Essence 'Come Naturally' Lipstick

I've never tried anything from Essence before, but I was in Wilko's today and I had a look at their lipsticks and grabbed this absolute beaut- the shade is Come Naturally.

Its a lovely muted purple/ nude shade, which it beautiful, but its the formula which is really impressive for such a budget lipstick. It's creamy and pigmented, not quite matte, and farily longwearing.  I would definitely recommend having a look at the Essence lipsticks, because this was £2.30 which is incredible, and the quality is just. Great. 

Here's a lovely swatch so you can see the colour a little better. This is a nice nude shade if you prefer something a bit darker rather than a pink or peach nude lipstick, or if you have darker skin.

This photo doesn't do it justice. The sun was going down, the light was all weird, and my camera is charging so I only had my phone. But you can see the natural finish and the smooth colour. Lovely.

It does't have the best wear time, because it feels so creamy, but I wore it for a couple of hours, and it faded nicely rather than drying and flaking off which is never nice.

 I will definitely be picking up some other shades because this is an amazing formula,

Thanks for reading!

Lou x

Revlon Matte Balms ~ Swatches and Review

Spring has sprung, and I've re-discovered some old favourites.

As matte lipsticks go, these are top notch.

They feel smooth and buttery, smell of peppermint, and last like a dream.

I have three shades, from left to right - Showy, Audacious and Elusive. 

Here's Showy- it really is a lot more 'showy' than it looks here. It's a bright flamingo pink which looks amazing in the summer. It's quite blue- based so it also makes your teeth look really white. Love this one, would look even more amazing on darker skin tones.

Here is Elusive, and I've applied it here on top of a lip balm so you can see that there are different ways to wear the colours. They all work great mixed with a little lip gloss or balm to make a sheerer finish, but still packing a punch of pigment. This is such a beautiful, wearable natural pink, very flattering and grown- up, definitely a good one to pick up to try out the formula and see if you like it.

This is Audacious- a straight- up orange lipstick. I love this, I think orange is so flattering on all skin tones. It packs an amazing punch of colour, and is definitely one to look at for the Summer months.

When it comes to wear time, I would say they last four or so hours without needing a touch up. If I wear one of these balms, I carry round a lip balm or gloss with me to add over the top as the colour fades or breaks up as the day goes on. 

I would also always say to make sure your lips are moisturised before you apply these.

I would definitely recommend these if you like a matte lip. The colour selection is amazing, I'm tempted to pick up a few more...

Thanks for reading!

Lou x