but after attending a L’Occitane event a little while ago and trying this I’ve pretty much been dreaming about it. I bought myself the Almond Shower Oil as a birthday treat but I never used it, so I returned it and paid the extra to get this. Review to come very soon.

Kiehl’s

I popped into Kiehl’s because I wanted to pick up a lip balm, but a really nice guy I spoke to in there offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse …

Kiehl’s Wash Bag Set £19 (£16 with student discount) – Since a lip balm on it’s own was £9.50 I didn’t mind paying a few pounds extra for another lip balm and some extra goodies.

Set includes

Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 – I’ve heard some rave reviews on this so wanted to try it for myself. The tube feels huge so it’ll definitely last me a long time.

Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 Mango – Didn’t want to get two original so picked one up in mango and I’m so glad I did! Smells gorgeous!

Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser – The guy in Kiehl’s said that this product would be good for my oily skin because of the clay. It’ll be difficult to work it into my already overcrowded skincare routine, but I definitely want to give it a try!

Calendula Herbal-Extract Toner – I’m not entirely sure about this. It looks and smells like herbal tea so I’m not sure it’ll be that great for my skin as I need something a little stronger. We’ll see though. I don’t want to get hooked on it as a 250ml bottle costs £34.50!

Don't forget to enter my MAC lipstick giveaway!

Latest in Beauty: Skincare Stars Box

On Sunday, Latest in Beauty released their ‘Skincare Stars’ beauty box and I managed to get my hands on one.

I love LIB boxes. You always get to see what’s in the box before you buy it and they’re usually really good.

I know I’m always harping on about ‘my routine’ but I couldn’t help but want this box as it’s full of some amazing brands!

Say what you will about Glossybox, but their actual boxes are pretty useful. LIB on the other hand doesn’t bother so much with the box as the contents speaks for itself. However, I was really happy that they put the box inside a cardboard sleeve so it didn’t get crushed in the post.

I hate when beauty boxes are filled with leaflets and the usual junk, but these leaflets all have discount codes on them – my bank balance isn’t so happy about that but they’re a nice touch.

Anyway, I’m going off on a tangent.

Inside the Skincare Stars box was:

L’Occitane Angelica Hydration Cream 15ml 

Worth £8.70 

 Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate 4ml 

Worth £4.80 

 Melvita Youthful Day Cream 15ml 

Worth £9.60 

 Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser 30ml 

Worth £5.10 

 Etat Pur Micellar Cleansing Water 190ml (Full size) 

Worth £6.40 

 Balance Me Moisture-Rich Face Cream 10ml 

Worth £4.80

L’Occitane Angelica Hydration Cream – since I’ve got very oily skin I tend to avoid moisturisers that are too moisturising. However I think if I was having a no makeup day at home then this would be perfect for me as my skin took a break.

Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate – I love night treatments! They’re perfect for repairing skin and this product promises to do just that. Also it dispenses in a pipette, which I think is really cool (yes, I’m sad).

Melvita Youthful Day Cream – I’d never actually heard of Melvita before, but they are apparently the sister company of L’Occitane. I LOVE L’Occitance so I’ve got high hopes for this.

Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser – This cleanser has got little scrubby bits in it and I’m really looking forward to using it.

Etat Pur Micellar Cleansing Water – This is probably the product that I’m most looking forward to using. I really want to see how it fares against my Bioderma.

Balance Me Moisture-Rich Face Cream – balanceMe is a brand I’d never heard of until I started getting beauty boxes, but I really like their products. Again, I’d have to use this on a non-makeup day just to keep the oil at bay, but I’m looking forward to this. 

Overall I’m really happy with this box. I can’t wait to start using and reviewing some of these products. This box was £8.95 + £2.95 P+P, but it’s worth almost £40 so it’s more than worth it.

Did you get a Skincare Stars box?