Iconic Beauty - A Review Of The Clinique Black Honey + More Gift Set And A Life Update*

I can hardly believe it's been nearly a month since I last posted but predictably life got in the way again. My auntie passed away peacefully at home with her family around after a short battle with cancer. understandably it's hit us hard, my mam in particular especially coming so soon after my uncles passing last year so understandably I've been spending lots of time with her reminiscing, and focusing on other things. Throw in the fact that she hasn't been very well either, and I'm not only still struggling with my teeth and gums, but I've also been struggling with an scratch on my left eye and very uncomfortable dry eyes, it therefore will come as no surprise that yet again the blog has been pretty low on my list of priorities.

Despite that though I have been doing a bit of post prep and a bit of editing here and there, but seeing as I'm trying to rest my eyes a bit and limit my screen time, nothings happening very fast. That been said though I do actually have a little post for you today that I've been working on for a few months now and it's part of a new mini (or maybe not so mini - we'll see ;) series called 'Iconic Beauty'. In this series I'm going to be sharing my thoughts on some of the most iconic and talked about beauty products on the market, from products with a cult following, to products that everyone on social media seems to be talking about, and the first product I'm going to be talking about is Clinique's Almost Lipstick in the iconic shade Black Honey.

First released back in 1971, this deep, deep berry shade, must have really stood out amongst the bright colours of the hippy area, but it quickly became a best seller, and all of these years later according to Clinique, 1 tube of Black Honey is sold every 7 minutes worldwide! I've been reading about Black Honey and why it's so perfect for both in magazine and online for years now but I never got round to buying it,  until that is I started using Tik Tok. Yes according to various journalists and retailers the old clock app has apparently introduced a whole new generation of people to this product, and for a while last year it was in pretty every haul video, or get ready with me that appeared on my for you page, so I gave up, I was indeed influenced and I decided to take the plunge and try it for myself.

Now, you should know by now that I love a bargain so I didn't by the lipstick on its own, instead around Christmas time I bought in a little kit called Clinique Black Honey + More. As well as containing a full size Almost Lipstick in Black Honey it also contained, a good sized mini mascara and an eyeliner for just £30, and considering the lipstick was £24 on it's own it would have been rude not to pick this up instead.

So Black Honey, why is it so iconic, well just look it, it looks beautiful, in this 1.9g full size  Clinique's sleek, minimalist, matte and shiny silver packaging really makes, this dark burgundy black lipstick stand out. It looks almost black here but I can assure you it is a tiny bit more berry toned in real life.

If you don't know anything about this lipstick, I can pretty much guess what your thinking - 'why is a lipstick that looks like it belongs at a goth convention so popular?' Well in case you haven't realised it doesn't really go on that colour. According to Clinique the perfect blend of blue, red and yellow pigments, produces a sheer berry tone, that will miraculously work on any skin tone which is shown in their numerous ad campaigns - the simple reason why it's popular is that it suits so many people.

As you can probably guess from the difference in colour in the tube, to the colour payoff, Black Honey actually has quite a sheer glossy finish, sort of my lips but better. It's described as the perfect hybrid between a lipstick, a lip balm and a gloss.

So that's why it's popular, and why it's so iconic but what did I really think of it? I have to admit that even though I knew what to expect, this 100% fragrance free lipstick still looks intimidating in the tube, but I needn't have worried. The soft but not overtly creamy formula applies easily, and it definitely creates an almost just bitten sheer berry tint - Clinique claim that you can apply it without a mirror, I guess it depends on your skin tone as I could see little imperfections on my skin when I tried but you might be different or more skilled at applying it ;). Whilst sheer the colour is slightly buildable so the more you apply the more intense the colour will be - just don't expect a block, solid colour finish.

I definitely think it has a more balm like feel, and a lovely shiny almost gloss like finish. It isn't the creamiest lip colour, or even tinted lip balm that I've ever used but it was still comfortable to wear and it certainly didn't leave my lips any drier.

The wear time was decent, predictably the glossy finish was the first to fade, transferring onto cups and glasses quite quickly, but once that had gone, it left a slight berry stain which lasted for a few hours.

