Pink Lip Inspiration!

L-R: MAC Angel, MAC Bombshell, L'oreal 256 Blush Fever, Rimmel Apocalips Apocaliptic

L-R: MAC Angel, MAC Bombshell, L'oreal 256 Blush Fever, Rimmel Apocalips Apocaliptic

Just because it's almost Winter doesn't mean you can't have pink lips, right? Right? I hope someone agrees with me. I'm a massive fan of pink lips and as much as I love my berry shades I always get a little sad setting pink aside as the weather gets colder.

So I thought to myself, why not wear pink anyway? With fairly neutral eyes and an outfit that isn't too busy it could just be a little pop of colour to brighten up your day!

MAC Frost Lipsticks in Angel and Bombshell (£15.50 each) are two of my most loved pink shades. Angel is a baby pink (arguably slightly nude) which a lot of people are big fans of - even Kim Kardashian, supposedly. As the colour isn't too bright it's easy to get away with even in the winter and it would look gorgeous on pretty much every skin tone, in my opinion. Bombshell is slightly brighter but as I said before could be paired with neutral eyes and clothes so that you don't look too crazy! Although they're both from the Frost formula I'd say that Bombshell is slightly less creamy than Angel but I'd say that they're both pretty good in this respect. Bombshell was the first lipstick I ever bought from MAC and I think it's gorgeous and is a colour I'd highly recommend to anyone.

A cheaper alternative to MAC is L'Oreal Color Riche Lipstick in 256 Blush Fever (£6.99). This colour is a darker pink than  Angel and Bombshell but is part of their Natural range (this colour is designed for those with light brunette hair) so adds subtle colour to the lips - perfect if pink is a bit out of your comfort zone this time of the year! It's slightly shimmery and is a gorgeous shade, it could definitely be used for any occasion.

So this colour may be a bit too bright for Winter but Rimmel Apocalips Lip Laquer in Apocaliptic (£6.49) is such a pretty colour - it's bright pink and slightly shiny! A little bit goes a long way so you only need a tiny amount to have a huge impact, it could be a great choice if you want to make a bold statement with your lips. One other way to wear it in the winter could be to use a very tiny amount to create an effect that is more like a lip stain so as to give a more subtle look.

I hope someone reading agrees with me about using pink lip products in the Winter, I just think it's a waste to set them aside! Coral might be a step too far in the gloomy but I'm yet to try it so who knows - maybe that'll be my next lip inspiration post!

Thanks for reading,
Eleanor xx

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Purple Lip Inspiration!

L-R: Maybelline Midnight Plum, Seventeen Scrumptious, MUA Kooky

L-R: Maybelline Midnight Plum, Seventeen Scrumptious, MUA Kooky

Having only just purchased some of my first ever purple lip products I feel as though it's understandable that I am in complete fear of wearing them outside of the comfort of my own home. Even though I am fairly confident that the colour does not look completely ridiculous on my face - let's hope so anyway! - I can't help but feel slightly anxious about going for a full on purple lip, and I'm almost certain that I can't be the only one who has this feeling.

As my most popular posts is 'Red Lip Inspiration!' I though following it up using another colour was only natural and I'm sure I'll become obsessed with the colour after this post as I did with red lips after my last post!

My absolute favourite of the three is Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in 338 Midnight Plum (£7.19). There is no doubt in my mind that this is going to become one of my all time favourite lipsticks and I intend to wear it to as many Christmas parties as possible! As the name suggests it has a dark plum purple colour which is absolutely gorgeous. Something which I did not expect about it, however, was that if you hold in under a light you can see very subtle blue shimmers running through it. I don't think that the blue colour is very noticeable on the lips but it is still slightly shimmery which gives a gorgeous effect. This is honestly one of the nicest lipstick colours I have ever owned so I would highly recommend it if you're looking for a dark colour to wear now that the season of dark lips has arrived.

