Review: Bourjois Shine Edition Lipstick in "26 Beige Démocrachic"

So as you all know I'm such a daredevil when it comes to lip colours (hahaha yeah, right), so when I saw this lip colour, it had to be mine. 

I love nudes, seriously, if I had to wear nothing but nude lip colours for the rest of my life, I'd die happy. And this lipstick doesn't let me down in any way. 

It applies as a sheer, shimmery, brown-pink nude with a glossy, sparkly sheen . It wears smoothly and comfortably without any unpleasant side effects like being drying. It is very similar to the Revlon Lip Butters; light on the lips, feels moisturising and even good for wearing at cold temperatures like 2 degrees centigrade (I work in this temperature all year round). 

Any moisturising lipsticks/glosses/balms that you recommended for everyday that stand up to winter-like temps? 

Review: Maybelline Color Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil in '140 Minimalist'

The only lip pencil I own is by Barry M, so when I saw this lip pencil by Maybelline, I wanted to add it to my ever-growing stash of makeup, and this weekend, it now belongs to me... *insert evil laughter here*

It is a lovely pink colour with tiny little sparkles, which are hardly noticeable. It requires a little more pressure to apply on the lips, but the texture is quite velvety once applied. 

Above: minimalist applied to my bottom lip; my top lip bare for comparison. 

Above: zoomed out so that you can see the full effect. I'm only wearing a CC cream and a touch of mascara so please excuse my face... 

My thoughts: This lip pencil looks and feels good on my lips, has almost a soft matte finish but without drying them out. It has a weird taste - so no licking your lips - and it transfers, so reapplication will be necessary. The pencil is light yet feels sturdy, so it'll (hopefully) be travel and purse friendly.  

Maybelline Coloursensational Nude Lipstick in 725 Tantalizing Taupe

My super favourite colour on my lips have to be nudes. A nude lip goes with everything; got heavy smokey eye makeup going on? Nude lips are your eyes' best friend. Doing the no-makeup-makeup look? Nude lips sure do help! Worried that your lip and eyes are all mismatched? Nudes are there to take the stress away! Basically they take the worry out of your day to day makeup. Yes, they may be boring and predictable, but they're handy and reliable! 

So I knew that this lippie simply had to join the ranks of my other nude lipsticks such as my MAC Half 'n' Half and MAC Modesty. But this lipstick has the added benefit of being drugstore, so it doesn't have a £15 price tag, it's just under half that, at a more purse-friendly £6.99. 

On me it's a creamy, moisturising pinky brown, easy to apply and has a slightly sweet scent. This will be a definite go-to colour for me for the foreseeable future. 

Do you wear nude lips? Love or hate? Any lip colour suggestions? Xx

Review: Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Lips Pencil

I'm a huge fan of red lips (as you may well know) so when I saw this cute little pencil I thought I'd have to add it to my collection. 

If this colour has a name it doesn't seem to be on the pencil, so I'm going to call it Bright Pillarbox. It's a lovely, shiny, creamy, bright-yet-true red, that applies smoothly and has a great opaque colour. 

This is a lovely colour that's easy to wear, but like most balms/glosses, it does need to be reapplied after eating and drinking. Considering also that this is a pencil, it requires being sharpened, so there will be some loss, but these pencils are around £5 so it's not a huge issue. 

Apart from reapplication and loss, I still think that this colour is great and the price is reasonable. 

Anyone else like these pencils? Don't like them? Let me know xx

Review: Maybelline Lasting Drama 36h Gel Liner Pen Black Shock

Wow. That is one long title right there! Any longer and it would have it's own postcode haha. Aaaanyway, on to my review... 

When we were purusing through the drugstore, it wasn't me that spotted this pen style gel liner, it was my hubby. I am a huge (and I really mean huge) fan of the Lasting Drama gel liner in the little pots that come with their own brush. Maybelline's gel liner lasts longer on my waterline than any other gel liner I've tried; for me it's a winner - so when my hubster pointed it out in store, I simply knew I had to have it. 

It has a screw on cap and a rubbery pen-like nib with a slanted hole. You have to twist the bottom of the pen around 20-30 times to get the gel up through the nib for the first time (I can't actually remember, I lost count after twisting it 3 clicks at a time for a short while). 

The gel that comes out is quite thick and very opaque. It also comes out thicker where the hole is widest, so it is hard to apply evenly... 

As seen above, it all splodged onto my hand as I dragged it across. I tried clicking the gel out of the nib, smearing it across the opening so it covered the edge a little more evenly, and then I applied it to my upper lash line. 

Above: my first attempt of a slight wing. It's not fantastically even but not bad for a first try. 

A touch of mascara... 

And lastly, adding it to my waterline (upper and lower) and adding Red Cherry lashes (number 43). Please excuse my face, I have swollen sinuses and I'm in a fair amount of pain, so I look a bit crap... But I just wanted to show the eyeliner from a distance! 

