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Sleek MakeUP True Colour Lipstick in “Vixen” Review

June 3, 2014

sleek-lipstick

I am a terrible person, a terrible person indeed. So terrible in fact, that this lovely lipstick has been sat unopened in my “to review” pile since I bought it about three month’s ago. I was so eager and excited to try the Sleek Lipsticks out and when I finally relented and picked up “Vixen” in a 3 for 2 haul at Superdrug, the least I could have done was give this the time and attention it deserved instead of leaving it alone in a box!

Having said that, there was absolutely no way I could have worn this, without first photographing it whilst it remained pristine in all it’s glory – before the end became smudged and coated with all the best bits that get left behind in the bottom of my bag.

Despite already having a vast collection of red lipsticks, I really do get sucked in to an eye catching red and beautiful packaging, which is exactly how this purchase came about. At £4.99 this was slightly more justifiable to purchase because I picked up a few other products on the way, reaping the 3 for 2 benefits and I’m glad I was unable to resist temptation because I love it. The case has a very appealing matte black texture, giving it the feel of something far more luxurious than it should be. Not the typical square or cylinder style for a lipstick, but more of an oval shape and slightly smaller than other brands – however still packed with the same amount of lip smacking colour than any of it’s other counterparts. The colour is a classy bright pillar-box red and it glides on beautifully. This contains Vitamin E which seems to be a pretty standard feature across a range of lipsticks these days, which is fine by me as I welcome a product that hydrates my lips, meaning I get more wear for my buck.

I love absolutely everything about this lipstick – I love holding it, I love applying it, I love taking the lid off, I love twisting it in and out and watching the beautiful red pop into view but most of all, I love that it is now mine. I’ve already got my eye on some of the other shades, especially the (yup you guessed it) Coral shades which you can check out here.

Once again Sleek have delivered exactly what it says in their name – a beautifully “Sleek”, yet classy product with a touch of luxury that doesn’t break the bank balance.

Do you have any Sleek favourites at the moment?

Totally hellbent for popping some cheerful luxury into my handbag and lusting over packaging

-Pants

Candles, Clothing and Fashion, Lifestyle, Make-up

An Accidental Haul Part 2

June 2, 2014

Haul

You know when you really shouldn’t go shopping but you do anyway? Well I blame Pants entirely (and you can see her haul post here!) and can’t be held responsible for my inability to say no to a good bargain shop! As we are both supposed to be saving money for festival season at the moment we limited ourselves to only four shops – Primark, Superdrug, Boots and Poundland.

 

Primark Boots

Boots – Primark  £10

I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt as I bought these as Pants had been after them for ages, but they only had clown sizes left! Luckily I’m a UK size eight shoe, so I always seem to get the best of the sales. I’ve got some customization plans for these, studs and chains and basically all the things Pants wanted to do to hers (sorry…not sorry Pants!). I figure they’ll get plenty of wear on stage, and even though they have a heel, it’s not too unreasonable to think I might be able to last a few bands at a festival in them.

Primark clothes

Black Dress & Lepoard Print Dress – Primark £5 each

I already have both of these dresses in other colours, but they’re so comfortable and perfect to throw on with a pair of leggings and some boots for work, that I always pick up a couple more whenever I’m on a Primark binge.

3/4 Leggings – Primark £2.50

It was warm enough to show my calves for about three minutes last week, but I got these just in case we have another five minutes of summer!

Lace Skirt – Primark £3.00

I couldn’t help picking up this lacy skirt, I have always had a weakness for black lace! I’m planning on turning this into either a mini or a strapless dress for stage, and the best thing is if it all goes wrong I’m sure I can do something crafty with my bargain find!

The Little Mermaid Pyjamas – Primark £8.00

I saw these cropping up a few times on my Instagram feed, and knew I had to have them! My PJ collection is quite ridiculously large now, but when they are this cute I can’t help but add to it!

