For a couple of weeks, I had been searching for the perfect vampy lipstick to wear as part of my Halloween costume and now... my search is over. Say hello the the most gorgeous dark purple lip combination from MAC and Barry M! I really wanted to find a matte lipstick for my night out because they are usually a lot more long-wearing and fuss free than a more more glossy and moisturising formula. In the past, I have used Rimmel's Moisture Renew Lipstick in the shade 'Dark Night Waterl-oops!' but I found that it was just too shiny - which meant that it would slide around, get on to my teeth and bleed outside of my lip line. Let's face it girls, that's never a good look!
So with the help of my good friend Chloe, who actually works for MAC, she helped me settle on the shade 'Smoked Purple' (£15.50) - which is described on their website as a deep eggplant purple shade. I love MAC's matte formulation as it is so comfortable to wear and not at all drying on the lips. Plus, it tends to stay in place pretty well even you are eating or drinking (and I will definitely be doing the latter on my night out!)
After buying the lipstick, I was really struggling to find a matching lip pencil to make sure that I could a get crisp and sharp line around the edge of my lips, seeing as it is such a dark colour. I didn't want to purchase a lip pencil from MAC seeing as I had already spent over £15 on a lipstick that isn't a wearable shade that I could wear everyday. After swatching what felt like hundreds of liners on my hand in Superdrug, I finally came across this super affordable one from Barry M. I'm not a big fan of the Barry M range at all (aside from their nail varnishes,) so I was pleasantly surprised when I found this gorgeous lip liner in the shade 'Plum' (£2.99.) I was expecting it to be really hard and drag the lips but it is actually a lot creamier than I expected.
As you can see from the swatches above, these two products match almost perfectly! I am so happy that I found this incredible lip combo to wear as part of my costume. I am going as a super simple black cat but I am planning to add more interest to my outfit and overall look by really exaggerating my make-up! What do you think of my vampy lip duo? What are you going as for Halloween this year? Please let me know by popping a comment down below!
Bourjois' Rouge Edition Velvet lipsticks are by far my favourite lip product from the drugstore! I have spoken about them a couple of times now here on my blog and I still cannot get enough of them; especially now I have added a new shade to my collection, as it has made me rekindle my love for them even more! These liquid lipsticks certainly deserve to be raved about as much as possible in my opinion.
First of all, let's just talk about the formulation... it's truly amazing! Velvet is definitely the correct name for this range as these lipsticks glide on so smoothly and feel really buttery on the lips. Of course, liquid lipsticks have a bit of a reputation of drying out your lips but these ones are surprisingly comfortable to wear. They have minimal tackiness to them and are no where as sticky as some other products that I have tried in the past. Plus, at only £8.99, they are much more affordable than say Stila's Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick for example.
There are currently 12 shades in the range but I have heard that a few more are being released very shortly in time for autumn. However, below are swatches of the four shades that I own right now from left to right; 01 Personne ne Rouge, 02 Frambourjoise, 10 Don't Pink Of It & 12 Beau Brun.
In the photograph above, the swatches look glossy but after a few minutes they dry down to a lovely mate finish! I have become obsessed with matte formulas over the last year or so because they make bold colours much easier to wear, as they are less likely to transfer or fade throughout the day. I have to say that my favourite shade of the bunch is definitely the newest edition to my collection, Don't Pink Of It, which I featured in my latest Boots haul. I have only had this shade for about a week but I already love it because it is a great everyday shade that does with almost any make-up look or outfit! As for my favourite bold shade, it would have to be Frambourjoise - which is a stunning bright pink shade.
Overall, I think that the Rouge Edition Velvet range is the best lip product in the drugstore for so many reasons. I think they are just incredible! Have you tried out this product before? If so, please let me know in the comment below what is your favourite shade to wear and why?
Hi guys. I think it takes a lot of time and experimentation to find a foundation that suits you perfectly. There is so much to consider when finding your perfect base; finish, coverage, colour and so on. So, when you finally find the right one for you, your foundation becomes your ultimate staple. This foundation for me is Maybelline's Dream Satin Liquid Foundation (£7.99.)
Ever since I discovered and started using this product a few years ago, I have fallen in love with it's formula! Maybelline claim that this foundation has the lightness of a mousse but in a liquid form, which automatically intrigued me, as I cannot stand products that feel really thick and cake-y on the skin. Due to the fact that the foundation is air-whipped, it glides on to the skin seamlessly and as its name suggests, it leaves you with a gorgeous satin finish. Although this is a medium coverage foundation, it is extremely buildable and if you use a tad more product for a night out, you can build it up to a fuller coverage and your skin looks flawless with absolutely no imperfections in sight!
