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

The Weekend Edit ~ Travel Make-up Bag

 I find packing a travel make -up bag so much fun. I think I'm a bit weird, but I love challenging myself to cut it down to a small selection which offers me a wide range of options. So here's my latest edit, I'm at my parents' for Easter and the few days ahead will hold family gatherings, photo opportunities, and some trips out to see friends etc, so my make-up bag has to be quite versatile. I'll talk you through my picks so hopefully you'll get some ideas :)

Face

Three concealers I hear you say, well- let me justify it.

The Rimmel BB cream is a no-brainer, it's my absolute favourite at the moment. Light to medium coverage, brightening and flawless looking. Light enough for a casual day, but with a bit of neatly placed concealer, it can become a bit more flawless.

The Collection concealer is for blemishes which might rear their ugly head. Dotted onto bits-I-want-to-cover, this concealer is perfect for heavy coverage jobs. And everyone is bored to death hearing about this one, so I'll move on.

Maybelline Fit Me concealer is a strange one. It's looks darker than my skin tone but when blended in it's actually fine. I use the shade 15. I use this as an eyeshadow base to even out my pigmentation on my eyelids, as well as under my eyes to cover those dark circles.

The L'Oreal Touche Magique is for those days which I want a little extra summin-summin. Stripped over the top of the Maybelline under my eyes and down my cheeks a little, it can look really brightening, and on a really good under-eye day, I could just wack this on atop my BB cream for a really luminous face. Brill.

 Blush, Bronze and Highlight

Bronzing/ contour goes straight to my Body Shop Honey Bronzer in 01 Light Matte- perfect for both a chiselled cheekbone, and a sunkissed glow. 

Blush was a hard one, I wanted to take my MAC blush, but I've not been giving my other blushes much attention, so I've thrown in this Revolution blush in Love which is really really nice and fresh. It is matte but it lasts well and is a perfect Spring-pink.

For highlight, I gave the Mary Luminizer a break, and threw in this Technic Highlighter (available on Amazon) which is basically an amazing dupe for Benefit's High Beam, and a tenth of the price. I've had this for years, and it's perfect dabbed on the cheekbones or under the brows.

I chucked in my Rimmel Stay Matte powder in Translucent for shiny days.

Eyes

I feel like this is such a condensed choice, I am so proud of myself.

For my brows, I went for my Revolution Aqua Tint in Fair which I love, and it lasts really well, as well as my Natural Collection Clear Mascara for combing them through.

I have two cream eyeshadows which are great for bases, and for quick washes of colour. I went for Creamy Beige from Maybelline because it's matte, and everything else I'm bringing is shimmery so I wanted the option. The other is Petale de Glace ( i think) From Borjouis- the name has rubbed off but it's a really beautiiful dusty pink which looks so fresh and pretty. 

I'm loving this Collection Eyes Uncovered palette in Nude Bronze, it's got a really good selection of shades, and the quality is amazing for the price. Also the packaging is so travel-friendly.

Mascara was an easy one- Va Va Voom from 17, my go-to mascara. Same with eyeliner- the liquid pen from Collection is the best. I threw in a pencil black eyeliner just incase, it's the Rimmel Scandaleyes.

Lips

Stuff happening this week will mostly revolve around eating, so no bold lips are welcome. The Revlon Lip Butter in Pink Truffle is a nice balmy dark pink, the Rimmel Kate Lipstick in 103 is a matte mid pink, and the Maybelline Colour sensational in Glorious Grapefruit is an orange-y gloss. All fresh and spring-y but not high maintenance. Oh, and some Lip Balm from the Body shop which is chocolate smelling. Yum.

Other bits

Just a couple of extras. Baby skin primer in case I feel a bit pore-y, my lash curler because its an essential, and Barry M Topcoat, Basecoat and Nail Hardener in case I need to get rid of my current colour and I can't deal with naked nails.

So that's everything! Hope you enjoyed it and found it useful :)

Thanks for reading!

Lou x