Primark bits

Zebra Tote Bag – Primark £1.50

As you can probably tell from my current bedspread, I love zebras! You can never have enough totes (especially if you are eco-friendly and prefer not to pick up new plastic bags every time you go shopping!) and you can definitely never have enough adorable zebra-in-pink-stilettos-totes.

Shoe Liners – Primark £2.50 & Socks – Primark £2.00

I am physically unable to leave Primark without at least one set of new socks. Not the most exciting of things, but I just adore the feeling of brand new fresh socks! I picked up a pack of five shoe liners for the gym and some cute bunny socks!

Embellish 3D manicure set – £1.00

I’m not sure I’ll ever get round to trying out the 3D mani (though I have quite a few sets already! =s) look, as it seems a bit fussy and messy. I do however love the blue shade, so even if I never use the balls I’ll certainly get some wear from the polish.

Red Berries & Orchid Tin Candle – Primark £3.50

I adore scented candles, but what I love even more than that is scented candles that leave you with a pretty storage tin once they’ve burnt away!

IMG_9751

Soap & Glory Hand Maid Antibacterial Hand Cleansing Gel – Boots [£2.50]

I’ve started stocking up for festival season, and I never step foot into a field without antibacterial hand gel! Usually they smell of cheap vodka, but this one  smells delicious!

Soap & Glory Flake Away Mini Scrub – Boots  [£2.50]

Another festival essential, I’ll be stocking up on all my favourite minis over the next month so that I’ll have a plethora of nice treats to pack!

IMG_9753

MUA Matte Lipstick in Lilac Belle – Superdrug [£1.00]

I loved the first five colours released in the MUA Matte Lipstick range (reviewed here) so I knew I had to get the two new colours recently released. I found Fawn Fancy a few weeks ago, but this is the first time I’ve been able to put my hand to Lilac Belle. Given how much I’m into pinky/purple lipsticks at the moment I think I’ll get a lot of wear out of it!

MUA  Intense Colour Eye-liner in Snow White – Superdrug [£1.00]

The make-up was 3 for 2 in Superdrug, and even though I didn’t really need this, I figured why not. My old white eye-liner was getting a bit crumbly, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

MUA Inense Colour Lip-Liner in Red Drama – Superdrug [£1.00]

Er..it was 3 for 2…did I already say that. I definitely didn’t need this.

Andrea Fulerton Nail Boutique Figer & Toe Twines – Superdrug 0.74p

One of my toe separators has gone missing so I figured why not try these out as they were only 74p on clearance!

Poundland bits

Oil Burner & Tealight Holder – Poundland £1 each

I’ve been looking for a new burner for my Yankee Candle tartlets for a while, but I’m glad I held out because this one is lovely and much cheaper than some of the others I was eyeing up! I couldn’t resist the cute little lantern, it’s intended for outdoor use but I think it will look just as lovely on my vanity!

Travel Bottle Sets – Poundland £1 each

More early festival prep, but I also use these a lot in general anyway. Between the band and a boyfriend overseas I spend a lot of time in transit, so it’s useful to be able to take a small wash-bag full of minis and small bottles.

Johnsons Baby Cotton Pads, Screen Wipes & Zebra Pens – Poundland £1 each

Just a few of the more boring essentials I needed to pick up, though the zebra pens were a great bargain as I usually pay about £3.99 for a set elsewhere.

W7 Rock ‘N’ Roll Eye Shadow in Envy and Sage – Poundland £1 each

Oh my god. Why has no-one thought to put loose pigment in a roller ball before? (If they have please spam me with links so I can buy them all!). I was having  a good search around the otherwise bare beauty section and I idly found an open tube to test out on the back of my hand. All I can say is I was blown away by how pigmented and mess-free they are! I love loose mineral shadows, especially glittery ones, but I always make such a mess – with these tubes you can get the colour right where you want it without any fall-out at all! I’ve already spotted a few other colours here that I just have to pick up!

So overall not too much damage done to my bank balance, but some nice treats and bargain finds that will tide me over till the next time my shopping urges appear!

Totally hellbent for “oh what the hell lets go shopping” days!

