Autumn lips

I know what you're thinking. Where the hell is the picture of the lipsticks?! Gah! Well, having to take all my photos with an IPhone 5 means I'm constantly struggling to find good enough lighting and I cannot for the life of me get a clear, crisp image of the lipsticks themselves lined neatly in the row I carefully positioned them in *shakes fist at the iphone gods* If I do happen to take a blog worthy picture this arvo i'll be sure to pop it on the blog asap!

It's September! Autumn is finally on its way and I for one am welcoming it with open arms! I love everything about Autumn and Winter, from the colder weather, candlelit evenings and numerous opportunities for celebrating (my birthday, Halloween, Bonfire Night, Yule, Christmas, New Year) to the snug jim jams and warm winter coats. I'm an Autumn gal through and through and am actually very happy to wave goodbye to summer, as lovely as it was! 

My love for all things Autumnal extends to makeup and beauty, of course, and yesterday I had a rummage through my makeup collection and gathered together my favourite Autumnal lip products. Reds, berries and grapes... I can't resist a strong lip during the colder months! Here are my faves, left to right.

1 ~ Bourjois Rouge Edition 04 Rose Tweed (£7.99)

This is my current favourite nude, as it's not too brown nor too pink and it has a depth to it that other nudes sometimes lack. The formula is super creamy and comfortable on the lips, and the lasting power is pretty good too at around three-four hours minus eating/drinking. The only slight bug bear I have is the shape of the lipstick bullet, as it's quite large and 'flat' on one side, making it difficult to apply neatly to my small-ish lips! I tend to turn it upside down and use the underside to line my lips before slicking it on that way, which works really well. 

2 ~ Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate 05 (£5.49)

I really like Kate's capsule collection, although the scent of these lippies is really, REALLY strong. Sort of a sweet herbal smell, I find it a little overwhelming but don't notice it too much once applied, thankfully. 05 is a gorgeous light berry colour with pink tones and it makes a brilliant transitional shade as the weather starts to get colder. Easy to apply and long lasting, I've been reaching for this throughout the summer and know I'll continue to do so as an everyday lipstick now it's September. 

3 ~ Revlon Lip Butter Berry Smoothie (£7.99)

I'm a bit of a Lip Butter fanatic, it has to be said. I love the smooth texture and glossy finish of Berry Smoothie and the slight silver toned shimmer running throughout. This instantly brightens up my face and completes my look, and it works for both daytime and nighttime. As you can see, this bullet has been well used! A firm favourite. 

4 ~ Soap & Glory Lipstick Man Trap (£9)

I find shopping for red lipstick quite tricky as I'm very pale and some shades can look really stark and strange on me! But this little beauty is a wearable muted red with slight yellow undertones that looks very polished and neat when applied. It smells exactly like MAC lipstick. As in, EXACTLY the same, which is brilliant as I love MAC's sweet vanilla scent! The formula feels very high quality. Moisturising and not all drying, this is one I reach for as an evening lippie, although it would be perfectly suited to daytime as well. 

5 ~ MAC Matte Lipstick Russian Red (£15)

My holy grail red! This is hands down the greatest red I have ever used. It has blue undertones, meaning my teeth look instantly three shades whiter, and it really suits my pale skin tone. Even though it's quite a bright, daring shade it doesn't look at all overwhelming once on, and the matte finish ensures it looks classic and timeless. Plus, it doesn't budge once applied, which is what I always worry about when wearing a strong lip! I pair this with MAC lipliner in Brick and they're a great team. Russian Red is my partner in crime for various winter festivities; I predict it will be making a regular appearance over the next few months!

6 ~ Estee Lauder Pure Color 36 Cherry Fever (Shimmer) (£18 full size, not sure if this shade was limited edition)

I got this last Christmas as part of an amazing Estee Lauder Christmas gift set and it's a lovely berry with gold shimmer running throughout. Perfect for the festive season! Texture wise it's extremely moisturising and not too sticky (come on, all lipglosses are sort of sticky! But this one is a smooth sort of sticky rather than glue-y sticky!) It has a lovely fruity scent and gives a gorgeous wash of berry colour. 

7 ~ Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick 'Plum Jam' (£8)

Soap & Glory's Gloss Sticks are the best lip crayons on the market, in my humble opinion! They have a really glossy finish and feel so moisturising and comfortable, and the colour range is impressive. Plum Jam is my favourite for Autumn as it's a beautiful plum red gloss that's actually a little brighter than how it appears in the bullet. It smells so vanilla-y which I love and for a gloss it has really good lasting power. I put it through a burger and chips lunch yesterday and while it did fade it didn't disappear completely! This is another product that really helps brighten my complexion and sets off my pale skin perfectly. 

