Kiehls Ultimate Strength Hand Salve Review - Banish Scaly Hands for Good!

In my experience Kiehls is one of those brands that makes great products, but often gets overshadowed by more commercial brands like The Body Shop. I have had the opportunity to try a few Kiehls products and have really liked all of them, including the Ultimate Strength Hand Salve that I have been using recently.

I usually don't like salves because they are thick and greasy, and don't absorb in to the skin. This product is indeed thick, but it is not very greasy, and what I like is it does get absorbed! It takes about 2-3 minutes for the product to get absorbed, but that is totally worth it because the effects are wonderful. I usually apply this at night and in the morning my hands are so incredibly soft and supple. And the effect lasts all day! I don't apply hand cream throughout the day, and using this one product at night is all I need to keep my hands soft and moisturized.

Kajal Couture Overall Rating: A

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: This is a great hand moisturizer for winter, when your skin is dry and in desperate need of moisture. It takes a few minutes to absorb, but once it does, it does not feel greasy or uncomfortable, and makes skin feel incredibly smooth!

My Newest Blogging Adventure - Maharani Weddings

Amidst all my wedding planning and keeping up with my passion for makeup, I have taken on a new adventure. I have just joined the crew of Ranis (bridal bloggers) at the fabulous South Asian bridal website Maharani Weddings and I will be blogging about my wedding experiences!!! To read my first post and stay updated on my journey from Miss to Mrs., check out the RANIS page over at Maharani Weddings!

If you are a bride to be or just like weddings, I highly recommend checking out the site because they have so many great features, like the inspiration board pictured above.

How to Highlight Your Face - Tutorial, Tips, and Tricks

Last week I told you about a couple of my favorite highlighters here. As promised, here is a tutorial on how to highlight your face. Highlighting is used to draw attention to areas of the phase that you want to emphasize and bring out. Most highlighters are a vanilla, white, silver, or gold color, that can easily blend into the skin tone. Many highlight products can sometimes be too glittery, so when choosing a highlight, aim for something that blends into the skin but gives off a nice healthy sheen. Highlights should not be obvious, but they should enhance. On the other hand, contouring de-emphasizes areas of the phase you do not want to draw attention to. Highlighting and contouring are methods of adding angles to the planes of the phase, creating visual interest, and allowing you to create more definition to some areas of the face.

#1: The first place that most people highlight regularly, and probably don't think of as "highlighting" is when you add a highlight color to the eye area. 

You can simply apply the product to the browbone and blend so it does not look white or garish. In the diagram above, I did not indicate it, but highlighting the inner corner of the eye (the tearduct) is a great way to add brightness to your eyes and helps close set eyes look a little more balanced. 

#2: Higlighting the temples and above cheekbones

 

Highlighting above the cheekbones (blue drawing above) is probably the second most common area to highlight. Adding a highlight here creates the illusion of higher cheekbones and gives a nice glow. Usually I apply my blush first on the apples of the cheeks, and then add my highlight right above the blush, above the cheekbones. I usually follow this step by highlighting the temples (purple drawing above). Let me tell ya, this might seem insignificant but it looks sooooo good! You want to create a "c" shape around the eye. This should be subtle and glowy. If you can see it on, you probably have too much product on. The highlight should just catch the light, so if you are looking in the mirror and turn your face, you should see the light reflecting on the highlighted area. This looks great especially on all skin tones and just adds an extra special touch, especially if you are going out to a party or a wedding. 

#3: Higlighting around the mouth

This is something I don't do very often on myself, but I like the effect. Highlighting the cupid's bow (above the mouth) is very flattering and really emphasizes the lips. You don't want to put too much product on, just a tiny dot in the middle of the cupid's bow, and blend outwards on each side. You can also highlight the chin area, especially if your chin and cheeks are in the same plane and you want to add more angles to your jawbone and chin area. 

#4: Higlighting the nose

#4: I really love the effect of highlighting the nose, but you want to be sure you don't look like Rudolph, but with a white nose. The product should be applied at the end of the nose and blended upwards on the bridge of the nose. This really adds a nice glow, but you want to be careful, because if you have an oily T-zone, you don't want to be glowing like a lightbulb. 

When highlighting, be cautious of your face and your skin type. If you have oily skin, highlighting certain areas like the nose and chin can make you look greasier, and worsen your appearance. Practice a few times and you will get the hang of it. Like with all makeup applications practice makes perfect. I recommend that you try these techniques with a friend around, so you can apply the highlight and if you can't tell whether you have too much or too little on, your friend should be able to tell if you look sparkly or natural. Highlights should allow the light to bounce off your face, but not in an over the top way...just naturally...like you have model-esque skin. 

