Topshop Lipstick Inhibition

I posted a review on another recent Topshop lipstick (Oh La La) purchase the other day, in the same little haul I picked up Inhibition, a dark plum colour. With autumn on our doorstep I have desperately been searching for some vampy shades to rock and with Topshop having a 2 for £12 offer on their lipsticks I though what the heck.

Described as a velvet matte finish it actually initially feels a little waxy and moves around the lips when applying it, I found it best to apply and buff into the lips with my finger. 

I'm still on the bench with this lipstick. I like the finish however it sits on my lips a little weirdly and the natural colour of my lips peeps through. The colour is a little more purple toned than I was expecting and quite bold so it will take a bit of getting used to! 

Topshop Lipstick Ohh La La

I do love a Topshop lipstick and whilst shopping for some essentials online last week I spotted an irresistible offer of 2 lipsticks for £12 so of course I obliged and chose two, one of which was the beautiful Ohh La La. Ohh La La is described as a 'Coral Blush'and has an ever so slight pearly finish. 

When I initially opened it it looked very orange, I wasn't sure I could pull it off however on it is an extremely wearable and beautiful peachy coral.

Excuse the grainy photo, but you get the gist...it's gorgeous right?! This shade is a velvet finish lipstick, it can be a little hard to wear on the lips because of the texture but I found it works best if you apply directly to the lips and buff in gently with your finger. Boy I wish I had bought this shade earlier in the year, I know this would have been worn all spring/summer!

September's Birchbox Contents And Review

September's Birchbox has the theme 'Happy Days'...a celebration of new beginnings and reminiscing about our school days and well, just the things that make us happy. So here's what I received in my box this month...

Benefit It's Potent! Eye Cream

First up is Benefit's It's Potent!  eye cream (3g sample). I'm currently trialling this eye cream after receiving it in another beauty box recently so it's great to have a little back up as I'm enjoying using it. It's potent is a very thick, almost balm like cream that is packed with active ingredients including cocoa extract and apple extract to help microcirculation and collagen count. As well as being an awesome eye cream the packaging is so cute and looks great on your dressing table!

Agave Healing Oil Treatment

A product that tames frizz and helps heal damaged hair is something that is always welcome in my hair routine. Agave Healing Oil Treatment (4ml sample) is said to help build resiliency and boost radiance and shine. As well as being an intensive hair treatment it also doubles up as a body oil. I'm looking forward to trying this next time I wash my hair!

Korres Citrus Showergel

Showergel is always a product that I'm a bit blah about receiving in my boxes, but they are a practical item and I often do enjoy using them. Korres Citrus Showergel (50ml sample) has a lightweight formula and a refreshing citrus scent, perfect for an early morning pick-me-up!

Premae Mild Pro Dermabrasion

Anyone that reads my blog regularly will know that I love Premae's products! I already own the full size version of their Mild Pro Dermabrasion and love it. I received a 20ml sample which will be perfect to keep aside for nights away from home, this scrub has worked wonders (as part of a routine of Premae's products) for me blemish prone skin. Premae's products only include natural ingredients which I love and as a result of this have really noticed a difference with my skin.

Model Co Lip Lacquer Viva

A couple of weeks prior to despatch Birchbox subscribers were contacted to guarantee and choose between 3 products to go in their box (Model Co Lip Laquer in Viva or Morocco or their Power Lash Mascara) and I chose Model Co's Lip Lacquer  in the shade Viva. To be honest I only went for this product as I presumed it was going to be a matte or velvet product and was a little disappointed to find it was actually a gloss (I haven't done gloss since I was 14!). I'll give it a go, but I'm pretty sure this will go to my sister.

Also in this month's box as lifestyle extra's was a little clip photo holder and a bag of Urban Fruit (I received Strawberry). Not a bad box, but not the best either...after seeing the contents on various social media platforms I really wasn't that enthused when it arrived today. As with all beauty boxes you are going to get your not so great month's, fingers crossed for a better box next month!

Max Factor Lipfinity Review

I was thrilled to be selected by Product Testing to receive and review Max Factor Lipfinity lip colour in the shade 340 Essential Natural (I believe this shade is discontinued, however there currently are 20 other gorgeous shades to choose from).

Described as 'a revolutionary 2 step lipstick system that gives long lasting colour plus moisture' this lip product has some serious staying power, I'm talking so serious I struggled to remove it completely at the end of the day!

