Red Lipstick to Suit Any Skin Tone - Universal Red Shade and High End Dupe

Anyone that picked up the stylist a couple of weeks ago would have read their article about products that claim to adapt to skin tones. They decided to send their army of Stylist bunnies out to the makeup world to see if they could find a lipstick that could universally suit anyone. They decided on Revlon Love Is On. A true pillar box red in my opinion, no orange hues but interestingly blue undertones which I normally avoid as I feel it can make teeth look yellowish.

Of course I had to try this for myself. I always bang on about finding the perfect shades for my skin tone so I had to put it to the test. I'm not the only one that was intrigued by this find as it took me a while to track this down across the Boots and Superdrugs near Tottenham Court Road,

I was pleasantly surprised I feel it does suit me and doesn't clash with my skin, Not my most favourite shade but I really love the formula and have quite a few of the Super Lustrous lipsticks from Revlon. I really like the packaging, very Chanel, however if you are not a fan of sweet smelling products the scent could put you off but I personally like it.  This is super affordable at £7.99 too.

As you can see I have placed this next to Makeup Forever Rouge Artist Intense in Moulin Rouge 43 (£16) as I think the Revlon Love Is On is quite a good dupe. Both creamy on the lips perfect for those dry lips out there but opaque enough to give a strong payoff of colour.  The Revlon is not as long lasting I don't think but for the price difference its quite easy to forgive.  I love stumbling across a dupe.

What do you think? Could this be the one we have been waiting for?
Article available online here to check out some other interesting finds

Charlotte Tilbury Secret Salma Lipstick

Charlotte Tilbury must be one of the fastest growing brands, not only by beauty bloggers but by those that don't even know the beauty bloggersphere even exists. Who can blame us with rose gold packaging, quality that is on point and shades that are just on another level.

Today I am sharing my views on the B-E-A-Utiful Secret Salma Lipstick which I have been referring to as Secret Selma, my first Charlotte Tilbury item of course it had to be a lipstick.  I am so happy with how opaque this shade is a lovely almost dusky nude pink.  The sales assistant said this is a great colour for Spanish skin, que bien.  I love the creamy formula, a matte finish but its not drying. Possibly not the most log lasting lipstick as it is so creamy but for me this how I prefer my lipsticks to be. I am really enjoying wearing this through Winter during the day and evening. I think the shade and formula are perfect for transitioning into spring makeup, if we ever get there.
Let's talk packaging, I mentioned the rose gold tube that is just so Instagramable who can resist? I also get that warm fuzzy feeling in my belly when I see a lipstick with something embossed on the barrel.  In this case a whopper set of lips are perfectly detailed on the tube I think its a great idea that the end of the lipstick instead of the standard round tip, Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks have a square finish.  I have found this helpful when trying to get a crisp edge around my lips.

At £24 these are at the higher end of the pricing bracket but all in all I think this is such a classy makeup product I fully understand the price tag. I am so happy I think I am going to pick up a red shade and a darker shade too.  If you have any recommendations on any Charlotte Tilbury products please leave suggestions below.  

Affordable Berry Lip

For me nothing says Winter makeup like a berry lip.  I have found two berry shades that I love and are from the great British high street so are super affordable at under £7.  These photos are from the archives so were taken probably two years ago and I have re purchased both shades since! The reason I am showing both in the same post is that I think the tones are very similar but the finishes are complete opposites.  Depending on your preference you may love one but hate the other yet for me I think the colours are dupes for each other. 

For a lot of people matte lips are a must for winter and if so you would love the Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Finish in 107. A Zoella favourite this can last all day. For those of you with dry lips this lipstick maybe isn't a wise choice as I have had some unflattering moments. But if you don't have that issue then this is a great one.

However if you prefer a more hydrating or shiny finish I would recommend you go for the Maybelline Moisture Renew in 470 Glam Plum Fulham. These were repackaged and reformulated a while back now and I 100% prefer the new shades they introduced. Not as long lasting on the lips but a great way to inject a bold lipstick.

I think the high street does some great berry shades so let me know which ones you have found recently. 

YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick - Shade 5

I have been waiting for the opportunity to share possibly the most aesthetically pleasing lipstick I will ever own.  The Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick in the shade 5. A beautiful bright, yet sophisticated pink. The lipstick glades on so smoothly even with dry chapped lips I always find this instantly makes my lips feel perfect.

Due to this being the shine formulation it means these are quite sheer and has more of a gloss or sheen to them.  Depending on your confidence with brighter lipsticks, for me I can wear this in the evening or on a hot summers day.  But if you are looking for an easy way to wear a bright lip I would recommend the Volupte Shine lipsticks. It is light on the lips and very comfortable. This shade I will would work on a range of different people, warm tones as well as paler ones.

