A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Mr L doesn’t like me in red lips, so on that basis I’ve decided to wear red lips everyday until I run out of reds to try.

Infact, call it a series if you will… I’m on a mission to discover my favourite reds.  Totally inspired by my beautiful friend and MUA @pinkyspanish who rocks a bright lip better than anyone I know and who is always encouraging me to get that little bit bolder!

Today was the first day that I’ve ever worn a true red lip out of the house without wiping it off before lunchtime.  Yes, it takes a little more maintenance than normal because I’m the kind of girl who can’t be arsed to reapply her lippie.  On a nude shade, this isn’t an issue… but patchy red lips don’t look good and so I was forced to reapply twice today.

I’ve also learnt that discretely licking the edge of your cup/glass before drinking to avoid lip stains is a trick discovered by red-lipped angels.

Anyway, today’s lip is brought to you by the letters N, Y & X!

NYX Hot Red Jumbo Lip Pencil to be precise.  Everything I’ve read online told me that Hot Red was an orange based red and as such probably wouldn’t suit my pale skin.  I think it does – it also doesn’t give the impression that I’ve stuck corn kernels to my teeth everytime I smile.  On appearance alone, this is a winning shade!

Lasting power is acceptable.  For the price of the product, it’s amazing.  I generally apply, blot the crap out of it and apply lightly again.  I get about 3 hours wear from it (less if I eat).

I kept the rest of my makeup to a minimum.  I didn’t even use brow powder which was a VERY strange feeling… did I make the right choice?  I didn’t want anything to overpower the lips at all… but I’m not sure if perhaps I need the definition for balance?

NYX Hot Red Jumbo Lip Pencil is available to buy online in the UK from Cocktail Cosmetics, priced at £2.75

What are your favourite reds and do you wear them BRIGHT or toned down?

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If anyone wants to join me on my red lip crusade, please email me a photo of your lovely selves rocking your favourite red lip – I’d love to do a collage with your photos!

If you’re up for this, I need an email with the following info (not forgetting the photo!):

Your name/blog name (if relevant):
Lip shade name:
MAC Foundation Shade (if known):
Link to blog (if relevant):

So, Nicki Minaj’s personally designed pepto-(a)bismol pink lipstick is up on the MAC website today… for one day only.  Until next Friday.  And the one after that…

And the one after that… until MAC have bled their fans dry not only of their money but also of their patience.

Buying stuff from MAC… it’s like the 12 labours of Hercules.

I’ll (unsurprisingly) be passing on this.  I can’t even make All Styled Up work for me so I have no hope with this one.  Plus, I don’t shop on Fridays.  It’s against my religion (as of today).

Will you be picking this one up?

An exquisite gift for someone special, this Lip Polish trio (£42) from Arbonne combines three easy to wear lip polishes housed in a classy silver pouch.

I’ve talked about these Arbonne Lip Polishes before and I suggest you read the review to familiarise yourself with what it is that makes these so special.  For me, they’re the perfect lip gloss/lipstick hybrid that packs a punch of pigment without that heavy lip gloss feeling.

The three full size glosses included are: Raisin, Nude & Brown Sugar.

Raisin is a sparkle infused wine shade that can be worn full-on for a vampy, glossy finish or blotted down to leave behind a long lasting stain that still manages to look slightly glossy.

Nude is the perfect accompaniment to a true smoky eye.  With no sparkle and a slightly satiny finish… this lip polish cancels out my lip colour and ensures that it’s all about the peepers!

Brown Sugar is a wearable nude for daytime.  This is a warmer toned nude that should suit most skintones and makes for a real work-safe easy to wear colour.

I’ve tried a few things from Arbonne now but it’s these Lip Polishes in particular that have stood out to me as something of considerable quality.

Infact, I’d happily put these in my top 5 product discoveries of the year.  Which is why although expensive at £42 for the trio… for once, I’d not balk at paying this knowing that I’m paying for actual quality formulations and not just a brand name.

To view this gift set in closer detail and find your local Arbonne consultant, click here.

I’m a sucker for cream blush.  Complete and utter sucker.  I love the dewy finish they tend to give and feel more confident in my application and blending than I do with powders.

Which led me to this little purchase…

Blushed Rose #3 is described as a brown pink… it’s definitely a little more brown than pink to my eye.  I think I’d describe it as a pink brown. I know, I know… I’m totally splitting hairs but that description just seems to fit better!

Not very pink is it?

I’ll be honest… I was really dubious about how this would work.  Multi-tasking products are up against it at the best of times.  They promise a lot and often deliver very little , I wasn’t sure how a lip product could successfully double as a cheek product and vice versa.

Still not very pink.

Well… my verdict on Bobbi Brown’s Pot Rouge for Lips and Cheeks?  It’s… ok.