My thoughts: I like this gel liner, but I do find it quite strange to use. I think I prefer using the brush to apply the eyeliner as I have more control over how much I use, whereas the pen liner has a lot less control and there is more waste. 

The liner broke up on my waterline pretty quickly, but I think that's because my eyes are watering more than normal. 

To remove, just use an oil based makeup remover and a cotton pad. 

It comes off really easily with Garnier Simply Essentials Soothing 2 in 1 makeup remover, which is cheap at only £3 and the oil in it will dissolve the eyeliner quickly, which won't be unkind to your skin. 

Review: Little Mix love All About The Eyes Palette

I went to my local Superdrug today. When I saw this cute little eyeshadow palette, at just £2.99 I knew I just had to have it. 

It's a little cardboard palette, just over 4 inches long, 2 & 1/2 inches wide and has 6 beautiful shades of cream, sparkly gold, shimmery brown and black. 

Colours from left to right: 

Feather, Sunkissed, Golden Sand, Dazzling Brown, Cocoa Dream & Blackbird. 

My thoughts: This palette is cute, small and the perfect size for travel (and if its cardboard packaging gets ruined, it only costs £2.99 so it's not the end of the world). The colours are quite creamy and pigmented ('Feather' being the exception, being slightly less pigmented and a little chalkier), apply and blend well and are perfect for natural looks (similar to the look I was sporting above) and darker, smokier looks, thanks to 'Cocoa Dream' and 'Blackbird'. It's a fab palette, and although the eyeshadows contain parabens, I use MAC paint pots as eyeshadow primer, so it's not a problem. Worth the money, for sure. Recommended for anyone wanting a decent eyeshadow palette on a budget! 

Bourjois Cream Blush 02 Healthy Glow

I've wanted to get my hands on another of Bourjois' beautiful cream blushers ever since I got my grubby little paws on their Blush Exclusif last year. 

So I went ahead and did just that! I had to go on the colour of the pot, as the tester in store had dried up so hard that it had cracked into about six pieces and fallen apart. 

It's a beautiful peachy colour, absolutely perfect for spring and summer. Also if you have light to medium skin, this will be a fantastic, all year round light flush. 

It swatches beautifully, blends easily into the powdery finish and lasts on my cheeks for a full 12hrs, as long as my t-zone has been primed with Milk of Magnesia first, otherwise the oil around my nose wears away the colour within about 4-6 hours. 

For me this is a definite must-have colour, perfect for all year round naturally flushed cheeks. 

Drugstore Eyeshadow Primer Smackdown: MUA Pro Base VS Rimmel Exaggerate Undercover

Yeeeehawww! Welcome guys and gals, it's time for a good old fashioned Smackdown of drugstore eyeshadow primers! 

Ok, with the theatrics over, I'll get right down to it. I have oily eyelids that makes my eyeshadow crease within an hour, so I have to use a primer before I apply my eyeshadow. I always use high end primers, be it Urban Decay, Too Faced or MAC paint pots, and I always love their products and results. But sometimes we don't want to have to cough out £15-£17 for an eyeshadow primer/base! 

I saw these two products in Superdrug and thought I'd test them out and blog about the results for y'all to see. 

Here they are, so now it's time for the test.

Above Left: MUA Pro Base. It's a thick, creamy, flesh coloured base. It applies well and dries quite quickly, but it will quite likely show up on women of colour due to it's finish colour.

Above Right: Rimmel Exaggerate. It's a thinner, clearer base with a slight shimmer. It takes a little while longer to dry but more appropriate for all skin tones due to the sheerer finish. 

Above; my right eye with Rimmel base, with Wet 'n' Wild eyeshadow over the top. Picture taken at 8pm.

Above; my left eye with MUA Pro Base with Wet 'n' Wild eyeshadow over the top. Picture taken at 8pm.

Above, my right eye, 9hrs later at 5am. The colour has faded a little but there's no creasing. Rimmel has done a great job. 

Above, my left eye, 9hrs later at 5am. The colour has faded a little - not quite as much as Rimmel - but again there is no creasing. MUA's primer has also done very well. 

Crease prevention: 

Rimmel 5/5

MUA 5/5

Colour hold over time:

Rimmel 4/5

MUA   5/5

Cost:

Rimmel (£4.99) 4/5

MUA   (£2.50) 5/5

My final thoughts: Although they both performed well, MUA Pro Base won this Smackdown, but only just. My only gripe with the MUA primer is that it contains Methylparaben, which as a rule I try to avoid. That being said, it held colour and prevented creasing very well. Plus it's very affordable at a teeny tiny price of £2.50. Rimmel is definitely a close second place, and worth a try at just £5.