Apivita Lip Care in Pink Rose, Pomegranate and Blackcurrant

Ελληνικά/Greek

Ιn the past I have written about how much I love the Apivita lip balms. I’ve loved them for well over 20 years now and this time I have the old packaging to show you as well. The first one I bought was the cocoa butter one and as soon as pre-teen me could muster the courage, I got the rose one. It was my first lip product with colour and I can still remember how excited I was, applying too much so that I could carefully blot it like I had seen my mother do with her lipstick.

90s packaging

The number of lip balm bullets I have used up is impossible to count, they are a true staple product for me. This time I’ve selected the three lip balms that leave some colour on, the pink rose, the pomegranate and the blackcurrant. All three are very hydrating, but what I appreciate more is that my lips don’t feel hydrated only when I have them on, they are in a great condition hours after I’ve applied the lip care and the more consistently I use them, the better they look.

According to the website all three are made with olive oil, beeswax, cocoa butter, shea butter, castor oil and jojoba esters. They also contain vitamins E, C & F, avocado oil and calendula. They are created with  96-99% organic ingredients and are cruelty free. They are also free of silicone, parabens, propylene glycol and mineral oils. You can check the list of ingredients here: pink rose, pomegranate and blackcurrant.*

What are the differences between the three of them though? I would say they are different in terms of how much colour they leave on and how matte or shiny they are.

The blackcurrant lip care is the most pigmented one. It leaves the lips looking a bit deeper than their natural colour, a deeper rose colour and it is also the shiniest of the lot. It’s perfect for those days when it’s so cold that your lips loose all colour. I had also suggested it to a friend of mine whose lips had become really dry and colourless as a side effect of chemotherapy and she liked it a lot.

The pomegranate, though it looks almost colourless on my hand, has a brightening effect on my natural lip colour. It is more on the matte side giving the lips a very natural texture and it smells amazing. The website mentions a “red fruit scent” which I would have guessed would be more of a “forest fruits” scent, but (luckily for me) is more of an unripe pomegranate, sweet and zingy. A unique and pleasant scent.

The pink rose lip care is the least pigmented, leaving behind a pale pink colour. My lips are naturally pigmented so I only wear this when I want to tone down their colour a tiny bit. It is the most matte of all, so perfect for the summer months where every other lip balm seems to melt. It smells of rose and geranium, a bit like a turkish delight.

Their price is 4.95€ for 4.4gr of product.

Last but not least, it’s only a few hours till my giveaway ends and one of the prizes is an Apivita lip balm so those of you who want to try it, don’t forget to take part!

xxx

Elysse

*All the links are non-affiliated.

Tony Moly Petite Bunny Gloss: A Merry Bunny Return!

Greek/Ελληνικά

Dear readers,

I am so glad to be back from my long hiatus. I'm not going to blab about it , suffice to say life is a bit smoother now and I can resume posting regularly. Thank you to those of you who remained here and to those who sent me messages enquiring about my health. You are all such lovely people and I have been so excited all day today with the thought of writing and being part of the community again. I  have so many products, beauty secrets and ideas to share with you! Here it goes then... 

I thought I'd make a fun start with these little guys cause they crack me up every time I look at their faces. It's not often that you find cosmetics in the shape of anthropomorphic bunnies, therefore, it was almost obligatory to take the above picture with them looking like a gang of bandits. It's not the only reason I love the Tony Moly Petite Bunny Glosses though. They are actually really nice!

The ones I have at the minute are #3 Juicy Apple, #4 Juicy Cherry, #6 Juicy Orange, #7 Neon Orange and #8 Neon Yellow. 

According to thecompany's description they:

• soften dead skin cells with strawberry essence. It is actually mentioned as 'saving you from the embarrassment of lines on the lips' (I am assuming they mean dry lips), there's nothing quite like shaming you into buying a product, right?
• moisturise, smooth and soften your lips as they contain berry and grape essence,
• give you shiny lips with a smooth colour ,
• are rich in proteins that form a barrier to prevent moisture from escaping.
• give a strong colour to your lips that doesn't fade easily.

This is how they arrive, with the little sticker where you can see their number;

they are full to the brim;

and this is what 2 grammes of this product look like.

And here's my thoughts on these little cuties:

• They are wonderful little balms and they do soften the lips.
• As with all balmy products they do tend to disappear after a few hours so you will need to re-apply during the day. Their cute shape makes reapplication a more fun experience.
• They all have a slight fruity smell and taste, but not all have the same. None of them are too strong though.
• The colours are not too strong, they are perfect for day wear or when you want something almost natural.My lips are quite pigmented so I am very happy with them.
•  #3,#4 and #6 have a balmier texture, while #7 and #8 are glossier.
• #8 is one of those colour changing lip balms that are all the rage in Korea. In the tube it looks yellow, but when it's on, it turns to a lovely soft peach. It's also the glossiest of the lot.
• #4 is the least pigmented. You need to apply it a few times to show
• #6 is the most pigmented and least glossy one. 

I've also swatched them for you. On the left I've swiped them once and on the right I've swiped them enough for the colour to become apparent. 

Shade (sunny)

Direct sunlight

And here is a picture of all of them. I got all of them on ebay and I am contemplating getting #5 and #9 just so I can have a couple of happy looking ones!

All in all, I think I am going to enjoy using them all spring and summer long!

XxX

Elysse
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Tangerine Summer with RMK

Greek/Ελληνικά

By now I think we've all gotten enough of the Pantone colour for this summer, Tangerine Tango, in all sorts of products and -most prominently- lip colours. I can't say I've taken part in the tangerine madness and it's all due to these two products which I've been using non-stop for the past two summers and will be using for this one, too.