Alternatively, a slightly less bold purple is Seventeen Mirror Shine Lipstick in Scrumptious (£4.79). This shade is very glossy and does not leave too much colour on the lips so I think it would be a great shade to use if you wanted to gently ease yourself into wearing purple lips. It is fairly buildable though so if you did want a slightly more intense (but still glossy) look this would also be ideal. Although it is shiny it doesn't feel sticky on the lips and is more long lasting than I would have expected for a product with this sort of formula.

The final product is not one which I think is very good at all but is great colour inspiration as that aspect of it is amazing. MUA Luxe London Velvet Matte Lipgloss in Kooky (£3) is such a pretty colour and I would recommend it if you want something cheap that you can use to find out if purple suits you or to take some good selfies but I found the quality of it to be very poor. When it dried it was so dry that I couldn't rub my lips against each other and it eventually began to crumble and crack off of my lips. Trying to get the remainder of it off my lips proved a challenge too - it required quite a lot of scrubbing! It's such a shame as the colour pay off and finish are amazing and I would have liked to love this product.

Despite any slightly negative experiences, I am absolutely loving purple lip shades and so should you! If you've been feeling a little anxious about going out with colours like this I'm wholeheartedly encouraging you to give it ago - I'm sure you won't regret it!

If you've got any good purple shades you think I'd like or have been inspired to try purple lips then please let me know!
Thanks for reading,
Eleanor xx

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Red Lip Inspiration!

Left to Right: Collection Volume Sensation Lipstick (8 Cherry Pop), MAC Frost Lipstick (New York Apple), Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss Lipstick (107), Soap & Glory Gloss Stick (Plum Jam)

Left to Right: Collection Volume Sensation Lipstick (8 Cherry Pop), MAC Frost Lipstick (New York Apple), Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss Lipstick (107), Soap & Glory Gloss Stick (Plum Jam)

Sometimes I'm a bit afraid of red lips. I love them dearly but every now and again I'm out and about and suddenly have the fear that I look a bit silly with my bright red lipstick. I often neglect my red lip products for this very reason so I felt I should write this post about my favourite reds to inspire both myself and you to be a bit bolder with red lips!

The brightest red lipstick I own is the Collection Volume Sensation Lipstick in 8 Cherry Pop (£2.99) and this also happens to be the most neglected. It's a really pretty colour (think Taylor Swift red lipstick) and lasts absolutely ages. It has a very creamy formulation and for the price I think it's amazing. It may be getting a little cold and dark for such a bright lipstick but if you can make it work, go for it!

Next along is a darker red, MAC Frost Lipstick in New York Apple (£15.50). This is one of my favourite lipsticks but one that I feel doesn't get mentioned much. I'd say it's more of a berry red colour - good for Autumn! - and I think it would look really nice on a whole range of skin tones. The frost finish isn't the most well loved from MAC and I understand why but I do think you can make lipsticks of this finish work very nicely with a little extra effort!

This one is a very popular lipstick. No doubt you'll have heard of Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Moss Lipstick in 107 (£5.49). Again this shade is much darker than the Collection lipstick, it's almost a purple in fact, but I would still class it as a red (wine red, perhaps?) based on the way it looks on the lips. I absolutely love this shade and out of the three lipsticks mentioned I think it is the easiest to apply and maintain throughout the day. If you haven't tried it I would highly recommend getting it next time you're looking for a lipstick of this kind of colour.

Finally, a more glossy red. Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Plum Jam (£8) is one that I love for a look that isn't quite as bold as the others. While it looks like a very dark red in the stick I think that when on it just adds a red-tinted shine that's really lovely. I think it would be a good choice if you were planning on going for heavy eye make up but still wanted a red lip. I don't find it too sticky and I think it is well worth trying out if you like a gloss!

Have you tried any of these lip products and loved (or hated!) them? Are you slightly afraid of red lips too? I'd love to hear!

Thanks for reading,

Eleanor xx

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90s Nude Lip Trend

Until recently I'd never actually tried nude lips as I'm quite a pale girl so I thought they'd make me look washed out but since they've become popular (courtesy of Kylie Jenner) I thought I'd give them a go and was surprisingly pleased with the results!

