What's on my lips #3....

Not always one for gloss, I've been dipping my toes into the glossy waters recently, and have come out loving the latest offering from Revlon. In particular, this shade Pink Pop.

The pigmentation for a gloss is great, it's fairly un-sticky but just sticky enough to give it some great staying power. It lasted a couple of hours on my lips; even longer over a lipstick. I've since bought a nude shade which looks gorgeous ver pinky-nude glosses for night time paired with a smokey eye!

Anyone else love these glosses? Any more shade recommendations?

Loves

xxx

Top 13 of 2013...the makeup edition...

Top foundation has to be, without a doubt, Revlon Nearly Naked. Third bottle of this bad boy and the love affair is still continuing. 

The concealer that has kept creeping back into my life (well, makeup bag) in 2013 was the Body Shop Illuminating Touch in the shade 3. Great for achieving Kim K style cheekbones.

The only bronzer to grace my face was Benefit Hoola, which I'd probably award as my top product of all time award. Big news.

Favourite blushers go to Sleek in general but, not to be called a cheater, I'd pick Pixie Pink if I was going to single one out. 

Highlighter could only be The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer, used sparingly, for a beautiful daily glow.

For eyeshadow the only thing I regularly reach for, and my one 'take away with me everywhere' was my Urban Decay Naked Basics palette. For day looks, eye looks, and brows this was my saviour. 

I couldn't let eyeliner slip by without throwing a huge mention out to the Rimmel Scandaleyes pencils, especially in the taupe and nude shades, and my trusty Topshop liquid liner in black. 

Again, mascara is a two parter as big lashes were my favourite look of 2013. My stand out winners were Benefit They're Real and Makeup Forever Smokey Lash. 

For the nude/pink lipstick offerings I turned to the NYX matte lipsticks towards the later part of the year, but my favourite lip discovery of 2013 were hands down the Maybelline vivids, of which I own and love every single one. 

Lastly my Urban Decay de-slick setting spray has been a life saver on these hot Australian days.

Honorable mentions go to the Real Techniques brushes, Rimmel Apocolips (especially Big Bang), the Maybelline colour tattoos and the new Revlon lip glosses. Sorry, I cheated. 

What has everyone else loved in 2013??

Loves

xxx

Maybelline Colour Whispers (revisited)...

These have been mentioned on my blog before but seeing as I'm slowly building a collection and am head over heels in love with them, I thought they needed another post.

There's no doubt in my mind that eventually I'll own all of these. I'd liken them to the Revlon Lip Butters for consistency. They're a gel like balm with a nice wash of colour that you can build up but it never becomes too opaque. They're fairly moisturising, come in a nice range of colours, and are so simple to apply. No mirror needed!! The one down side is that, like a lot of this type of lip product on the market, they don't stick around too long. But being this easy to apply I'm not sure I'm too bothered about that. 

I have (left/top to right/bottom) Pink Possibilities, Oh La Lilac, and Lust for Blush. I'm not sure if these are out in the UK yet? But if they are, go try them. And if they're not, go try them as soon as they hit the shelves!!

Anyone else tried these?

Loves

xxx

Review... Revlon super lustrous lip gloss...

Now correct me if I'm wrong but these seem to be the same as the original glosses but in new packaging? Regardless, I knew as soon as the Boots £3 off Revlon makeup dropped on my doorstep I wanted to pick one up. I'm most definitely loving my nude glosses and lipsticks again so went for 205 snow pink - a nude pink with gold glitter running through. 

So pretty alone or over a pink/nude lipstick, a lot less sticky than most drugstore lip glosses and fairly long lasting. I've been in and out of the rain taking blog photo's all afternoon and drinking copious cups of tea and it's still holding in there. 

If anyone's not sure what to use their £3 off Revlon boots voucher for - check these beauties out!

Has anyone else tried these yet and rated them?

Loves

xxx

Face of the day....

Not normally one for eyeshadow, I donned my (limited collection) of Mac shadows and tried out a bit of a golden/purple smokey eye for mine and my Ty's 6 month anniversary meal (altogether now....ahhhhhh).