I have to say I actually do like the product a lot, and I can see why it has the reputation it does but if I'm being honey I think it maybe is a tiny bit overhyped, it's certainly nothing earth shattering, either colour wise or moisturising wise, but I guess the fact the just about anyone can wear it is it's real selling point, and it's certainly better than the few so called dupes that I've tried, but I can't help thinking for the price it might be cheaper just to buy a tinted lip balm if that's the effect you're going for - hmm. For the rare people that Black Honey apparently doesn't suit there is apparently a pinkier version called Pink Honey, which I might try next - If you've tried that one please let me know  your thought- I think it might be too pale for me but you never know. The Black Honey + More Kit is really hard to find now but the lipstick, it is still widely available on its own for around £24 from retailers including Boots, ASOS, M&S, John Lewis, Beauty Bay, Look Fantastic and Sephora.

As I said earlier in this post I do love a bargain, and at the time it made more sense to buy the Black Honey + More set rather than the individual lipstick. As well as the beauty that is Black Honey herself, the kit also came with a couple of eye products, including a 3.5ml half size of the  Clinique High Impact Mascara in Black, which retails at around £14

Although I don't remember buying it outright, I had actually used this mascara before, so I think it was either a GWP or a magazine freebie, and I remember being pretty impressed, so for just an extra £4 on top of the lipsticks retail price, I was pleased to have the opportunity to try it again.

As you would expect from Clinique this mascara, is ophthalmologist tested, free from fragrance and oil, and it's safe for both contact lens wearers and people with sensitive eyes. The packaging is clinical and to the point, if you want a fancier tube Clinique certainly sell mascaras in more expensive looking packaging but this particular one lets the product inside do the talking. 

Even though this particular tube is only a half size, it came a full size, signature soft, full fibre spoolie brush, which when teamed up with rich black pigments, Clinique claim produces a mascara that adds buildable volume and length all without clumping.

Thanks to the full brush it was nice and easy to apply on the top lashes, but predictably there was a little bit of spotting and smudging on my shorter lower lashes, but nothing too extreme and it was fairly easy to remove with a cotton bud.

After just one coat you can already see the difference, the lashes are darker, longer, more separated and fuller. One coat is perfect for everyday use, but if you want to go bolder then this mascara will help you do exactly that.

Before 

1 Coat 

2 Coats 

With 2 coats, the effect is intensified, the lashes are darker still, longer, fuller, and more separated. This picture is taken straight after application, no fiddling or combing so they do look a little bit clumpy and spidery, and there are a couple of smudges under the lower lashes, but it's nothing that a lash comb and a cotton bud couldn't fix, and most importantly even with an extra coat the lashes didn't feel, tight, dry, heavy or uncomfortable.

Before

1 Coat

2 Coats 

Despite the fact that it's not promoted as a waterproof, or long wear mascara I was still pretty impressed with the wear time, only after about 6 hours do I start to notice a bit of panda eyes going but it wasn't too bad, and when even when I came to take it off at the end of the day, it removed easily with eye make up remover and there was still plenty of product still remaining on the lashes.

Whilst I don't agree with the non clumping claim, everything else Clinique claim about this mascara rings true, darker, longer and fuller lashes, a buildable formulation, and decent staying power. There are probably a lot more dramatic, false lash effect mascaras on the market but this particular is a real workhorse, perfect for everyday both wear and for when you want to add just a touch of drama. 

Also available in Brown and Black-Brown, this half 3.5ml half size retails at around £14 and is available from various retailers including Boots, ASOS, Beauty Bay, and M&S. The full 7ml size retails at around £24 is also available from Boots, ASOS, Beauty Bay, and M&S, as well as John Lewis, Look Fantastic and Sephora.

Now as well as the two items that I was more than happy to have Clinique's Black Honey + More kit also contained another item from the High Impact range, only this time it was one that I wasn't quite so enthusiastic about!

Yes it was of course my nemesis, an eyeliner, and more specifically a felt tip liner - the Clinique High Impact Easy Liquid Liner in Black. I think this is the year when I've eventually admitted defeat with liners like this, no matter what the brand and the promises they make, my eyelids are just to oily and my hands are too shaky to make them work. Purely for you guys though I had a little play with this one and whilst I achieved nothing worth photographing, I do have a few thoughts.