Left to Right: No7 Lip Pencil, Soap & Glory Lipstick

For this look I've been using are the No7 Perfect Lips Pencil in 20 Nude (I believe this is discontinued but I'm pretty sure that the No7 Precision Lips Pencil in Nude - £6.75 from Boots - is pretty much the same thing) to line the lips because I know that this is one of the most important parts of the look as Kylie Jenner has very full lips.

For lipstick I've been using the Soap & Glory Super Colour Fabulipstick Powder Coat Matte in the shade Super Nude (£9 from Boots). I really like this colour as it doesn't wash me out at all and is the perfect nude shade for me. It's a bit pricey for a drugstore lipstick but Soap & Glory products are pretty much always well worth their price tag so if you're looking for a new nude I'd recommend this one. Although it has a matte finish it's actually very creamy so I don't find it too drying on the lips as is the danger with any matte lipstick. It is one of the lipsticks that I wouldn't wear if I wasn't wearing any foundation as I feel it looks significantly better with good skin. Plus it claims to plump up the lips which I would say that it does at least a little bit - ideal if you a going for a Kylie Jenner look!

These products are a very similar colour so they go very nicely together and leave an overall great finish.
Have you been loving the nude lip recently or wanting to try it out? Let me know!
Thanks for reading,
Eleanor xx

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Top Ten Tag

These posts have been floating around for a while now and although I haven't technically been tagged to do one I figured I'd give it a shot anyway!

1. Foundation - No7 Instant Radiance Founation (Cool Vanilla); Boots; £12.50; 30ml

Overall I find this to be a pretty solid foundation. I'd say that it's medium coverage and does what it says it does (improve the appearance of tired or stressed skin). Although I got it matched to me I would say that it's slightly pink as my skin is actually warm toned and this is cool, unfortunately.

2. Powder - No7 Translucent Perfect Light Loose Powder; Boots; £10.50; 20g

As with the foundation, I would say this is an overall good product which does its job just fine. I tend to only have one powder at a time as I don't really think it's necessary to have lots and this is the one I'm using at the moment!

3. Concealer - Collection Lasting Perfection Full Cover Concealer (Fair); Boots; £4.19; ???

I'm sure you've heard of this concealer. Every blogger's favourite, Collection's concealer is the best of the bunch. While it doesn't completely cover my dark circles it does cover them twice as well as any other concealer I've tried (Rimmel Wake Me Up was quite a disappointment, honestly) so it gets a thumbs up from me!

4. Blush - Sleek Blush (Rose Gold); Superdrug; £4.49; 8g

I have totally fallen in love with this blush over the last few weeks. Gorgeous pink colour with slight gold shimmer. I would definitely recommend this to anyone and I'm planning on getting some different shades from Sleek soon - they have some beautiful colours!

5. Bronzer - Collection Bronze Glow Mosaic Powder (1 Sunkissed); Boots; £2.99; 15g

If I'm being completely honest, I haven't tried many bronzers. I'm very pale (notice that my concealer is the lightest shade they do) so a lot of them look muddy. Great quality for the price.

6. Highlighter - N/A

Another moment of honesty - I have never owned a highlighter. Not going to lie, I'm a bit ashamed that I have a beauty blog and don't own one. Any recommendations?

7. Mascara - L'oreal Mega Volume Miss Manga Mascara; Boots; £8.99; 8.5ml

Very lengthening and volumising. I really love this mascara. One that you have to be careful with though as it is more likely to cause clumping with extra coats than a lot of other mascaras that I've tried. Overall I would repurchase.

8. Eyeshadow - MAC Electric Cool Eyeshadow (Pure Flash!); MAC stores/counters/online; £15.50; 2.1g

Weirdly, my dad bought me this eyeshadow. I believe it's part of a collection (?) and it's very different in texture to most eyeshadows. It's very strange - a bit like wet clay. The colour is a really nice shimmery gold and I've really been enjoying it lately. Apparently dads can buy make up...