As the formulation gives a satin finish, this means that it also gives your skin a subtle luminous glow too. This is not something that I would have automatically gone for due to my oily/combination skin, as most people with this skin type tend to opt for more matte products. However, when buffed in to my skin using my Real Techniques Buffing Brush (which is part of their Core Collection,) this formula has great staying power! I also set my foundation with Rimmel's Stay Matte Pressed Powder (£3.99) to ensure that it is locked into place. Of course, I still do have trouble with oiliness on my T-zone as the day goes on but that is easily fixed by using blotting sheets or re-powdering.
The colour I use is Ivory (010,) the second lightest out of the eight shades available, and this matches my skin perfectly. Although in the swatch above the foundation looks very yellow-toned compared to my pink-toned hand, I can assure you that it is my perfect match! However, as we go into the summer months and I hopefully catch a tan (the UK weather is pretty unpredictable,) I will probably buy the next shade down, Cameo, instead. Each bottle lasts me around three or four months and for just £7.99 a time, I do not see myself changing foundations any time soon!
Overall, this product is great for those who need a medium coverage that is buildable which has a natural, yet slightly luminous finish. It is definitely one of my absolute staples make-up wise and I do not see enough reviews or hype about this product in the blogging world. Have you ever used this foundation before? What do you think of it Please let me know in the comments below. Thank you!
Hi guys. Today I am going to be talking about two of the most talked about micellar waters on the high street at the moment; Garnier's Micellar Cleansing Water and L'Oréal's Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution. Micellar waters have become a huge craze in the beauty world over the past few years with the French brand Bioderma leading the way. So, it's only natural that this trend has filtered through onto the high street and into drugstores such as Boots and Superdrug. Both Garnier and L'Oréal are two of the most well-known brands that have jumped on this bandwagon to create more inexpensive alternatives to Bioderma and other higher end brands like Caudalie, which are not as easy to track down.
Both brands ultimately promise the same things; a water that removes make-up, cleanses and soothes the skin. Both retail at a very affordable £4.99, although they always seem to be on offer for around the £3 something mark. The solutions can be used on all three of the areas that you would usually apply your make-up - face, eyes and lips. Both are also hypo-allergenic and, therefore, are suitable for those with sensitive skin as well. In addition this, after reading the back of the bottles, their ingredient lists are exactly the same. However, despite having countless similarities, the two products do have one noticeable difference which definitely favours Garnier's version as being the better product.
The main difference between the two brands is the amount of product you actually get. L'Oréal contains a measly 200ml of product compared to Garnier, which offers double that amount with 400ml in each bottle. So, seeing as both bottles at the same price (as mentioned above,) Garnier clearly gives you a lot more value for your money. Also, one thing that the brand have included on their label which L'Oréal haven't is how many uses you can get out of the product. Garnier claim that you can get 200 uses out of the 400ml bottle, which means that each time you should be using 2ml of product. However, I feel that is a pretty tiny amount and I'm positive that I will probably use a little more than that per use.
As for the products themselves, both solutions dissolve my make-up really well even when I have lashings of mascara and eyeliner on. I really like using both products to initially cleanse my face but I then go in with either No7 Foaming Cleanser or Soap & Glory Peaches And Clean to a second cleanse. I like to do this to ensure that every scrap of make-up has been removed and that my skin has had a thorough, deep clean. Overall, although the products do the exact same job to the exact same standard, I would obviously repurchase the Garnier version over L'Oréal's purely due to the fact that there is twice the amount of product in the bottle.
Have any of you tried these products out? Which one do you prefer? Please let me know in the comments below :)
(Shades from left to right: Rumour Has It, Give Me A Cuddle, Drive Me Nude, Keep Mauving, Not An Illusion, On Fire, The Redder The Better)
As well all know, chubby sticks have taken the beauty world by storm this year and over the past few months, it has become a pretty saturated market. We have Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balms, Bourjois' Colour Boost Lip Crayons, Clinique's Chubby Sticks... I could go on and on. However, whilst browsing in my local Superdrug today, I remembered that I needed to re-purchase my Rimmel Stay Matte powder as I accidentally dropped it and it has since smashed into smithereens. When I approached the Rimmel stand, I saw that Superdrug had a 'Buy One Get One Half Price' offer and so I couldn't resist having a little look for a new product to try out. This is when I stumbled across the new Colour Rush Lip Crayons. As a devoted fan of the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balms, (especially the gorgeous berry shade called Crush,) I knew that I had to try this version.
