Archive for March 2014

Home Archive for March 2014

I've got to say, as much as I love my brighter lipsticks, I'll always be a sucker for nude lips. Teamed with a bold eye look, or to go for a more natural effect, I just adore the understated look that a nude lip provides... Alas, though, like so many others out there, I've struggled to find a nude lipstick that just feels right. Either they're too pink-toned, or too shimmery, or to sheer, or too dark, or too light, or just not quite nude for me. It's been quite a depressing journey, truth be told, and I'd all but given up.

Lately, though, I've been watching a lot more YouTube videos, and I came across Rimmel's Nude Delight quite a lot, and decided to invest, so while we were in Chester on Sunday, I popped into Boots and went to pick it up. I swatched the tester on my hand and was mildly impressed by it. Then, on the row below it, the Kate Matte Lipstick 113 caught my eye. The shade sticker on the bottom looked very similar to Nude Delight, and it was £1 cheaper, so I swatched that on my hand too. The difference was minor, but 113 just looked... right. I can't explain it. If anyone else has managed to track down their perfect nude lipstick shade then you'll know exactly what I mean - when you see it, you just know. In my basket it went, and I'm completely in love with it!

It comes in the standard matte red bullet, as is the trademark for the Kate Moss matte shades from Rimmel, and I have to say I'm a fan of the simple yet pretty design. The lipstick itself is listed as a beige shade, but it has just the right amount of pink undertones to make it a fleshy nude shade. It looks darker in the bullet than on the lips, since it's quite sheer, but gives a nice amount of opacity to not completely cover my lips, but rather works with them to just create the most gorgeous nude shade. And best of all, it doesn't wash me out! I'd have taken a swatch picture, but I just can't seem to nail taking a decent photograph of my lips. Hopefully in the future I'll update with one.

But, yes. If, like me, you're pale, with yellow undertones, and are struggling to find the right lipstick, then looking this baby up might just be worth a try. The Kate Matte lipsticks retail at £5.49 from Boots and Superdrug.

Have you found your perfect nude lipstick? Are you a fan, or do you not like nude lips?

I've seen so many NYX products floating around; being reviewed on blogs, being used in makeup tutorials on YouTube. Hailed as an awesome brand, with pocket-friendly prices, and quality to rival MAC on occasion, I lusted after NYX with a vengeance. For whatever reason, I never thought to check whether they retailed in the UK. Since they're an L.A. based brand, I just sort of assumed they'd be US-exclusive or like gold dust to get hold of, along with hefty shipping fees, like a few other brands. Much to my delight, though, they do retail in the UK, and I finally got hold of a few items to try out! Mega excited!

First off, I have to say, the shipping time was surprisingly good. I placed my order late on Friday night (14th), and it was delivered this afternoon (18th), which I'm impressed with considering how late the order was placed and with it being a weekend. It came extremely well packaged, with loads of bubble wrap, so everything reached me in one piece, which is - lets face it - always a bonus!

I was most excited for the Above & Beyond Full Coverage Concealer jars, which I ordered in CJ10 Yellow and CJ12 Green. Weird colour choices for concealers, I know, but I've been searching for some good colour corrector for I don't even know how long. I was going to order a palette from ELF, but it's been sold out for ages and it doesn't look like they're going to restock any time soon. The NYX concealer jars were admittedly more expensive, but they look so cute, and feel so creamy. I can't wait to test them out. My only negative is that one of the jars must be newer stock than the other, since the lids don't match. It's such a silly, nit-picky thing but it really bugs me.

Secondly, I ordered the Jumbo Eye Pencil in that infamous shade, Milk. Hailed by most beauty enthusiasts as a must-have, and a holy grail, obviously I wanted a piece of the action. I just hope I'm as bowled over by it as everyone else, but I've been needing to replace my white eyeliner anyway, so if all else fails, it's fiiiine! I made sure to nab the dual sharpener too, so I can sharpen it! Ialso grabbed a retractable eye pencil in Brown, too, since I needed a new pencil for my brows, and I definitely love the retractable kind. No pesky sharpening!

The eyeshadow, in Ballerina Dream, was a bit of an impulse purchase, chuck it in for the sake of it kind of thing, simply to put me over the free shipping threshold. It's not a shade I'd usually use, but I'm thinking of trying it out on my crease since it actually blends to a nice natural pinky tone with only a hint of shimmer. Who knows? It could become a favourite!

Lastly, I don't have a decent concealer brush, so I made sure to get one to get the most out of my concealer jars. It claims to be a damn good brush, so we'll see. I'll probably do reviews and/or swatches on the concealer jars seperately in the future, but for now I just really wanted to share my tiny NYX haul with you guys!

Do you like NYX products? What's your favourite?

Now, I'm well aware that Baby Lips are posted about in every corner of the blogosphere... but I wanted to post about them, so I'm going to. They've been a bit of a cult classic for a while now, but until last year were only available in the US, which sucked for us UK beauty fanatics. We wanted in on the action too, and finally Maybelline granted our wish, and Baby Lips were launched in the UK. Hurrah! So why am I only posting about them now? Well, because I personally only gave into the hyper very recently.

I mean, they're just a lipbalm right? And priced at around £3 each (sometimes a little more or less depending on where you get them from) it just seemed a little expensive to me. I've never been one for lip balms, instead relying on my trusty Chapstick, priced at around £1. It just didn't seem like a sensible purchase for me. I mean, a lip balm is a lip balm, right? Well, I'm glad I finally stopped resisting the urge and grabbed my first Baby Lips because I couldn't be more wrong! Winter's been pretty cold here, and that teamed with me wearing more matte lip products had taken it's toll on my poor lips and they were a bit more battered than usual. I picked up Cherry Me, since I'm a sucker for anything cherry-scented, and figured I'd try it out - best move I made. Since then, I may have taken advantage of a cheeky 3-for-2 offer in Superdrug, bringing my total of Baby Lips to four. I regret nothing.

I didn't bother swatching Mint Fresh since it's colourless. The slight colour was something that definitely won me over on Baby Lips though. They're so pigmented, I tend to think of them more as very sheer lipsticks, but super moisturizing... plus they smell delicious! Mint Fresh is a lovely minty smell, though not overpowering as I can find some mint-scented products, Cherry Me smells like cherry drop sweets (some of my favourites!), Pink Punch has a tropical scent, and Peach Kiss reminds me of peach iced tea, so that's definitely a winner!

My lips have been vastly improved by these guys. It's not often I believe the claims a product makes, but I have to say Baby Lips do what they say. I use them twice a day - once before bed, and once when I'm getting ready, either under lipstick or usually on their own - and my lips are lovely and soft. No more flaky lips when I use matte products! And my lips don't feel so abused after wearing matte stuff either which is always a bonus. I never expected them to become part of my every day routine, but I'm pleasantly surprised, and glad that they are.