It doesn’t rock my world and it’s not the innovation I was looking for.

I find it a little drying on my lips and a touch too sticky on my cheeks.  Not horrendously so (in either case) but it’s not faultless.  I also feel that once blended, it’s a touch too sheer as a blush.

At £16.50 I do feel that it’s fairly good value… but it’s just not for me.

Have any products disappointed you recently?

For Autumn/Winter, L’Oreal have released some new shades to join their Color Riche Boosting Serum Lipsticks lineup.  Titled the “Nude Collection”, the four new shades are (as you would expect) wearable and flattering for most skintones.

Marketed as “having the power of a serum at it’s heart (with) powerful active indredients… …to restore moisture and definition to the lips” and boasting some pretty good ingredients to back up these claims.  Among these ingredients, I was pleased to see Hyaluronic Acid listed and had a quick google on another ingredient “Pro-Xylane”… which appears to have originally been developed by Lancome back in 2006 and is used in many of L’Oreal’s more expensive anti-aging facial products.

On paper, if there’s one thing these lipsticks should achieve… it’s a non-drying formula.

I have to say, I’m not a fan of the packaging.  Yes, it’s useful to be able to see the exact shade of the lipstick by looking through the little window… but these feel cheap.  They’re very lightweight, overwhelmingly plasticky and they damage easily.  I spent an afternoon with one of them in my handbag and as you can see from the below photo, the casing is already starting to show wear and tear (lipstick on the left).

I guess the overall design is pleasing, but the materials used are a let down.

While I’m discussing what I dislike… I’m also going to mention the scent.  For me, it’s not appealing… the lipsticks are quite heavily violet-scented and it just conjures up the old lady lipstick smell.  Something a little fresher or unscented would have been preferable.  Thankfully, the scent doesn’t linger too long once applied, but it’s a point to note.

I was sent two of the new shades shown above by L’Oreal: S106 – Freshly Rosy and S204 Beamy Plum

Of the two, Freshly Rosy is paler and a little frostier whilst Beamy Plum applies creamier whilst still carrying a sheen.

That different coloured core is cute right?

Both apply like a dream.  They’re smooth and glide on with no effort at all.  Pigmentation is best with Beamy Plum but buildable for both lipsticks.  They don’t stick to any dry patches on my lips and neither do they accentuate the furrows and grooves.  So far, so good!

Hand swatches…

For my colouring, I was expecting to prefer Freshly Rosy… but my lips must be more pigmented than I thought as I struggled to cover my natural pigmentation with this shade.  I got there eventually, but it took a few swipes from the tube to do it.

You can see that they’re both completely wearable for fair skin tones and have a glossy appearance.  Despite how moisturising these are, they don’t feel at all sticky or thick on the lips.

In context… (please excuse the pyjamas *blush*)

Beamy Plum is a great choice for those of us who want to indulge in slightly darker lips for A/W but are scared of vamping it up too much.  In other words, if you’re a bit of a wimp like me… you need to try this shade!

The lipsticks lasted fairly well throughout the morning, both could have benefited from a touch up after my mid-morning coffee but neither *really* needed it.  After my soup though?  Forget about it… they were gone!  To be fair, I fully expected this considering how moisturising I found the formula.

Pros: Moisturising Formula, Wearable Shades, Smooth Finish, Easy to Apply

Cons: Violet Scent, Cheap Packaging

L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Boosting Serum Lipsticks are priced at £8.49 each and the Nude Collection will be available from this month onwards.

I’m a total lip liner eschewer.  I love that word… eschewer… makes me think of nuts.

It just seems like one of those extra steps that quite frankly, I could do without.  Same as applying my lipstick with a brush.  I have a beautiful NARS lip brush that NEVER gets used.  I just don’t see the necessity?

I was killing 10 minutes last night before I had to be somewhere and my fingers alighted on a Laura Mercier lip pencil in Petunia.  I think I bought it off a blog sale or stole it or something.  I certainly wouldn’t have paid PROPER money for a lip liner… heaven forbid!

So anyway… yeah… I had a go at lining my lips.  I usually go a bit wonky around the cupid’s bow, but this time I was pretty spot on.

Then I filled my lips in with it like wot we is supposed to do..

Finally, I dabbed some Revlon Colorburst in Soft Rose ontop and it looked pretty decent.  Sharp, defined… dare I say it… sexy.

But more importantly?

GOD THAT LIPSTICK LASTED!

I came home 4 hours later and it looked amazing still!  It had obviously faded a little but the undercoat of liner really gave the illusion of picture-perfect lips.  And the best bit?  My lips didn’t suffer any extra dryness from adding this step.

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But now I need your help please ladies (I’m a drain, I know).  Are most lip liners created equal?  I’m still not converted enough to drop lots of money on them but I want a stash to play with and I want it QUICK!

