Maybelline Colour Sensational lipsticks

I was first introduced to these wonderful lipsticks when I won Ambre Rose on a blog competition (I love fellow bloggers!). Ambre Rose is in the pink family of these lipsticks and the other week I was browsing Superdrug on The Strand (probably my favourite Superdrug, it's so well stocked and organised) and Maybelline had 3 for 2 on certain products.

Impressed the first time round with Colour Sensational, I knew I could trust the quality of these and there were so many great shades to choose from. I like how the shades are organised into colour families, it makes it a little easier choosing the right colour for you. Nothing from the Plums appealed to me, I don't know if plum would suit me, I've just always avoided it so I guess I'll never find out. So I got 3 from the remaining 3 families, Pearl, Brown, and Red.

Red is again a colour I struggle with, I think it's the fear factor that stops me reaching for red lipsticks. Amongst the red family, there were a few coral numbers which is a colour I adore. I found the perfect lipstick to wear under Revlon's Coral Reef lipgloss. It's almost an exact match, unfortunately the pictures below don't show the vibrancy. It's called Coral Pop (number 420) a peachy/red tone that's quite bold and so best paired with a toned down eyeshadow look. I think you could still go quite bold on your cheeks though and pair this with a coral blusher like MAC's Peach or a nice bronzer. The consistency of this one is a little more drying than the others, I would recommend exfoliating your lips before applying as even the tiniest amount of dry skin seems magnified by this. Having said that, the pigmentation is fantastic, as is how long this lipstick lasts, I'd say a good few hours and because it's quite a matte finish, doesn't rub off on your glass when you drink. Applied well, it looks great.

Next we have Rose Pearl (822) from not surpringly the Pearl family. These shades were released later than the other colour families and are probably the most appealing to me. I think these are the hardest colours to find as I haven't found them in all the Superdrugs I visit. Rose Pearl is this gorgeous shimmery shade. It looks like a nude in the tube, but with a very fine bluey silver shimmer to it which is more apparent when applied. Think crushed pearls on your lips! I think nude fans will love this shade, I wear it mostly during the day time but this would look so glamourous with a smoky eye instead of a classic plain nude lipstick.

And finally, Velvet Beige (630) from the Browns family. I think this might be my favourite of the three I bought because I took a bit of a risk with it and found a colour that I never go near, but actually really love and think I will reach for this the most. I happen to be a big fan of browns but I usually go for the nudey browns, for example my favourite shade is MAC's High Tea. This is still a nudey brown but somewhat darker than I've tried before.
I love darker colours that suit my skin tone because I find them more long lasting than lighter shades. My lips are really pigmented too so I need quite a strong colour that's just as pigmented to show up on my lips. Velvet Beige leaves my lips with this wine stained colour that really warms my entire face up. At the risk of sounding like an idiot, this is also a lipstick that makes me feel "sophisticated" and "grown-up"! I guess it's a shade I associate with older women than myself, but I think if something looks right on you, or more to the point, feels right on you, you should wear it, over something you feel you should be wearing for your age. I love the creamy texture of Velvet Beige, (it's funny how all the Colour Sensational lipsticks feel like they have different consistencies, yet they still have that same marzipan smell!) it's moisturising without being overly glossy. This will definitely be my most used lipstick over Autumn/Winter.

MAC To The Beach Collection

I waited for this collection to hit the shops before I purchased anything, purely because I don't trust the website for accuracy of shades or finishes to the products. It turned out the products I wanted from looking at the website were the ones I liked in real-life and ended up buying anyway.

I could have quite happily gone a little crazy with this collection to be honest, a lot of it really appealed. I was subdued though and just got what I went in for, I do find it hard to part with a lot of money in one go which isn't too terrible I suppose. The only part of this collection that I would have avoided is the eyeshadows. The only colours that grabbed my attention were Shimmermoss and Humid, both of which are permanent items, and one I already own. Sweet and Punchy is a limey yellow colour, it's pretty but not something I'd see myself wearing, I own one yellow eyeshadow which rarely sees the light of day, so didn't want another to add to it. Yellow is a very hit or miss colour, I think I only need to ever own one yellow.

