Today (actually yesterday) is absolutely glorious. One of the best days of the year. Bright sunshine, temps in the 70s, no humidity, a nice breeze. Perfect weather for doing everything.
My friend Sybille came over to get some plants from my garden. A lot of my perennials have grown so much they’ve taken over. My goal is always to palm some of them off on someone else, lol. I knew that Sybille wanted to add lilies of the valley to her garden, so I offered her some even though they have finished blooming for this year.
I also asked her to come for lunch since I thought it would be a nice afternoon to eat on the deck. And it certainly was. I made shrimp and pasta salad, Brazilian cheese balls, and strawberry rhubarb crisp (made from the rhubarb that Jeff grows). Yum. Except that my stomach wasn’t feeling so well. After lunch and after I dug up some pink and white lilies of the valley as well as some oregano, Sybille went on her way to do some errands. I proceeded to head for the bathroom where I threw up my lunch. My friend Sue told me her daughter and grandson in Charleston had an intestinal virus, so I hope that’s what this is, and I hope it takes off soon. I feel terrible.
But because it’s so gorgeous outside, I am forcing myself to hang out on the deck and write this post.
Caudalie French Kiss Tinted Lip Balm
Sybille is always a wonderful guest in so many ways. She arrived with a box of dark chocolate-covered ginger from Tuck’s Candies in Rockport MA – they’re my favorite. And a pot of Caudalie French Kiss Tinted Lip Balm. How lovely!
Caudalie is a French natural skincare brand I like a lot, and I don’t own nearly enough from them. The lip balm was the perfect gift for me because my often dry lips are in even worse shape after my 90 minute dental debacle on Monday. My lips are drier than usual, and either I bit the inside during the procedure (I had so much anesthesia that I didn’t know what I was doing and my jaw and lips felt HUGE) or the drill mangled them. Whichever it was, they are sore, swollen and damaged. Yesterday, my lips were completely drained of color. I looked like a ghost. So I was eager to dig right in to the good sized pot with an attractive faux wood top. The shade I received is Innocence, a light pink that gives lips a natural flush that my color-drained lips certainly needed.
The lip balm, pressed into the lips with a finger, goes on smoothly. Innocence has a light citrus-scent (Caudalie describes it as “vanilla infused orange peels”) but no actual flavor. The balm feels like it sinks right in, but it also coats my lips for hours. It hydrates and protects with antioxidant polyphenols from grapes, while giving my lips a bit of a shine. I would say that it’s a perfect lip balm for daytime use. Because it isn’t sticky at all, it works well under lipstick for added hydration or on its own for soothing dry lips and adding a bit of color. It’s not quite gooey and thick enough for me to wear at night when I need serious moisture to repair and last through the night.
In addition to Innocence, there are two other tinted lip balms, both in the pink family:
- Seduction: soft pink with a light vanilla scent
- Addiction: deep raspberry red with a raspberry scent
Each pot contains 7.5 g/0.26 oz.. There’s a handy expiration date on the bottom label.
Caudalie French Kiss Lip Balm is priced at $18. The brand is sold at Sephora, on the Caudalie website, Dermstore, and other online retailers. For me, Caudalie First Kiss Lip Balm was a much appreciated gift! Thank you, Sybille, for your generosity <3
Are you a Caudalie fan?
More Flowers
Since I spent part of the day in the garden and I have flowers in bloom inside the house, let me show some of them to you. First, the amaryllis bulb that Jeff bought me in Amsterdam is just opening, and it is the beauty we hoped it would be. There are more blooms yet to open, but they’re on their way! I am so happy with this special amaryllis!
Next, I picked an assortment of flowers from my garden to have on our lunch table on the deck: pink peonies, yellow and purple irises, raspberry weigelia, and white flowers from a shrub whose name I can never remember. Pretty!
I have a number of rather unusual columbines this year, in new colors and shapes:
Next are old-fashioned brown, purple and yellow bearded irises.
Here’s a new plant in my garden that I have never owned in this color: a pink campanula or bellflower. Prior to this, I have only had deep purple bells, and there were never this many bells. This plant is a wow!
