Red Lip Month: Maybelline SuperStay 14hr Lipstick 540 Ravishing Rouge

Another long lasting red lip colour! Yes, I'm sorry, but the idea of reapplying red lippie every couple/few hours to make sure my lippie still looks good is such a hassle! Yep, lazy. Got it in one!

This little beauty is around £7 in the UK (feel free to correct me about the price), and this particular colour definitely leans towards blue toned but not so much that it washes out you warmer toned gals and guys. It applies pretty well and smells of scrummy sweets, and dries to a matte finish. It does have minuscule glitter particles to give your lips a subtle, almost-there shimmer to stop it from looking too matte. 

I won't say that this lasts me 14hrs (seriously, I think the whole 24/14hr thing is over exaggerated) but it does last a good 4-5hrs before it starts to wear away from the inner parts of my lips. This can also be a little drying so I don't wear it as often as the others. Once it's dried it does transfer, but the transferring is minimal. All in all not a bad lippie. 

Red Lip Month: Max Factor Lipfinity 120 Hot

Time for some super sheer, long lasting red lips...

These long lasting lip colours have been around for a long time with Max Factor, and I bought this one because I love how it looked in the tube, but what it looks like applied is so much different... 

Isn't the colour so much more sheer? At first I was disappointed - felt like I'd been led astray - but I soon saw the upside; it's so sheer it can be worn with plenty of different looks without overpowering them. Plus the benefit of it lasting for hours is another hidden bonus. 

Red Lip Month: Bourjois Color Boost in Red Island

My love for Bourjois is pretty much eternal. Their products (most of them) are nothing short of incredible, and their lip crayons have joined the elite ranks of my favourite lip products. They're lightweight, have a super smooth application, waterproof and even boast an SPF of 15 whilst moisturising and pampering your treasured pout. 

This colour is a darkish red, leaning slightly towards blue toned, but has a beautiful sheen that reflects almost gold in the light. It has great staying power, easy application and a little goes a long way, so it's worth the money paid. Plus with the 3 for 2 offer going on in Superdrug and Boots in the UK you can get even more for your money. Plus this can be used year round, unlike their super bright summer pink & coral colours :P 

Red Lip Month: Maybelline SuperStay 24 Color 510 Red Passion

I love long lasting red lips! I love non-transferring colour, being able to eat, drink and chatter away without reapplying my lippie and feeling confident for hours on end. 

 This little beauty is my favourite long-wearing lip colour. You use the coloured wand to apply a thin yet quite opaque layer over your lips, let it dry for 1-2 minutes, then apply the white balm end that gives your lips that just-applied, fresh-as-a-daisy shine that I love so much.

This colour is quite neutral so will wear with both pale and warm skin colours quite well without making your skin look washed out. 

The one thing I must say is that the balm end runs out pretty quickly due to reapplying it frequently, so buying an extra balm is advisable.

It's a great price and currently in the UK there's a 3 for 2 offer in Superdrug so nip on over, see if there's anything you like :P 

Red Lip Month: Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple

Right, let's crack on with our Red Lip Month and today it's going to be a lip butter. 

This is an easy red lip colour to wear, you don't have to worry about meticulous application - just whack it on and you're good to go. 

It's a lovely sheer, glossy red - it can be worn over a stain for more of a statement red lip - and it's moisturising, feels comfy on your lips and best of all it's good for all year round use because of its application/ease of use, moisture content and medium pigment.  

Red Lip Month: L'Oreal Color Riche Scarlett Creme

Yes, I love red lips! Let's continue our celebration of red lips this February! 

This is a lovely richly pigmented lipstick, satiny finish and doesn't bleed. 

Like a lot of red lipsticks it does transfer relatively easily but it's longevity is impressive too. A great lippie to take around and about for smooth, everyday use. 

Max Factor Excess Volume Extreme Impact Mascara

Yup. Yet another mascara purchase. Although I don't normally try to defend my mascara purchases, I must explain one thing. My eyes are partially hooded. When I hit my forties they will become hooded. I've known for many years that in my case, lashes are more important than eyeshadow, so I like to accentuate them more. Wearing false lashes is becoming a more common thing for me. Anyway! Back to the review! 

I bought it from Boots for £9.99. It's currently on offer; it's normal price will be £12.99. It's a double ended mascara and I bought this in the colour Black. 

It's a chunky mascara tube, not elegant or particularly good to look at, but I'm not here to judge this book by its cover.

So I thought I'd start you all off with a picture of my eye. I'm not wearing any makeup at all in these photo's, barring the mascara.

So this is side 1 Extreme Volume. It has a rubber wand with bristles that are good for separation.

After one coat my lashes are defined, but there's no real volume. Side 1 did state extreme volume, so I figured one more coat was necessary.

A second coat. There's a few small issues with fibres, but so far there's still a lack of volume. I decide at this point to stop layering mascara side 1 and switch to 2:

Which looks like the above photo; the wand looks very much like the typical mascara wand. Nothing special. Side 2 is Dark Lacquer, a shiny dark coat to make lashes look super dark and glossy. 

Let's do this! 

After one coat my lashes are definitely darker. Hooray, one side holds up to its promise! 

After two coats, my lashes are starting to look thicker...

After three coats my lashes have stuck together somewhat and are in danger of looking really spidery and clumpy. Not massively attractive. 

And here, zoomed out so you can see both of my eyes. Each eye has two coats of side 1 mascara and three coats of side 2 mascara on the top lashes, and one coat each of side 1 & 2 on the bottom lashes.

My thoughts: I think it's an ok mascara, it doesn't give me the volume I dream of, but my lashes are kind of sparse; people with more lashes than me might have more success at this. I would have liked side 1 to have more volume as it states on the tube, but never mind. Side 2 has a far more pleasing result, considering the brush/wand was "nothing special". 

Would I repurchase?: probably not. Seventeen's 'Super Lash' mascara pretty much does the same thing after 3 coats instead of Max Factor's 5, and it costs (full price vs full price) £5 less. 

Would I recommend?: To people with more lashes, yes, I think you'll get better results with less coats of mascara. To people with sparser lashes like mine, probably not. You'll have to keep layering until your lashes look spidery and clumpy. Or keep a really good lash comb handy...