– Gem

Candles, Clothing and Fashion, Make-up, Nails, Skincare

Accidental May Haul

May 29, 2014

may-haul

Sometimes you just want to shop. It’s an urge that truly can not be ignored, especially if Gem and I are left alone, unsupervised! This afternoon was definitely one of those times and we ended up going on a completely unplanned spree.

may-haul-2

No budget style shop would be complete without a trip to Primark and even though I didn’t -need- anything at all, I still ended up with a bag full of stuff. I absolutely adore giraffes and I squeeled with delight when I found the giraffe print dress and the tote bag. Even though I usually buy matching underwear from La Senza or Ann Summers, I often pick up some cheap briefs when I can for the gym or lounging around, because lets face it, no one wants to spend 30 minutes on a treadmill in lacy briefs. I really couldn’t resist the pack of four Brazilian style briefs which came in red animal print, red lipsticks, red hearts and navy polka dots and the 5 pairs of animal print “shoe liners” or better know to me as … socks I can wear at the gym with my trainers.

Giraffe Dress – £5 – Primark

Giraffe tote bag – £1.50 – Primark

Pack of 4 brazilian briefs – £4.50 – Primark

Animal print shoe liners – £2.50 – Primark

may-haul-3

And now the stuff that I really really didn’t need. Another candle to add to my collection from Primark in “red berries & orchid” a beautiful berry candle in a gorgeous purple tin, surely this was meant for my dressing table?

A trip to boots ended up in me picking the Rimmel Scandel Eyes gel eyeliner up, which you can read Gem’s review about here, and also NO7’s Beautiful Skin Day Cream with spf15. This was my primary reason for going into Boots as I had a £5 off No7 skincare voucher and really needed some day moisturiser which had spf in. This was for dry to very dry skin and all the reviews I’ve read about this cream were pretty good, so I’m excited to give it a try when I run out of my current moisturiser.

Despite my worries of going to Superdrug and buying half the store, I was actually very sensible, as it was 3 for 2 on most of their makeup, I did pick up an MUA lip-liner in “Red Drama”, MUA lipstick in “Shade 3” and another MUA power pout in “Crazy in Love” (you can see my review of the MUA power pout in “Runaway” here). I also picked up some Garnier Micellar water, which I really did need and some more deodorant which I’m almost out of.

Lastly, we fell into Poundland where I stupidly decided that I had to have a Revlon nail varnish in “Runway Pearl”, two W7 “rock and roll” eye-shadows in “sage” and “envy”, some zebra pens (I already have a vast collection of these exact pens in my desk drawer!) and some beautiful blue paper, a nice addition to my craft room.

Purple tin candle – £3.50 – Primark

Rimmel Scandel Eyes Gel Eyeliner – 4.99 – Boots (usually £6.99 and also £6.99 in Superdrug)

No 7 Beautiful Skin Day Cream – £12.50 – Boots (only £7.50 with my £5 off voucher)

Nivea deodorant – £2.29 – Superdrug (2 for £3)

MUA Power Pout – £3 – Superdrug

MUA Lip Liner – £1 – Superdrug

MUA Lipstick – £1 – Superdrug (3 for 2 – £4 in total)

Revlon Nail Varnish – £1 – Poundland

Decorative paper – £1 – Poundland

W7 rock and roll eyeshadow – £1 each – Poundland

Zebra animal print pens – £1 – Poundland

I absolutely blame our shop on Lauren over at Lauren Amy Blogs, since I was up late last night reading some of her “Superdrug haul” posts and I had an overwhelming urge to go out and buy things. Despite both Gem and I having a no spending month *cough*, together we are a force that is unstoppable – thankfully we did manage to resist the £5 blow up chairs in Ann Summers complete with built in penis’ – something we thought would be absolutely hilarious to take to our upcoming festivals.

This is definitely my last haul for a while, but if you’ve had a recent haul, please post us your links in the comments below so instead of spending our money we can live precariously through you and your blog posts :o).

