The Body Shop – Colour Crush Lipstick Review (in Berry in Love 320)

I promise I’m nearly at the end of the reviews from my TBS haul! I’m building up my lipstick collection at the moment and as soon as I heard The Body Shop had launched a new one I had to give it a go!

I decided to go for a colour I didn’t already have so opted for Berry in Love which is a lovely deep pink shade with a touch of coral. It’s somewhere between a pink and red and it’s utterly perfect for every day wear. The colour comes out really well and I just can’t get a photo that does it justice. It is wonderfully pigmented and adds a touch of glamour to any look.

It also has a light rose scent which is very elegant and makes the task of applying the lipstick that bit more pleasant It’s also highly moisturising and leaves my lips feeling super soft and well cared for.

It lasts quite well for a lipstick that has a soft sheen finish, I usually find that the lipsticks that hydrate best last least, but this one lasts a good few hours and I don’t mind reapplying every so often.

I am definitely going to try some other colours so I’ll let you know if the others live up to this one!

Try it: RRP £10, The Body Shop

August 2013 Heroes

How the heck did September get here?! This year has gone so fast it’s unreal and I’ve officially been married 6 months today 😀

I’ve tried so many products this month that it was really hard to decide which were actually my favourites but I’ve whittled it down to theses ones. August has been a fantastic month beauty wise and I could go on all day if I was to mention all my heroes  of this month.

Benefit Rockateur Blush

This has been my perfect blusher for the summer, it is rose gold so is the perfect blend between a bronze and flushed result for my fair skin. It has a beautiful shimmer to it and parties all day and night without slipping. This blusher is seriously hardcore and I’ve worn it nearly every day in August. You can see my full review here.

Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy Noir Perfume

This one only made it into August for the last week but it has landed itself straight into my favourites, originally I promised my self it was for special occasions due to the price, well going to work, the park and church is special right?! Full review here.

Anatomicals Spray Misty for Me

This face spritz has been a total heroine for me in the humid UK heat. It’s set my makeup into lasting all day, it’s cooled me down in our melting office and it’s done it all with some humour and an amazing smell. Full review here.

L’Occitane Hydration Creme 

I reviewed this a while back but rediscovered it about a week into August and fell in love with it even more than the first time. It leaves my skin with a gorgeous dewy glow fit for the summer. I also noticed a huge improvement to the quality of my skin. I couldn’t afford to invest int he full size this month as much as I wanted to, so my wonderful husband managed to get his hands on another sample for me, that’ll keep me going another few weeks!  Full review here.

MUA Undress Your Skin Flawless Primer

This primer has been used every single day since I bought it, it’s soft and velvety and provides an amazing base for a day’s makeup. It feels amazing and performs wonderfully. Full review here.

MUA Lipsticks

These are my favourite budget find of the month. At £1 each I still fully intend to get the whole collection. They last well and don’t dry out my lips. The colours are also lovely. Reviews here, Red, Nude.

I’m looking forward to seeing which products rock my world this month and I’ll be sure to let you know at the start of October!

 

Pretty in Pink

Happy Saturday!

So my brain has been bombarding with ideas to try out lately, the list is growing so fast I can’t keep up but this is what I love about blogging. As quick as you do one idea another springs to life. I’ve decided to do a series of colour themed posts on Saturday’s over the coming weeks. I am going to showcase my favourite products from each colour. Today is PINK.

I love pretty pink colours, I’m so girly yet for some reason I don’t own that many pink items, clothes or makeup. Sure, plenty of things have pink packaging but I don’t own that many with pink product but these are the favourites of what I do own.

Pink is so versatile, it look as natural o as out there as you want it to. Pale pinks are pretty and flirty whilst more vibrant pinks are playful and can me a luscious statement. Without further a do, here’s my best pinks.

Avon Speed Dry Nail Polish in ASAP Pink – I love the gorgeous shade of this nail polish, it’s like candyfloss. It’s super girly and summery.

M.A.C Powder Blush in Mocha – This is a dark pink, it’s warm tones and matte finish provide an elegant result and a deep flush. It;s one of my favourite blushers.

Avon Colour Trend Lipstick Pen/Crayon in Gone Pink – I love the shimmer on this product, I’ve nearly used it all up now but it’s really soft and easy to use and it’s a beautiful floral shade.

Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner Definer in Eastend Snob – This is a grown up pink liner and works well under darker pink lipsticks and on its own. It is very moisturising and it twists up rather than needing sharpening. I’ll do a full review of this at some point.

Avon Colour Trend Lipstick in Amethyst – I usually equate amethyst to the purple colour group but this is most definitely a pink lipstick. It is highly pigmented and again it moisturises well too. It’s a dark pink, perfect for every day wear and a gorgeous Autumn shade.

Rimmel Colour Rush Eye Shadow in 030 Siren – This is a very vibrant pink, perfect for when you want to make a statement. It lasts well and is very pigmented.

What are your favourite pink products?

Maybelline Baby Lips – Cherry Me Review

Reviewed by Tams

I personally don’t understand how a lip balm could get so much hype, after all it is just a lip balm, there are thousands of those available. However, I decided to give it a go to see if there really was anything special about it.

Unfortunately, I was right, it is just a lip balm. It does smell amazing, actually I want to eat it. This one – Cherry Me – smells like cherry pie, one of my favourite desserts! That alone is a good reason to buy it. I only bought the one as I wasn’t sure they were for me.

They are a little more pigmented than some others but if you’re buying it as an alternative to a lipstick you’d be very disappointed. It is probably ideal for those of us that are less inclined to where bold lipsticks. Put it this way, if I had a daughter who was around 10 this is about the level of makeup I’d let her have.

It does feel really nice on, I just don’t think it needs to be pigmented at all, it’s not enough to wear alone but too much to wear with anything else for me. As for the 8 hour hydration it’s gone within 2. I’m sure it continues to hydrate after that but 8 hours is probably pushing it a bit.

I’d recommend this product for the younger generation but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. Sorry!

Try it: £2.99 available from Boots and Superdrug

NYC Smooch Proof Lip Stain Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s review is brought to us by our lovely Donna on the panel. This is one her current favourite products, it’s the NYC Smooch proof Lip stain in Unstoppable Red.

First up how easy is it to apply? It’s more of a felt tip so it’s really easy to control. You simply line you lips as normal, you could even skip that step with this product if you’re short on time. Then you colour in your lips with the lip stain. For an extra bit of glamour smooth on a bit of clear gloss and you’re ready to go.

And the colour.. Donna loves the intense red colour of this lip stain. It’s a striking post box red which is still very on trend. Donna loves to have a wow-factor about her look and this really helps. It’s also so quick to use it can be in your everyday kit rather than kept for special occasions.

It also lasted really well, as it says in the name it is a stain so it has super-staying-power. It didn’t dry her lips out and stayed looking matte and pretty all day.

Try it: www.superdrug.com

 

Would you rather?

So this was the first time that I’ve been tagged in one of these posts and I’m super excited and thankful to be included by todaycommai! So here goes!

1. Would you rather lose all your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks and lip glosses or lose all of your palettes and eyeshadows?

I’d sooner lose my palettes and eyeshaddows, I don’t go ANYWHERE without mascara! 

2. Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?

Never ever ever cut it again, I’m growing it anyway and I’m pretty sure it isn’t going to grow much further!

3. Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?

Definitely pink, I like my cheeks to be rosy. 

4. If you had £1000 to spend, would you rather buy clothes or makeup?

Clothes, couldn’t justify spending that much on makeup in one go, besides if I had money for clothes I’d then be able to afford more makeup myself anyway! 

5. Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner or eyeliner as lipstick?

Er.. hmm.. lipstick as eyeliner could get messy so I’m going eyeliner as lipstick, embrace the gothic look..

6. Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?

I don’t have Sephora where I live and I’m a huge MAC fan so it’s MAC all the way! 

7. Would you rather only use one eyeshadow color or one lip color for the rest of your life?

One lip colour, I nearly always wear red or none anyway!

8. Would you rather wear winter clothes in the summer or summer clothes in winter?

Neither! I literally despise being too hot or too cold, however, I get incredibly miserable when I’m cold and wet so I’m going to say I’d rather wear winter clothes in summer.

9. Would you rather have dark nails or bright nails all year round?

Bright, I don’t do dark too often these days anyway! 

