New MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in Aflush and Halcyon

Everyone still loves a velvet lip product, don’t they? I for one am still a big fan so I was very keen to try out some of the additions to MUA’s line up of velvet lip lacquers, which were introduced earlier this year. Most velvet products seem to be brighter or reds, hot pinks and funky colours such as blues, purples and blacks, so I was really keen to test out a nude shade and a girlier shade! MUA released two more shades; Serene, a very light, blue based pink and Tranquility, a brownish nude. I’ve seen Serene in stores but skipped it as I know it will look awful on me, but I’ve yet to find Tranquility which I am desperate to try!

These wear and perform exactly the same as the existing shades, which you can read my thoughts on here, should you be so inclined! (NB, get Criminal, it’s better than the Lime Crime hot pink.)

The TL;DR Instagram photo!

much presentation very luxe wow

‘Halcyon’

This is my favourite out of the two! A peachy brown, this is surprisingly pretty and has a hint of retro creamsicle (a phrase only a beauty blogger or makeup artist could use and mean it, no?) to it that I just think is delightful. I’m on a big nuetral kick at the moment so this will be getting a lot of wear this summer, along with the largest sunglasses I can find! This applies like a dream in one coat.

MUA ‘Aflush’

I’m not entirely sure I can pull this colour off without a beehive and ten layers of lashes, but it’s certainly a pretty colour. A light, blue based pink that leans toward the neon in real life, I can see this one being teamed with a flower crown at a sunny festival! Not quite for me personally but you can bet it’s flying off the shelves! This one is a little bit of a bugger to apply –it can get slightly patchy, so I’d advise waiting for the first layer to dry before topping up.

A friend in the know told me all the stock has gone to Superdrug stores, but that you can expect to see them online soon.  If you can find them, you can take them home for the bargain price of £3!

Will you be looking out for these?

Lip Tar Love: Nylon and Black Metal Dahlia

Let’s face it , OCC Lip Tars can be a bit of a bugger. I’ve always said if you’re not in love with the shade, they’re sometimes not worth the learning curve. Recently my friend Rachael sent me a decant of two shades which I think really are worth the fuss!

 

 

Nylon

If you like pink, this is pretty fucking pink. I have nothing bad to say about it – the opacity, the blue-based but notmilky colour…. it’s just darling! For a comparison, here’s Candy Yum Yum by MAC:

Yeah. I’ve seen comparison shots where the two look very similar, but in my opinion CYY is a little bluer, a little cooler than Nylon. In the same family, but at the moment, the shade of Nylon is edging it for me.

Black Metal Dahlia

Hnnnngggg! Unfffffff! Raaaaawr! Other noises! Praise the baby J, this is a gorgeous, gorgeous, sexy vampy colour! This was a bit of a bugger to get on – unlike Nylon it’s got lots of glitter in it which I didn’t want to all pool in one place, and if you’re used to Lip Tars you know you want to avoid over-applying, yet this one didn’t seem to go as far as other shades I have, meaning I used a little more and it took a long time to apply. However… it’s just totally lust-worthy and well worth the faff.


Do you use OCC Lip Tars? What are your favourite shades?

Quickie Review and Swatches: VIVO Colour Stain Lip Crayons

Once again, here’s a lip trend I seem to have missed the first time around! A little while ago everyone was cooing over this sort of style of twist-up lip crayons while I somehow managed to remain oblivious, so when Vivo Cosmetics very kindly sent me a few shades I was very interested to test them out indeed!

Much like the Clinique Chubby Sticks, these are nicely chunky twist-up pencils, with the packaging corresponding to the colour inside which I think is cute.

L-R: Miss Independent, Thing Called Love, Sweet Dreams, Wide Awake

‘Thing Called Love’ (left) reminded me of Viva Glam Cyndi (right) and I excitedly went to grab it to see if it was a dupe. As you can see VGC is less sheer and more pink, so not a dupe but certainly in the same family.

Wearing Sweet Dreams with Fyrinnae Equality on the lid, Kiko Color Explosion Multi Tone Blush in Active Mauve.

Overall, I really like these! I’m always on the lookout for sheerer lip products now I have a job where I have to be more conservative, and Thing Called Love is going straight in my handbag for work, it's that pretty! Sweet Dreams is a close second and a nice way to dip your toe into the berry trend for autumn if you're shy of all the vampy colours around at the moment. I also love that all the shades are named after songs and I’ve had Katy Perry stuck in my head all day!

I do think the name of the product is slightly misleading as I only found Sweet Dreams to stain and that was only a light stain. They’re certainly more of a tinted lipbalm than a stain and they’re actually pretty moisturizing – I’ve tried products like this that aren’t anything special in the moisturizing stakes despite being labelled a balm (*coughpinkBabylipscough*). The wear on these is reasonable – two or three hours which for this type of product is pretty decent – they’re not so balmy or glossy they’re going to slide right off but you’ll certainly need to keep it in your bag for applying after eating and drinking. They have a light minty scent not dissimilar to the OCC Lip Tars, but it fades on initial application.