9. Brows - Collection Work The Colour Eyebrow Kit; Boots; £3.99; 3x1g + 1x2ml

Has all the basic eyebrow necessities - a small angled brush, powders to actually fill in the eyebrows, and a clear brow gel to keep it all in place. A nice handy product.

10. Lip product - MAC Frost Lipstick (Angel); MAC stores/counters/online; £15.50; ???

My favourite lip product changes almost daily so this was a tough choice but I have been loving this lipstick recently. It's a lovely baby pink colour that doesn't draw too much attention to the lips whilst still adding colour.

Well. That took a surprisingly long time. Thanks for reading!
Eleanor xx

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AUTUMN LIPSTICK PICKS

As Summer is pretty much at an end and Autumn (fall) has arrived, everyone is going to be wearing different - most likely darker - lipsticks. Because of that I have decided to make a post showing 3 lipsticks that I'll be wearing throughout Autumn.

Left to right: Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick 107, MAC New York Apple, 17 Mirror Shine Scrumptious

Just a quick note - I've noticed that the lipsticks look a bit more pink in the images I have taken of my lips then they should, the swatches are probably more accurate representations of the colour.

Rimmel  Kate Moss Matte Lipstick (107); Boots; £5.49

A deep, wine red colour. I love this colour and it stays really well. I also think Rimmel is currently on a 2 for £10 offer at Boots - so now would be a good time to buy!

MAC Frost Lipstick (New York Apple); MAC stores or counters; £15.50

Another deep red. This has a slight berry colour which should be great for Autumn and I love it. I also think that it would make a nice Christmas colour.

Seventeen Mirror Shine Lipstick (Scrumptious); Boots; £4.79

Even though this lipstick looks purple (see image at top of post) it doesn't come out quite the way you expect. It has a glossy finish and looks like a purple-toned red. I'd say that it's fairly sheer so would not make the lips the most striking part of the make up look.

Thanks for reading

Eleanor xx

AUGUST FAVOURITES

August has just come to an end so I thought it might be time to make a post of the products I have been loving throughout the month. Favourites videos are common on YouTube but I see them quite often on blogs and thought I'd try my hand at it.
Because I'm trying to keep it fairly short and sweet so I don't bore anyone, I've only picked 5 of products to talk about.

Left to right: Body Shop Coconut Hand Cream, VO5 High Volume Hairspray, Bethany Mota Perfume, Models Own Fruit Pastel Nail Polishes, 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in the colour Flirtini

Coconut Hand Cream; The Body Shop; £3.50; 30ml

As it was buy 1 get one half price on these hand creams I decided to get a couple (the other scent being strawberry) and I have really been enjoying them. Although I hate the taste of coconut it is definitely one of my favourite scents and this cream smells really strong as well as being moisturising on the hands. I use it everyday and will definitely repurchase when it runs out. Very good price, too!

VO5 High Volume Weather Resistant Hairspray; Boots; £3.29; 400ml

Hairspray - as well as hair in general - has always been a struggle for me. Most of the hairsprays I try make my hair extremely crunchy, sticky and/or completely flat and lifeless. With this one, however, I found it to be fairly soft as well as being fairly volumising. The volumising effects weren't quite as drastic as I'd like but it was more than I expected for the price. They also do one that does not offer high volume (which also comes in a more reasonably sized bottle - 400ml of hairspray takes up quite a lot of space. The hold is good so my hair stays in place well.

Bethany Mota Fragrance; Aeropostale; $25; 50ml

Popular YouTuber Bethany Mota recently released a fragrance to accompany her clothing line at Aeropostale. This Summer I was on holiday in the States and  picked it up while on a shopping spree. It has a sweet scent with a slight musky undertone and I love it to bits! The bottle is very cute - heart shaped, gold and glittery - and even has a little bow. It lasts a long time on the skin considering the price tag ($25 ~ £15, much cheaper than buying a high end perfume) and everyone who has smelled it really liked the scent too. I think it is available internationally from the Aeropostale website if any UK based people want to try it.

