MAC Modesty

Another wedding related beauty buy and my beauty momento of the second day of celebrations. MAC's Modesty lipstick.

I owe Safiya of Frooti Beauty thanks for this lipstick discovery, after deciding on my eye and face makeup the final step was lipstick and MAC Modesty stood out as the most obvious choice.

It is a cremesheen formulation and therefore not as long-lasting as the matte Russian Red I have previously shown, but the colour makes up for that and you can still get a good 4-5 hours wear before needing to touch up. 

At least against my skin tone, and with my lip colouring, this works well as a "your-lips-but-better" shade. That said being the neutral nude pink it is is neither too cool nor warm, I expect it will suit almost everyone. It is also one of those shades that suits whatever eye look you go for, so great if you want to keep your makeup bag minimal. It also doesn't need a lip liner unless you want that defined lip look. I use the Burberry lip definer with it (another wedding discovery) in the shade Rosewood. Otherwise slap it on on its own and you are good to go.

What can I say, can you tell I love it? That said I do have my eye on Twig as my next purchase. I remember clearly a brown lipstick that I loved from Max Factor, one of the first I ever purchased that they then discontinued, I think Twig might be a good replacement for it and potentially my new love. Let me know your favourite MAC shade, and what you think I should check out next.

You can purchase Mac Modesty for £15.50, here.

On a lip trip, Sephora Cream Lip Stain 05

I'm in a lip phase. This happens once in a while, lip products become my thing and I can't get enough.

It's a good thing because of the climate here, makeup tends to melt off my face and as much as I love eyeliner until I find one that can stay put, lipstick will have to be my new thing.

And the lipstick of choice right now is Sephora's Cream Lip Stain in the shade Infinate Rose.

This is the best lip stain I have ever tried, admittedly I have only ever tried one other lip stain, but this is miles better.

The application is beautiful, the formulation of the cream is such that when you apply it to your lips it has this beautiful creamy texture that slowly transforms into a smooth, soft stain.

The colour is intense and long lasting, and while the other colours are true mattes, this is more of a satin finish. It has a matte peach base with a golden shimmer layer running through it, which I love in the sunny weather.

For a stain it isn't that drying either, but I would still recommend a slather of balm before applying.

There are ten colours in the collection, and this to me is the brighter shade that lends itself well to day and night if, like me, you aren't bold enough to wear reds and plums during the day. When I am though, I'll be back for a red!

The stain can be purchased for $13 from Sephora, if you are in the Middle East then in the Dubai Mall or Mall of the Emirates, and for those of you in the UK you can order from the Sephora website, here!

Bourjois Shine Edition 1,2,3 Soleil!

Bright coloured lipsticks have never received that much attention from me and admittedly this sat ignored in my collection since Christmas after I received it as a gift.

I like to think that every product has it's time though because the summer sun has brought out my adventurous side and after I randomly decided to swatch this, it was love at first swipe. 

The colour, the formula, the shine. Perfect.

I don't expect the packaging it to everyone's taste, but I love it, it certainly stands out in the makeup bag and suits the fun nature of the lipstick. I don't even mind that it doesn't have the traditional bullet applicator.

According to Bourjois the ultra-shine result is thanks to a new ¼ gloss extract. The shade, 1,2,3 Soleil is a beautiful coral. It glides on the lips and isn't sticky or drying. In fact, it is probably one of the most nourishing lipsticks I own. The colour payoff is great, one swipe and the colour is rich and stays put for a couple of hours. I've also played around with blotting the lipstick for a more subtle wash of colour and this works really well too.

 The Bourjois Shine Edition Lipstick are £7.99 and can be found in Boots, Superdrug and wherever you find a Bourjois stand.

MAC Russian Red

Red lips make me feel uncomfortable. I don’t understand the tones that suit me or even how to apply it neatly without making it look like I am going for The Joker look. But the first day of my wedding celebrations called for a red lip so I marched on down to MAC and asked them what to do.

I tried the shade Ruby Woo and still wasn’t convinced red is for me, then the makeup artist handed me Russian Red and that was that.

Unlike Ruby Roo, Russian Red is much more warm toned and a deeper red, which I realise I prefer. It has a true matte finish, and being matte means that the wear time is impressive — even after eating I didn’t feel the need to reapply. Matte finishes can lean on the drying side, but while I can’t say that this is moisturising, it didn’t dry my lips out.

I understand now why they say there is a red for everyone and I know I have found mine. I ended up wearing Russian Red both days of my hen weekend, my wedding and it was the only red lipstick I packed with me moving to the Middle East. The picture below was actually taken after my wedding, I realised after  I got back that I didn't have a picture of my makeup. The lipstick lasted through hours of celebrations, eating, drinking and kissing what was hundreds of family members.