However I do remember the first few times of wearing this shade I was a bit worried that as the formula is so hydrating that it may easily transfer across my face.  Something I do not need when tucking into a hot dog at a friends BBQ. None the less I have yet to experience any such disasters only compliments when I wear it.

Encased in gold tubing and boxing I keep my collection on my dressing table, I really like the center of the tube where the shade of the lipstick is shown through the YSL logo.  I think these are such elegant lipsticks.  At £28 they obviously carry the highend price tag, and to be honest I think I have always bought mine a duty free. But I can see why they are that price, I don't think there is anything on the high street that competes with this at the moment.

If there is one lipstick that instantly picks me up it is this one.  A brilliant shade for the work Christmas party, and a lovely gift if you are looking for some inspiration for Christmas presents this year.  

I am hoping to show you my Rouge Volupte lipstick collection soon so please let me know if you would be interested in that.

L'Oreal L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick by Color Riche - Rose Symphony

When Boots were doing their 3 for 2 offer, I found this the perfect opportunity to try out those extra bits and bobs that you don't need but I want anyway. I was after a couple of products for a night out back in February and decided to dip into the new L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick range from L'Oreal. At this point I hadn't heard anything about this collection, recent posts have made up for it. 

I picked up 203 Rose Symphony which is a beautiful fushia shade. I did pick up the orange shade first but decided I have far too many orange shades of lipsticks. I wore this the night I bought it and it didn't disappoint. With an opaque glossy finish I have rediscovered my hidden love for the glossy lip. L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipsticks create a nice stain on the lips so even as the colour does fade, it is undetectable to others. I did find I had to top this up every couple of hours or so which during the day is not ideal but the I am still a big fan of the formula. A massive move on from the Glam Shine Stain Splash things that had no colour payoff at all.

I love L'Oreal packaging and find this to be similar to YSL lip stains packaging, in terms of the square shape and the strip of shade colour down the side of the bullet. The shade number and name is printed on the top with the shade also shown on the bottom so these are easily recognisable in anyone's collection. Applied with a doe foot applicator which I find to be pretty precis even in those awkward places around the lips.

At £8.99 I think that is a fair price and with 9 shades in the range I'm sure there will be one to suit everyone. For an opaque finish in one swipe and a moisturising feel on the lips these are one of my favourite lip lacquers from the drugstore.

SS14 Trend: Is Orange the New Red?

I always bang on about how I love orange clothes and makeup so I thought I would do a round up all my favourite orange products. Orange lips featured heavily on the catwalk and is a big trend for summer this year. Yay for more shades if orange being introduced!
My orange obsession started from my love of peach blush as I thought it was more flattering in me than pink shades, as I got more confident with my makeup it has transformed into orange cheeks and lips. Not together I want to point out. I think anyone can pull off a bright pop of colour with very little effort, I think for some people it's having the confidence to come out of their comfort area which I hope this trend will help inspire a lot if people to do.

Fashionista Blush - London

Sleek Blush by Three (Lace) - Chantilly

Nars Blush - Gilda

MUA Blush - Lolly

Mememe Blush - Coral

MAC Lipstick - Vegas Volt

YSL Lipstick - 14

Revlon Lip Crayon - Rendezvous

Revlon Lipgloss - Coral Reef

Rimmel Lipstick - In Love with Ginger

L'Oreal Lipstick - Dating Coral

I also love my Sephora Blush in Orange Pop which I seem to have misplaced for the moment but can see photos in the review I did recently here.

What's your favourite orange makeup product?

Rimmel Moisture Renew - Relaunch

 

You might have seen the newly repackaged slightly reformulated moisture renew lipsticks from Rimmel spoken about recently. With a smoother longer lasting finish these have shot to the top of my drugstore lipstick favourites. I have a few shades of the old range but I really didn't get on with them at all.  I picked up two of the newer shades Glam Plum Fulham and In Love With Ginger which are supposedly dupes for the much loved Mac Rebel and Morange. Personally I haven't tried the Mac ones as they aren't anything that appeals too me as there are so many good drugstore dupes. The other shade I picked up is Nude Delight which was always a bit of a cult favourite but as I found the old formula a bit drying and dull, the shade always looked horrible on me.  Not anymore though, I love all three shades.

I find these glide smoothly over the lips and make them look hydrated and not at all dull.  For a moisturising lipstick I think these last really well especially the deeper shades and they fade nice and evenly too.

If you are more if a matte kinda gal I will have a post up soon on another high street favourite which is a matte version of one of these shades so watch out for that. These are available from Boots which at the moment have 3 for 2 so I will definitely be browsing the Rimmel stands for more shades.