10. Would you rather give up your favorite lip product or your favorite eye product?

Favourite lip product, giving up my fave eye product would mean giving up Benefit They’re real and that is NOT happening any time soon! 

11. Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a ponytail or a messy bun?

Pony tail – My son oddly likes my hair in a pony tail, maybe because it has ‘pony’ in the name.. who knows! 

12. Would you rather never be able to paint your nails again or never use lip gloss?

Paint my nails, I’m rubbish at it anyway!

13. Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all or Sharpie them in everyday?

Sharpie them?! Haha I’d stencil them in. No sharpie is going near my brows. 

14. Would you rather live without makeup or nailpolish?

Nail polish

Blogs we have tagged –

Blushing Beauty

Paint Me Pretty

make-up goes glam blog

CatchAnEye

My Faves Journal

Share your link with me if you answer the question, I love reading the answers on these!

Blend and Create

Sleek  –  Pout Paint Review

This is a whole new concept for me but I love it. I received these last week and got round to giving them a go yesterday.

They come in tubes and they are totally mixable. The white one ‘Cloud 9’ is purely for blending purposes although I guess you could use it alone if that’s your thing. I also received ‘Pinkini’, this shade is a little too bright for my liking on its own so I simply blended a bit of Cloud 9 with it to make the shade shown in the photo.

The paint goes a really long way so you only need a tiny amount, I made far too much and ended up with it all over my hand but it’s a lesson learned! I love that you can blend any of the shades to make a totally unique colour for you. The only problem is touching up throughout the day, not only are you unlikely to get the exact same colour again but you also have to carry around all the colours plus a lip brush.  However inconvenient that is, it could also be a lot of fun to change the colour of your lips throughout the day. Plus you have infinite colour possibilities so you don’t need to buy so many lipsticks!

It did last a good 6 hours, I even got through lunch with a fair amount left on, so touch ups really are minimal anyway. It does take a while to dry when you first put it on, I did wonder if it was going to dry at all at one point, once it has dried you can easily pop some Lipcote over the top to hold it on even longer. It gave a lovely matte finish once it was dried and I really did love it on, it’s just a new thing to get used to! It also came out really even and with a good lipbrush it was really easy to apply accurately.

Try it: £4.99 each, www.sleekmakeup.com

Find Naked Beauty on Facebook .. There is also a giveaway worth £33.50 over there at the moment!

It’s in the Bag! Donna’s kit

             

 

This week we’re delving into our reviewer and my best friend Donna’s gorgeous Ted Baker makeup bag to see what lovelies it holds. It was totally jam-packed with Donna’s favourite products and here is the one’s we picked out to show you all.

 We’ll start with the lips, this is a Rimmel London lipstick, and I think you’ll agree it is a gorgeous colour. Donna loves that it stands out and lasts an age, I say an age, I mean it lasts all days which is totally an age compared to most!

It has a gorgeous sheen and looks utterly beautiful on and Donna highly recommends this one!

On to the eyes, this mascara is Donna’s must-have, she can’t be without it, even though she has lovely long lashes all on her own! It is Rimmel London Scandal Eyes in black, it’s a really reasonably priced high street mascara but it has been working hard for Donna ever since it came out.

Donna reports fuller, longer looking lashes that last all day, sounds like she’s onto a winner!

Next up is Bio-oil, like me Donna uses it for stretch-marks and scars and it works a treat. I found this item when I was pregnant with my son but most of us can admit we have the odd stretch mark, I think they’re beautiful, they show a woman as grown but if you do feel the need to fade them a little this is our go-to product. Always.

It not only smells great, it feels great and does what it says it will do. I definitely saw a reduction in the redness of my couple of stretch marks, that was 5 years ago and I don’t need to use it any more, in fact I haven’t for a long while!

 

No7 Stay Perfect foundation is just one of Donna’s favourite bases. She also loves  L’Oreal Paris Matte Moprhose Foundation.

This one gives a beautiful even skin tone that lasts all day. It blends beautifully and matches Donna’s skin tone perfectly.

This foundation has a huge thumbs up from us.

There were loads of gorgeous goodies in Donna’s makeup bag but we’ve saved some for full reviews another time! We’ll finish with a photo of Donna looking stunning!