First off I will say prep your lips before applying, just a gentle exfoliation and a smidge of balm a few minutes before applying works wonders as this product can be a little drying and cling to any dry patches. After prepping lips simply swipe the wand across your lips, I found you need to work fast as it dries quite quickly and can look a little patchy if you go back over the area again.

The 'shine boosting' topcoat is a must to apply over the top to give your lips some moisture and sheen. The balm isn't at all sticky, it has more of a solid Vaseline feel to it. 

I really like the colour, it's a  nice subtle rosy pink, however looking online I believe it has been discontinued as I can't find this shade available anymore. Like I said previously this product really did live up to it's long lasting claims...I had to try 3 different make-up removers before I could get all of it off! It did last right from morning (7am) until the evening when I took my make-up off (around 8pm) but I did find I needed to keep applying the balm throughout the day as my lips would start to feel a bit dry. The fact the lip colour and balm are separate is good but not good in my opinion, great as you can just carry the balm around with you but not so great if you want both products in one place, they do have some products in their range that include colour plus gloss in one wand.

If you're looking for a really long lasting lip product I would definitely recommend this...and a good make-up remover!

Daniel Sandler Casablanca Lipstick & Cherub Watercolour Blush Duo

Daniel Sandler's Watercolour blushers have been something I've wanted to try for a while now and whilst shopping around for an autumnal berry shade lippy the other day I came across a bargain lipstick and blusher duo from ASOS, saving you 30% on the rrp.

The Watercolour blush in the shade Cherub is a richly pigmented lightweight liquid blush that gives a gorgeous wash of colour to your cheeks. You only need to squeeze the tiniest dot onto your finger, apply to cheeks and then blend with a buffing brush and the result is a natural glow. What I love about this liquid blush is you can build up the intensity of the colour without disturbing the make-up underneath. This blush claims to be waterproof...I am yet to put this claim to the test as I tend to avoid a downpour when I have a full face of make-up (who doesn't?!).

L Casablanca Lipstick
R Cherub Watercolour Blush

Casablanca is a deep berry shade of lipstick that compliments the blusher perfectly. Although this lipstick is matte it's not at all drying on the lips due to some lip-loving ingredients such as Shea Butter, Jojoba Oils and Vitamin A, C and E.

You can pick up this bargain duo from ASOS for only £20, these shades will take you from autumn to winter perfectly, I must restrain myself from buying all of the Watercolour shades as the formula is divine!

The Glamour Beauty Power List 2014 Box From Latest In Beauty

I absolutely adore Latest In Beauty's collaboration boxes with Glamour magazine, they are always excellent value and packed with a great variation of branded products that would each get used. Needless to say when they emailed me two weeks ago releasing a new box 'The Glamour Beauty Power List 2014' I ordered it straight away and waited impatiently for it to be delivered. When it arrived on Thursday although I already knew what the contents were I still let out a little shriek as I unboxed it. With a whopping value of over £80 but yours for £15.99 here's the contents...

• Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish  (30ml with muslin cloth) rrp £5.50
• Eyeko Mascara Off Wipes (10 wipes) rrp £6
• Philip Kingsley Daily Damage Defense  (60ml) rrp £7.50
• Laura Mercier Foundation Primer (30ml) rrp £19
• James Read Sleep Mask Tan (25ml sample) rrp £12.50
• Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara (fullsize) rrp £9.99
• Maybelline Coloursensational Lipstick (fullsize) rrp £6.99
• Annual subscription to Glamour magazine (digital version for iphone/ipad) discounted by 62%

I'm already a huge fan of Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish (although I can't use it everyday due to my temperamental skin prone to hormonal break-out's) and I adore everything by Eyeko. The products I've most wanted to try from this box were the Laura Mercier Foundation Primer and James Read Sleep Mask Tan, the concept of an overnight mask that gives you a gorgeous glow in the morning is a winner for me.

I've purchased a few of the Glamour collaborations with Latest In Beauty and this has to be my absolute favorite as I genuinely will use every product! I imagine these boxes will go quite quickly so head on over to Latest In Beauty and buy yours today...you wont be disappointed!