Finally, here are my other peonies besides the pink ones in the vase: a deep raspberry red (that looks a bit deeper in person) and a white single “sunnyside up”. I love them all.
What’s blooming in your garden?
That lip balm was on sale too but the reviews were so mixed that I decided to give it a miss.
I like it, Shireen. I think it’s a perfect daytime balm, and it isn’t sticky so it’s great to wear under lipstick. It’s not gooey and thick enough for me to use overnight, but just right for during the day.
This French Kiss looks and sounds good. Your lunch sounds so good makes me hungry. Its great that you share from your yard. When I moved from my home to a senior apartment I put a ad in Craigs List for free dig your own plants. I had over 15 people show up and they dug up so much. And they also took all the yard decorations that I had out. They were going to build a new house on my property so I wanted to save as much as I could.
I’m so glad to hear that you gave away the plants from your garden when you moved, Gloria. We were just talking about that at the Plant Auction at the Horticultural Society that I belong to. Our former president, who has been the auctioneer for our event even though he moved 500 miles away, was saying that the people who bought his house near where I live tore up his gigantic English cottage garden and threw away all the plants. Many of us are told that we have to sell our property “as is” with the garden intact, but I think that’s ridiculous because so many buys are too lazy to maintain a garden. I’m so happy that people came and took away your plants so they could enjoy them! Yay!
I am so sorry that you seem to have caught one of the bugs that have been going around. I love the pictures from your garden, and this Caudalie Lip Balm looks like something that I would really love!
Thank you, Helen!
So sorry that you have a summer bug…definitely not fun. I am in love with your “old fashioned” garden flowers. I remember some of these same flowers at my Graandma’s house. Wish I had a place to grow some of them. That lip balm looks amazing too.
Thank you, Sandy, I feel better today than yesterday. I’m hoping it will go away completely by tomorrow because Jeff is driving me crazy saying he thinks it’s something more serious. Hopefully not. How are you doing? Did you find out anything from the test? The “old-fashioned” bearded iris are so lovely. They look like 19th century flowers to me. I lived in an apartment in NYC for a long time, and I had a couple of window boxes that I planted and left illegally on the ledge. I had to do some kind of gardening even in an apartment. Now I have gone overboard with all my gardens. By mid-summer, I’m out of energy 😉
I just can’t do lippies in a pot.
I’m jealous of your lunch (even if you did toss it up later) and your wonderful friend. She certainly knows how to be an amazing guest. The Caudalie color and fragrance sound great for me.
Your mouth sounds just like mine did when I had an endoscopy 2 weeks ago. I bit down on something in the procedure and my lip was hurting and swollen for days.
Feel better very soon. (PS love love love your green thumb)
Marcia, I forgot that you had the endoscopy procedure not long ago. I hope you are doing OK now. I’m on the mend. Not sure what’s up with my intestinal stuff – IBS? garlic intolerance? stomach bug? I’m too chicken to go through the tests. Fortunately, I feel better today. Thank you regarding my garden. Although I’ve tried to impose some design on it, it’s mostly a bunch of cottage gardens, but I really enjoy it!
I am drooling over your flowers. I envision your garden to be the perfect setting for afternoon teas!!!
Thank you, Kathryne! We often have cocktails or beer in the garden, but I haven’t done tea yet. I’ll make some iced tea and make it a point to do it! Great idea xo
I hope you feel better soon, Allison. I don’t do much gardening as such (except for watering the few indoor plants Dad gave me), but my Dad is a huge garden enthusiast – he particularly loves growing orchids.
Thank you, Renu. I feel much more like myself today. How wonderful that your dad is an orchid enthusiast! When we visited Keukenhof in April to see the tulips, there was a special exhibit indoors of orchids. It was spectacular. Your dad would have loved it
That shade looks like it would be perfect on you! And goodness, your flowers are GORGEOUS!
Thank you, Babi!
That packaging is almost as beautiful as the flowers from your garden. We just planted some irises and later this season we are thinking of planting peonies. I think those are probably my favorite flower, however it’s weird to me that they attract ants!
It is a weird symbiotic relationship: the ants eat the nectar produced by the peony, and they help the dense blooms open. It does look kind of gross though 😉