 

 

 

 

 

Preaching to the converted – Helen É – Waterproof Lip Liner in Shade 1 Review

Reviewed by Tiffany, written by Tams

Preaching to the converted

Waterproof lip liner I hear you say, or maybe that’s just me but I haven’t come across any waterproof lip liners and as such was curious to see if this lived up to expectation. When it arrived it wasn’t a colour I’d normally use so I handed it over to the capable hands of Tiffany to give it a test drive and she’s come back with a glowing report!

I hate having to re-do my lip make-up when I’m out for a meal, who has time for endless trips to the ladies room? Finally here is a solution! First things first though, Tiffany commented that this lip liner was really easy to use and soft leaving an even and beautiful result.  As well as being pretty the colour is fairly neutral and could be used under a wider range of lipsticks than we first thought.

Tiffany was impressed at how well this lip liner lasted, it was still perfect even after eating and drinking, she just topped up a bit of lip gloss each time, saving minutes!

Tiffany would recommend this lip liner to anyone and everyone, having confessed she doesn’t usually use lip liner she is now converted. Hoorah!

What she loved most: The pencil was very soft and easy to use.

Try it: RRP £8, www.helen-e.com

Perfect red lips and subtle smokey eyes

So this is my favourite look for a night out.. and here’s my very handsome husband too!

I thought I’d share my all time favourite look for an evening out with you all. I don’t ever feel myself without late night red lips. I don’t have time to do them during the day but if I did I’d probably always choose them over anything else! My husband on the other hand hates them.. but only because he doesn’t also want red lips. As a result I’ve spent so much time perfecting my non-transferring red lip look.

I have included a list below of all the products I used for this look and I’ll do a quick run down on how I got there. I also styled my hair with GHD’s and covered it in Shockwaves Ultra Strong Power Hold Hairspray.

Step one: Cleanse, Tone and Moisturise. Leave for at least 5 minutes before starting on the make-up, this will give you a perfect base to start with and hold your make-up in place longer.

Step two: Dab concealer over any problem places, blemishes and spots.

Step three: Use a liquid foundation all over that matches your skin tone well. No one wants to look tangoed!  Top tip: Use a good foundation brush rather than hands or a sponge.

Step four: Make a fish face and apply a rosy blusher to your cheek bones, don’t forget to blend.

Step five: Now it’s time to start on the eyes! Use a light grey eyeshadow right across the eyelid and up to the crease using a soft eyeshadow brush.

Step six: Use a darker grey eyeshadow with an angled brush at the corner of your eye, blending it along the crease in your eyelid and the eye line to about half way along.

Step seven: Use a nude colour eyeshadow from the crease of your eyelid to the brow. Blend all the colours gently so that they gradually move into each different colour.

Step eight: Use a good eyeliner to draw a think line right across the top eyelid and half way along the bottom one.

Step nine: Use the angled brush and black eyeshadow to gently go along over the top of the eye-line at the top.

Step 10: Use a pink highlighting cream in the corner of the eye. Apply 2/3 coats of Mascara.

Step 11: Use a highlighter just under the brow and at the top of cheeks also to define those areas.

Step 12: Time for perfect red lips! I use Benefit cupid’s Bow pencil first but I believe this has been discontinued so I won’t go into that for now. But if you are blessed in owning one still you know what to do!

Step 13: Use a red lip liner to line your lips, I also fill in the whole of my lips too as I find it make the lipstick last longer! Cover carefully with red lipstick.

Step 14: My holy grail for red lips is Lipcote, use this over the whole lips and just over the edges a little too, allow to dry and then blot. Reapply lipstick and Lipcote a second time. I like matt lips but you could always add a gloss at this point too if you wish.

Step 15: Spritz your face with The Body Shop Vitamin C Energising Face Spritz to set make up.

Then go have fun!

Product list

Organic Surge Super Intensive daily Mosituriser

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid in Ivory 010

Benefit Cupid’s Bow

Lipcote

The Body Shop Vitamin C Energising Face Spritz

Benefit Coralista Blusher

Benefit Smokin’ Eyes

Benefit High Beam Highlighter

MAC ZoomLash Mascara

MAC Eye/Lip Liner Pencil in black

Barry M Lip Liner in Red (No 3)

Barry M Red Lipstick (No 121)