Revlon just bitten kissable balm stains

I was so excited when I saw the Revlon just bitten kissable balm stains in Superdrug. I was going to ask my parents to get me some from Florida but I knew they were coming to the UK in July and thought I would wait!

I have three colours; honey, cherish and darling which is the one I am going to share with you today. I absolutely love this lip balm/stain! they feel extremely moisturising and creamy when you are applying them, they last for hours and they give a good amount of colour to the lips. They also wear evenly which is a big bonus for me! I would go as far to say I prefer these to the lip butters, which I really like. These stains are great for putting in your handbag for touch ups which you only really need to do after every 3-4 hours, in my experience. They have a peppermint smell to them which is slightly detectable on the lips. I personally like the smell but I know it may not be to everyone's taste.

The shade 'darling' appears as a light purple in the tube which at first I wasn't sure of. However, when I swatched it one my hand it appears as a lovely, light mauve/pink which in turn is very flattering on the lips. This is the lightest shade out of the three I have and is easy to apply without even looking in the mirror.

I would definitely recommend picking these up if you are looking for a hard-wearing lip product which doesn't leave your lips feeling dry! These are currently on offer in Boots and Superdrug for £5.99 and there are seven shades available.

Let me know if you have tried these yet and whether you prefer them to the Revlon lip butters?

Holiday haul

I thought I would just share with you a look at the amazing make-up my parents bought me back from Florida. I gave them quite a substantial list and they got me a few extras too!

I will gradually be doing reviews on everything so I can give you my thoughts!

(This post is by no means to brag, I just thought it would be fun to share with you some different makeup brands I haven't mentioned on here before)

Revlon ready

I am absolutely loving all of the recent Revlon releases. First it was the lip butters, then the kissable balm stains (more on those later) and now the photoready cream blushes!

I have the shade 'pinched' which is a lovely, light, peach shade which I find to be perfect for the summer months. I usually go for pink blushers but thought I'd try something different, and I'm so glad I did!

I recently purchased a cream blush from MAC and was excited to see how the Revlon compared. The first big difference is the price, the MAC blush was around £17 and the Revlon is a bargain at £5.99!

Personally, I found the Revlon blush to be extremely soft and blend-able and applied very easily to the skin. It has a light, sheer texture so needs a couple of layers if you want to intensify the colour. The MAC one needs a little more work to buff it into the skin and is slightly more pigmented meaning you only need a small swipe of product.

I love the colour of 'pinched' and am very tempted to go back for the pink! I would definitely give the Revlon cream blush a try if you are looking for something lighter for the summer and an easy item to pop in your make-up bag if you are going away!

Mojito Madness

Firstly I want to apologise for the lack of posting! I promise I have lots off upcoming post planned and they all contain some very exciting products. Many are items which my parents kindly brought me back from Florida and others are new releases from the UK!

I thought I would quickly share with you this new Essie polish, 'Mojito madness'. It is a lovely, vibrant green which is perfect for making you feel really summery even if the weather isn't! This is one of the items from Florida but I'm pretty sure you can get this readily in the UK from Essie's summer collection!

Heart today...

My favourite product of the week has been my Carmex pink lip tint. It gives the lips a lovely, rose sheen which lasts for hours. As it is Carmex, your lips are left feeling really soft and moisturised. It's the perfect size to pop in your bag and you don't even need a mirror to apply it!

Lipstick love

You may have noticed that I have become slightly obsessed with lip products as of late. I used to be all about lip-gloss but I have discovered a new love for lipsticks. After seeing Fleur (from Fleur-de-Force) mention the Kate Moss for Rimmel lipsticks, a couple of times, I thought I would give one a go.

After swatching a few colours I went for shade '16' which is a bright pink/coral. This colour is perfect for summer as it just adds a nice pop of colour without being too overpowering. I like to pair this with my bare study paint pot for eyes, and then a light, peach colour on my cheeks. I find the finish of this lipstick to be really moisturising and not at all drying. It also lasts several hours before needing a touch up and leaves a nice 'stain' behind on the lips.

The only slight negative, for me, is the smell of the lipstick. I have heard it being described as a 'cherry' type smell but to me it's very strong and slightly 'chemically' smelling. It's not too much of a problem as once it's on the lips it's not really detectable after a few minutes, but it is something to bear in mind.

Overall I would definitely recommend checking one of these lipsticks out. I got mine on offer at Boots for £3.99 and I would say it's worth the money!

M.A.C Casual colour 'Relaxation'

I feel like M.A.C's newest collection was released a little under the radar. 'Casual colour' was released at the beginning of the month along with the new Beth Ditto collaboration. As of yet I haven't seen many reviews on the collections and I'm surprised because I think the casual colour lip and cheek creams are the perfect product for summer! To my knowledge the collection is marketed as being easy to wear, and simple products you can use for 'lazy' days. In the summer I love wearing cream products on my cheeks. They feel less heavy and seem to withstand longer-wear. The casual colour lip and cheek creams come in eight different shades. They come packaged in little plastic pots with a black lid, which are basically the same containers that the lip conditioners come in.