Dress - Jay Jays (Australian)

Foundation - Revlon photo ready

Concealer - Benefit erase paste

Brows - Rimmel eyebrow pencil

Eyes - Mac shadows Retrospeck, Sketch and Cognac, L'Oreal HIP colour truth cream eyeliner

Lashes - Cover Girl Clump Crusher

Blush - Mac Well drressed

Highlighter - Essence Circus Circus in It's Magic

Lips - Chi Chi in Shake that booty and Revlon gloss in Glitz and Glam

 

I'd love to start a Mac palette one day, any suggestions of some first basic colours to get me started would be much appreciated...

Loves

xxx

Review - Revlon Colour Stay Ultimate Suede lip colours....

Finally, something we have in Australia before the English (I think)!! There's been some real hype around these new products from Revlon and, as I'm not only a lipstick addict but also one of Revlons biggest fan's, I picked one up to see what they were all about. Revlon describes them as

'a soft formula with moisturizing shea butter and aloe is food proof and doesn’t quit'

I bought the colour Finale, a bright pinky red shade; with names like Private Viewing, It Girl and High Heels, it was hard to choose!

Anyone who thinks these will be like the lip butters will be disappointed, as there's absolutely no moisturisation in these at all (in my opinion). When first applied, they glide on smoothly, don't slip and slide on the lips, and give a nice and even, strong colour pay off. After a few minutes, as I've read in most reviews, this sheen dries and the colour becomes mat with a strange sticky feeling but I've managed to get past that. The colour has some serious staying power. While I've been writing this I've worked my way through a cup of tea and, whilst there is some evidence of the product on the mug, it hasn't seemed to budge from my lips. This probably needs a longer trial than one brew to see the real results but, overall, I'm a fan. Colour, durability, packaging, colour range, and ease of applying this product all get a nice big thumbs up from me. 

Anyone else tried these lip products from Revlon yet? Maybe some colours seem to be better than others but I only really seem to find bad reviews!!

Loves

xxx

My leaving night out...

It's still three weeks to go until I jet off to Oz but I had my leaving night out on Saturday before all the chaos of the last few weeks starts! Thought I'd put a couple of pictures from Saturday into a post, you may have seen some of these on Instagram (_miss_emma_ if you want to follow me!!) but there's a few more random shots from the night out...

I wore my new dress from Primark (bargain!) with my JC Lita's and just a Dorothy Perkins black belt round the middle! I also went for red lipstick which I realised I didn't actually own. Nearly 100 lipsticks and no red....Nightmare! I picked one up with my Boots Points from Revlon called Fire & Ice which is now my favourite lipstick I own!

Loves

xxx

My top five foundations...

I'm not really a collector of foundations to be honest, I tend to stick to what I like and not really change my ways, although I have collected some beauties over the past year or two. 

(L - R Body Shop All Over Face Base, Bourjois Health Mix, Revlon Photo Ready, Mac Studio Fix Fluid, Estee Lauder Double Wear)

Body Shop All Over Face Base: The one and only non liquid foundation in my top five, I used this religiously for about three years back when I was around 17/18/19. It does give a very powdery finish but I used to suffer from oily skin so this was the only product that really stayed put. I tend to reserve this if I need to apply makeup at the speed of light, but I'd never be without one in my collection. 

Bourjois Healthy Mix: Well considering I hated this when I first tried it back in the summer, I have eaten my words. I LOVE this, so natural and light, easy to blend, and although I do find I need a powder to set it I think it lasts a good 5/6 hours before I need to powder again (which is really good on my skin!)

Revlon Photo Ready: I can get past the 'shimmer particles' in this foundation because to be honest I can't even tell! This is my current every day go-to foundation, I've got it in a couple of shades (one was passed on by my Mum who wasn't really a fan) and I just reach for this every day. I don't think this necessarily needs a powder (unless I'm expecting an all day wear) and I think it gives a really flawless finish.

Mac Studio Fix Fluid: I used to swear by this and got a few of my friends on the band wagon with me, but I started to crave something a bit lighter on my skin so switched to lighter covering foundations like HM. I do still use this from time to time, and I think it's great to cover up last nights sins if you've had a particularly heavy one. I love that this is a mat foundation but I do tend to favour something a bit fresher these days.

Estee Lauder Double Wear: I don't know where to start with this, I'm officially in love. Yes I know I just said I don't like heavy foundations but a little bit of this goes a long way. I do reserve it for nights out or on days when I need a 7am - 12pm sort of coverage. I don't necessarily need a powder, although something light like Elf HD Powder is perfect with it. It goes on well, blends well, stays on all day, doesn't slip and slide, and most off all, looks gorgeous in my makeup collection.