First up the blurb from Clinique - again as you would expect, it's fragrance free, ophthalmologist tested, allergy tested and suitable for people with sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers. Advertised with the tag line ' All the drama of a liquid eyeliner without the drama of putting it on' - this pen is designed with a precision, ultrafine tip for both thin and thick lines, and they claim is has 24 hour smudge and budge resistant wear.

I'll start by saying that this is a believe around half the size of the regular, retail product, and do you know what? if pushed I would definitely go for the smaller size pen. The smaller size made it, even for me, quite easy to control. I also liked the tip on this pen, it was fairly easy to manipulate, it was also quite firm and as a result you didn't need a lot of pressure, so I'm pretty sure that the steady handed liner lovers amongst you should be able to achieve both an ultra fine, and thicker bolder line.

So far so good, but the old, oily, hooded lids quickly ruined any joy or love that I felt towards this liner! Whilst it did seem to dry fairly quickly the minute I blinked a smudgy, mirror image of a line appeared in the middle of my eyelid, and almost immediately the original line looked faded and patchy. That been said though once I'd cleaned it up, reapplied and made sure not to blink for a few minutes whilst it was completely dry it did actually stay put - it did fade and go patchy but there was still liner there when I removed it with my normal eye make up remover about 6 hours later!

As someone is rubbish with liner it this one wasn't actually that bad, the key i think is to give it enough time to dry - If you're a liner buff and you're looking for something to try then this one might be worth a look. I can't find this particular 0.3g size online but the full 0.6g size retails at around £23 and is available online in this shade from John Lewis, M&S and Look Fantastic.

I hope you've enjoyed this little foray into some of the Clinique's make up products, and taking a look at one of their cult products in the Almost Lipstick in Black Honey. If you've tried it I'd love to your thoughts, and whether you think it lives up the the hype, and I'd also love to know what other cult beauty products you'd like to see me cover in this series - so please leave me a comment and let me know and I will see you soon with a little nails of the day post x 

*This Post Contains Affiliate Links 

Luscious Lips - Benefit California Kissin' Moisturising Lip Balms*

Hi Guys x I hope you're all having a nice weekend, although this post is going live a little later than I intended it to, today sees the return of my Luscious Lips series, which is basically a little mini series, when I talk about either some of my favourite lip products, and I try out a lip product that is new to me. Today's post is probably a bit of both, something both new to me, and something that I really like

Let's take little trip back to 2020, No? Okay I don't really blame you if you want to forget that 2020 ever existed, 2020 to put it mildly was a bit rubbish, but when we were eventually set free, and shops and online retailers started opening up again, I ended up picking up a few beauty bits including this Christmas 2020 set from Benefit Cosmetics.

Showcasing one of their most recent introductions, California Kissin' Club contained 5 Mini California Kissin' Moisturising Lip Balms, in 5 of their most popular shades, which were perfect for the festive season. I'm huge fan of kits like this, that give you a chance to try a few mini products for around the same price, or sometimes even less that it would cost for the full size, plus who doesn't love a mini!

Packaged in slightly different packaging to the full sizes, these lip balms come packaged in super cute, mini silver black and clear bullets, with a typical Benefit style girl illustration.

To call these babies just lip balms though is a bit of a disservice - containing hyaluronic and wild mango butter, these balms not only promise softer, more hydrated and smoother lips, but they also claim to give up to 8 hours of vibrant, cushiony soft colour - so no they aren't just lip balms, they are tinted lip balms, and boy do I mean tinted!

From Left To Right - Berry 333, Spiced Red 11, Wine 222, Ruby 22 and Cherry 00

As you can see these certainly aren't one of those wishy, washy tinted balms that you can buy, the pigmentation levels, and colour pay off is insane. Just one swipe produces a swatch of smooth, creamy vibrant colour, that probably more resembles a moisturising lipstick rather than a tinted balm.

With a gorgeous fruity, mango / peach type taste and scent, these balms feel nice and smooth and moisturising on the lips without feeling overtly sticky or slimy. Since these have a slightly curved, flat tip, it is a little difficult to keep these highly pigmented balms within the lip line, so if you want a really precise finish then I would probably apply them with care or with a lip brush.