Totally hellbent for having an uncontrollable addiction that I thankfully share with my bested friend in the whole world

-Pants

 

 

Make-up

Makeup Revolution – Vamp Lipstick Collection Review

May 27, 2014

revolution-lipsticks

Everyone has been raving about Makeup Revolution and some of their more ‘quirkier’ products. After reading so many great reviews, I couldn’t help but pick a few things out for myself. One of the first things I threw into my virtual basket was the “Vamp Collection” lipsticks, a limited edition set of 3 colours which were £1 each or £2 when you bought the set. I also picked up two others, “Twist” and “Dare” which were only £1.

revolution-lipsticks-2

From Left to Right: Black Heart,  100%Vamp, Rebel With Cause, Dare and Twist

I couldn’t resist the lure of these reds and although the two dark shades are probably destined to live on my dressing table for the rest of eternity, rather than escorting me to gigs via my handbag I really wanted them.

The packaging was pretty generic for most of the cheaper high street brands, although I was pleased that each lipstick had a label with the shade on it, as sometimes you are left with either a number or nothing at all.

revolution-lipstick-swatchesThe swatches were actually more pigmented than I had thought. Both Black Heart and 100% Vamp both appeared much darker, but when swatched, were a lot brighter than I imagined. One of the more surprising shades was “Rebel With Cause” which turned out to be more of a dark Fuchsia colour rather than the blood red I had hoped for. My favourite by a long shot is “Twist”, the one I thought I would like least as it looked more on the orange side, but actually it’s a beautiful bright shimmery red and probably going to be one of my new “go to” red lipsticks. They all applied without issue and with some Micellar water, I finally managed to wipe away the colour, which gives me high hopes for wearing these on stage.

The verdict? I think Makeup Revolution is fast taking over the well loved MUA, with it’s quirky variety of colours and beautiful palettes. So keep your eyes peeled for my other upcoming Makeup Revolution Reviews. These shades are all available individually from the Makeup Revolution here for just £1 each.

Have you tried any products from Makeup Revolution? If so, we’d love to know your thoughts in the comments below.

Totally hellbent for makeup shades that are as grym and blackened as their name suggests

-Pants

 

Lifestyle, Make-up, Nails

Would You Rather? Beauty Edition Tag

May 27, 2014

would-you-rather-post

We were tagged by the lovely Jaq at Lazy Days Beauty, check out her post here. We really like these tag posts as it’s a chance to get lots of other bloggers involved and also discover some great new reads!

 

Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, and lip glosses or lose all of your palettes and eye shadows? 

Pants: I would definitely sacrifice my palettes and eye shadows, a little bit of liner, mascara and lippy can go a long long way! Also, I’ve always thought I look a little odd when I just have eye-shadow on, before I’ve finished my face. That’s not to say I wouldn’t miss all of my treasures!

Gem: I’d have to sacrifice my mascara, eyeliner and lipstick. I could replace all of them for far less than I could if I lost my palettes! 

 

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

Pants: I love my hair so much, I would rather never be able to cut it than ever considering chopping it all off.

Gem: Beauty confession: I’ve not had a haircut since 2008, pretty sure I could last forever without another one.  

 

Would you rather have coral cheek or pink cheek? 

Pants: I’m not sure pink cheeks would go wonderfully with my perfection and since I have such a soft spot for Coral, that’s the choice I would make!

Gem: I like both, but I probably go for coral more often than pink.

 

If you had $1000 to spend, would you rather buy clothes or make up? 

Pants: Ugh, I don’t know! I mean I could buy a lot of amazing stage wear and maybe a corset or two for £500 but knowing me I would probably spend it all on make-up.

Gem: I definitely don’t need any more make up (and if I keep telling myself that I might  believe it!) so I’d go for a Primark Haul, a big pile of band t-shirts and a corset or two!

 

Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner, or eyeliner as lipstick?

Pants: Most of my eyeliners are black, grey, green or blue so I’d probably go for the lipstick as eyeliner – I have enough neutral lipsticks to make work and I’ve long given up my black lipstick wearing goth days.