I have the shade 'relaxation' which is described as a 'warm pink'. I would say this pretty much sums the shade up although it does lean towards a darker pink/berry shade which I find really flattering on my skin tone. I have read a couple of reviews saying these feel 'sticky' on the cheeks. I personally have not found this to be the case. I can easily blend the product into my cheeks just using my fingers and it leaves me with a lovely, healthy glow to the skin. For me, there is no residue left on the skin but just a lovely, soft sheen which I think is lovely for the summer months. You can also use the product on your lips to give you a lovely flush of colour. It leaves yours lips feeling really moisturised and not at all sticky. This is the perfect item to pack if you're going on holiday or if you just want something really quick and easy to use in the mornings. These are limited edition so grab them whilst you can!
(Available from M.A.C for £17.50)

M.A.C haul!

Recently I've been starting to add to my M.A.C collection. I started off with 'Plink!' lipstick and have just recently purchased 'Creme cup' (which I absolutely love and a separate post on that will be coming soon). So, I decided to purchase a couple more items including a blush, paint pot and lipglass.





Blush wise I decided to go for 'well dressed' as I have heard so many amazing things about it on both blogs and YouTube. I love this shade! It is an amazing, soft pink which gives a lovely, healthy flush to the cheeks. It's great to pair with a neutral eye and a pink lip.



For the paint pot I chose 'Bare study' as it looked like an easy colour to just slick onto the eyelids and you'd then be good to go. And that is exactly the case! I just apply this over a primer, with a brush and I'm done. It gives a nice, clean look to the eye with a subtle hint of shimmer. Sometimes if I want it to last a bit longer I will put a little bit of 'grain' eyeshadow over the top!



Lastly I chose 'pink lemonade' lip glass. This came from watching 'Miss Glamorazzi's' YouTube videos where she constantly raves about this colour. I can totally see what she means! It is a lovely pink/coral colour which is perfect for the summer months. It is lovely worn alone but I have also been layering it over my 'Plink!' lipstick.

May 2012 Favourites

Here are a few of my favourite things...



1. M.A.C 'well dressed' blush
2. L'Oreal caresse in 'lovely rose'
3. M.A.C suntint in 'abalone'
4. Revlon matte powder blush in 'perfectly peach'
5. Korres lip butter in 'Jasmine'
6. Carmex moisture plus in 'pink'
7. Urban decay eyeshadow primer potion
8. M.A.C paint pot in 'bare study'

Concealer Crazy

When it comes to concealer, I have always been a big fan of the YSL touche eclat. Now, whilst this product is not necessarily marketed as an under-eye concealer, I found, for me, it worked really well! After many, many months I ran out of it and couldn't really stretch to the £23 price tag, so I went on the hunt for a cheaper alternative. I was debating getting the Collection lasting perfection concealer but I can never seem to find my correct shade in stores (fair). So, on a recent trip to Bicester Village, I came across the Bobbi Brown concealer in the Cosmetic Company Outlet store. I'd heard lots of great things about it via YouTube and on various blogs and it was discounted to £14 so I thought I'd give it a go. I purchased the shade 'porcelain' which is the lightest they do and it seems to be a perfect fit for me! It goes on really smooth and has a lovely creamy finish. I only use a tiny amount as using too much can lead to it creasing slightly on me.

Nail of the day

Magazines have been giving away some amazing freebies lately and InStyle is no exception. With this months magazine (June issue), you get a free Nails Inc polish. There are 3 shades to choose from including this gorgeous mauve/lavender/pink shade! The other colours available are a light purple and pale pink. I would definitely recommend picking one of these magazines up as all 3 shades are perfect for the upcoming spring/summer months.

The Best of April 2012

I have never done a monthly 'favourites' post before, but this month, I have found so many new loves that I just really wanted to share them with you! I'm going to keep this quite photo heavy as I have either previously written posts on each product or they will be up soon!

Hope you enjoy this post! And I would love to know what products you have been loving this month?!

- Urban Decay 'Naked' palette
- Bourjois delice de poudre bronzing powder in number 52
- Maybelline 24hr colour tattoo in on and on bronze
- L'Occitane honey hand cream
- Natural Collection blush in peach melba
- Revlon lip butter in sugar frosting
- Carmex original
- L'Occitane ultra-gentle cleansing milk

Plink!