MAC Vegas Volt Lipstick

I have been meaning to blog about this lipstick since I got it a year ago! I don't know what has taken me so long.  If you don't know anything about MAC lipsticks, there are eight finishes: Creamsheen (my favourite), Frost (my least favourite), Matte, Retro Matte, Amplified Cream, Lustre, Glaze and Satin. Vegas Volt is an amplified finish which means the colour is super pigmented but is still creamy and doesn't dry out the lips. MAC lipsticks are now £15 in the UK but I bought mine in New York so I think I paid $15.

I love this shade, between a red and an orange this is the perfect day to night lipstick.  As I mentioned it has an opaque finish but still leaves your lips looking healthy.  I find that this shades lasts about 3 to 4 hours, including eating and drinking, and that the shade fades evenly to a lovely stain.  I do have the MAC lipstick bug now and with such a huge shade range MAC is definitely the place to go for a good lipstick. 

Maybelline Colour Sensational Vivid Lipstick - Shocking Coral

If you are a regular on the blogging scene, you would have already heard about these little beauties.  Maybelline released a line of bright matte shade a few months ago and especially in the US people were raving about them.  I have only really gotten to grips with my shade Shocking Coral in the last month as I feel that bright shade are easier to wear in the summer time.

The Vivid lipsticks come in this bright orange neon packing which I love as it brightens up my lipstick drawer and make it so easy to find in a rush.  

The shade that I chose is a bright coral which does have a strong pink undertone.  I love this for nights out, or for that instant pop of colour during the day.

All the shades in this range are matte so are very long lasting on the lips.  They are also really opaque so they do make such an impact on a look.  They do have some what of a creamy texture but because I have such dry lips I do use a lip balm underneath.  If you don't have chapped lips then I don't think you will find them at all drying.

I definitely think these are the most vibrant and pigmented shades available on the UK high street at the moment. Word on the street is that the shade Fushia Flash is a dupe for MAC's Candy Yum Yum, but as I don't own either I can't comment on how true that is.

As I have yellow toned skin I found Shocking Coral to suit me quite well, but there is an amazing bright pink which I think would compliment blondes amazingly.

Maybelline Colour Sensational Vivid lipsticks have been compared to MAC Amplified finish lipsticks (shades and formulation), but at around £7 from Boots, they are the perfect way to add colour into your look this summer.  The only criticism I have is that there is only a small shade range, especially in the UK, I am yet to find the shade Vivid Rose that I know is available in the US, I may need to get Electric Orange instead. I really hope Maybelline bring out some more shades in the summer.

Topshop Lips - Secret Admirer

Topshop makeup has become quite popular and though I haven't tried out everything in the range I have dabbled in their lipsticks, now owning three: Brighton Rock, Innocent and the newest addition to my collection Secret Admirer. For some reason I cannot find it on the Topshop website but they retail for £8 each and come in a variety of shades.

I decided to go for a light pink shade, and at first I did have to play around with it.  Even though these lipsticks do have a creamy texture they can show any dry flaky bits or cracks on the lips.  To stop this from happening I apply some Vaseline underneath and problem solved.  Without anything underneath I find these to be quite long lasting lipsticks so lovely for an evening out.

I've seen a lot of reviews saying how everyone loves the packaging, to be honest I'm not a massive fan.  There's a lot worse, but it's nothing to write home about.  If anything I find the plastic is quite thin.  However, I like how the lipsticks come in a box, unlike drugstore brands that don't have any exterior packaging.  Gives it a little bit of a luxury feel.

The finish of this shade, and all the others I have tried, is matte.  I'm becoming more a fan of the sheer, more moisturised look so as I said I apply a lip balm beforehand so the colour is not as opaque.  If you like matte lipsticks you'll like the Topshop ones.

Swatched, Secret Admirer looks like a Barbie pink, but once applied on my lips it actually finishes to slightly darker than expected.  I think this is a shade that varies with the pigmentation of the lips that it is applied to.  So I would recommend you try this on before buying it, because it could look amazing on your friend but look completely different on your own lips.

Overall I think this is an ok lipstick, I don't know if I think they are worth £8 but as a student I get a cheeky 10% off which isn't a lot but hey, a little goes a long way.

Natural Collection Lipstick

So the first lipstick in my under £3 series are these from Natural Collection, this brand can be found in Boots and each lipstick retails for £1.99. This is the moisture range and as the name suggests these are not drying at all.

Rose Petal, Pink Mallow, Cranberry

 What may be the first thing you notice is the white plastic packaging, yes not as nice as other more expensive brands. I really don't care about that with this particular product, I am willing to pay less and not fork out another £5 for some black and gold bullet. 

