DIY vs Fresh Sugar Lip Polish

They say the secret to a bold lip is smooth/ exfoliated lips, but in my opinion the secret to any lip color is a polished base. When lips are exfoliated color not only goes on smoother but they will absorb moisture better, allowing for your lips to look and feel healthier.

A little over a month ago I purchased the Fresh Cosmetics "Sugar Lip Polish" from Sephora because my lips were in desperate need- I was really hesitant at first because of the steep price tag but I eventually went for it anyway because who doesn't love to try new things?

"What it is:

A sweet treatment that that leaves lips incredibly soft and smooth.

What it is formulated to do:

This unique formula is enriched with real brown sugar crystals to gently buff away dry flakes. It nourishes the lips with the oils of meadowfoam seed, jojoba seed, and grapeseed while shea butter provides long-lasting moisture."

This being said I still wasn't sold on the $26 price tag! However- I did decide that it would be a good opportunity to compare it to a (much more affordable) DIY lip scrub you can make at home using ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. If you're considering splurging on the Fresh Cosmetics Polish but sitting on the fence my experience may encourage you to try an at home remedy before opening your wallet.

After some quick research on the Pinterest machine and found tons of at-home scrub recipes which were all very similar (people are so crafty).  The one I chose to try seemed simple and called for 1 part olive oil, 1 part honey, and 1 part brown sugar.

After mixing it all together I wasn't completely happy with the texture so I decided to tweak it a bit and ended up using around double the amount of brown sugar than in the original "recipe".  Therefore all together I used 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of honey, and 1 table spoon of olive oil.

So why do these ingredients work??

Sugar acts as a natural exfoliant- which is why it is the common ingredient in both scrubs.
Olive oil is rich in vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids which allow it to nourish and rejuvenate and protect skin.
And honey acts as a glue, holding all the ingredients together and also has moisturising qualities of its own.

To use either of these products simply rub a small amount into your lips for a few minutes then rinse away any excess sugar with a warm wash cloth.  Apply lip chap as needed and only use once every 2 or 3 days.

Direct Comparisons:

	DIY	Fresh Cosmetics
Scent/ Taste:	Sweet	Citrus-y (contains "Citral")
Texture:	More gentle exfoliant	Coarser
Shelf Life:	About a week	Unknown (similar  Lush scrubs have a 14 month shelf life)

The bottom line: While I hate to say it...considering I spent almost $30... I think I actually preferred my DIY version (biggest facepalm) because it was more gentle on my lips.  If you're interested in a more "intense" exfoliant you can simply replace brown sugar with raw sugar and get a coarser texture.  I found both do a great job and left my lips moisturized and smooth- therefore I can't justify the price difference when the results were ultimately the same. I guess I was hoping there would have been some magical ingredient or blatant different in my Fresh polish that would have made it obvious I didn't waste my money. For my own purposes it would have been wise to compare them earlier, before it was too late to return my purchase to Sephora.

This being said is the Fresh Sugar Lip Exfoliant a good product? Yes
but is it worth $30 when you can make one in your kitchen for a fraction of the cause? Absolutely not.

While I am suffering from a small dose of buyers remorse I will continue to use and enjoy my lip scrub from Fresh, although it will not be a re-purchase.  I learned that there are so many other natural scrubs you can make at home! I'm considering using the remainder of my home made sugar scrub on my legs, although I think body scrub recipes call for a different ratio of sugar to oil and honey.  We'll see how it turns out.

Have you ever made a scrub at home? What are you favorite recipes?

Products That (Recently) Disappointed Me

Yay Thursday!
When I wrote my monthly "Favorites" post last week I initially wanted to include an additional "Unfavorites" or more appropriately "Products I Was Disappointed With" portion; however, when it came down to it combining Favs/ Unfavs into one post had the potential to be longer than some of the research papers I've written in University.  I made the executive decision that collectively it was far too long.   
  

On with with it then...

My Elizabeth Arden "Precision Guide Lip Liner"... the color Red Door Red  01 is perfect  and exactly what I was looking for- a true cherry red lip liner that I could use almost "universally" for the majority of my red lip shades to help with both longevity but more importantly to prevent bleeding. My first issue was the price- it cost $26CDN for around .35oz of product but I thought "hey! Elizabeth Arden- that's good shit- probably worth it".  It does not prevent bleeding at all.  Actually, I found that the liner itself bled.   It just really did not do what I wanted it to. *Sigh* I wanted it so bad.   

Second, I tried the new Cover Girl "Flamed Out" shadow pencil.  I loved the color of this (I think mine is Ginger Flame) and wanted to use it to smoke out on my lower lash line but I used it twice and I don't know what it was but my eyes were incredibly sensitive to it! They watered and stung so bad I just had to lay down with my eyes closed until it went away.  I don't normally experience any type of sensitivity so this was new to me (anyone else have this problem?) I think I'll pass it to my sister and see if she has any luck with it.  

My final disappointment was from The Balm.  I wanted to try more of their products as I love their "Lou-Manizer" collection.  I picked out their "Batter Up" Cream Eye shadow- once again I was sucker in by the packaging (I think I have a problem- weren't we always told not to judge a book by it's cover?) It has the cutest little MLB themed label and I got the shade "Home Plate Kate" which is a gorgeous champagne pinky-neutral color.  My thoughts were that it would make the perfect base for my Naked3 palette but once again it was the formula that killed me on this one.   It's not smooth or creamy at all but it has a really stiff texture and you really have to work with it in order to get a smooth or even application.

Anyone have better luck with any of these products?

8 Useful Ways to Reuse Sample Pots

Talking about depotting lipstick last week got me thinking about other ways that you could reuse little jars you get from Sephora, MAC, or any other cosmetic counter.  When I have used all the product I always clean mine out using water, makeup remover and a Q-tip, then I reuse them for a variety of different things.  

1. Get more use out of those "single use" foil packets:  this is my favorite way to recycle sample pots.  Often times when you get a foil sample there is enough product for more than just a single use but after opening it it just gets thrown away. Transfer the remaining product into a small jar and you'll be able to prevent it from drying out before you use it again.  I did this with the Urban Decay "Primer Potion" samples that came with my Naked3 palette and I've been using them quite regularly since Christmas - there's a lot of product in there! 
2. Travelling: instead of bringing a whole bottle of concealer or foundation pump the amount you need into a pot- they should hold enough concealer for a week or more and foundation for a weekend.  This will not only free up space in your bag but also make it lighter!
3. Similar to this, if you're one who likes to carry some makeup with you on-the-go, instead of constantly putting products in/ taking them out of your purse just keep a small pot in there permanently and refill it as you need.  Or, what I like to do is keep small amounts of products at my boyfriends house so whenever I'm over there I don't need to worry about remembering my daily makeup/ skincare products.  
4. Customizing shades: I love this.  I sometimes mix a liquid highlighter directly into my foundation or concealer so I once again reuse my baby sample pots instead of doing this on the back of my hand and wasting product.  What's great about this is if you're really creative you could mix  lipgloss/ lipstick to customize your look, and you can do the same with loose pigments. 
5. Speaking of lip products, you can always depot your lipstick!
6. Make your own samples to share with friends/ family. 
7. They make great mini pill boxes to stash in your purse, car, or for travel.
8. And finally, for those DIY Queens out there- they are the perfect container for home-made lip balms!

Is this something you already do? What are the ways you reuse your sample pots?

 Happy Tuesday everybody!