Gem: Urgh, no I couldn’t put lipstick on my eyes, all I can think about is it being sticky and greasy! I’ve got a few eyeliners I could probably pull off on lips though.

 

Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?

Pants: Sephora isn’t for us in the UK at the moment, however if it was, I’d definitely pick this over MAC, at least I’d have more options.

Gem: Definitely Sephora, I could never stick to only one brand no matter how good they are. 

 

Would you rather only use one eye-shadow colour or one lip colour for the rest of your life? 

Pants: Definitely one lip colour. Despite my vast collection of lipsticks, I generally only ever wear red and I much prefer mixing my eyes up a bit with a flash of colour.

Gem: I could get through the rest of my life with one neutral eyeshadow if it meant I could change up my lipstick. I’d just have to cheat and share with Pants for gig days!

 

Would you rather wear winter clothes in summer or summer clothes in winter?

Pants: Probably Summer clothes in Winter, being British, my Summer “collection” is mostly the same as my Winter “collection” albeit a few maxi-dresses. Besides, the thought of wearing Winter clothing during our journey to the scorching holy Wacken lands each year makes me feel a bit sick.

Gem: Haha, my first thought was of us wearing big woolly jumpers at Wacken and feeling a bit sick! Oooh I’d definitely have to go for summer clothes in winter, I hate being too hot but I can always go get a blanket if I’m too cold. 

 

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

Pants: Well, I’m guessing “bright” could incorporate pillar-box red or a nice coral? So yeah, I’ll go for brights.

Gem: I could live with black nails every day for the rest of my life to be honest. 

 

Would you rather give up your favourite lip colour or favourite eye product?

Pants :I think my favourite lip colour. Assuming that this means my favourite ‘lipstick’ and not a colour in general. I think I’m definitely too attached to some of my favourite eye products to let them go … I need them all!

Gem: It takes a long time to find perfect lipsticks that look good with blue hair, no way I’m giving them up now!

 

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

Pants: Out of all the question’s so far, this is surprisingly tough! Having so much and such long hair, both styles are pretty crucial to me. But for practicality, I’m going to go for a messy bun because sometimes, you just need to get your hair out of your face!

Gem: I live my life with my hair in a messy bun, and wouldn’t have it any other way!

 

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

Pants: Never use lip gloss as I rarely use it (although my collection would speak somewhat of a different story here).

Gem: I could live without lip gloss, but I hate the look of my unpainted nails. 

 

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

Pants: I would definitely rather have shaved eyebrows than use a sharpie on my face. 

Gem: Can I just grow a fringe so you can’t see either? =\

 

Would you rather live without make up or nail polish?

Pants: Nail Polish … no competition there :oD.

Gem: I suppose I’d have to keep my make-up and just make an effort to make my natural nail beds look nice again. Saying that if I had no nail varnish I’m sure they’d look great after a bit of airing out!

 

We really enjoyed this “Would you rather tag” even though it was a little scary to imagine being without all those products we can’t live without. (We are defo materialistic to the max!)

And for our tags … we have chosen the following lovely ladies:

Britnee over at Britnee Loves

Aimee at Aimee Belle

Lauren at Lauren Amy Blogs

and

Charlotte at Makeup by Candlelight

If you’ve completed this tag too, we’d love to read! Just post your link in our comments below.

 

Totally hellbent for loving all of our things (perhaps a little too much) … forever

Gem & Pants

Make-up

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Gel Eyeliner Review

May 26, 2014
Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Gel Eyeliner Review

IMG_9627

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Gel Eyeliner Review

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Gel Eyeliner Review

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Gel Eyeliner Review

 

So it turns out I’m pretty bad at enforcing a cosmetics spending ban! In my defence I definitely did need a new black gel liner, so when my friend Red suggested that Amie and I might like this I snapped one up rather quickly!

From what I can make out this is a re-brand of an existing product to match the packaging for the new Kate Moss Rimmel London range, this time including a short eyeliner brush. I can’t find out if the brush is natural or synthetic so I won’t be risking it on my face till I know 100% it’s not made from animal hair (yuk!)

