New kids on the block: Nivea Pure & Natural lipbalms are delightful!

Guess what lovelies?

We have new lipbalms in town. *smiles*

I picked these - Nivea Pure & Natural in Olive & Lemon, and Camomile & Calendula - up sometime back from Singapore (Changi, to be precise), but never quite had the heart to use them for fear they would run out. And then a few weeks back I spotted them on our Malaysian aisles.

What did I do? Crack them open and swiped them on, of course!

Loving: Warm nude shades ~

I have a girlfriend who's crazy in love with nude lipsticks. She loves playing up her eyes, and hence, tends to stick to brown and nude lipsticks so it'll work easily into her entire look.

And every time I meet her, I fall into loving nudes all over again. But I love me some pinks and peaches too. Cos I'm greedy like that.

That got me thinking as to what shades I had in my stash (either peaches or pinks) which were still "nude" enough that I could wear them, even if I wanted to play up my eyes.

And I came up with these four easy-to-wear warm nude shades to share with you lovelies. If you love nudes too, but want to just add that little bit of colour for your lips, I think these would work really well.

More on the Pink Guava + A Nivea Roundup!

Hello lovelies,

I told you I'd give you a proper-er review of the Nivea Fruity Shine in Pink Guava, and here it is.

Over the last two years or so, I've been slowly but surely amassing Nivea's Fruity Shine lipbalms. The ones I've managed to get my hands on, at least. Which is to say, not really many.


And the latest Nivea baby to join the little bandwagon is Pink Guava.

Lipbalm addicts of the world rejoice!

Okay. Maybe not the world. Just those here in Malaysia.


Because we have some new and pretty darn fab lipbalms in the house! By lipbalm giants Mentholatum and Nivea, no less.

Review: Nivea / Labello Fruit Shine Dragonfruit Lip Balm

So my first transcontinental lip balm swap with Labello Collector Janina Hidler worked wonderfully. She was sweet enough to let me have a now discountinued LE Labello Lip Balm in Passion Fruit and two of the newer Dragonfruit which I pray they never discountinue because true to form for me, I LOVE IT. 

Guest Rant: "How DARE they change the packaging on me?"

God I love Petra's (Eli's sister) rants. I love them so much I let her write about them and I publish them on my blog even when they make little sense. Read and giggle, my loves!

By Petra Gimbad


“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!” I dialed Kahani’s number. “KAHANI!”

“Yes?”

“Gotaminute? They changed the packaging!” My mouth was too dry to froth.

“What packaging? Slow down, I can’t understand you.”

“The packaging! St. Ives! Apricot Scrub!” I screeched in the pharmacy.

“I don’t get it. You’re mad!” said Kahani. As always, Kahani was very patient with me.

However, this time – Philistine, I thought ungratefully.

“There is no integrity! How can they change the packaging?”

“You can’t expect the company not to change the packaging to please you.”

Red dots floated into vision. “Yes I can. Can I write about this for your blog? This is an atrocity!”

Bless her, she started to laugh.

Nivea Pinkish Boost 3 in 1 Tastes BLERGH!

When will I ever learn? Despite previous bad experiences with Nivea Caregloss (which, in my defense, many have given rave reviews), what do I do when I see that Nivea has a NEW tube gloss out? I BUY it without a second thought. When it comes to Nivea lip products I have all the power to resist of a stunned lemming.

On paper, the product sounds pretty odd actually. It's supposed to "restore your natural lip colour" (whatever that means), reduce lip dullness (with shine?) and protect with SPF15. To be honest, I was expecting one of those clear balms that turn pink on their own, presumably in reaction to your body heat or skin pH levels. A little gimmicky in pricey brands but fun in a cheapie gloss.

Nivea Fruity Shine in Pomegranate

So we now add the latest Nivea tinted lip balm to the list here at So Loverly. You girls know we're crazy fans of the line, especially in Pink Grapefruit, so when Beetrice reviewed Pomegranate both Syen and I were just itching to get our paws on it. I nabbed mine in Singapore, she got hers in Bangkok. North and south of Malaysia.. but NOT in Malaysia. Nivea Malaysia, if you're reading this, I hate you.

*Ahem*

So is it love? Why yes I do believe it is. This tinted balm is different from the others primarily because it has shimmery bits in it. Honestly? I can do without them, but it doesn't bother me much.

Cheap glossies: Nivea Caregloss in Pink and LipIce in Candy Apple

I swear the lipstick index has nothing on the lipgloss index for sheer instant gratification in times of stress. I've been hankering after a simple, sheer, pink, moisturising gloss to top up my lipstick or use alone whenever I feel like piling on some shine. I think the need for gloss and sparkle is directly correlated to my stress levels. Argh.

Well I actually tried shopping in my stash first. But all my vanilla scented glosses were too gourmand for me on a hot afternoon after lunch, all the pigmented ones weren't pigmented enough and all the sheer ones were simply too sweet, candy or plastic. What I wanted, I decided was a super minty gloss - but my tube of Crabtree & Evelyn Garden Mint is in truth, too tacky. Yes, a veritable goldilocks of lipglosses am I.

Well I decided on picking up a tube of Clinique Superbalm (RM55 I think) as it's completely flavourless... but I as in the Curve which HAS no Clinique. Finally I took myself in desperate frustration to Guardian and found myself waffling between Lip Ice and Nivea. "What the hell!" said I, "They're only RM12.90 each! I'm a grownup now not a funds deprived teen, I'll buy BOTH." So filled with the joy of reckless lipgloss purchasing, I bought both.