Seventeen Mirror Shine Lipstick (Flirtini); Boots; £4.79; ???

Every now and then I have a sort through my make up and find something that I haven't used or even seen in a while and instantly fall back in love with it. This lipstick in the shade 'flirtini' is a gorgeous shiny shimmery pink lipstick that gives a glossy effect on the lips. It could definitely be passed off as a fairly highly pigmented lipgloss or even a lipstick with lipgloss on top. It has quickly become my second favourite lipstick (after MAC's New York Apple) and stays on longer than many glossier lipsticks do. 17 is definitely one of my go to brands for cheaper lipsticks. I have another one of these lipsticks and I definitely enjoy that one too - it's a great formula. They are now in a different packaging (black with a small mirror inside) but the product and the colours are still the same. I would recommend this lipstick to anyone and is probably my favourite of the favourites in this post.

Models Own Fruit Pastel Nail Polishes (Banana Split, Apple Pie, Strawberry Tart); Superdrug; £5 each; 14ml each

I've always been sceptical of scented nail polishes and these are no different. I love the smells given off when scratching the top of the bottles (there's a scratch and sniff provided) but they are very faint on the nails and fade quickly. Despite this, I love the colours and there's no need for the scent anyway - very few people go around sniffing my hands! They aren't more expensive than the other polishes from Models Own and like I said, the colours are great. I love pastels and I think I will get wear out of these even in the winter (just because it's cold doesn't mean we have to be grey and miserable!). I have worn all three this month and currently have on the Banana Split colour, which so happens to be the one with the strongest scent. Apple Pie reminds me of an Essie colour I wanted but no longer really need - Mint Candy Apple - so I have been saved the £2.99 difference. I'm a big fan of the colours Models Own do and these are no different. I may even get other colours from the Fruit Pastel Collection.

These are all of my favourites for the month, I hope anyone who may be reading found it interesting and maybe even tries one or two of the products!

MAC Lipstick Collection

In the last month or two I have purchased a few MAC lipsticks and I have definitely been enjoying them quite a lot as would be expected from a lover of lipstick like me. I am fairly new to more expensive make up so MAC isn't a brand I have owned a lot of products from before so my collection is only just beginning and hopefully will continue to grow in the coming months/years. If anyone is reading I would love it if you could recommend some good ones as I'm kind of spoiled for choice whenever I'm at the MAC counter! Currently considering getting Impassioned.
I have 3 lipsticks from MAC at the moment (pictured below in the following order) - Angel, Bombshell + New York Apple.

If you are familiar with these lipsticks you may well have noticed that they are all of the Frost finish. This was far from intentional, these were simply the colours which I happened to like (please bear in mind that the swatches provided aren't particularly good as my camera hates me today). I am definitely interested in trying some of the other finishes when I next buy a MAC lipstick.

Angel is a fairly subtle baby pink colour that edges towards a nude, although I definitely wouldn't describe it as a nude. I really like this colour but I wear it the least as unfortunately it melted slightly and snapped off. It is now partially reassembled but I'm wary of breaking it again. May repurchase to avoid the the stress of breaking it. You could definitely wear this as an everyday lipstick and would not have to be reserved for more exciting occasions.

Much brighter than Angel, Bombshell is an eye-catching pink colour. I typically wear a pink lip rather than a red so these two lipsticks are great for me. I find it to be the least moisturising of the three but isn't particularly drying compared to some lipsticks I have.

My favourite (and the most recently purchased) of the lipsticks is New York Apple. It's such a gorgeous berry red that you could either play up for the evening or down to wear casually. It is also the most moisturising of the three from my experiences so far. I just love the colour and I feel that it would look good on most skin tones and I also think that it would be more suitable for the Autumn/Fall and Winter months so I look forward to getting a lot of wear from it soon!