Stay tuned, as I will soon be doing a post on my favorite brushes for highlighting. Till then, hope you all are doing well and enjoying what is hopefully the last few weeks of winter!

Springtime Coral Look of the Day

Hello lovelies, sorry I haven't posted very often in the past week, I have been so busy with my fiance, as we have been trying to do wedding stuff, and we also attended a wedding this past Saturday.

I recently did a springtime look of the day using some golds and corals. My photos actually turned out quite well, until I uploaded them to blogger. I realized that blogger is reducing the quality of my pics, and therefore the color intensity of my makeup is not showing through. I used a very intense coral in my crease and it looks so subtle in these pics! So now my mission is to figure out how to capture the same color intensity when uploading pics to the web. If any of you know, please feel free to help me out!

Here is my spring, coral look of the day:

I used all MAC: Goldmine on inner third of the upper and lower lid, Expensive Pink on the middle and outer portions of the upper and lower lid, and Coral (PRO color) in the crease. I used Blacktrack fluidline on the upper lashline and am sorta embarrassed the line is not very straight in the pic below....just pretend you don't see that....heehee.

I have lots of posts I have been wanting to do so hopefully I will have more time this week to let you in on my beauty thoughts and random ramblings. =)

Favorite Highlighters of the Moment

Right now I am LOVING my Stila highlighters. I go through phases where I uses certain products obsessively, and right now I can't seem to do my makeup without one of these:

Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer in Shade #1

Stila Illuminating Finishing Powder in Rose Gold

The Liquid Luminizer is a gorgeous silvery, off white color, that gives your skin a healthy glow. It really does give your skin a luminous, natural looking glow, without making you look shiny or greasy. The packaging is like nail lacquer, in that the product is to be brushed onto the skin. I like this much better than one large opening because I have better control of how much I apply.

This stuff is very strong and a little goes a long way. I do a thin swipe above my cheekbones and down the bridge of my nose, then rub the product into the skin with my fingers. I find this gives the most natural look. Some days I even apply a tiny bit to my browbone to highlight, and it works perfectly! You can also mix in a tiny drop with your foundation or moisturizer to give you a nice glow to your entire face. Because of the size of the brush, it is easy to apply a lot, so you will have to play with it a couple times before you get it just right. Less is definitley more with this one. That is also a good thing because this bottle will last you for ages!!

In the swatch above, I did a slight blend, so you can see the color. If you blend thoroughly, the product does not appear so shiny and white. Shade #1 is great for skin tones like mine (around NC30 - NC35 in MAC) or lighter. If you are darker, then I recommend trying out Shade #3 which is a golden color.

I am also a fan of the Illuminating Finishing Powder in Rose Gold as a highlighter because it is a soft highlight and not at all glittery like the MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes. Highlights should enhance the natural curves of your fave, not draw attention to them like a disco ball. This shade is flattering for all skin tones and I think it is the most natural looking of all the shades offered.

One thing to remember with highlighters is to apply a little, and if you feel that nobody will notice it, that is probably all you need. When you look in a mirror or in sunlight, you should be able to tell you have applied it, but to others it should look like glowing, natural skin. I am going to do a post on where and how to apply highlighters so stay tuned for that!

Lush BB Seaweed Face Mask Review

Hey gals and guys! I was in Lush and wanted to try out their fresh face masks. Apparently those get sold quite quickly and they get shipments only once a week. So I had only 2 options, and I chose the BB Seaweed Face Mask. It is supposed to be relaxing and refreshing, and it was!

It feels very cool on the skin, and when you wash it off, you feel very fresh and clean. It does give your skin a bit of a glow. There is no tight feeling afterwards, which is nice, because it does just what is says on the tub. The only thing a little funny, was that is has chunks of seaweed in it, and that was a new experience. But it did not feel odd or anything, just something new, since most face masks are thin or even in consistency, not chunky. Oh, and the tub seems small, but my mom and I both used this at least 3-4 times each, using generous portions, so there really is a lot of product in the tub.

Kajal Couture Overall Rating: A

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: Great face masks for a refreshing feeling. If you want some other properties like firming or deep pore cleansing, this might not be the one for you. But if you want your skin to be relaxed and clean, and just be in a balanced state, this is a great mask.