I hadn't heard anything about this product until today and after doing a touch of research upon my return home, this product was only released in stores about two weeks ago. However, I am surprised that I have not seen a single advertisement for this lip crayon yet. This product comes in a total of seven shades, all of which are absolutely lovely but one shade in particular jumped out to me almost instantaneously.
I opted for the deep pink colour from the range called 'Rumour Has It.' What struck me most about the product is the formula, it is so moisturising and does not dry out your lips in the slightest. I swatched all seven shades in the shop (I probably should have taken a photo but I didn't have my camera on me) and all of them are highly pigmented and buildable. Also, I think that all the colours quite versatile as they can be muted down a little if necessary for during the day time, or amped up for the evening by layering a few coats on to the lips. Another aspect of the product that I really enjoyed was the scent. I cannot quite put my finger on what the scent is, possibly something similar to cocoa butter, but I love it nonetheless. Overall, after only using this product for the first time today, I am a huge fan of it already. From what I can tell so far, it is very long-lasting and moisturising. I recommend that you go into your local drugstore and try out this product for yourself, I guarantee you will not be disappointed!
Hi guys! Yet again, I would like to apologise for the fact that I haven't written anything since my Liebster Award post, which was posted just over a week ago now. I have really been struggling inspiration wise to come up with some new and innovative posts for you all to read. Also, my unfortunate lack of funds has prevented me from buying lots of new products to review. However, I have bought two new products today - one of which I am very happy with and one that I am a little disappointed with. Whilst in town today, I thought that I would pop into Boots to see if Maybelline's Baby Lips lip balms were on sale in store yet, seeing as at the moment you can only buy them online. Then, I stumbled upon an amazing deal from Soap & Glory where you can buy two products for just £15. I thought that this was an offer that I could not pass up, seeing as both of the products seen above would have usually come to £21. I have never given Soap & Glory's make-up range a try but I am a huge fan of their bath and body products (the Sugar Crush Scrub being my absolute favourite!) So, without rambling on any further, here are the two products that I purchased and what I thought of them.
Soap & Glory Thick & Fast Falsh Lash Effect Mascara in Superjet Black - £10.00
Being a girl with very thin, straight and sparse lashes, I often struggle to find a mascara that works for me. I have tried so many mascaras on the market that claim to do various things to lashes, yet none of them live up to my expectations and unfortunately, this mascara is no different. I tried this product out as soon as I got home and it did give me a little more volume at the base of my eyelashes but it gave me no added length whatsoever. Maybe if I had layered this on top of another lengthening mascara the end result may have been a lot better, this is something that I will have to experiment with in due course. In conclusion, I am not overly enamoured by this product. I will definitely be sticking to my two favourite mascaras that I find work with my troublesome lashes, which are No7's Extreme Length and Maybelline's The Volum' Express Colossal mascaras.
Soap & Glory Glow All Out Luminising Face Powder - £11.00
This product has without a doubt lived up to my expectations, it is amazing! For a while now, I have desperately wanted to find a luminising face powder that did not have too much glitter or shimmer in it (which I find is the case with a lot of high street brands.) The powder is extremely pigmented and you only need to lightly sweep your brush across the surface of the powder. A little product will go a long way and so this powder is great value for money in my opinion, as it will last for ages. I can definitely see this becoming one of my every day make-up staples because I have quite a dull complexion and this powder highlights my face really well and gives it a nice, subtle glow. I would absolutely recommend you all to try this product!
I hope that you have enjoyed reading this mini review. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will be posting a lot more regularly than I have been, as I have a few post ideas in the pipeline which are different to what I have done before! Thank you :)
Hi guys. I recently wrote a post for one of my favourite blogs that I follow, Beauty Becky. As Becky is currently on holiday, she hand selected a few fellow bloggers to write a post for her which have been scheduled whilst she is away. The topic I chose to write about is 'My Top 5 Beauty Buys For Under £5.' As mentioned in the post, I am a firm believer that many high street brands can be just as good, if not better, than some higher end products. The products that I have selected for this post are so effective and are great for those on a budget.
Furthermore, I would really appreciate it if you all clicked here to hop over to Becky's page and give the full article a read. Also, I really recommend that you all follow Becky as her blog is amazing, so I will leave all of her social networking links below. Thank you for reading and keep your eyes peeled for more posts very soon!
