MAC Angel



It took me absolutely forever to choose a new MAC lipstick the other week-  I was playing around with Angel and Snob for SO long, it got a little ridiculous, so I grabbed for Angel.

I have to say, I regret that choice. Although Snob is a matte formula, which I rarely wear, Angel is very hard to wear. It's a Frost finish, which means it is slightly iridescent, and for some reason it really  sinks into the lines in my lips and requires some serious exfoliation/ moisturising prep beforehand.

I haven't worn it much, and probably won't, as every time I do I'm disappointed. In the future I think I will stick to Satin finishes like my beloved Brave.

Over and out, thanks for reading :)

Lou 

Urban Decay Afterglow Blusher Review

Oh hey there sexy. Oh hey.
I friggin love this blusher. It was absolutely an impulse purchase, I got a bit excited at the Urban Decay counter a couple of weeks ago and came away with this and a lip product, which I will be reviewing soon.
So the Afterglow blushes are meant to be longlasting and pigmented, which I totally agree with. That being said, this shade (Fetish) is quite dark for my skin tone, but I can still get a nice application with it without looking like a crazy clown. Always a bonus.
 If it does get a little intense,I take my foundation brush and run it around the edges to blend.

I think this shade is a beautiful winter-y pink, perfect for all skin colours.
And can we talk about the packaging? I love it- its so classy and hefty and b-e-a-yootiful. The only bad thing is that there isn't a mirror in the lid which can be slightly annoying.
I would really recommend having a look at these blushers if you find that most just melt off your cheeks during a long day, which is what I normally get.
These definitely stick around for good, and I'm totally eyeing up a really amazing purpley shade they have. When's pay day...?

Thanks for reading!

Here's some lovely before and after photos for you to laugh at:

3 New L'Oreal Products

Well, new to me. A good old Boots 3 for 2 deal on L'Oreal drew me in and made me make a cheeky purchase of a couple of single eyeshadows and one of their Colour Riche lipsticks.

The eyeshadows have had a fair amount of buzz around the blogosphere, and I can now see why. Whilst swatching in store, I had trouble picking two rather than ten. You can see from the crack in the right- hand shadow (Nude 201, Cafe Saint Germain), that these are buttery, buttery soft. In fact, I would say that half the pans on the shelf were at least cracked, if not completely crushed.

I'm not normally one to buy single shadows, but these swatched so well in store that I was totally convinced. The right hand shade is Cafe Saint Germain, as mentioned above, and the one on the left, more of a peachy, rose gold shade, is Lumiere 507 Pin Up Pink. I love them both, and I don't think this photo does the intense pigment justice. I hope these wear as well as they swatch!

The lipstick is part of the Colour Riche range too- Doutzen's Nude. It's a true, sheer baby pink, which is something I've been looking for recently. With nudes, I normally lean towards a more peach or purple base rather than straight- up pink, so I love this. It is very sheer, and so far I can say it doesn't stay on particularly long- but that's to be expected with such a creamy formula.

I'm excited about these new products and look forward to trying them out!
Thanks for reading!
Lou x

Primark Does... Lips

The inner snob in me shivers a little a bit about putting something from Primark on my mouth. What if a small snotty child has sucked it or stuck it up it's nose or something? The grotesque possibilities are endless.
Snobbery aside, I bought these two lip products from Primark recently, and firstly, I'd like to comment that the packaging is actually fairly sleek looking. If you didn't know it was Primark, I think you'd be a little impressed, right?

Swatch- wise, this is the Matte Crayon in the shade 06. I have been pleasantly impressed with this product so far. I'm not hugely into matte lips at the moment, I'm more for the glossy, natural look as I have fairly small lips and I find the fresher- looking finishes just look...fresher on me. Ya get me? Anyway. It is smooth and thick feeling going onto the lips- not in a bad way- creamy drying down to a nice, even smooth finish. The key word here is 'dry', which is definitely does end up. BUT, not in an uncomfortable way. I found wear time to be surprisingly good on this, and instead of cracking or flaking (one reason I am wary of matte lips, even thought I love them), this tends to do a more stain-like fade on the lips.

The second swatch, and the photo below, is the lipliner used all over the lips.

It is a very creamy formula, really easy to apply, and definitely comparable to the Rimmel Exaggerate lip liners.

With the lip crayon added over the top, it makes the colour a little pinker and lighter, but the two definitely work colour-wise together. However, I'm not one for a thick, matte lip- as mentioned- so I don't think I would wear them together like this. Separately, they have a very similar creamy feeling which dries down to a comfortable matte.