How is your V-day weekend? Mine just got a little sweeter. My fiance brought me red roses this morning! Yay!! I don't think we are doing anything that spectacular or romantical (yes that is a word my fiance and I made up), as we are attending an annual college friend reunion party tonight, and tomorrow (V-day) we will probably go see the movie Valentines Day. Yes, very cliche, but I have been wanting to see that movie since the first preview I saw months ago!

What are you plans? Of course its wonderful to have a significant other, but I think some of my most fun V-days were hanging out with the girls doing anti-guy stuff. =)

Experiences Shopping for Indian Bridal Wear

As you may have read in a previous post, one of the reasons I went to India in January was to do my wedding shopping. And by wedding shopping, I mean buy my bridal outfits. Of course, we had to buy other things like gifts, and items used during the ceremony, but the largest and most fun purchases were the outfits I am going to wear for the wedding reception and ceremony.

Traditionally, in the Gujurati (the type of Indian I am) culture, we wear a Panetar Saree, which is a white saree with a red border. A saree consists of wearing a petticoat skirt, a blouse, and the saree itself, which is 6 meters of fabric draped around the body. Examples of Panetars are pictured below:

Then for the reception, we wear a Chaniya Choli or Lengha (skirt) type outfit. This consists of an embroidered skirt, blouse, and a dupatta, which is a wide scarf (approx 1m x 2m) that can b draped around the body in various fashions:
So my plan was to follow the tradition. I tried on a few Panetars, and quickly realized the style just did not suit me. I looked twice my size, and I looked twice my age. Not exactly the look I was going for as a bride. So then I ended up mixing the traditional and modern and getting a Panetar style Chaniya Choli, so it is a Chaniya Choli style but in white and red. I am not going to post pics of the outfits I purchased. The first time I want anyone (other than my parents) to see the outfits will be as I walk down the aisle on my wedding day. =)

I did purchase my outfits in Mumbai, though I looked in a couple different cities in India. Mumbai is the largest, most populated city, and can be called the Paris of India. All the celebrities live in Mumbai, all the hottest styles are first seen in Mumbai and then filter through the country, and the best selection of clothing is in Mumbai. Since the best of the best merchandise is in Mumbai, it is also more expensive than other cities. All this I have just stated is not merely my observation, but a fact. Every family member, friend, shop owner admitted that the styles I would see in Mumbai, I would not find anywhere else in the country. And they were right. A girl I met in a shop in Mumbai had already bought her wedding outfit from Ahmedabad, and was looking only for her reception. But she liked the merchandise in Mumbai so much that she ended up buying a new wedding outfit!

That being said, here are a few tips I would like to share when shopping for bridal wear in India:

1. Try and go to Mumbai or Delhi (the capital of India) first and check out the selection. Then go to other cities, suburbs and all, and look at the styles and prices. You can compare the styles and prices with the larger cities and get an idea of what you want and what will fit in your budget. If you find something you like in the smaller cities, purchase it. If not, you can go back to Mumbai or Delhi and get whatever you like.
2. Have an open mind about what you like. If you are dead set on a certain color or cut, chances are you will fall in love with something different, and then be confused because it is not what you originally wanted. Try on as many outfits as possible, including the colors and cuts that are not your number 1 choice. You will be surprised as to what you find flattering on yourself.
3. Take into consideration how your outfit will look in pictures. The most popular colors in bridal wear are red and gold. Everywhere I went, people kept showing me gold outfits. I was open to it, until I realized that it just doesn't look flattering on my skin tone in pictures. My skin tone is too similar to the gold color of bridal wear, and the monotone look just doesn't look very nice. I didn't want my skin to blend in with my outfit, I wanted some contrast, so I went with color. Most places will not let you take pictures of their outfits, because they don't want pics in the wrong hands and risk having the styles copied, but if you explain to them you want to see what the outfit will look like in pictures, they will let you take a couple, as long as you delete them right away.
4. Remember to take a camera with you. Why? Re-read #3 above.
5. Take a few people with you. You will definitely need some opinions on what does and does not look good. It is sooo easy to get confused once you wear a few different outfits and like all of them. Having others point out things you may not realize, will help in the decision making process.
6. If possible, take some locals with you. They will know the best shops and it will be easier to bargain. A lot of bigger shops are fixed price nowadays, especially in Mumbai, so as much as you try, you won't even be able to drop the price by 1 rupee.
7. Have fun! This is your bridal wear after all, and you (hopefully) won't be shopping for bridal wear every again, so make the most of the experience!

Another thing I want to share is for those of you who are considering buying your bridal clothes in your country and not in India, I have some interesting info for you. The following outfit, as all the other pics in this post, are from a well known store in Mumbai called Pramanik.