As you would expect from such moisturising bold colour there was a little bit of movement and transfer. I'm not sure about their 8 hour wear time claim, but for what in essence is a lip balm, the wear time wasn't bad. Whilst the initial sheen wore off in an hour or so, there was still a hint of colour left on the lips and they still felt moisturised and protected.

Berry 333

Spiced Red 11

Wine 222

Ruby 22

Cherry 00

Are these the longest wearing lip colours in the world? no probably not, are these the most moisturising lip balms that you'll ever use? also no. Despite that though I really, really like these, they taste and smell yummy, the quality is superb, the colour payoff is amazing for a tinted balm, and they feel really, really nice on the lips.

The colours in this set are some of the most vibrant and bold within the California Kissin' range, with Berry and Spiced perhaps being the most wearable ones, but if these shades aren't for you there are another 11 shades to try.

This particular kit is no longer available, but there are a couple of other mini kits that you might be able to get your hands on, including Kisses & Wishes, which contains 4 shades including Ruby and Spiced Red, as well as two new shades, Nude Rose, and Rosewood. This kit is probably the hardest to find now as it was a Christmas gift set from last year, but I did manage to get my hands on it in the Boxing Day sales, so I'll be sharing a review of both Nude Rose and Rosewood in a future post.

One mini set that does seem to still be pretty easy to find thought it the Pucker Up, & Peace Out Lip Balm Trio, which contains mini sizes of Spiced Red, Ruby, and Berry, With an RRP of £19.50 it's available from a few retailers including Boots, Feel Unique, Look Fantastic, Debenhams, All Beauty, NEXT, Escentual and Cult Beauty. If you're interested in this particular kit though I would shop around a bit if I were you, and this particular kit does appear to be on sale on a few sites.

If minis aren't your style though or if you've already tried these lips balms and you already love them, then you can get a full 3g full size in one of 16 different shades, packaged in fabulous sculptural packaging for a recommended retail price of £19 from all of the retailers that I've previously mentioned as well as direct from Benefit Cosmetics, John Lewis, and House Of Fraser. Again though being the bargain hunter that I am, I'd shop around as quite a few retailers have some pretty decent discounts either on the whole range or on selected shades.

Are you a fan of tinted lip balms? Let me know your favourites in the comments, and don't forget to contact me either via the comments section, or via social media if you have any questions x

*This Post Contains Automatic Affiliate, Added Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links.

Shopping My Stash - Marc Jacobs Beauty La Marc Lip Cremes

Since I'm not exactly big on leaving the house at the best of times, unlike a lot of people I haven't really found the whole lockdown thing that hard. Obviously I've missed spending real time with my friends and family but thanks to chronic illness, it seems as though I've spent most of my adult life preparing for 2020.

Unfortunately I haven't been as productive over the last few months as I would have liked, I haven't learnt a new language or a new skill, and I haven't even made any banana bread, but I'm still counting it as a win, I'm still here and I have managed to sort out a bit more of my junk. I've filled charity bags, and storage bags with clothes, I've thrown the odd thing in the bin and I've also rediscovered quite a few beauty products that I'd pretty much forgotten about. If I'm honest I'm not particular proud of that, I don't think that forgetting about what were sometimes expensive things is a good thing, but every cloud as they say, and with the lack of shopping opportunities at the moment, I've been able to shop my stash, and rediscover some 'new' and some unloved products. 

Originally released as part of the 2017 Holiday Collection, I originally bought this Marc Jacobs Beauty set from John Lewis, in the after Christmas sale, where it was reduced from £37, down to £25.90. Although this set itself is now long gone, and John Lewis no longer seem to sell the full Marc Jacobs Beauty range, most of the products in this set are still available in the full size elsewhere so I think I can still justify talking about it x

I love Marc Jacobs as a brand and I'm lucky enough to own a few pieces including clothing, shoes and accessories from the Marc By Marc Jacobs line, and like so many people I'm a huge fan of both the Daisy and Lola fragrance lines, but up until late 2017 / early 2018 I'd never tried anything from the Marc Jacobs Beauty range, so where better to start than with a sale item.