At £15 it was more than I had paid for a lipstick before, but worth it because it hasn’t ended up unloved in a drawer and is one of many makeup momentos of I have from the wedding.

You can check it out Russian Red here. 

Beauty fix: Dubai haul

I'm back! Apologies for the unplanned break, I actually didn't realise just how long it had been since my last post.

Settling into a new life has been challenging, and one of the more challenging things is living without the British high-street! But, during a recent trip to Dubai, I managed to get a beauty fix with a small haul from Sephora and duty free.

Avon introduces True Colour Technology

Avon is a brand I have a lot of fond memories with. My mum and my aunt were both Avon ladies and my first makeup was all Avon. In fact I pretty much hijacked the little suitcase filled with mini lipstick samples, gloss and eyeshadow that she was meant to use to help clients decide what to buy.

It’s been a few years since I’ve used their makeup so when I was invited along to see the new offerings from the brand I was excited to see what had changed.

Sample session: diego dalla palma lipstick orange pink

This cute lipstick sample from diego dalla palma came in Carmine beauty box last year.

When I first opened it, I immediately threw it aside thinking that the colour wasn’t really ‘me’. But I’m going through an adventurous phase and with the odd rays of sunlight shining in the UK I thought I would give it a try.

The shade is number 32, orange pink. The colour is almost peach, and a great half way option for a true orange/coral lipstick. I’m not convinced it suits my skin tone but I think it would look great on darker skins.

The lipstick has a lightweight, soft and creamy texture. The pigmentation is good and one swipe is enough for a good colour with a subtle sheen.

The lipstick feels moisturising and I barely noticed wearing it. The only thing is that it is not particularly long lasting, not that this bothers me too much when it comes to lipsticks. The description on the M&S website says that the lipstick can be made to last longer by dabbing the lips with a loose powder before application.

The ingredients list begins with caster seed oil and various waxes, which explains the moisturised feeling. It is meant to contain anti-ageing agents and is 100% fragrance-free.

The lipstick costs £15 and can be found at Marks & Spencer. The price is a little more than I am willing to pay, but I can tell the difference in quality compared to cheaper brands.

Rimmel Kate Moss matte collection shade 107

I do love the Rimmel Kate Moss lipsticks, and even though I never planned to be lured in by the matte selection one shade drew me in……..107.

The lipstick is a beautiful deep, almost plum, red. Now this is very, very adventurous for me. Generally I don’t feel that red lipsticks suit me, and a matte finish is a usually a no-go. However, I love this.

The lipstick is creamy to apply and not as drying as you might expect. It is not quite matte but has a slight sheen. I wore this to a wedding and Sunday lunch, and it lasted through dinner and beyond, only fading slightly. After a few hours my lips did feel a little dry but not uncomfortable. However, at this point it is as if the lipstick has set and you end up with a stain, which is what makes the colour last as long as it does.

I generally apply this with a brush to get the right definition around the lip line and because I am terrible at ending up with lipstick on the rim of my mouth and the colour bleeding.

I think this shade is suitable for a wide range of skin tones, it is very complimentary on olive skin and I can imagine that pale and darker skins would be able to pull off a great dark lip look.

At £5.49 this is very reasonable but as always I would recommend buying when there is an offer happening and because it is Rimmel it can be found in all the usual places.

Want to win a lippy?

On Monday I will be posting a review of the lipstick I am wearing in the picture below and I wanted to give you a chance to win one of your own………but you need to tell me what it is!

Before you click away I am providing a clue……you can see the lippy in the picture below! 

To enter all you need to do is head on over to my Facebook page, like the page and the picture and leave a comment with the name of the lipstick brand. The competition closes on Monday at 9pm (GMT) so go ahead and enter now!

Mix and match — peach lips

Just a quickie post today after I discovered this new lip combo. I tend to not use my brighter coloured lipsticks on a daily basis, but playing around today I decided to combine L’Oreal’s glam shine in aqua mandarin (which is not much better than a clear lipgloss) with Sleek’s "barely there” which is a bright peach colour with a hint of pink. The result was a subtle peach, which looked particularly pretty in natural daylight. 

I used a trick I picked up a while ago, which was to apply a lip gloss before lipstick for a more modern look. By applying this way I found I could control the colour intensity much more than had I applied lipstick first. Another bonus of applying lipstick in this way is that you are less likely to highlight dry lips! 

I plan on mixing up a lot more of my lip colours now, especially the ones that I have neglected. Do you have any suggestions for lip colour combos?

Rimmel - crystal mauve and Kate Moss 03

I have picked up two Rimmel lipsticks recently, shade 03 from the Kate Moss collection and crystal mauve from the moisture renew line.