The outfit above is listed online for $532. I saw a very similar outfit, similar type of embroidery, same color, same style, at a store in Cerritos, California (also known as the Little India of Los Angeles) for $5100. I am not joking. That is almost a 10X markup! People think its crazy to fly halfway around the world to shop for bridal wear, but once you learn the price difference, it really makes sense to pay the $1500 airfare to fly to India. Even if you and your mom flew, that would be around $3000, and you bought a $1000 outfit, it still comes out to be cheaper than the one outfit I saw in LA. And if you went to India, you would be buying more than one outfit, so all together, if you add up the savings of everything you could purchase there, it really comes out to be cheaper than buying things in the States.

By now you might be tired of my ramblings so I will end it here. If you have any questions about wedding shopping in India, please feel free to email me!

MAC Spring Color Forecast Eyeshadow Swatches and Review

Since the MAC Spring Color Forecast Collection launches in stores tomorrow, I decided to review some of the eyeshadows that I think are the hits of this collection. I loved both the quads, but I am a sucker for golds and pinks, so between the two, I went for quad #2 (and also because I find these colors more wearable than purples on a daily basis):

As you may notice, I started adding my Kajal Couture mark to all the photos to make sure people don't take my photos without crediting the site. It took a while to figure out how to work in Photoshop, and for now I have the basics down. I figure until I get a better camera (ie not a point and shoot camera) then the basics should be enough to accomplish all that I need.

Here are swatches from the quad:

The colors are not the most unique, and you can easily dupe Manila Paper with so many highlight colors, and Flip can be duped with Goldmine, as pictured below. The standout from this quad is Aztec Brick because it is a GORGEOUS rose gold color. The swatch does not do it justice, as you really have to see this in person to realize its true beauty. Amber Lights looks like it could be very similar, but Amber Lights has much more frost and had more orange and bright copper in it. In reality, both colors are very different on the skin. The last color in the quad is Creole Beauty and it is not the most original color, but it is gorgeous, and there is nothing that is exactly the same from the permanent MAC collection, but Bronze does come quite close to matching the color.

In my opinion, Aztec Brick is so gorgeous, that alone would be enough to make any beauty addict purchase this quad even if they owned dupes of the other colors.

Several of the single eyeshadows were great too, but my favorites were Hot Hot Hot and Nanogold.

Hot Hot Hot is very unique and there is nothing like it in the permanent collection. It is a great color to add to your shadow wardrobe. I also really like Nanogold. It looks like it is your basic shimmery highlight color, but it has a bit of a pink duochrome-ness that is not captured in the swatch below, but looks soooo beautiful in real life. It is a lustre, but actually feels more like a satin finish. It is the first lustre finish shadow that I actually like! I try not to buy such highlight colors because they often look the same on the skin, but this one looks so different from stuff I already have, that I just had to have it. It will go perfectly with all the pinks, corals, and golds from this collection, as well as the shades that are popular for this spring.

I give all these shadows an A rating because all of them have a very soft, easily blendable texture, and the colors are gorgeous and very flattering. Hot Hot Hot and Aztec Brick get an A+ because of the uniqueness of the shades.

There were other products I loved too, like the ombre blushes, but I didn't pick up everything I wanted. I may go back for more...hehehe. What are you planning to get, if anything, from this collection?

Lush Bath Bomb and Bubble Bar Review

So this past weekend I did something I hadn't done in over 10 years: I took a bath.

For those of you who use the words "bath" and "shower" interchangably, don't get confused, I shower everyday, sometimes twice a day. I never take baths because they are so time consuming and kind of a process. But this past weekend, I had nothing to do, I had a bunch of Lush goodies I had picked up months ago and never used, and decided this was the best way to de-stress from all my wedding planning drama.

You may remember my Lush Haul from a few months ago, where I picked up the following Honey Bee Bath Bomb:

A lot of bloggers had mentioned that Lush Bath Bombs are very strong, and if possible, use only half or a quarter. I took this advice and cut this in half with a kitchen knife, before dropping it into my bath. Let me tell ya....the fizzing and yellow color that took over the water was sooooo fun! This bath bomb has aloe vera and honey, both of which are very soothing and moisturizing. Using half was the perfect amount to leave my skin feeling soft and smooth, and I didn't even need to apply moisturizer afterwards. It smells like honey, but is not so overpowering that you feel like you are on a bee farm. It was the perfect mellow-out fragrance to help me relax and de-stress.