These bad boys cost £3.99 and are available from vivocosmetics.co.uk where they have free worldwide shipping which I think is pretty good!

As always, where products are sent to me all views are still entirely my own.

Mini Haul: Illamasqua Sacred Hour Collection

As soon as Illamasqua launched their collection I wondered what I was going to get! The colours are beautiful for autumn and the collection as a whole really shows how savvy Illamasqua is when it comes to having collections with something for everyone. From soft neutral eye colours and insanely pigmented blushers, to interesting shimmery polishes and berry lips, I defy anyone to not want at least one thing from it!  Not really being able to justify any of it, I was very good and got just two bits.

 

Lipstick in ‘Shard’

First up is Illamasqua’s lipstick in Shard.  A beautiful blackberry colour, I was instantly drawn to this, but stumped up the cash because the word ‘shard’ always reminds me of The Dark Crystal! Sadly the formula isn’t one of Illamasqua’s better ones. Lovers of the brand will know their lipsticks tend to be on the dry side, but some are better than others and this isn’t the best. I found it to apply a little patchily, making my lips look poorly taken care of even though they were freshly buffed and balmed. I’m frustrated at the application because having watched an Illamasqua girl apply it on my friend, I know it doesn’t always look like this, yet I’m confident enough in my lipstick application to say the formula isn’t stellar. It’s still plenty  wearable, however, and the colour really does make up for the poorer formula. While it goes on with a bit of a sheen, it dries down matte and when worked in as a stain (which the colour is *perfect* for) it lasts all day.

Just for funsies, here’s Shard layered over a similar coloured lip liner from LA Colours. I love how this looks!

If you really love the colour – and it’s going to suit pretty much everyone! -you’ll be able to put up with the formula but if can’t be dealing with a poorer formula for the price, skip it - The shelves will be awash with berry colours this fall.

Nail Polish in ‘Hemlock’



Sadly my rubbish photo taking doesn’t capture the beauty of this polish. It’s not left my nails for about a fortnight – I’ve reapplied it straight away! As you can just see on my index finger, the green flash in this is really strong, yet it’s set against the most beautiful, hard to describe, dusky pink-gold-taupe base. I bought it because I thought I could get away with it for work, and I have! Hurrah! It wears wonderfully well – at least five days strong and two coats will give you a fairly sheer wash of colour with a nice strong flash of green. An absolutely stunning polish,

Did you pick up anything from this collection? What are your favourite Illamasqua products?

Quickie Review and Swatches: Collection2000 Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Creams

These little beauties have been out for a long time now but I’m just getting round to doing a review. Matte lip creams aren’t super easy to find in the UK, especially with the continued influx of sheerer balm-stain type products, but Collection(2000) have four shades for about £2.99 each. I have three to show you:

 

Cotton Candy (1)

 

 

Powder Puff (2)

Not the nicest shade on my lips, but I absolutely love this shade as a cream blush:

Noice!

 

 

Fairy Cake (3)

Possibly my favourite our of the shades, a beautiful rosy shade that packs a polished punch but is still appropriate for pretty much every situation.

 

Ultimately these products aren’t going to sit well with everyone - they kind of have a strange mousse-y texture which feels odd on the lips at first. While they dry down pretty matte, they’re not super long wearing or as dry/velvety looking as a traditional matte lipstick or something like Lime Crime Velvetines, so if you’re looking for something you won’t need to touch throughout the day, these ain’t it. However, this means they’re not drying at all, so if you steer clear of matte lip products for that reason, they’re worth a try.

While they’re not super long wearing on the lips, they really are fabulous as a cream blush, leaving a lovely dewy finish. If you’ve bought these and not tried them on the cheeks, definitely worth a go, and if you’re a cream blush lover in general, the doe foot applicator makes these a doddle to apply as blush on the go.

 

Have you tried these? What do you think of matte lip products in general?

Silk Naturals Lip Products: Review and Swatches

Recently the ladies at Silk Naturals contacted me and asked if I’d like to try some of their products. Having been looking at some of Phyrra’s swatches that same day, I said yes and a week later, a parcel of lipstick dropped on my doormat. Hurrah!

Ohhhh, am I ashamed of myself. I managed to stain Roxie by putting in the pocket of my new black jeans, which them got soaked… and I put the bottom one in a tiny weeny pocket… with my key. Silly me. Everything else has held up to my abuse very well though!

Silk Naturals carry lipsticks, balms, tinted balms, stains and plumper-style balms. I’ve got five of their formulas to take a butchers at, so let’s dive right in.