The liner itself, it’s very black. Black black. Spiritual black dimension black. Heart of Varg black. I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so pigmented but I’d go out on a limb and say this is one of the blackest gel eye-liners I’ve used.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Gel liner swatch

The consistency is quite thick but I had no problems at all loading it onto my Real Techniques Silicone Liner brush (reviewed here) and it didn’t tug, pull or smudge at all upon the lid itself. I’d say it was just creamy enough without the risk of being too messy and  I got a pretty good line on both eyes without too much effort.

It claims to be waterproof, so I decided to keep it on whilst I dyed my hair. I’m happy to say it survived two trips to the shower without budging at all. Once this stuff sets it really is there for the whole day, yet came off with a quick swipe of my Garnier Micellar Water (reviewed here).

I’d honestly expect these kind of results from a much higher end brand, so for a bargain find I’m really impressed. The Scandaleyes Waterproof Gel Eyeliner comes in three shades (black, brown and green) and is available at an introductory price of £4.99 in some stores (I got mine from Sainsburys) or £6.99 online at Superdrug.

Totally hellbent for the blackest black

– Gem

Make-up

Bourjois Paris Little Round Pot Blush in “Rose d’Or” Review

April 30, 2014

bourjois-blusher

Recently, I’ve been lusting after the Bourjois blushers like nobody’s business. I admit I’ve always been a fan of their whole range, but the really good stuff is just out of my price range and I really can’t justify buying it when I already have so many things. This one however, has been following me around like a lost puppy for months, so on a recent Boots trip after finding out I had over £40 worth of points on my card, I may have had a little accident and dropped this in my basket … whoops.

bourjois-blush-2

I still don’t know if it was the cute packaging, or the creamy blush texture that really sold this for me. I couldn’t quite decide on which shade I wanted to go for out of the whole range available, but I ended up with “Rose d’Or/Golden Rose” – a beautiful, shimmery pink colour. When swatched, it’s even more gorgeous than in it’s adorable packaging – which is also blessed with a mirror! It’s perfect for blending and does come with a teeny application brush, but let’s face it girls – who actually uses these? I also think it’s made from animal hair which is also a bit of a no no. Despite this, I’m in love – it’s also slightly perfumed, which really reminds me of sitting a my mother’s dressing table and playing with her powders when I was little.

bourjois-blush-swatch
A little more than I would usually pay for a single blusher, but totally worth it. For £7.99 you can be the proud owner of this delicate, yet feminine blush from your nearest Boots. This little round pot has stirred something inside of me and I can only imagine that little something is the urge to go out and buy the rest of the collection!

Have you tried Bourjois’ Little Round Pot range? If so I’d love to know what shades you picked and what you thought.

Totally hellbent for spending my hard earned points on something I really really want!

-Pants

 

Make-up

Internet Haul – Real Techniques & Make-Up Revolution

April 29, 2014

Haul April

I’ve been doing some big hauling recently, but this is the last for one a loooong time!

I’ve been dying to try out some of the bits and pieces from Make-Up Revolution, so when I saw their Easter offer of a free gift with every purchase I had to take advantage!

Make Up Revolution Haul

 

The first thing I knew I had to have was the Scandalous Lip Collection (£1 each), the blue lipstick in particular called out to me and I’m already in love with it! I haven’t tried foiling eye-shadow in a while so I thought I’d give the Awesome Metals Foil Finish (£4.00) set a try. No Make-Up Revolution haul would be complete without trying out one of their much talked about eyeshadow palettes! I chose Sticks and Stones (£4.00) but really I want them all!  My last pick was the Vivid Blush Laquer in Bloom (£3.00), I figured I have a whole host of bright blushes but not many subtle ones! My free gift with the Easter special offer was two Pure Pigment Eye Dusts in Levity and Cautious (worth £1 each),  a black Kajal (worth £2) and a lovely minty nail polish in Cool Days (worth £1)

So far the quality of all the products looks amazing for the price and I can’t wait to have a play with them all!

