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Lips

Drugstore Make-up, Lips, Make-up, Mascara, MaxFactor, Nail Polish/Care

Mmmm! MaxFactor Goodies

Max Factor is a brand have dipped into on occasion but have limited experience with. I love their mascaras – 2000 Calorie was a favourite of mine for a long time. I also once had a brief fling with one of their foundations – I remember recording a foundation tutorial with it way back when.

I am happy to be able to explore the bounties of this brand a little more.

24 from False Lash Effect Mascara – This mascara has a built-in primer that wraps lashes. Max Factor is a sister company of the US brand Covergirl – hence the latters infamous Lashblast being the same as the formers False Lash Effect Mascara. I have always been a fan od Max Factors mascara and I’m sure this one will be no different!

I have two of Revlons Flipstick Colour Effects Lipsticks – Bloomy Pink and Salsa Red. They are lip duos. The colours can be worn alone, blended together or used on different parts of the lips – to highlight the plumpness for example. (€11.99) “An innovative double-ended lipstick you mix, match and personalise your own lip colour”.

 

I have never tried Max Factors nail polishes either so I shall have some fun swatching these.

Right, I’m off to start swatching and testing!

Thoughts on Max Factor??

Drugstore Make-up, Lips, Make-up, Swatches

Top 10 Drugstore Nude Lipsticks!

I have been meaning to do a Drugstore Favourites Series for a while now. I thought I would  get the ball rolling with a video on my favourite nude lipsticks! Swatches below :)

httpvh://youtu.be/gtAl0jKemdw

Products Mentioned (swatches below)

NYX Circe
NYX Honey
Rimmel Spotlight Beige
Boots Natural Collection Appleblossom
e.l.f  Nicely Nude
Barry M 101 Marshamallow
Revlon Nude Attitude (matte)
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick Bare Necessity
Revlon Smooth Nude
Victoria Secret Scrumptuous
Bourjois Rose Romanesque

 

Swatches

 

Lips, Make-up, Swatches

A Red Lipstick sort of a Day…

I felt like donning a red lipstick today. Don’t ask me why, it just felt right :) I haven’t worn red in a really long time. I tend to apply it and then change my mind. Not today.

I opted for Lancome’s new collaboration with Kate Winslet – Rouge L’Absolu Rouge BX in 132 Caprice.

 

Here’s a rough application to give you an idea of the colour…

 

And a full face shot – beware there is very little other make-up left on my face…

This is such an old-time glamour shade, but with a more modern finish. Although it’s intense, it’s very wearable and works very well on fair skin. It also smells lovely, in an old-school way. This shade makes me want to don a vintage dress and paint the town red.

The finish is satiny. It’s very easy to apply, in fact the shape of the lipstick means you could by-pass the liner entirely (although I always wear one with red). It also lasted well on my lips, hours in fact and it’s not drying at all.

I love the packaging – sleek. The magnetic closure is a god send, I wish all lippies came with one.

This collection was created with Kate Winslet in aid of the Golden Hat Foundation. I blogged about the collection recently if you haven’t seen it. (Link)

Do you have a favourite red?

Lips, Make-up

Lush Lip Tints – Chilli Tingle, Celebrate, Latte (Review & Swatches)

I have been dabbling with Lush Lip Tints for the past few weeks. I had one in the past, a raspberry shade, that I used occasionally as a lip balm rather than as lip colour. I have found three that I really like.

Here they are…

Left to Right: Chilli Tingle, Celebrate, Latte

 

And some swatches…

Left to Right: Chilli Tingle, Celebrate and Latte


Lush Chilli Tingle Lip Tint

Chilli Tingle is a warm terracota shade. Although I liked the colour when I first saw it I assumed it would be hard to wear. As you can see from the swatch it is quite pigmented. I have been wearing a  little smeared over nude lipsticks. It’s a lot more wearable than it looks. If you look good in coral shades as opposed to pink this one might be of interest to you. Medium to dark skin tones would probably wear it better than I do.


Lush Celebrate Lip Tint

Celebrate is a soft pretty pink with hints of gold. It’s sheer and angelic. There is a hint of frost to this one so your lips need to be in good condition – I used Lush’s lip scrub before I applied it to scrub off any dead skin. I like to use lipbalm underneath too as it can be a little drying.

 

Lush Latte Lip Tint

Latte is my favourite. It’s bronzey nude shade. My favourite way to wear it is over Sephora’s Native Nude lip liner and a lip balm. It’s nude with a hint of shimmer and looks gorgeous with bronzer.

What are your thoughts?