RMK Gloss Lips N CL-02 Clear Orange is the only lipgloss that's ever won my heart. I am a lipstick girl through and through and, yes, I did manage to spent all of the 00s without becoming enamoured to lipgloss; CL-02 is just this special and different. It's not sticky and it's not icky in the way a gloss can be and it has no sparkles. It's a beautiful clear orange; I liked the clearness of it so much I used to get obsessed about not tranfering any lipstick in the tube with my brush. I apply it sheerly and it enhances my natural lip colour and makes them look juicy. I start using it when the days are growing warmer, and it's one of only two lip products I took on my holidays last year when I decided I wouldn't take too much make up with me. It's summer in a bottle for me! The applicator is a plastic brush which started splaying after I'd used about half of it, but it was nothing I couldn't fix with a pair of scissors. The good news is that CL-02 is part of the permanent line. Permanent lines are so often ignored in favour of seasonal lines, but look at the gems one can find! I'm already on my second tube and will be getting more after this. 

RMK Sweet Colour Lip 01 Tangerine was part of a seasonal line from 2007 or 2008 and it is a coloured lip balm, pretty much in the same vain as the Clinique Honeys and all the other sheer lipsticks that have become so fashionable. I love lip products like that cause they give a bit of colour, but you can still see the natural colour and texture of your lips. I'm not going to say much more about it since it's a long discontinued product, but I like it so much that I couldn't leave it out. It was -in my opinion- the best one of that line and I use it all through the winter. I was lucky enough to find one on ebay earlier this year as I had finished my first tube ages ago and after this one is gone, I'm going to miss it!

RMK products are a little difficult to find, but you can check out their website in case there is one near you or you can order via telephone.

Korres Lip Care in Grape

Στα ελληνικά

Another excellent product that my friends sent me is the lip care by Korres. I know many people love the Korres lip butters, but dipping my hands in in order to apply just never appealed to me. I prefer these that come in a lipstick tube.

The colour I have is 'Grape', the brown shade. It's very sheer, not too shiny and pleasantly moisturising. It had a very subtle, natural grape-like perfume that you can't smell after the application. I definitely want to try more colours!

left swiped once, right swiped 6 times

Propoline Lip Aid/ Lip Care by Apivita

One of the staples in my routine is Apivita's Propoline Lip Aid/Care. I've been using them since the early 90s when I was living in Greece and I don't think I've ever been without them. They are great lip balms, they keep my prone-to-dryness lips soft and hydrated and even though I occasionally stray away to try others, I always come back to them appreciating them more than before. In fact it must be one of the few things I buy plenty of so that I can have them scattered around in my bags, thus ensuring I am never without one!

What I appreciate the most with all of them is the their texture. My lips look natural and healthy, not glossy and sticky like I'm wearing a light gloss. I really don't like lip gloss and glossy textures because I find them sticky, a quality that is particularly annoying when it's windy where you live and your long hair end up sticking to your lips (yuck!). I have no such problem with these.

In addition to keeping my lips hydrated, I find them hard to replace because they are  so well made and they keep improving the formula; the current version of lip balms is free of parabens, synthetics, silicones, propylene glycol and mineral oils. Now if only I could find out whether they test the finished products on animals I would be even happier. In their disclaimer they mention not using raw materials that have been tested on animals, but I couldn't find anything about animal testing in general.I've posted a question on their facebook page and I hope I'll soon hear back from them. 

I know that they have reformulated them and changed the packaging since I last bought mine, but I still have three left of the previous packaging and I've almost finished them,too. Unfortunately, I don't have any of my favourite rose lip balm to show you because they are always the ones I finish first. I will make a separate post about it, but I can't not say anything about it when I have finished more or less 20 bullets of it over the years! It has the most gorgeous rose fragnance that calms and sooths you and it gives your lips a soft sweet pink colour. It was my first 'lipstick' (i.e. anything that gives colour to my lips) as a teenager and I am emotionally attached to it! When I am stressed I wear it  before I go to bed and the soft smell soothes me.

Of the ones I have here, only the middle one (walnut & olive oil) has any colour, the other two are  chamomile & olive oil (left) and propolis & beeswax (right). 

The Chamomile one has a very light sweetish smell and of all the lipbalms it smells the most 'green'; it's not too greenish/fresh on its own, but I find the smell gently refreshing for use in the summer months. It also has SPF 15 which in the current version (not the one pictured) is due to 2 active ingredients, Avobenzone and Octinoxate. 

The Propolis & Beeswax one is probably the oldest in the line. It has a smell I would recognise anywhere; a lovely soft honey smell. It makes you want to eat it! It was the first one I ever bought and still love it. 

This is a swatch of the Walnut&Olive Oil lip aid; heavily applied on the left and applied once on the right. I just noticed it's been discontinued in the new line. What a pity! It's soft and I find it looks particularly good when I am wearing blue eyeshadow. It gives my lips a soft earthy colour without making them look muddy. I am not a fan of brown lipstick, it clashes with my pinkish skintone, but this one doesn't bother me.

If you want to give them a try, you can always order online from their site. I hear they offer an excellent service and from personal experience, their hair care is also very good. I can't wait to visit Greece again to stock up from my local pharmacy. Going through all the beauty products I can find in Greek pharmacies is like a ritual when I visit!

UPDATE: 5/4 

They replied to me about the animal testing issue and I have to say they were very fast and very cordial in their communication. Here is what they had to say: "APIVITA, loyal to its philosophy and values, does not perform any animal testing in any stage of product creation. Our products are created within the European Union and are by law not tested on animals.Our raw materials are of natural origin (not from animal origin, except bee products like honey, propolis and royal jelly) and natural or organic certified, therefore not tested on animals. If we need to perform tests in order to prove safety or efficacy of our products, then we do clinical tests on humans conducted by dermatologists according to scientific protocols.
Thank you very much for your interest in APIVITA products."