Both of the eye kohls were gorgeous colours, but I have dupes of both of them, (check out the GOSH Velvet Touch eyeliners if you're after a dupe) so again not something I needed.

The blushers in this collection are Hipness and Getaway Bronze. Hipness is a repromote from a previous collection and is a vibrant coral pink and Getaway Bronze looked more golden than anything else to me. I think I'd go lightly with either of these blushers.

The bronzers are both available from the permanent line, I'm still using my Refined Golden from the Style Warriors collection! It is beautiful and still a firm favourite of mine. There are also two cream bronzers with this collection, which I didn't expect to like, I've never been a fan of cream blushers, possibly due to the incompatibility with my skin type. But these seemed to be different, the formulation is one where the product goes on creamy but turns to a powder like form once you've applied it. I think this would have great staying power, so if you're actually going "To The Beach" you might like this!

The highlight powder "Marine Life" is possibly the item from this collection on everybodys wish list. It was on mine too. Then I saw it and realised I really am too sad to actually be able to use it, it's too pretty and sparkly. The gold sheen on top is only an overspray and wipes away after the first couple of uses. As much as wanted to buy it, £20 is too much to part with something I know I daren't use. I think this would be more suitable as a blush than a highlight product, the lighter part used on it's own might pass as a highlight, but the darker, coral part is more of a blush I think would look great on the apples of your cheeks.

So that's an overview of the majority of the products, now on to what I actually did purchase. I loved the colour of Beachbound lipstick. I thought it was both unique yet wearable at the same time. It's an orangey golden shade in a glaze finish which means it's not so pigmented. I bought Flurry of Fun to go over the top of it, which you can see from the pictures the outcome. While I like the two together and thought the colours complimented each other, I don't really believe that a glaze lipstick needs a lipgloss on the top and that these products are best worn separately. The other lipsticks were a little too dark for my liking, whilst Lazy Day was just a little underwhelming. I chose Flurry of Fun from the Lip Glasses for being the most interesting to look at and completely different from anything I already own. It's again a tone of orange which might sound scary, but I think Lip Glasses are the best place to experiment with new colours as they're never as intense as a lipstick. It contains glitter particles which are multi-coloured, with mostly a greeney blue glitter. Sounds weird, but it's actually quite a nice effect. It reminds me of the way sand reflects the sun, not sure if that was what MAC were aiming for, but that's what I think of! I think it works well with a neutral eye make-up look as it can look a little busy on your lips, but is a nice playful look if you don't over do it with busy eye make-up.

Hope this helps anyone thinking of buying from this collection.

xXx

Recent MAC and Topshop finds

Really all I wanted to buy this weekend was a new lipstick, but it's hard to buy just one thing! I was after a bright pink shade, a la Cheryl Cole, one that I can wear for going out, or any time I'm feeling a bit more daring. I rarely stray from safe nude shades on my lips so felt like I wanted to experiment a little. Pink Nouveau was my lipstick of choice, it seemed to me a perfect barbie pink, not the brightest pink I saw, but what I'd describe as the "truest" pink. It's a satin finish which I find has a lot more staying power than the Lustre finish. It's also more matte which I find I really need to be careful with because it can be a little drying. Along with this I got a blusher in Peaches, which is a sheertone blush, without shimmer. I'd describe it as similar to Springsheen but without the shimmer, it's very matte which I think makes it more appealing to most people.

Above is a swatch of the blush on top, and the lipstick below. I will at some point do a more detailed review/comparison of these products. Now on to the Topshop goodies. First up, this layered short sleeved top which is a mint green colour. I bought this to go with the high waisted black skirt I showed you as this top is cropped and the shape will complement it nicely. I'm loving all the pastel, nude colours that are about at the moment, it's very flirty and feminine. I like wearing this top to smarten up jeans too, and although it's cropped it doesn't really show much which I like, possibly because of my shortness! I'm not sure how I'd feel about wearing this if I was taller. This is not the best background for the top to be against for you to see it properly!Here's another staple top I bought. Again this is cropped. I like the loose sleeves, and the button detail down the middle. It's just a basic top but looks great with jeans, and it's available in a range of nude and earthy tones.