I was so excited to have accumulated enough MAC products to 'Back to MAC' them. It was my first time doing this so I wanted to choose a worthy lipstick! (For those of you who don't know, if you take back 6 empty MAC containers to a MAC stand-alone store, they will give you a free lipstick in return). At first I was thinking of getting 'creme cup' as it is so highly recommended as a great everyday colour. However, I'm still not completely sold as to whether it will suit me. I like pale, nude lip colours but as I have very pale skin, they can sometimes look very unflattering! So, after having a little swatching session with my mum, I came across 'Plink!' which is a lustre finish. I would describe the colour as a very pale, peach/coral shade with a slight pinkiness to it. The MAC website describe it as a 'warm seashell pink' which I would agree with. This has quickly become by go to lipstick for everyday wear. If applied lightly it leaves the lips looking lovely and moisturised with a hint of pink/peach colour. If you apply a couple of layers, the pink comes through even stronger. I love lustre finishes as they leave lips feeling moisturised with a slight sheen and are not at all drying. I haven''t really heard anything about 'Plink!' in the blogging world but it's definitely worth a look next time you're near a MAC counter!

Chocolate bronzer?!

I may be slightly late to the party on this one but I have recently purchased the Bourjois delice de poudre bronzing powder and I love it! I have to be slightly careful with bronzers because I am very pale and they can tend to look a little orange and muddy on me, however, this one does neither!

This bronzing powder comes in 2 shades, 51 and 52. I was going to get 51 which is the lighter shade but once I compared it the shade 52, I noticed it seemed very 'orangey'. After swatching both on my hand I decided to go for number 52 and thought if it was too dark I could just use a small amount and really blend it.

I'm so glad I got the darker shade, I just lightly tap my brush into the powder and then swipe onto my cheeks and then around my temples and over my nose and chin. It leaves my skin with a lovely subtle bronze glow and is not at all orange. There is a slight shimmer but it is not overly noticeable.

As you will see, the bronzer comes in the shape of a bar of chocolate and smells like it too! I wasn't sure, at first, if I would like the scent but it is not strong or detectable once it is on the skin!

The bronzer is currently available in Boots for £4.99!

Life's a beach

After trying Maybelline's 24hr colour tattoo eyeshadows, I have officially become obsessed with long wear, cream shadows. On a recent trip to Bicester Village outlets, I found a Bobbi Brown long wear cream shadow in the shade 'beach honey 14'. It is a lovely golden, champagne colour which is perfect for everyday wear!

The consistency is smooth and and creamy and very easy to apply to the lid. I wear a little bit of eye primer underneath just because I have quite oily eyelids. However, this shadow does not crease or move! It stays put all day and still looks the same colour at the end of the day as it did at the beginning. I apply the colour lightly with my finger but you could definitely use a brush.

The only negative I would say is the size of the pot. It is quite tricky to dip your finger into the pot as it is quite small. However, if you used a brush, this wouldn't be so much of a problem!

The shade 'beach honey' is no longer available on the Bobbi brown website, however 'Sandy gold' looks like a close dupe!

(Bought from Bicester Village, however, the long wear cream shadows are available on bobbibrown.co.uk for £17)

REaDy, steady, go!

I am one of the biggest Liz Earle fans ever! I have been using the range for about 5/6 years and I absolutely love it. It works wonders for my skin, so much so that I don't need to wear foundation. My holy grail product is their Cleanse and Polish. I love the feeling and look of my skin after using this amazing cleanser. It gently and easily removes my make-up and doesn't irritate my sensitive eyes. The muslin cloth works brilliantly with it. You can feel it removing all of your make-up to leave behind fresh, clean skin. The cloth is gentle on my face but also works as an exfoliate for the pores around my nose and chin. Overall I couldn't be without my cleanse and polish.

And now you don't have to be either! Pick up a copy of the May edition of RED magazine to enjoy a free 30ml size of cleanse and polish and a muslin cloth! A pretty amazing deal for just £3.90!

Let me know your thoughts after you have tried it or if, like me, you already love it!

It's a haul!

Just a quick photo of my recent Boots haul. More in depth posts on each product will be coming soon once I've had the chance to really test them out.

Let me know if you have tried any of these items?

Maybelline Baby Lips

Firstly I want to apologise for the lack of posting recently! I'm back to share with you an amazing new lip product that I have discovered. It is the new range of 'Baby lips' lip balms by Maybelline. These are not currently available in the UK, however, my lovely sister-in-law picked this up for me on a recent trip to New York.

The range consists of several different colours including a light peach, a raspberry colour and a berry shade. I asked for 'quenched' which has no colour and is just a plain lipbalm. I have to say, I love this product! Firstly the smell is amazing. It smells like lovely, fresh lemons and is a pleasure to apply to the lips. It applies almost like a gloss, very silky smooth and extremely moisturising. You don't need to overload your lips with this product as otherwise they could become a little too 'greasy'. I have been using this everyday since I received it and I have to admit I have noticed a difference in my lips. They appear smoother and just generally in better condition than they were. I love the sheen it leaves on the lips which makes your lips look incredibly hydrated. When my parents go to the states in the Summer I will definitely be asking them to pick me up a couple of the tinted shades!