It's HAPPY TIME!

I've been eyeing this lotion since I spotted it in Hong Kong, but it just never came to Malaysia. When I spotted it in a Guardian in Singapore for only $1.95 (for 50ml) I snapped it up. Btw, don't you LOVE travel size samples? How I wish all skincare products had them.

Why this hasn't turned up here is a puzzler. I mean, light citrus scented lotions are perfect for our hot weather, aren't they?

Video: Korean Ad for Nivea Lip Care

It's interesting how dependent Korean advertising is on getting a famous actor, singer or band to endorse their group. There are lots of cosmetics commercials I have seen with famous actresses or singers (Jun Ji Hyun of "My Sassy Girl" comes to mind) but this is the first time I have seen a commercial with a lengthy song and dance.

For Nivea, mind you. I am impressed at how they managed to feature the entire Nivea Lip range in it (Sorry, Kahani, but your fave grapefruit flavour didn't get any airtime).

Warning: the song is rather cheesy/ catchy and you might end up having it on loop in your head for hours afterwards.

Review: Liposan/Labello/Nivea Starfruits lipbalm in Pink Grapefruit

Stemming from my shameless love of Nivea Starfruits Lip Balms in Strawberry and Cherry was a longing for the version in Pink Grapefruit - not sold here. Now this is where a mutual love for makeup transcends time and space and goes cosmic.

The day BEFORE Syen read my review on the Cherry balm where I wailed my longing for the pink grapefruit version, she picked up two tubes for me in Greece. She just knew the moment she saw it that I would love it and want it. Then she logged in the next day (in Greece) and read my post. Cool, huh?

Scent
I had high hopes that the scent would be crisply pink grapefruit and am slightly disappointed that it mostly smells like Redoxen. I don't hate it, it's quite fun, but I am slightly disappointed.

Formula
Like its strawberry and cherry sisters, the balm's colour and glossy finish is what really makes it special. The warm pink is sheer, but visible and it is beautifully glossy. It works brilliantly over stains

The interesting thing is, the balm resembles in colour and scent Benefit's Coralista! I find that pairing up a blush and lippie that matches perfectly creates a uniquely beautiful look and this is no exception. Used together, Coralista and Pink Grapefruit results in a lovely fresh and natural look that glows.

Conclusion
Me likey! And will be smuggling more in when I run out. I wish Nivea would market this in M'sia.

A note about the name
For some reason, Nivea markets its lipbalms under other names Labello and Liposan in Europe. All are manufactured by Beiersdorf and the packaging and formulas appear identical.

I liked it... Nivea's Cherry Lipbalm

What are the chances that I have actual cherries on hand at the time of the photoshoot? No more cherries now, all gone, om nom nom. Btw why don't real cherries taste or smell ANYTHING like fake cherry flavouring? Even with strawberry flavouring I can sorta see the faint resemblence, but with cherry flavours - it's like someone decided to invent a scent and taste and call it "cherry". *shakes head in puzzlement*

So when you read my review of Nivea's Strawberry lipbalm you KNEW I wouldn't hold out long before getting the one in cherry. Well, guess what... you were right! And now I love them both so much I actually alternate them throughout the day (yes yes I know I'm dotty - but I don't want either to feel neglected...)

Nivea Star Fruits Cherry Lipbalm is every bit as luscious, juicy, and pigmented as its Strawberry sister. It's a rosier colour, cooler and more berry-like than warmer strawberry and I use this when I choose cooler blushes.

Both colours are so sheer and pretty though that they'd suit anyone. And at RM6.71 a pop right now - why not get both?

New formula
Meldee brought her old-formula cherry lip balm for me to see and sure enough the scent was more cough-mixtury, the texture dry, and the finish downright matte. Thank goodness they fixed it!

While still fake, the new formula smells more like cherry candy as Shortcake reported (thanks babe!). As you can see, the finish is glossy and juicy and the balm itself very moisturising. ME LOVES.

I don't think I can rave enough about this. I now want to get my hands on the Nivea Star Fruits Lip Balm in Pink Grapefruit. Oh why isn't it available herreeee??? *waaails*

*Updated with pics! Loving it: Nivea Star Fruits Lip Balm in Strawberry

I love tinted balms - who doesn't? You get to moisturise your lips and add a pretty tint at the same time. But I've tried Nivea's strawberry lip balm in the past and hated it! It was drying, left a matte finish on my lips, and even worse - it left gunky build up on my lips and the taste eventually got cloying. So I was never going to buy a tube again.

Well, until I saw Meldee use it and realised that the formula looked totally different. It made her lips glossy - heck, even the stick of balm looked glossy! And the smell was still sweet but a much tangier strawberry. So when I saw it on sale for RM6.40 in Guardian, I gave in and bought it.



Now I'm hopelessly in love with it. The sheer glossy red brightens my skintone while looking natural. Also it has that coveted my-lips-but-better factor.



I also find it much more moisturising than it used to be and it makes a great base for other lippies and glosses. Particularly the ones I find a bit pale for me.

This is now a handbag staple for me. I'm even considering getting this gloss in cherry. And normally, I hate cherry balms because the scent is reminiscent of cherry cough mixture. But the colour is prettyyyyy...!