I love this jumper too. It's very simple, just a plain black jumper, but I love the gold button detailing on the sleeves. I think it's a really nice touch. This is what I love about Topshop, the little details. I like to wear this with a black waisted belt, just because it's not very fitted, and the belt helps to give a nicer figure.

Finally, I had my eyes on these a while ago, but for some reason or another, managed not to buy them. I had to go back to buy them this weekend though because I think they are quite unique. The pattern reminds me of peacock feathers, but they're on a thin piece of metal which is a nice twist, I've not really seen any like this before.

In other news, I went to the Affordable Homes Show in Westminster yesterday to find out some more information for people buying their first home in London. It was quite interesting, if somewhat of a mindfield, there's so much to take into account when buying your first flat. Me and my boyfriend had our first viewing today and it was so exciting thinking about getting our very own place. I love my flat where I live now but it can get a little tedious sharing with another person. At least now the ball's started rolling and I can feel more excited about what's on it's way. Hope everyone's had a great weekend, enjoy what's left of it!

Make-up Product of the Month - May

There's been little this month that's inspired me make-up wise. I don't have a huge make-up collection but am trying to add to what I do have gradually. I used to own a lot of make-up then decided I was hoarding too much and had a huge sort out, so that there was very little left (the things I actually wore). I'm trying now to only buy make-up that I think I will use or is a bit different. As I mentioned before, the Sugarsweet collection didn't really grab me, and nor did the Rose Romance collection. I liked the promo pictures but the products themselves looked a little bland or not colours I would want to wear. I thought this lipstick was lovely though. It's called Way To Love and is a nice, wearable light pink.

I actually have a bit of a confession...this is the FIRST MAC lipstick I've ever bought! I bought a Slimshine a while ago but never one of these classic shaped lipsticks. Before I moved to London I had very little exposure to MAC so I am still discovering a few firsts when I go in there. Also lip products never used to be a big thing with me, (I'm all about the eyes) but as my obsession grows and grows I'm venturing over to lip products too.

So I'm making this my product of the month because it's only the lipsticks that I think stand out in the Rose Romance collection, very girly and pretty. I prefer those more natural colours that don't draw a lot of attention especially as I prefer to emphasise eye make-up and it's never good to over do both features.

The lipstick was apparently what made MAC famous and it's clear to see why, this is very high quality, stays in place for a long time and doesn't seem to be drying my lips out which is often a problem I have. So overall, loving my discovery!

xxx

Sweet Kiss by Bourjois

I'm not usually one for buying a lot of lipsticks, and I try not to be one for getting suckered in to fancy packaging. However, I couldn't resist this new lipstick range from Bourjois when I saw it. Attracted partly by the introductory price and partly by the package, I decided to try this because up to now I haven't been disappointed by Bourjois, they offer affordable, good quality, long lasting make-up products.

The case is a vibrant, shiny purple, with a silver switch on the side. You move the switch down to release the lipstick which is then in a metal silver twist up case. I chose the shade Rouge sur mesure which is a classic red colour. It looks like a brilliant red colour, and if you apply a swatch on your hand and then smudge the colour, you see the pink undertones in the lipstick, so it's not such a dark red colour to wear.

So as someone who doesn't buy a lot of lipstick, this is a very bold colour. I usually focus on eye make-up, and creating ways to make them stand out, but to complete this look I would keep eye make-up very minimal and classic, just some black eyeliner across the top lid and mascara. I think this creates a look that can be adapted for day or night time, it can brighten up an otherwise dull outfit in the day, or bring alive a simple black dress at night.

The colour pay off of this lipstick is fantastic. When using it, I started off with a clear lipliner and used a lip brush to apply the colour rather than applying it directly to my lips. Despite how bright and richly pigmented it is, it's surprisingly easy to use. The lipstick is so moisturising, that it just glides on, feeling very natural. It isn't moisturising in a lipgloss, sticky or wet kind of way, but just feels like you're not wearing anything on your lips at all. For me this is a definite advantage of the lipstick and is why I rate it quite highly. I have found it difficult to find a lipstick that offers pure colour with almost a matte finish without it being too drying on my lips and usually I find moisturising lipsticks too gloss like, not always a look I want to go for. Sweet Kiss however only gives a subtle shine, plus the clever design of the package is something I want to keep reaching this product for!