Kajal Couture Overall Rating: A

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: This is perfect if you want a relaxing bath and want soft, smooth skin. I definitely recommend this one, and will most definitely re-purchase as it will do wonders at calming me down as my wedding approaches.

Since Lush Bath Bombs are only fizzy and not bubbly, I decided to crumble in a small chunk of the A French Kiss Bubble Bar:

Bubble Bars are very soft, and I broke off a small chunk (maybe 1/4 of the bar) and crumbled it into the bath. In addition to adding fun bubbles, this product has lavender, thyme, and rosemary, which are soothing ingredients. Coupled with the Bath Bomb, I was in relaxation heaven.

Kajal Couture Overall Rating: A

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: Again this is great if you want to indulge in a calming environment, and the smell is not too strong, so you can actually enjoy the bath without feeling suffocated by the scent.

On another note, have you ever met person who you feel you could be BFFs with, only to find out they don't live anywhere near you, and the opportunities to hang out with him/her would be few and far between? Well, I met someone a few months ago, and we finally got around to hanging out last night, and she told me she is moving to the East Coast next week. =( It was so exciting to bond with her over our love of makeup and Indian parent issues, and now I won't be able to hang out with her often. I hope that our friendship goes against the norm, and we actually do keep in touch via phone and email. Girl, I know you are reading this, and I just want to tell you it was great hanging out and don't worry, my fingers are crossed for you and "V"!!

MAC Spring Color Forecast Review and Look #1

I was playing around with a few of the products from the MAC Spring Color Forecast collection and here is the outcome:

Here I used one of the new pigments (desribed below) on the lid, the new Nanogold eyeshadow very lightly on my browbone, and Bronze eyeshadow (permanent shade, not from this release) in the crease.

On my eyes I used the Crushed Metal Pigment: Stack 2! I used the gold color, which is the one that is open in the picture below:

I love the gold but I also think the champagne colors are absolutely gorgeous! The green one is nice too, though I won't use that as often. These are really neat because you get 4 colors packed in one. You can mix and match how you want to organize them, either as 2 and 2, 3 and 1, or even all 4 together:

Here is a swatch of all the colors. The first pic is blurry, but shows the colors better, so I decided to include it anyways.

Pictures don't do these justice. They are more shimmery in real life and very pigmented. The product itself is a mix between the chunky solar bits and the regular pigments. As you can see in the pic, they aren't as chunky as the solar bits, so they are easier to work with, but you still have to kind of crush them before you apply to the skin. I loved the colors and the fact that you can use them for a variety of uses, so I personally would recommend this stack. However, if you don't like spending time with a product to make it work, then these aren't for you. For me, it just adds to the artsy part of doing my makeup.

I also played around with the Blush Ombre in Ripe Peach. Let me just say that I LOVE this product. I love blushers and this one is so gorgeous! The powder is so finely milled and it applies so smoothly. It stays on for several hours, which is a plus since blush is usually the first to fade. The product itself blends soooo smoothly, more so than MAC's normal powder blushes. I am even tempted to go get the pink one now. The brown neutral one would make a great bronzer, but I don't use bronzer as much so I might pass on that.

You can use the different parts of the blush to get the individual color, or you can swirl the color to get a combo. The swatches in the pic below go in the following order from left to right: all colors swirled together, the center of the blush, the dark pink side, and the light gold side.

This blush gives such a gorgeous, healthy, coral glow. In the pic below I used the colors swirled together:

You can't see very well, but I am wearing "O" lipstick with Love Nectar lustreglass (my favorite) on top. I have also been trying out a new skin product mixed with my foundation...and so far I like it. Will tell you more about that soon.

What do you think about the new collection? What are you planning to get, if anything?

The Beginning of the Rest of My Life

So as I've mentioned before, I am getting married in May!!! Since it is getting close, a lot of friends and family have been asking "Are you excited?" And every time I hear that I am overcome with mixed emotions. OF COURSE I am excited to be getting married to the love of my life. But the planning process, although fun, can be quite stressful. I started the planning process soon after we got engaged last February (our engagement anniversary is coming up....eeeeeee!), but with only 3 months to go, it's time to start sorting out all the details and really get prepared.

By the way, I love this pic...my cousin is a photographer and this is from a wedding he shot a couple years ago. I used this as the opening photo for my wedding website.