Lip Stain in Roxie and Doll

                                                      

                                                                        Silk Naturals ‘Doll’ on the left, Benefit Benetint on the right.

Roxie is a deep brown (gorgeous! I really like browns on me and this isn’t too early 90’s Friends extra brown) and Doll is a lovely fuchsia-pink. At first I thought it was similar to Benetint, but as you can see Benetint is more rosy and has a much more watery consistency. This kicks Benetints ass as it actually stains and gives me a colour on my lips which the Benetint does not.

After dinner, a glass of juice and (not going to lie) a bit of a snog, Roxie held up pretty well. It was a bit of a lipstick ‘ring’ situation. Without eating these seem to last indefinitely but my lips feel dry toward the end of the day. Pretty pleased with these all in all and would recommend them, although I would also tell you to exfoliate your lips before applying, which as you may be able to tell I did not. I also need to try patting them on with my finger as I’m not sure that the hard edges the doe foot gives you quite work with the look of a stain. That's down to my application though, I'm sure.

Organic Lipstick in Bombshell

Gorgeous, huh? Pretty much in love with this one. It’s a very glossy formula, blue-leaning enough to be nice and vampy and very pigmented. I’d perhaps recommend a liner with this one if you’re a bit fussy with your red lips, as it’s not very long lasting. I’d certainly check out more of these.

Vegans take note, this is vegan!

Amplifying Lip Glaze in Pretty Please

I always worry that plumping products will be super-stingy, but this one is just tingly and has a pleasant peppermint smell. Some peppermint in lip products can be synthetic smelling but this is quite nice.

I love the colour of this – more often than not I wear peach blushes, so this is a perfect everyday colour for me. Very interested in Glacier, though, which is a sheer teal, and Fanfare and Blaze. Mmmmm, orange. Really enjoying everything I received from SN,  but this is my favourite of the bunch by far. I just love it.

Kisser Slicker Flavoured Lip Gloss in Nectar

Kisser Slickers are their most moisturising glossy formula. There’s over 45 shades of these so… lots of choice there! This is supposedly a dupe for Clinque Black Honey…. *crickets*. As I’ve noted, I like a shade with a hint of brown to it –this is a nice browny-red neutral – I wore with just mascara and liner on a lazy day and still felt nice and polished. Has a light, sweet coconut smell and taste.

Buttercream Lip Glaze in Hibiscus


Sadly I suspect this is not as edible as actual buttercream (which I find extremely edible). These are billed as ‘creamy, long lasting color plus a bit of shine.’ It’s hard to compare this to the Kisser Slicker as I only have one of each, but I’d say this is a little less pigmented than the Kisser Slickers? I find them fairly similar on the lips, but this one doesn’t have a taste.

This is a glossy, sheer hot pink. I’m finding it quite moisturizing as well – it’s a lovely tinted balm.

A few notes on the website, as Silk Naturals is new to me. There is a LOT of information there. Each lip product is rated on its formula, colour family, tone, finish, shimmer scale, depth of colour, opacity, and whether it’s gluten or dye-free. There’s also a related product tab so you can see what other products they have that will go with that lip product. I don’t think that that would necessarily work for a company that does a lot of more out-there colours, but I really think it works on this site and it’s a nice touch. With my package, I got a pamphlet with all their products ingredients (which is good as they’re not on the packaging) and instructions regarding mixing their mineral foundations.

In in all, lovely colours, nice packaging and formulas, and good, easy to navigate website with lots of info.  Most of the lip products are just under $5, and while I’d like personally some more out-there lip colours – an purple  in the Organic range would be cool! - I don’t really have anything negative to say about what I received at all, and I’d certainly purchase from Silk Naturals.

Do you wear Silk Naturals? Any recommendations?

Barry M Lip Paints

So for those of you who don't know (and where the hell have you been?! Leave the house once in a while!) Barry M is a UK brand who call themselves the "most colourful name in cosmetics." I'm in love with thier Dazzle Dusts, the loose pigments, but recentley I've bought a few of thier Lip Paints. I remember having the black colour back in my (bad) goth days, and a black Dazzle Dust. Needless to say I couldn't apply make-up to save my life back then - so much so that my DAD would adjust it for me before I left the house!

Anyway, Barry M has about thirty colours of lipsticks, or Lip Paints as they call them, though sadly most of them are not available in shops. Barry M is carried in Boots and Superdrug and normally they have around 10-15 shades, ranging from oranges, pinks, nudes and reds. I got all these in Superdrug for £4.25 each, but Boots nearly always has Barry M on three for two. Barry M ships worldwide, but the shipping is pretty expensive at £8.00 for countries outside Europe.

So anywhoo, here are the colours I have...