  

September's You Beauty Discovery Box

You Beauty Discovery  celebrates it's 1st birthday this month and they put together a pretty impressive shortlist of products to celebrate. On top of the fabulous shortlist of products including brands such as Perricone MD, Mavala and Eyeko they very generously included a full size Toni&Guy Glamour Volume Pumping Whip, a £25 voucher for Hello Fresh, a cosmetic sponge and some Crabtree and Evelyn tea! So here's my picks for Septembers box...

Eyeko Hydrogel Eye Patch

I adore Eyeko's products, needless to say when I saw their Hydrogel Eye Patches on the shortlist that was my first product choice made! I'm a big fan of under eye patches to help soothe tired eyes after a late night so these will be perfect for the forthcoming festive season (yep, I just mentioned it!). I received 2 sets of patches making the value of this selection £7.50...thanks YBD!

Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm

I've wanted to try some of Pixi's products for as long as I've seen them around but just never gotten round to it so I thought what better opportunity than now. I received Pixi's Tinted Brilliance Balm in the shade 'Lucent Glow' which is a translucent pink with subtle gold shimmer. I found it to b very hydrating and the cute sample size is perfect for throwing in your bag.

I say it every month and I'll say it again...You Beauty Discovery has to be one of my favourite beauty box subscriptions. Sure you don't get the element of surprise every month but I actually look forward to receiving my email with the shortlist of products and hurriedly logging into my account on the 1st of the month to order it! At £6.95 inc P&P YBD is incredible value for money and there really is something for everyone every month!

MAC Ravishing

A couple of weeks ago I added to my MAC lippy collection with the gorgeous Ravishing from the Cremesheen family. Ravishing is a clean, light peachy coral shade with excellent pigmentation and has a milky texture on the lips. This shade looks lovely co-ordinated with a peach toned blusher, keeping the rest of the face minimalistic. 

MAC Ravishing

At first I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to pull this colour off as I'm quite pale (NC15) but I adore this colour, it's the perfect understated coral shade. I've been wearing this most days with a light dusting of my Body Shop bronzer and a little eyeliner and mascara and it lifts my complexion.

Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain - LA Exclusive & Rio Rush

Last week whilst in Boots I picked up two of the new Colorstay Moisture Stain's by Revlon in the shades LA Exclusive and Rio Rush, I only went in for some paracetamol but I'm always a sucker for a bargain and as these little pretties were 2 for £10 I just couldn't resist! Theses new offerings from Revlon give a non-sticky glass-like shine and hours of wear thanks to the highly pigmented stain. I don't usually like to wear a lipgloss (who wants their hair stuck in it every 5 minutes?!) but this is something different, it offers the shine of a gloss but the texture of a moisturising lipstick.

LA Exclusive

Rio Rush 

I really like this new lip product, there is a vast range of colours in the range so there is something for everyone and isn't the packaging just beautiful?!

MAC Creme Cup Lipstick Review

Being a huge lover of pink lipsticks I couldn't resist making Creme Cup part of my (vast) lipstick collection. 

Creme Cup is a light, blue-toned pink from the Cremesheen line of MAC's permanent collection. This subtle shade isn't overly opaque and is very build able, it leaves a gorgeous sheen on the lips.

Creme Cup is a gorgeous dusky pink that every girl should have in her collection, perfect for day or night. Since purchasing this has been my top choice for lippy for work, it's just the right amount of colour and sheen for a polished look.

MAC Snob Lipstick Review

Another addition made to my MAC lipstick collection last week was Snob, a light neutral pink. Like all other MAC lipsticks Snob has a vanilla scent but is taste-free and comes in their signature sleek packaging.

Snob is a cool-toned medium pink with ever-so-slight grey undertones and is part of the Satin finish line in MAC's permanent collection. The finish is quite opaque and I did find it a little dryer than any of the other Satin finish lipsticks I've tried from them but nothing that can't be solved with a little lip balm prior to use.

I absolutely adore this shade, it's slightly bubblegum pink which I think is a really fun colour for and girls lipstick collection. This shade wears for around 4 hours on me before the need to reapply and as it's a light shade doesn't stain at all.

July Beauty Favourites

With July going by in an absolute flash I bring a round up of my favourite beauty buys and there were some fantastic ones! The great thing about summer is lighter make-up, halving the time we take in the morning to get ready by using just a few products to enhance that tan we've gained. Let's take a look at the products I've been reaching for most frequently in July...