Real Techniques Haul

 

I’ve been after some more Real Techniques brushes for a while, but when I found this amazing offer on Ebay I had to grab them right away! I got the Core Collection, Travel Essentials and Eye Starter Kit worth just over £60 for only £40 (with P&P added in) from this American ebay listing! You can read Amie’s review of all the sets here! I also got a cute NYX lipgloss as a free gift!

My to-review pile is stocking up, so I’m now officially on a spending ban! No more beauty products for the whole of May, can I keep it up? Argh. We will see! I still have packages to come from Latest in Beauty and Geek Chic Cosmetics so that should keep me going!

Totally hellbent for one last spending splurge!

– Gem

Make-up

Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm in Striking

April 27, 2014
Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm in Striking

Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm in Striking

Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm in StrikingRevlon Colourburst Matte Balm in StrikingAfter discovering my love for matte lip finishes with the MUA Matte Lipsticks  I was eager to have a look around and see what other shine-free offerings are about. The Revlon Colourburst Matte Balms have been all over the blogosphere recently, and with all the good reviews I’ve seen it was only a matter of time  before one accidentally fell into my shopping basket.

I chose Striking,  a orange-red (of course it was going to be a red!). The balm is very buttery and has a nice minty scent that makes it feel more like a traditional balm than a lipstick, the finish however is far more pigmented than I expected. It applies very smoothly and you do get a slight sheen at first, but after a few minutes the gloss fades and you are left with a lovely bright velvet finish that surprisingly last for hours.

I wouldn’t choose this for an evening or stage look, as I think some of the brightness fades away, even if the colour remains, but for daytime wear this is absolutely perfect for a pop of colour without being too in-your-face.

Unfortunately for my bank balance I’m a real fan of this product and definitely have my eye on a few other shades (especially the much coveted Shameless!)

Available from Superdrug.com for only £5.99 at the moment! (Normal price £7.99)

Totally hellbent for this whole matte look thing after all!

– Gem

 

 

 

Make-up

MUA Matte Lipsticks Review and Swatches

April 21, 2014

MUA Matte Lipsticks Review and Swatches

 

I actually picked these up a while ago, but they’ve sat in my “to be reviewed” pile for far too long so I thought it was finally time to break them out and give them some wear! I picked up all five shades available (l-R) Peachy Keen, Pouty Pink, Totally Nude, Wild Berry & Scarlet Siren, though I’ve seen that there are two more shades floating around now (which of course I will need to find and add to complete the collection!)

 

MUA Matte Lipstick Review

 

The packaging is identical to the usual £1 MUA lipsticks, only the plastic tube is white instead of black which I think I strangely actually prefer. This is my first real foray into matte lipsticks as I’m usually a fan of glossy bold shades, but I have to say I really like them. All five apply really well and give good coverage for a budget brand, however I wouldn’t say they are absolutely true colours on the lips, especially Wild Berry which is unfortunately no-where near as dark on the lips.

All five have a nice creamy consistency and though I was worried they might dry my lips out, they actually made them feel quite moisturised which is a nice perk!

The MUA Matte Lipsticks are a great way to try out the matte finish without splurging on more expensive brands, but I do think they fall down massively in one place and that’s longevity. Without Lipcote (which I almost always use) they barely last an hour without fading, though I do expect a lot from my lipsticks when they have to survive me puffing on my E-Cig and chugging down water constantly.  Lipcote however does extend their wear to a good few hours, so if you don’t mind adding another product into the mix you can get a lot more wear out of all the shades.

MUA matte lipgloss swatches

Overall I think it’s a good range of colours and I’ll likely get wear out of them all except for Totally Nude which I think is a bit “concealer lips” (is that in fashion again?).

At only £1 each you can’t really make too many complaints, and I will be seeking out the two new shades added to the range once they go on sale.

Available from Superdrug.com

 Totally hellbent for a purse-friendly fun range of colours!

– Gem