Hauls, Lips, Make-up

A spot of lipstick shopping…

I needed a little pick me up yesterday so I bought a new book (The Radleys – meh!) and popped to my local Starbucks for a huge mug of tea. However, after I settled myself in to cosy arm chair it became apparent that I was sitting in the middle of some Mammy and toddler convention. Now I love kids but there was no chance of unwinding. I decided to take myself into Boots and treat myself to a few new lipsticks instead. I blame the hyper children :)

Boots are running 3 for 2 on Rimmel products so I had to buy three lipstick. Had to.

I swatched about twenty lipsticks and finally settled on three. I went for bright, current shades rather than my usual nudes/nude pinks.

 

The three I went for are 110 Pink Gossip, 620 Coral Queen and 340 Lily Extase (Left to right).

 

And here are some swatches…

All three are both creamy and pigmented, I think that’s why I chose them. Lily Extase and Coral Queen are a little outside my comfort zone so I’ll start with Pink Gossip. Face of the days using these bad boys to follow :)

What do you think?

Lipbalms, Lips

In love with Carmex Peach…

I’m a big fan or Carmex as you know. Whenever they release a new product I run out and buy it right away. Although I quite enjoyed the Strawberry version that came in a tube, I found it lacked the lip healing properties of the pot.

Last month Carmex launched Moisture Plus which are stick lipbalms that come in a few shades. I got my hands on Peach and I’m in love.

The colour of the stick is a little misleading – it appears like a bright mix of raspberry and peach. But when applied it gives a natural, sheer peach lip.

Is it just me or does the swatch remind you of Nars Orgasm blush?

I’ll still continue to use my traditional pot at night but I am delighted to have this more sheer, colourful option for day time.

It’s quite a glossy, juicy finish. Love it. I packed some on over Sephora Native Nude Lip Liner this morning.

The balm contains Vitamin E, Aloe, Shea Butter and all important SPF 15. It has an ultra-hydrating formulation will give you moisture, shine and colour all in one stylish slim line package, its slanted tip ensuring perfect application-no mirror required.

These balms cost €5.99 (from all the usual pharmacies and supermarkets). Now all I need is the pink version.

Recommended!

Lips, Make-up, Swatches

Loving NYX Lipglosses

You all know how much of a lip gloss junkie I am. But I am by no means a lipgloss snob, I have a mix of high end and budget friendly tubes in my collection – I enjoy them all.

I’ve been enjoying NYX lip glosses for the past few weeks. They’re cheap and pretty.

Whipped, Kiss, Pink, Baby Pink

 

 

And some swatches…

 

Whipped, Kiss, Pink, Baby Pink

All in all, I like the NYX lip glosses that I have tried. Bear in mind that they’re sheer rather than creamy consistency, although not as sheer as I expected. They aren’t sticky either, of course that means they don’t last very long on the lips. No matter how much I spend on a lip gloss I tend to reapply it regularly anyway.

I have been wearing Pink over MAC’s Creme de Nude lipstick all week. It’s quite a bright gloss, much  more pigmented than you would expect. I also like wearing Baby Pink over lipsticks. It’s very pretty over Creme Cup and Angel.

I got my glosses from Beauty Fragrances, it’s a British site but they ship to Ireland.

What are your thoughts on NYX’s lipglosses? Have you a favourite?

Drugstore Make-up, Hauls, Lips, Make-up

NYX Lipstick Haulage

NYX Lipsticks. I only have Paris and Flower, both of which I love just as much as any of my MAC pinks. I wanted to try a few more. These lippies are all from BeautyFragrances.co.uk.

Pumpkin Pie, Circe, Summer Love, Baby Pink, , Harmonica

 

Pumpkin Pie, Circe, Summer Love, Baby Pink, , Harmonica


Swatches and reviews to follow, as always :) So far, I’m loving the three neutral shades. I’m still on the fence about the pinks but I will keep you updated.

Do you have any more NYX lipstick recommendations for me?

Drugstore Make-up, Lips, Make-up, Swatches

Lipstick Love – Isa Dora Pink Parfait Review & Swatches

If you watched my recent product rave video you will have heard me rant a little about an Isa Dora Jelly Kiss lipstick I have recently fallen for.

It’s a beautiful pink (what a shocker) in 53 Pink Parfait. You can find swatches below and photos of what it looks like on me for reference.

And here are some swatches. It looks a little matter here than it is in real life.

 

And a little close-up…

I would say that the colour above is quite true to life. It looks like a vibrant pink with a hint of coral.