The set that I bought was the Marc Jacobs Cat's Meow Five Piece Petite Le Marc Lip Creme Collection. There is no way of getting round it with this one, depending on your fashion sense, or personal taste, you will either love this packaging with passion, or you'll think it's as tacky as hell - animal print, and especially coloured animal print like this really does polarise opinions but personally I love it, bring it on!

The set came boxed and inside the box is a hard sided purse / clutch / cosmetic bag with a smooth, vinyl like feel. The purse is predominantly in a gorgeous deep, cerise pink glitter. The front of the purse features a matte black, and purple leopard print design, and there is a gold tone, metal Marc Jacobs logo in the centre of the purse. It features a zip around fastening, and the zip pull also features gold tone hardware, and a large black fabric tassel with plaited and braided detailing.

Unzip the clutch and you're greeted by 5 little lipsticks resting lovingly on a black velour covered, removable plastic tray. The clutch is lined in a black polyester fabric, and it features a small fabric 'Marc Jacobs' logo. Take out the tray and you've got plenty of room inside to use it as a clutch bag. I can easily fit my iPhone X, a lipstick, cards, and even a small coin purse inside.

As fabulous as the packaging is that wasn't the real reason that I bought this set, despite what you may be thinking, it was actually for the lipsticks inside. The set contains 5 x mini 1.7g lipsticks from the Le Marc Lip Creme range. Packaged in very similar black and silver packaging to their full size cousins, these lipsticks are cruelty free, and are also free from parabens, sulphates, and phthalates.

Designed to be pigmented, hydrating and long wearing, these lipsticks contain antioxidant rich seaberry extract, cocoa butter, jojoba, avocado, and olive oils, and shea butter.

The set contains 4 of the most popular shades in the La Marc Lip Creme range, Goddess, J'Adore, Infamous and Sonic Truth, and one exclusive shade Currant Mood. The shades range from red to plum, to pink and two different shades of nude.
 
From Left To Right - 202 Goddess, 272 Currant Mood, 230 J'Adore, 228 Infamous, and 244 Sonic Truth

Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Lip Creme - 202 Goddess 

Officially described as a vivid maraschino red with cool magenta undertones, Goddess is a classic cool toned red. As with all stand out, and vibrant shades, you need to be a bit careful with your application technique as there really is no room for error. Despite that the small size actually made fairly easy to apply, and it was pretty easy to stay with in the lines.

Does it stay on? Well if you kiss someone immediately after putting it on it's going to transfer, and you're going to end up with that jammy doughnut esq look. I can promise you that I haven't been kissing anyone in the pic that you can see above but it's still smudged ever so slightly. 

Whilst it does seem to transfer at least when you first apply it, once it's on by and large it stays put at least for an hour or so on me anyways, before gradually fading down to a paler stain, and resolutely clinging on to the drier parts of my lips.

Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Lip Creme - 272 Currant Mood 

Next up another strong, confident colour, and as I said this shade Currant Mood was exclusive to this kit in this formulation. Whilst it is available in the Poutliner Long Wear Lip Pencil format it doesn't appear in the regular La Marc Lip Creme range.

Described as a deep merlot, it's a fabulously, vampy deep berry, plum shade - there is no doubt that this is a statement colour, and it definitely isn't one for shrinking violets. It another shade that you have to be careful with, again the application was super smooth but again you need perfection with colours like this especially when you have a paler skin tone like mine because you can literally see every mistake and smudge. I think that's definitely one advantage of the petite size, the smaller bullet actually makes application easier and more precise, you can take it right up to the lip line and even use it as an all be it slightly thick lip liner.

It's always more noticeable when darker or more vibrant shades start to fade, and within an hour the plummy depth had gone, and it had left a nice deep pink stain on the lips which unfortunately disappeared after eating and drinking. This definitely isn't a shade that I would normally wear but I think I can pull it off with my skin tone, for a night out, or for when I fancy making a real statement.

Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Lip Creme - 230 J'Adore

This next shade kind of bridges the gap between two colour families, the vibrant more out there shades, and the neutral more every day shades. Marc Jacobs Beauty describe J'Adore as rich mocha with cool pink undertones, for me it's very much a rich, almost coffee toned nude brown. 