Since my wedding is one of the most important events in my life, I figured I would start blogging about it. I get a lot of questions about the whole event, especially since it is so unique to non-Indians, and I thought it would be nice to share a little of my special day with all of you. Hopefully, this will help you with your future wedding process, let you reminisce about your own wedding, or just allow you a peek into my personal life. In any case, cheers and I hope you enjoy the posts!!

Tag

Last week, I was tagged by the lovely Kiki of Seattle for the Beautiful Blogger Award. First of all I want to say a great big "THANK YOU" to Kiki and I also want to thank you, my fabulous readers, for all your support and kind comments. Blogging has been such a great outlet for me to do something creative. I have really enjoyed connecting with my readers and you all are so sweet and encouraging! I really hope to grow the blog over the next year, strengthen my current network, and also meet lots of great new people too!

As part of receiving this lovely award I must share 7 facts about myself. Here goes:

1. My dream when I was young was to be a lawyer. Then during my Jr. High and High School days I wanted to be a news anchor, just like Katie Couric. No joke. Then I got to college and as the daughter of my Indian parents, I had to choose something responsible, which meant medicine or engineering. Read on to see what I chose.

2. I LOVE to organize. It's kinda fun for me. I like taking out the clothes from my dresser every few months and reorganizing the drawers.

3. I also love to purge stuff from the house. I do have a LOT of stuff, but I still love throwing things out. It keeps me a wildly fabulous sense of satisfaction. Probably because my rate of purchasing is higher than my rate of purging, so getting rid of the old makes me feel not as bad for shopping so much.

4. I have a Bachelor's degree in Bioengineering. I combined both medicine and engineering in my degree. Oh and yes, I am one of the gazillion people who don't work in the field they graduated in.

5. I always wanted an older brother when I was growing up. My friends with older brothers always had someone to take care of them and show them the ropes. I always thought to myself that when I had kids, I wanted a son first, and then a daughter, so my girl would have an older brother. Now, that seems silly, and I love children so much that when the time comes, I just want healthy babies.

6. I don't like knick knacks. I think trinkets and bobbles are junk. People love giving knick knacks as gifts and I attempt to throw them away even before they make it into the house. But my dad loves them. Thank goodness my fiance is on the same page as me.

7. On my first date with my hubby-to-be, we went to see the musical The Lion King. I love musicals and used to sing when I was younger, so he totally scored some major brownie points with that date. I'm happy to say that was the start of something beautiful and we are getting married in May.

I will now pass on the torch so I tag these 7 wonderful blogs with the Beautiful Blogger Award: Bubblegarm, LadyB, Cupcakes of Silk, All the Vanity, The Gloss Goss, Lipglossiping, and Suka & Spice.

Oh and on a side note, the new MAC Spring Color Forecast Collection is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! If you haven't had a chance to check out the colors in real life, I suggest you walk, no..run to your nearest store to check it out. I don't think it goes on sale in stores till next week, but just about every store has the display out so you can preorder. I guarantee you find something you like. I am a big fan of the blush ombres and especially the shadows because they are LE and they are actually unique colors! My wallet just had a heart attack.

Lip Balms - One Yay One Nay

Are you addicted to lip balms like I am? I find myself constantly reaching out for a lip balm or lip gloss, and kind of freak out when I can't find something and am left with dry pout. I know that the more you use them, the more you become addicted and the cells stop holding onto moisture, which makes lips even drier. But I can't help myself...I need my lip balm!

I used to like Burts Bees a few years ago, but ever since I discovered my passion for beauty products and have been able to try out new brands, I have learned that Burts Bees and I don't really see eye to eye. Take their Honey Lip Balm for example. It feels ok when you first apply it, but it doesn't last, and it does not leave me with soft, supple lips. Overall, this is a nay.

Kajal Couture Overall Rating: D

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: Don't waste your time on this. I would rather use Vaseline or plain ol' chapstick.

Now this next one is something I find myself reaching for ALL day long! It is the Korres Lip Butter. The one below is Jasmine, and I like it because it is colorless when you apply it, so you can use it as a base without adding color, and then add your lip color over it. I like to use this at night too, and the fact that it is colorless is great because you won't end up with pink marks on your pillow or sheets. Overall, this is sooo creamy and moisturizing, and makes my lips feel sooo good that I just want it on all the time! The one thing that could be better is the lasting power. It lasts a couple hours, but not as long as lip gloss. I guess that is cuz glosses are sticky and so they stay on longer.

In the jar it looks light pink, but applies colorless.

Kajal Couture Overall Rating: A

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: This will moisturize and soften your lips like no other! It definitely lives up to the hype! It's the equivalent of a good body butter for your lips. =)