Here’s how it looks on my lips….


As you can see, it swatches lighter on the lips that in the tube. I’m quite happy about that – I doubt I could pull off a very loud pink.

For me, this is a perfect shade of pink for Spring and Summer. I mentioned in the my video that it reminds me of MAC’s Colour Crafted lipstick, which I love but it was part of a limited edition collection. I actually have a back-up to mine in my drawer but with the lipstick I don’t think I’ll be reaching for it any time soon.

Finish wise, it’s glossy and moisturising. It has a little but of a jelly look on the lips. It doesn’t dry out my lips, it leaves them looking fresh and youthful.

Jelly Kiss’ lipsticks are presented in a sleek silver metal case which is magnetised, which is really handy.  It is also fragrance free for those of you who have an aversion to lipstick smells.

I would be keen to try some other shades so if you have any let me know what you think. They cost €12.95, cheaper than MAC and just as lovely.

As I mentioned in my video I buy Isa Dora from my local Unicare pharmacy (which they have all over Ireland). I did a little research and those of you in the US can order from their site.

What lipstick are you loving at the moment?

General, Lips, M.A.C, Make-up

Using just about anything to store lipsticks!

There are lots of fancy ideas out there for storing lipsticks and lip glosses. Personally, I like to use things I have lying around the house. I had two watch boxes that were going to go in the bin after Christmas so I decided to salvage them and use them for lipstick organisation – man, I love make-up organisation :)


I keep my favourite MAC lipsticks in one box – the ones I reach for regularly – and my favourite glosses in the other.

 

And the glosses – a tad messier!

 

The rest of my lipsticks are stored in a Body Shop Gift box – yes, I literally keep everything for organisation ideas :)

I also used to keep the odd take-away boxes (the plastic ones) and store lotions in them.

How do you store your lip products?


Lips, Make-up

Sephora Nano Lip Liners – My thoughts

I have been meaning to pick up some of Sephora’s Nano Lip Liners since I read Lollipop26’s review. She loved the shade Native Nude (the name was enough to make me buy it).

When I was in Chicago I popped into Sephora – okay “popped” is not the right word, perused intensely is more appropriate – and tried out some of the liners on the back of my hand. I settled on Native Nude and Candid Candy.

 

I was initially taken aback back the size of these liners – they’re tiny. They are roughly half the size of an ordinary lip pencil. But at $5 each I probably shouldn’t complain.

Consistency wise, they aren’t overly soft and creamy but aren’t dry either, in my opinion they’re just right.

Here’s a little swatch…

Native Nude is my favourite – shocker. The colour is a beigey nude (comes off lighter on the lips than in the swatch) and although it has a brown base it’s doesn’t come off brown on the lips. It is the exact same colour as my lips, which is what I was after. When I apply it I layer it over most of my lip. It provides subtle definition and helps keep my lipstick and gloss on longer. What I like most about it is that it works with every single lipstick shade.

Native Nude

Candid Candy is exactly what it sounds like – a candy pink shade. It lasts quite well and works with all pink lipsticks and glosses. It even works well with some nude shades. It does have a lavender hint to it which may not work so well with medium to darker warm skin tones but it works a treat on my complexion (NC25).

Candid Candy

So all in all I love these. If only they were longer!

What is your favourite lip liner?

 

Drugstore Make-up, Lips, Make-up, Swatches

NYX Lip Pencils – Swatches and Review

I mentioned in my latest haul video that I picked up three NYX lip pencils whilst in the US. I had actually intended to buy more but the local Ulta didn’t stock the entire line, boo hoo. I had 8 shades to choose from, none of which were neutrals. I eventually settled on these three.

Dolly Pink, Rose, Flower

These were extremely cheap (around $3 I think). They are very pigmented and have a nice texture – not too dry or chalky but not too creamy that they might smudge. They won’t last all day on your lips but honestly neither do any of the other liners I own so this doesn’t put me off.

Dolly Pink, Rose, Flower

Here are some swatches to you can have a look at the finish and the shade. Bare in mind that these products are applied designed to be applied to lips (with more pigmentation) rather than hands :)

 

Top to bottom – Dolly Pink, Rose, Flower


The palest pink shade really isn’t for me, it reminds me of Pat Butcher when applied to the lips. That being said it would be a good base for a medium tones pink lipstick that you wanted to tone down. Rose is easy to wear and works with pink and plum lipstick shades. Fuschia is the prettiest of the three in my opinion.

I’m happy with my purchase and I’m definitely going to try some of the nudes, neutrals and plum tones next.

Any recommendations?