Pooka.machine.- Pooka.gloss

I just recently discovered ETSY, which is an online retailer of home-made goodies for ridiculously good prices. All for that home-made feel, without the effort. :) But among the art, crafts, T's, etc, they actually carry homemade beauty products. Just so that all of you eco-friendly/vegetarian girls guys out there know, ALOT of their products are 100% vegan. In fact, they have an entire category dedicated to vegan-friendly beauty products (among other things also).

Pooka.Machine. makes 100% vegan beauty products and uses all natural ingredients. I picked up 3 of the 4 lipbalms that Pooka offers over at ETSY (the complete product line is NOT available YET at ETSY, but will be soon), and was won over immeadiatly with the ADORABLE packaging. Cute, Cute Cute!



I have to give Pooka a 10 outta' 10 for packaging! The tubes are atad smaller than your average lipbalm tube (shown in the picture below), but in my opinion make them much more jean-pocket friendly.



Okay, so onto the review! First up is the Peppermint Lipbalm, which once opened smells of hard peppermint candies. Sweet and refreshing for anytime of the day. The glide is smooooooth and moisture is instant. Pooka nailed that 'layer' of moisture that leaves your lips slick, not slippery or wet as with a gloss. Perfect for chapped lips. I wouldn't recommend this balm for flaky, very dry lips (perhaps for being out in the sun too long) because that 'slick' makes the little flakes of skin more apparent. But, after 5-7 minutes, the balm absorbs into the lip, still leaving lips soft, smooth and well moisturized.

Next is the Vanilla Lip Balm, which is meant to have more of a 'glossy, wet lip' effect compared to the others (according to the website, correct me if I'm wrong please). I'm not too sure about that to be honest, it appeared to have the same sheen as the others. But aside from that the lip balm was almost impeccable. I LOVED the vanilla scent. It reminds me of Vanilla Soymilk.....Vanilla IS a relaxing scent....but alot of the Vanillas we see on the market today are that more "Ice-Cream-y sweet Vanilla". Which is fine! Don't get me wrong, I love it as much as the next girl. But vanilla represented as relaxing, calm and comforting in this balm is soooooo underrated....it's a darn shame. Definatly pick it up as a nite-time balm, or just something to relax you during the mid-day blues.

Last is the Sweet Orange Lip Balm, which is another hit with me. It smells just like those little clementine oranges that we get in the summer time here in California......it's juicy and sweeeeeeeeeeeet. Definatly sexy, in an understated "I'm-just-drawn-that-way" type of sexy (props to Jessica Rabbit).

Overall, Pooka.Machine. Balm were fantastic. Probably some of the best quality that I've tried so far, and the packaging is something that a girl will WANT to be caught putting on......... I'm giving this one 9 outta' 10, I knocked off one point ONLY because it didn't contain SPF. Definatly try these balms out!

Revlon's Raisin Glaze

I suppose that me, and the rest of the world is looking for the "perfect" gloss. I suppose one that would suit each and every user's wants and needs, should it be patent-leather shine or full-on coverage. Gloss for me, is one of those lovely beauty basics. Although not classic like the "perfect" red lipstick, it is a more casual alternative to looking try-too-hard-glamorous when I go to work in the morning. Being LA born and bread, gloss is a staple as is, lets say.....a pair of jeans.

So, let me give props to Dain over at The Lipstick Page for showing me this hidden drugstore tresure! Revlon's Super Lustrious Raisin Glaze Gloss is STUNNING. Just as she described it, it was an apricot-y plum/brown. I know that it sounds strange, but the color is actually very beautiful. It sort of reminds me of the drugstore version of Chanel Glosses, (which are FABULOUS and worth the splurge) and has a gold base, which immeadiatly brightens the lip. Even my Manager (who is a former make-up artist) mistook the gloss for Chanel. The color, the texture, the lovely golden micro-fine glitter just screams luxury. Oh yeah, and it has SPF 15. Not bad.




It also looks quite intense in the tube, which I was intimidated of at first. But once applied to the lip it just deepened my pink lips natural color....quite sexy actually. Definatly a good buy, and I would HIGHLY recommend it for any redheads. Sometimes I find it so hard to find cosmetics that don't make me look like a french whore (because nothing looks worse than a read-head with electric blue eyeshadow or frosty-pink lipstick. ew.). It "compliments" my red hair and fair skin, instead of clashing with harsh, bright color. Nice.

Viva La-Bello!

Picking my favorite lip balm would be like telling a mother to choose their favorite child. I just....couldn't do it. I don't believe that there is such a thing as 'the holy grail' of lip balms...I keep EVERY SINGLE balm that I have ever purchased. Because They're all sooooooo different. Some are minty....some smell like my favorite desserts, some don't have any scent at all! I But, recently I've been going through all of my lipbalms that have collected in my purse, bathroom cabinet, my vanity, my glove compartment.....all over the place. So once I got all of my lip balms together, I realized the staggering number that I actually had.....I must have over 50 tubes on my kitchen counter just WAITING to be used....

I should probably consider swap over at Make-Up Alley :/

ANYWAYS........Labello is one of those 'cult' favorites. The brand is unavailable in the US, and is known as the 'Chapstic' of Europe. A friend of mine visted Germany recently and noticed that they use the word 'Labello' like how we say 'Chapstic'. Interesting, hm? But rightfully so, because this balm is fantastic. Compared to most of that cheap crap we put on our lips State Side, this is the creme de la creme of balms.

The application is smoooooooooth.......and THICK. It leaves a pleasent layer of moisture on the lips, but nothing unpleasent. After 4-5 minutes, the layer seems to soak right into the lips, just leaving behind soft, supple lips. In my experience, this effect lasted ALL day.....after eating, drinking, and a little bit of macking out with a significant other. Almost too good to be true isn't? It also has subtlest of spa-like scents in the tube and when applied to the lips. It's not floral, or citrus-y, but soft....soothing.....like baby lotion.





Another great thing about Labello is the WIDE array of flavors and formulas. So they'll have somethning for everyone! They even make a "manly" version called Labello for Men, which is a more matter version of the original.

I ordered the Classic balm (in the notorious blue tube), Cherry, Strawberry and the special SPF 30. I bought mine online from an ebay seller based in France who sold me the four for the riduclously low price of $8.00 (with shipping).

The only problem I had with Labello, was the consistency between he different formulas. For example, the Cherry and Strawberry flavors have a very sheer red/berry coloring to them, and can be layered for a lipstick like effect (in my opinion) and they don't last nearly as long as the Original formula. I found that both flavors dried out on my lips over time, and made me reapply more often. Still a VERY good balm, but just not as good as the Original. On another note, let me just say that the two flavors that I tried have the most natural flavoring I've ever smelled. Opening the tube of the Stawberry flavor is like picking up a fresh strawberry. Nothing like Chapstic..... :/ The same goes for the Cherry flavor which is just.......juicy and delicious.

Another downside (the few that I found) is the lack of UV protection built right into the balm. Even chapstic has the bottom of the barrel SPH 4 in it formula (not good, but it's better than nothing). You have to buy the special UV protection version, which is fine....but I just would have preferred to have it in the formula already. Call me overconcerned. But this fair skinned redhead has to watch out for the sun in the Cali heat. I found the UV formula to be MUCH stiffer compared to the smooth glide of the other three. It also left a whiteness cast like when applying sunscreen....ew....pasty.... :/

Overall, I would just pick up the Cherry and/or Stawberry flavors and of COURSE the Original, which I've ALREADY (I've been using them for about 3-4 months now) almost used down to the nub.