-No. 117 Orange: This colour is a bright orange/tangerine colour. I bought it for St. Patricks day where I paired it with green eyebrows and am trying to be brave enough to wear it out on a normal day!



Thats the website photo, and here it is on my lips:




I totally recommend a balm under this lipstick. As you can tell from the lovely skin flakes on my lips, its not the best for lips that are feeling a bit sorry for themselves. The forumla of this one is slightly dry, but as I hope you can tell, its pretty pigmented so I will forgive it. It takes a few swoops to become opaque, and it stains a teeny, tiny bit. But its orange, guys! I think it looks pretty fab. Also, I don't have it, but Barry M make a lip gloss in this colour, which would be fab on top or great for those who want to do orange but aren't this brave. I shall be purchasing it on pay day, it's amazing. :)

-No 136 Golden Bronze: This is a bronzed nude with what I think is a slight golden- rose undertone to it.







Nice, huh? This is a good nude for me. As its slightly metallic with that bronzey-rose undertone, its not too cool. The second photo is paired with Barry M lipgloss (ha, I totally typde lip glodd) in No. 2, which has a yummy chocolate scent, fyi. I have no problems with the application of this colour whatsoever, it is much creamier than the orange shade.

-No 129 Palest Lavender: A pale lavender! Shocking! You may have noticed that the colours on the Barry M website are not really representative. This one looks like its a pink shade:



But it ain't:



Waaaa :( I really, really wanted to love this colour. I had so many smokey purple eye looks in my brain ready for this. But it so hard to work with, and out of the five colours I have, its definitely the worst forumla. Its really sheer, hard to layer up, and as you can see, it goes on all streaky. Still, its only £4.25 and so its much cheaper than other lippies I know this has been comapared with, such as Mac Lilac Whip and Lime Crime Airbourne Unicorn. I *can* get this to look nice with a lot of patience and blotting, but not truly opaque. Serves me right for buying stupid lipstick shades because Lady Gaga wore one.

-No 141 Royal Raspberry. I LOVE this colour, and my boyfriend really likes it as well, so this has become my go-to 'sexy' lippy.






In reality, this is more of a berry colour, its a little darker than shows here, and a more definite blue undertone. It lasts pretty well on me, and reds usually don't for some reason. I think it's totally gorgeous, and because it has that metallic look to it, its really nice for giving a slightly modern twist on the classic 50's pin up look.

-Touch of Magic Lip Paint:



'TIS GREEN! Ha, its not really green, although they do carry a green lipstick. Its a balmy lipstick that turns a different shade of pink according to the alkali levels on your lips. Now, I'm always sceptical of this sort of claim - I think the alkali thing is a big load of bollocks, and that balmy, sheer colours will turn a different colour because people... wait for it... have different colour lips! However, whether this is cobblers or not is irrelevant because I love this product!



Thats right after putting it on. It looks like I have the rose Vaseline on. I don't have a comparison shot of my lips with nothing on them, but trust me, they are not very pink at all. And now once its 'developed':




It doesn't look like the biggest difference from the first picture, but my lips are a bright pink rose colour. Barry M promises that this lippy lasts for eight hours, and it does, but it's because it dries from a balm to a stain. Personally, I love it because I can pop it on and not have to retouch while I'm working. I don't find it drying like some stains and long-lasting lipcolours, but because its balmy at first, I do like to re-apply balm over the top as that feeling wears away fairly quickly. Basically, this is all I wanted Benetint to be .(Benetint, in case you don't know, is a cult best-selling rose coloured lip and cheek stain. In my opinion, it is total crapola. It's really runny and you don't get a great colour, also it's about £18, and you can get a dupe from MEMEME for like, a fiver. I love Benefit, but Benetint = bleh.)

So anyway.... to summarise:

Pros:

-A great range of colours. Some more out there shades for the cray-cray girls but some nice neutral and classic colours too.
-The price. £4.25 is pretty darn reasonable.
-The majority go on nicely, aren't difficult to make look nice and last fairly well.
-Don't have a strong smell, which is nice.
-Packaging is nice if fairly standard; matte, squared off tubes with the logo in gold.

Cons:
-The range is no consistent, but then, no large range of colour is.
-They're not all available in stores, so if you wanted something really mad like the blue or green, maybe £4.25 is a bit much to gamble on.
-The orange stains a little, so I bet some of the other colours like the bright pink stain a little too. I think this is a con, you may see it as a plus.
-Each tube only has the number, not the colour on it (apart from the Touch Of Magic.) If you're not very organized, have a terrible memory and/or a lot of lipsticks, this can be a pain in the bum. I have five of these and I don't know which is which.


Would I repurchase: 100% yes. I'll be getting the black, a peach and a bright pink in the very near future.

Love and kisses,

Robyn xxx