What are your favourite budget liners?  I’m thinking maybe NYX?

Please educate me!!

Next up doing their bit for Breast Cancer Awareness Month is…

What is it?

The Breast Cancer Care Smashbox Smile Brightening lipstick duo from QVC – in luscious pink!

Light up your smile with this Smile Brightening Lipgloss Duo (each 6ml) from Smashbox. Each lipgloss is packed with light-reflecting particles for a gorgeous shimmering pout, as well as specially coloured pigments designed to reveal your brightest smile. It’s also infused with a cool minty flavour that will make you feel fresh and ready for the day or evening ahead.

Price

£13.31

Donation

QVC will donate all net profits to Breast Cancer Care

Availability

Online at QVC throughout October

Next up doing their bit for Breast Cancer Awareness Month is…

What is it?

Three gorgeous shades of gloss from Clinique together on an exclusive handy key chain complete with a pink ribbon charm.

Long Last Glosswear SPF 15 provides long-lasting, high shine with the added benefit of SPF 15.  Thanks to powerful film-formers that create a “seal” holding the gloss to your lips throughout the day, the high moisturising gloss stays put for up to 8 hours!

Price

£15.00

Donation

For each UK sale, £2 will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s study at the UK Institute of Cancer Research.

Availability

Exclusive to Boots, both online and instore.

It’s that time of the year again… dark lips are gonna be out in force!

I wanna know how you wear a great dark lip?  I love the trend… especially for lazy days and bare eyes.  My problem?  I have a pretty thin top lip and dark colours make lips look even thinner!  I always feel that these vampy shades make me look like I’ve got a MEAN mouth!

I really want to put more effort into wearing some great vampy shades this season.

Here’s my inspiration:

Will you be wearing some dark lip shades this Autumn?  Are you a bit nervous of the annual trend?  If you’ve discovered any great tips – do share them, I’m sure that I’m not alone in needing some guidance!

If there’s one ‘trend’ I could do without.  Matte orange lips pretty much sums it up.

Photo credit: Samantha Adler, www.samanthaadler.com

Big hair and bright, orange lips were the order of the day for Marc by Marc Jacobs’ fun, colorful collection for Spring 2011.

Really… no, really.  Thanks.

Not only the hardest formula for us gals to wear whilst going about our daily whatevers… but let’s do it in orange too shall we?

What I wanna know is this…

Does it really matter? I’m not sure I pay much attention to seasonal trends… I just wear whatever the hell I want.  I guess I’d appreciate it if companies don’t go ALL OUT on the orange for their Spring collections, but meh… whatever, guess it’ll save me money right?

Do you follow so-called trends or even take much inspiration from them?

The new range of lipsticks from French makeup maestro Francois NARS have launched into Selfridges.  Priced at £18 each, the NARS Pure Matte Lipstick range promises intense, stay-true colour.

But that’s not all…

[stextbox id=”alert” bcolor=”b0c4de” bgcolor=”e6e6fa”]Defying the traditional challenge of long-wearing lipsticks, it won’t dry out lips.  Rich in antioxidants, including Vitamin E and Acai Oil, Pure Matte nourishes and conditions lips.  Wild Mango Butter’s advanced moisturizing properties work  to repair lips from dryness and scaling, leaving lips feeling supple and soft.[/stextbox]

If that claim is to be believed…. sign me up!

I haven’t tried any of the shades on my lips, but did swatch a couple at a recent press day.

Clockwise from Top Left: Tashkent (Nude Beige), Volga (Deep Aubergine), Terre de Feu (Black Cherry) – incidentally, how great does Terre de Feu look for a vampy Winter lip?, Bangkok (Soft Rose), Tonkin (Cinnamon Plum) and Vesuvio (Full Bodied Red).

Tashkent and Bangkok

Tashkent and Bangkok swatched.

I clearly remember Bangkok (the rose), dragging on the skin of the back of my hand as I swatched, so I’m not sure how that would apply to my lips… though to be fair, the tester could well have dried out a touch after being open for however long.  By contrast, Tashkent glided on without too much friction burn 😉

Are any of these calling to you?  I must admit that Vesuvio and Terre de Feu look like wonderful Wintery options!

Incidentally, how beautifully shot is this promo?

NARS Pure Matte Lipsticks are £18 each and until 1st October are exclusive to Selfridges.

It’s all about the lips this Autumn as far as Clarins are concerned.

They’ve introduced a new lipstick to their line up!  The long-lasting Rouge Prodige range boasts an impressive 24 shades, I’ve been sent a few to swatch and show you… so here goes…

Sleek is the word I’d use to describe the packaging… look at that cute little ‘C’.  For ‘Charlotte’ innit…

Shades and swatches after the jump!

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