 Rose Petal (left) can look a bit concealerish as these definitely have a good colour payoff. My favourite from these three shades is Cranberry (right) a nice berry colour for Autumn.

These aren't going to last all day, but it's easy to throw one in your handbag or have one in your desk drawer and use it for touch ups. To turn these from day to night lipsticks, I place a small amount of a sheer light pink gloss in the middle of my bottom lip. this makes the lips look fuller and more glamorous.

Natural Collection normally have an offer of 3 for £5, there are some lovely shades to be found there.

Shopping My Stash - September

So last month I decided to kick my shopping habits to the curb, well sort of, and try to rediscover some of my neglected makeup products.  Even though I had to give up eye makeup for a couple of weeks I think this went really well and have fallen in love with my NYX cream blushes. This month I've got a mix of products.

From Left to Right

Artdeco Bronzing Compact Powder

I hit pan on this ages ago as I used to love it, but it sadly got pushed further and further to back of the drawer with each new matte bronzer purchase I made.

Maybelline One by One Mascara

In my mascara collection, here, I mentioned that I wasn't a massive fan of the brush so I tend to pick up other mascaras over this one.  I've included this one as you shouldn't keep mascaras for more than 6 months so I want to use this up rather than wasting it.

MAC Lipsticks

This might come as a surprise to many people, but I choose so many other lipsticks over my MAC ones.  I only have a couple including one from the Wonder Woman Collection, but I think I've used all of them a total of 5 times.  I know they are lovely, I just need to use them more.

Sleek Eyeshadow Palettes

This is my grubby Storm palette that you can see, and it used to be well loved, but since my naked palettes entered my life, I have become a bad person.  I have a couple of Sleek palettes and want the Oh So Special palette as they are beautifully pigmented, nice consistency and very affordable.  If you do not own a Sleek eyeshadow Palette I definitely recommend them. 

You can see what products I included last month here.  I loved this last month so I hope I can keep it up this month as well as using some from last month.

What products do you need to use more?

Rimmel Lasting Finish - Pink Blush

This was in my haul last month and I said how I normally don't go for bright pinks. I love this shade, it's a matte finish which can be a little drying but if applied on top of a lip balm it isn't a problem for me. This particular shade does show cracked lips which as it's coming into winter could be a problem. As the name suggests this is a long lasting lipstick, I found it lasted a couple of hours, but not all day. I don't know if I would wear this alone during the day without gloss but in the evening I really like this lipstick.

This is the shade without balm or lip scrub

I am loving Rimmel lipsticks at the moment and even though I still think Pink Blush looks a little scary, once it is applied it looks lovely, especially with tanned skin. I like the packaging too, just simple black with the Rimmel slanted lid. You can pick this up for £4.99 and boots have 3 for 2 at the moment which means more shades :)

Topshop Lipstick - Brighton Rock

Last week I posted about how I was a bit late on the hype and finally purchased some Topshop lipsticks. Originally, I only wanted to try lipstick out, in case I didn't see what all the fuss was about. So I was there, swatching till my little heart was content, then saw this bright pink shade down the other side of the makeup stand. 

I didn't realise until I actually read the label that is was Brighton Rock, possibly one of their more famous shades due to Zoe's love for it. Also, I would like to point out that on the Topshop website it seems a lot redder than it actually is, so don't be put off.

It is a bright pink with almost an undertone of red to deepen the colour. It's a very bold move, so if you aren't too confident about out there lips, then I would stay well away from this one. I like this on it's own, I was worried that it might need a lip pencil to make it work, but I don't think it does.

The shades I have does last on the lips which I am impressed with. I can't believe I didn't own a Topshop lipstick before and now I have two :)

What is your favourite Topshop shade?

Topshop Lipstick - Innocent

Topshop has a lovely range of makeup and have received some glowing reviews. I was always a bit sinnical as I know that the blogging world can get a bit caught up with the hype of certain products. However, I recently felt that my lipstick collection was missing a vital member of the team. So I took a dive in to Topshop's makeup stand. (Not literally, obviously)

Topshop lipsticks are really creamy, they also look amazing with a dab of gloss over the top too. There isn't a massive range of shades but there is variety of colours, if that makes sense. I decided I wanted a nude so I was swatching away and originally Pillow Talk caught my eye, then I saw Innocent and changed my mind.  I am really glad I did, I love the pinky tone of Innocent, such a lovely everyday colour. 

I never have a lipstick that I wear everyday, but I do find myself reaching for this one more than others. They last quite long on the lips too which is always a plus when you find a lovely lipstick shade. At £8 I am impressed with the quality, I know this is going to be a bit controversial, but I don't actually like the packaging. It reminds me of children's crayons, not something I like my lipstick to look like.