Shade 03 was the only lipstick of the collection, which I thought would suit me and that I would actually wear. It is a little darker than the “nude delight,” which I have swatched and reviewed previously. For my skin tone I think this is a better nude colour for everyday wear, as I have noticed that nude delight, depending upon the rest of my makeup, can look too pale. The formulation of this lipstick actually feels more moisturising that the moisture renew range.

Crystal mauve is a subtle pinkish-purple, it translates more pink on the lips than I expected. It has a high shine but it isn’t too shimmery, even though the bullet appears as though it may be. The colour is very buildable, which makes this great for day or night wear. I would like to find a more purple toned lipstick but for now this great for a pop of colour without feeling too conscious of the shade.

I own three Rimmel lipsticks now and so far I am really impressed with all three, the colours are buildable, they are moisturising and as an added bonus I purchased them all with some sort of promotional deal making them great value for money.

Rimmel Nude Delight

I have searched a long time for the perfect nude lip colour. Shade have either been more of a pink or made me look dead they are so pale (ELF natural nymph!).

The shade nude delight by Rimmel has been one I have had my eye on for a long time. I had such a fear that it was going to end up another waste of money that I kept picking it up and putting it back again, but I finally took the plunge when Rimmel were offering a free black liquid eyeliner with any purchase (I don’t need one, I’m just a sucker for a deal).

It turns out it is the perfect nude! I was so glad when I finally tried it, this I know will become my favourite lipstick and it definitely my ‘my lips but better’ shade.

It’s not a very hydrating lipstick especially considering it is labelled as the moisture renew range, but I can forgive that considering how much I love the colour. It isn’t very long lasting either, but again, forgivable.

I think it was around £6.49, so a standard price for a drug store lipstick, but I think I would always hold out for some sort of offer rather than pay the full price!

FOTN - Mixing it up

On Friday I went to London Zoo for one of their annual Zoo lates nights. The zoo is open till 10 for you to wonder around and see the animals as well as have food and there is even a silent disco.

Since it is not a true ‘late night’ I headed there straight from work which meant a quick change of clothes and make-up refresh in the bathroom.

This photograph was actually taken after I got home (excuse the hair). I used a mix of my bourgeois mineral radiance and mememe rouge as a blush, which tones down the blush and gives it a more bronze colour. My eyes were really simple due to a lack of tools, my Avon anew shadow and eyeliner.

On my lips I went for a mix of Boots naturals in caramel and ELF bare brown (swatched below) with the mixed effect shown on the far right.

I really like this colour combination, in the past I have found bare brown to be a little dark, but by combining these two it makes it more wearable with quite a natural/bare face in my opinion.

Finally a picture of me and the penguins on the new penguin beach. I encourage anyone who is in/near London to check out the Zoo lates before the end of July. I will definitely be heading there again next year.

ELF Lip Products Review

In ELFs recent facebook promotion I decided I would pick out a few of their lip products I have been wanting to try. Luckily the face Mist and Set was thrown in as a freebie which was an added bonus since this had been on my wish list since it came out, once I have tested this fully I will do a review on this separately.

Here is my small haul;

For starters, I love ELF. Their studio line products feature in my daily face and I have never been disappointed. That being said I haven’t actually ever purchased eye shadows or lip products from them, not for lack of want, but more never being able to decide what colours to go for.

I brought two new shades of the £1.50 lip glosses, in maltshake and pink kiss. Maltshake came out a lot darker than I expected but is still a nice colour, it is more a brown than the I was expecting. I really like these though so a big thumbs up for these two.

I also decided to go for the Baby Lips lipstick also from the £1.50 range. It is more like a gloss than a lipstick to me and with the pigmentation of my natural lips this added little colour. Although I do really like the combination of my Rimmel Lipliner (pink) all over my lips with this on top.

From the studio line I wanted to go for a lip-stain and thought I was getting a nice peach colour with first date. However, this was a lot brighter than I expected though and I can’t see myself wearing this, unless I find something to mix it with. I don’t think I will repurchase any of these as from what I have tested the product doesn’t act as a lip stain. As you can see in the image below, once you reapply the gloss it dilutes the colour lip stain which is not what you would expect.

I finally brought one mineral lipstick in bare brown. A much darker brown that I was expecting so I was worried initially to wear it as I thought it may be too dark for my skin tone but it is a really lovely colour. I will definitely be repurchasing these as they are so creamy and lovely to wear. On the negative side they aren’t very long lasting. This also looks lovely with the maltshake gloss on top to darken it a bit or candlelight (not shown) to lighten it.

My only complaint from this whole purchase has been that the website colours/pictures are terrible at giving an accurate representation. In this instance I was lucky that I liked most of the colours and they suited me, but that could have easily not been the case. I think ELF would benefit from a brief description of the colour on the website to help. Otherwise I still love the brand and I look forward to adding more of their products to my collection.

Thanks for reading!

Please see my YouTube video for more ramblings!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7k5TXY9Fc4