The third swatch is Rimmel's East End Snob, which I added to compare the colours. It's pretty close to the lipliner, put a little pinker than the crayon, which is slightly more peach.

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with these two products from Primark, you definitely can't go wrong for such a good price tag. Out of the two, I would recommend the lip liner, because it was £1 and a really nice staple pink/mauve colour.

Thanks for reading!
Lou x

A Budget Base

I really love a good cream eyeshadow base, and when it comes in at £1.99, it's even more exciting. This is the Miss Sporty Glossy Shadow in 160 Peanut Butter, and I think it is amazing and you need to go buy it right now.

You can see here that the colour is a beautiful, high- gloss, almost wet- look mauvey browny pink? Would you say? This is such a versatile colour, and can be used as a base for a bronzey brown eye look, a pink look, a purple look, or a peach look. Pretty much all the looks I regularly do, and I love the glossy finish so it looks great by itself too. Powder eyeshadow miraculously blend into the cream seamlessly, without setting it first, and I haven't noticed any creasing once I've layered other products over the top.

I finished my eyes off with these products (as well as liner and mascara, obviously). I used Kiko shadows in 233, which is a beautiful cranberry/ purple satin shadow, and 220, which is a really shimmery golden peach. I used 233 in the crease and on the outer half, and then dusted 220, which is fairly sheer, over the inner part. I then used this cream eyeshadow pencil from Collection on my inner corners.

I really love this look, and especially the Miss Sporty eyeshadow pencil, which I think is amazing quality and a beautiful colour for the price.

Hope you enjoyed this!
Thanks for reading,
Lou x

A Couple of Cheeky Kiko Purchases

As always on a Saturday, I found myself *accidentally* buying a couple of make- up bits on my lunchbreak at work. 

I wandered into Kiko, and these two beautiful vibrant shades fell into my hands.

Since I bought the 24- pan Kiko palette, I've become obsessed with picking up new shades and building up my collection. I have been so impressed with the quality of these shadows so far, there has only been one which is less than impressive- I go through my whole collection in my 'Kiko Palette' post which I did a few weeks ago.

These two shades are so vibrant and beautiful. I'm using my kiko palette to fill in the gaps in my eyeshadow collection, which is saturated with bronzes, browns and nudes. These are like Spring in an eyeshadow.

226 is the beautiful peachy pink, which I think would work amazingly well as a blush as well as an eyeshadow, especially because kiko eyeshadows come in such generous sizes.

252 is the muted lilac/purple. I am loving this colour so much at the moment, and I have nothing quite like it to create a bright, spring-y eye. Looking forward to giving that a go for sure.

As always, they are beautifully pigmented but silky smooth at the same time. When I create an eye look using these colours, I'll be sure to create a post on how they blended and wore- but knowing that the quality of my other eyeshadows is so good, I expect they will live up to others.

The lipstick is one of Kiko's smart lipsticks, and was on offer at 2.50, so I grabbed it. It's a pale peach: the kind of colour I LOVE this time of year. It's very sheer, a wash of colour with just the right amount of pigment to make it really pretty and wearable. Also- it smells like a MAC lipstick. I tried it on last night briefly and I couldn't get over how good it smells. It also leaves your lips feeling really nourished and plump. Definitely not a long-wearer, but one for the Summer months with a little more glossy- ness and the moisturising factor. (and the amazing price tag)

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

5 minute make- up ~ Spring Pinks

Happy Easter!

So today I did this quick, fresh-looking Spring make- up. 

I do apologise for the edited photo, when I looked in the mirror, my face looked fine, but when I took a photo, I just looked horrible, so. Sorry.

I only used things from my previous post, so I took the Rimmel BB cream allover, concealer in the obvious places, a healthy dab of the Revolution Blush in Love on my cheeks, and the Technic highlighter dabbed on my cheekbones and on my brow bone.

The eyes were super simple. 

A swipe of the Bourjois 24 Hour cream eyeshadow allover the lid (in Petale), and a little browny eyeshadow swished into the crease- i used the second from the left shade in my Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Bronze palette.

I've been loving the sans- eyeliner look recently, I think it looks really fresh, so I just went straight in with mascara.

For the lips, just a quick splash of the Revlon Lip Butter in Pink Truffle for a nice natural flushed pink.

Voila!