As much as I love a nude lipstick, being paler and having much more of a pink undertone to my skin, I tend to shy away from richer, browner nudes like this one, but despite it's obvious depth and warmth there is a bit of pink in there and that's probably why I think it works on me. Again it wore well and faded down to a paler nude stain, before disappearing completely.

Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Lip Creme - 228 Infamous

The final two shades are probably the most me - they're the most neutral and the most wearable shades. Thanks to my facial paralysis my lips as you can blatantly see aren't even or symmetrical, and to be honest that's probably why I've traditionally shied away from deeper, brighter or more noticeable lip colours, I used to hate drawing attention to my imperfections but whilst I am getting braver, lip colours like Infamous will always be at the top of the pile.

When it came to my favourite colour in this set, it really was a toss up between this one, and Sonic Truth, but Infamous just shades it. Described as a soft muted, warm peony pink, Infamous is a lovey neutral pink shade. It isn't too bright, it isn't too pile, it isn't too warm and it isn't too cool, in my opinion it's just perfect. It really is one of those everyday shades, you could wear it with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt or with a pretty summer dress and sandals, it's not the most in your face shade, but it's just so wearable. Again it faded down gradually with talking, eating and drinking, leaving a slight pale pink stain on the lips.

Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Lip Creme - 244 Sonic Truth

Finally a true nude, Sonic Truth - "a creamy nude that compliments fair to cool skin tones'. Sonic Truth is a lovely pink toned, pale nude. Shades like this are perfect if your hands are a bit wobbly, it's neutral enough that the odd application mistake probably won't matter that much on a lot of skin tones. I wasn't sure about it in the bullet but once it's on, again it's perfect for my cool pink toned skin. I've owned a lot of nude lipsticks that quite frankly made me look ill, but this definitely isn't one of them, although if you have a darker, or more olive complexion I do think that this could potentially look a bit ashy or corpse like.

Obviously there isn't such an issue with fading and smudging, with shades like this but it still lasted pretty well and gradually faded away to nothing.

As you can hopefully see from all of these pictures the pigmentation of all of these lipsticks is excellent. They are really easy to apply with no pulling or dragging. They don't feel drying on the lips, but whilst they do feel moisturising on the lips, they aren't the softest or creamiest lipsticks that ever used, particularly when it comes to the deeper, and more vibrant shades.

The fact that they aren't that creamy though is actually a good thing though because it really helps with the wear time. From the darkest shade to the lightest shade, all of the colours pretty much stayed put, and faded down gradually. The darker shades had a tendency to move a little bit at first, and they did have a tendency to cling on to the drier ares of my lips, but by and large once the glossy finish had faded, all of the shades left a subtle stain like finish on the lips that hung around for just a little bit longer.

These Lip Cremes allegedly have a subtle vanilla based taste and scent but to be honest I couldn't really detect anything but that could be down to the smaller size. Although I would hope that these minis are a good indicator of just how good the full sizes are, I can't really be sure without trying them. Whether they would admit it or not, some brands actually reduce the quality of the products in their holiday sets, so either way with these lipsticks I think you are on to a winner, and I'm really pleased that I bought this set when I had the chance.

Whilst the set does contain a couple of colours that I wouldn't normally wear, I was surprised at just how wearable everything was and just how well the shades worked with my skin tone. The quality was decent, the lipsticks felt nice on the lips, and whilst the wear time wasn't quite as great as Marc Jacobs Beauty promised, it was still decent, and I also ended up with a snazzy new clutch bag - All in all a good first Marc Jacobs Beauty experience, and a good sale purchase.

As I say this particular set was a limited edition, and the only way you might possibly find it now is on the secondary market. If you like the colours though, you can buy Goddess, J'Adore, Infamous, and Sonic Truth in the full 3.6g size for around £27 / $32 each, either direct from Marc Jacobs Beauty, who ship worldwide, or from Net-A-Porter, or Harvey Nichols. Have you tried anything from Marc Jacobs Beauty? Let me know your recommendations if you have any in the comments x