Cosmetic Warrior 

Lush Cosmetic Warrior has been my favourite face mask of July. Anyone that reads my blog knows I suffer from bad skin (thanks to PCOS) so I have to keep on top of my skincare routine and Cosmetic Warrior has made a vast improvement to my skin over the few weeks I have been using it. This cooling mask is designed to deep-cleanse spot-prone skin, soothing redness and help banish break-outs. Best kept in the fridge, you can get around 6 uses from one 75g tub, it must be used within 3 weeks so this gives you a generous amount for a mask twice weekly.

Peach Club

One of my favourite lip colours of last month was from the Rouge Edition Velvet line by Bourjois in the shade Peach Club. This is the best matte lip product I've tried. Peach Club is a very wearable peachy-coral colour that looks gorgeous applied with your finger for a softer finish or applied with the wand for a bolder colour pay-off. This feathery-light matte lipstick doesn't dry lips at all and is completely transfer resistant giving you at least 8 hours without the need for re-application. With the hot weather we were having last month I found myself reaching more and more for this gorgeous lip colour and it just lasts and lasts and as I was confident I wouldn't need to reapply it saved space in my bag by not carrying a million lip products!

Miss Manga Mascara

I received Loreal's Miss Manga Mascara  in July's You Beauty box and I've been using it pretty much every day. Not only does this mascara actually give lashes volume it also has incredible staying power and I find very little transference in this hot and humid weather. Initially when I pulled the wand from the tube I thought it would leave my lashes quite clumpy as the brush holds a lot of the product but the end result is quite the opposite, lashes are longer and thicker and there is no brittleness of the formula.

Barry M Gelly Coconut

I absolutely love Barry M's Gelly range and I'm already on my second bottle of the shade Coconut. Coconut is the perfect creamy off-white shade that I have been pretty much wearing throughout the whole of July. The opacity isn't that great, I find I need 3 coats for a perfect finish but this hasn't deterred me from wearing as like the other shades from their range it is long wearing and has a perfect gel like finish.

Bourjois Pink Sunwear

Since getting my hands on the new shades of cream blushers from Bourjois Pink Sunwear has been a blusher I have reached for on a daily basis. This gorgeous shade is a tan cream blusher with pink undertones and the fine gold shimmer it contains leaves you with a healthy glow to your cheeks. Like all other cream blushers from Bourjois this blush blends like a dream thanks to its gel like constituency and is extremely long wearing.

Body Shop Honey Bronzer

I did a post about this absolutely perfect little bronzer a couple of days ago. I've been wearing shade 2 every day since I bought it, it's a completely matte bronzer with yellow undertones which is perfect for my fair (NC15) skin, leaving me with a natural glow and no muddiness or obvious orange tones. Not only is the shade perfect for my fair skin but the formula itself is silky and extremely blend able.

A great month for new beauty discoveries, I have found some fantastic products that will be residing in my daily routine throughout the summer.

MAC Morange Swatches And Review

A bit of a late post on one of the latest editions to my MAC lipstick collection but here's a quick post on Morange. I purchased this little beauty from the social shopping site Cohorted for £12, a nice little £3 discount compared to the regular rrp. 

Morange is a vibrant amplified creme finish that's very opaque. This glistening shade of lippy is a medium-dark orange with a subtle sheen, not for the faint hearted with it's vibrant coral and orange hues. 

I am blessed (annoyingly) with naturally dark pink lips so Morange doesn't pop on me as brightly as it seems in the tube, which if I'm honest I'm quite happy with as it may have looked a bit too much on my fair (NC15) skin. Another great lipstick from MAC which will get plenty of use over the summer!

MAC Flamingo Review

A couple of weeks ago, much to my delight, I spotted on MAC's website that they had brought back a few limited edition items that will now be back in stock permanently. I hastily purchased Flamingo, a milky-neon peach/coral shade from the lustre range that I had foolishly not purchased the last time round.

(Unfortunately) I was blessed with naturally dark pink lips so some of the lighter shades of lipsticks don't always 'pop' on me, Flamingo comes out as more of a salmon pink on me which I absolutely love! The Lustre range are my favourites from MAC, they leave lips with a gorgeous sheen and you can either have just a slick for a more toned down look or you can easily build intensity.

As always a great investment from MAC...

Jodie

xoxo