Hope you've had an amazing day,

Thanks for reading

Lou x

Revolution Ultra Blush Palette Sugar And Spice ~ Mini Review and Swatches

This is the Make Up Revolution Blush Palette in Sugar and Spice which is a set of 8 'blushes'.

It is a strange set of powders to be honest, with two intensely glittery, unwearable highlighters at the far end, and then 6 completely matte, insanely pigmented powders in the rest of the palette.

1. Is a colour I stayed completely clear of until very recently. It's like a deep browny peach which I thought would be horrible on pale skin, but actually looks really natural, and can be used as a contour/bronze/blush hybrid because its matte

2. Is a really dark bright pink, I will never ever use this colour to be honest. It's so pigmented and dark that it just won't look right on my skin, so I don't think I'll ever use this colour, but  I think would look really nice on darker skin.

3. is a lighter, less brown version of 1, as you can see, so it's a really good all-in-one shade.

4 & 5 are ridiculously similar, I tend to use 5 rather than 4, I just think it's a shade lighter, but is still quite a full-on darkish pink

6 is my favourite shade out of this whole palette. It's a proper bright coral with a huge pigment punch, love it

7 & 8 are highlighters. Now...I don't understand how you would use these, except maybe as eyeshadow. 8 especially is just...unwearable. It's incredibly, incredibly glittery, and a super bright pink. Totally unwearable and basically a little bit crazy. 7 is like the same thing but a silvery lilac, so could work as a really super intense highlight, but I still think is not very wearable.

All in all, I don't think this palette is really worth getting, unless you love a range of super matte, SUPER pigmented blushes and crazy highlights. They are so pigmented that they are quite hard to blend, so you have to apply with a really light hand. However, I love having a range of blushes in a palette, and I'm eyeing up the All-About-Cream blush palette from Revolution which I think would be more usable. 

Thanks for reading :)

Lou x

Top 5 Spring Nail Picks

Spring has definitely sprung here in the UK, so I've had a rummage through my nail varnish collection and picked my favourite spring shades :)

As you can see, they're all pretty light colours, because I think summer is about really bold but fresh, light shades. Summer is for bright oranges, corals, and neons to compliment your tan, and I've definitely worn out my autumn and winter dark reds and purples... so it's definitely time to change up and go for a fresher look. From top to bottom-

Barry M Nail Paint in Bright Pink (£2.99)

So this is just a classic bright, baby pink. So girly, so fresh and... yeah, spring-y. Looks really nice with all skin tones, but would definitely look amazing on darker skin tones. 

Maybelline Superstay 7 Days Gel Nail Colour in 130 Rose Poudre (£4.99)

This is the newest one to me out of this collection. I tend to stick to Barry M Nail polishes (can you tell?) because I know they're great and have an amazing selection of colours. I think I heard about this formula on youtube and so I had a look in Boots and picked up 2 colours. (The other colour is a dusty blue and is more winter-y.) This one is my new go-to nude shade. It looks quite browny in the swatch but its just a really basic pinky/brown nude, it almost blends in with my skin. The colour is amazing, and the brush on this polish is SO good. Really fat and flat, which makes applying so easy. However, I'm not sure YET if this lives up to the hype. The first time I wore it, it didn't stay chip-free for very long at ALL. (To be fair, none of my nail polishes seem to be staying on at the moment so I'm pretty sure it's a top coat/base coat issue...)

Barry M Nail Paint in Berry Icecream (£2.99)

I think this is my favourite nail polish of all time. It's stays so well, and is such a beautiful colour. It's a really light lilac, which is opaque but really subtle and pretty, especially for spring. If I had to recommend any of these, it would be this one. I get compliments all the time when I wear this, it's just a really nice shade which is just a little bit different.

17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish in Heartbeat

I actually got this in a sale in Boots for a pound, so I am not sure if it's available any more. It's an average formula but it's the colour that's amazing. Look for a really nice iced- light blue shade if you like the look of this one.  This shade looks so pretty, and an easier way to wear a bright white nail polish. Also looks amazing in the summer with a tan, or if you are lucky enough to have skin darker than paper.

Barry M Gelly High Shine Nail Paint in Blueberry (£3.99)

The gel formula from Barry M is really really nice, I would recommend checking it out if you haven't already. It's a bit thicker than the normal formula, so it takes longer to dry, but it leaves a really shiny thick colour on your nails. This colour is so lovely, it's a kind of bright powder-blue (?), bright but not too in-your-face. I think this is great for Spring or Summer, it looks so fresh, and is an easier way to wear a blue nail polish.

Thanks for reading!

Lou x