Are any of these in your top five?

Loves

xxx

Weekly review...Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer....

I'm not one for a primer, I'll be honest with you. I always feel like I SHOULD, but never really find that they make much of a difference (with the exception of Benefit Porefessional but some of us can't justify the price tag so save it for 'special occasions'). I always have one on the go, though, just in case I feel the need to 'prime' of a morning. I picked this one up from the lady who stands on my local market selling amazing makeup and silly cheap prices. I think I paid £6 for this which is about half it's RRP. Bargain. 

It's a pale pink in colour, with a faint iridescent shimmer to it. The shimmer is subtle, like the foundation,  and to be honest I don't notice it when it's under foundation. The formula is quite 'liquidy' compared to most primers I've tried, is really easy to blend, and has a slightly chalky feeling when it's applied. This isn't a bad thing though, and I think it's what makes it more of a matt finish. 

I like it. My makeup stays put, I don't get too oily, it smells nice, it's not shimmery on the skin. Basically it's everything you'd want from a primer. You get 27ml of product which I think is a fair amount for such a thin consistency, as a little goes a long way. Hard to say if I'd re-purchase this again as I could probably quite happily go without primer in my daily makeup routine, but this has impressed me!

Has anyone else tried this primer?

Loves

xxx

March monthly empties....

Another good month for empties!

Products I re-purchased: I had a back up of the Botanics eye make-up remover, I'm a big big fan of this stuff. I also had a back up of my deodorant and Vitamin E moisturiser like every month. I re-purchased my Rimmel tan too - this is just a night out staple to give my legs a bit of colour! I actually finished a foundation this month which I was thrilled with! And even though I've got quite a stash of foundations sitting in a draw, I went back to Bourjois and re-purchased healthy mix which is quite something considering I hated it when I first bought it!

Products I've changed: You might be able to see the tiny stub of a Mac Kohl eyeliner pencil in Smoulder on the right hand side of the pic...this is my fourth re-purchase of this and sadly my last. I've got a spare sat in my draw and I will use it up when the occasion suits but it's definitely no longer my favourite kohl pencil, it's been blown out of the water by the Soap and Glory pencil which I did a review on here. Also, as much as I loved the Witch primer, I've recently purchased the new Revlon photo ready primer which I'll be doing a review on soon and so far I'm loving. 

Finally the last thing of note is the Str-Vectin eye cream. This stuff is INCREDIBLE! I got it in a GlossyBox ages ago and literally can't praise it highly enough, apart from the hefty £45 price tag so unfortunatly have had to settle for a cheaper alternative. One day though, I'll definitely be re-buying this! 

Anyone else had a successful empties month?

Loves

xxx

Weekly review... Revlon lip butters....

I heard the hype. I saw the reviews. I dismissed them as something I'd never really be bothered in. I then saw them on my local makeup lady's market stall for 2 for £5 (she buys the testers before they go into stores or something, there are some serious bargains!!) and thought 'I'll give them a go'. Then of course I fell in love with them!

I picked up the colours Peach Parfait and Cupcake, neither of which I'd heard much about. I did really love Strawberry Shortcake (I think that's the name) but Cupcake seemed a much more lilac-pink which I love right now. 

Left - Peach Parfait. Right - Cupcake.

Firstly they are SO silky, they do take some effort to build up the colour but I'd read that and was prepared for it. They smell gorgeous, have a gorgeous glossy finish without being sticky like a typical gloss, and don't smudge like I was expecting them to. 

Ready for some stupid squinty pictures? Good, because as soon as I set my camera up outside the bloody sun came out and blinded me so I look ridiculous, but the colours do show up lovely!

Peach Parfait has a really obvious gold glitter running through it in the tube but as soon as it's on the lips that sort of disappears which I'm quite pleased about. It's a really natural, 'healthy' colour that I'll be wearing daily from now on! 

Cupcake is my new obsession. A real lilac toned pink, this will look AMAZING with a tan, and I'll build the colour up to pair it with a smokey gold eye on a night out!

Has anyone else tried the lip butters? What other shades do you recommend? I'm hoping to go back for some more soon!

Loves

xxx