8 ~ Topshop Lips Beguiled (£8)

This is the only really dark, 'vampy' lipstick in my collection. Beguiled is a beautiful and very striking red wine colour. I'm a little shy with my makeup; it took me until last year to finally rock a strong red lip! So I've been quite cautious about wearing Beguiled, and yet when I do I always really like how intense it looks. I'm definitely going to make an effort to wear deeper shades like this throughout Autumn and Winter, and I've got my eye on MAC's Rebel as my next purchase! 

What are your favourite lip products for Autumn/Winter? Do you switch up your makeup depending on season or do you rock the same shades all year around? I'd love to hear what you think!

Baci e abbracci,

                                                        

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Weekly Roundup feat. Soap & Glory, Revlon and Maybelline

Another week, another roundup and once again I've found it tough choosing just three products to shine the spotlight on! I've actually cheated a little this week as although *technically* I've chosen three product types, I've thrown in an extra product from one of the same product lines just to add a little something special. I've settled on featuring Soap & Glory's new One Heck of a Blot mattifying face powder, two of Revlon's newest Lip Butter shades, and a Maybelline Super Stay 24 Hour Color double ended lip colour. All three (well, four) products have featured prominently in my make-up bag over the past seven days and I'm excited to have a bit of a ramble about what makes each one so special. 

Let's start with Soap & Glory's newest offering, the brilliantly titled One Heck of a Blot Super-Translucent Mattifying Powder, cleverly developed to suit all skin tones. I've loved Soap & Glory toiletries and cosmetics from the very beginning and I've never been disappointed in any of my Soap & Glory purchases... and there have been quite a few! Fresh from my joy at their new Peach Party blush brick (which I reviewed here) I spotted One Heck of a Blot and had to try it out. I remember ages and ages ago reading a thread on their facebook page asking fans to suggest products they'd like to see and I remember thinking 'a pressed powder!' Et voila, my prayers were answered with this little beauty. 

Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot, £12 at Boots

I love Soap & Glory's kitsch packaging, from the use of fun puns in the product titles to the retro photos and bold pink font. The powder comes with a little embossed powder puff and a handy mirror in the lid, and it clicks shut easily, keeping it nice and secure in my ever expanding make-up bag. The powder truly is translucent  translating from a super pale looking shade in the pan to an invisible wash once applied. It's extremely light texture-wise and doesn't chalk or cake at all. I apply it with a big fluffy powder brush to set my foundation and concealer and it doesn't dull my base or make my skin look sallow, unlike some pressed powders I've tried in the past. 

The embossed 'POWder' logo is a nice touch, no?

Unblended swatch 

Blended swatch- invisible!

Does it work? It sure does! My face, notorious for turning into an oil slick come midday, has needed a lot less touching up during the day and One Heck of a Blot really helps keep my complexion matte and fresh. I'm not surprised at the great quality as Soap & Glory always release fantastic products at reasonable prices. I love that this powder doesn't leave any hint of a chalky finish and doesn't cling to patches of dry skin at all. It's invisible and super light weight yet so, so effective and I'd say £12 is a brilliant price to pay for a shine free face. This has worked much harder at keeping my make-up intact than any primer or powder I've tried previously!

Revlon recently introduced some new summery shades to their ColorStay Lip Butter collection and I immediately had my eye on sheer tomato red 'Wild Watermelon' and sheer fuchsia pink 'Sorbet'. While some of the Lip Butters give a shimmery, more opaque finish these two give sheer washes of shimmer-free colour. Although they have the consistency of a mosturising balm they're actually very pigmented and it's easy to build up a stronger lip look with a few swipes straight from the tube. 

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in 'Sorbet' and 'Wild Watermelon', £7.99 each at Boots

I love the texture of Revlon's Lip Butters and find they manage to keep my lips moisturised while delivering quite a long lasting dose of colour. My usual favourite is 'Berry Smoothie', a review of which you can find here, a shade which goes with everything and feels so comfortable to wear. I'm loving the sheer glossiness of 'Sorbet' and 'Wild Watermelon' (and I'm a sucker for the juicy names) and count these are my two new favourite fresh summer colours. 

L-R: 'Sorbet' and 'Wild Watermelon'

Again, 'Sorbet' and 'Wild Watermelon'

final purchase was a bit of a random one, and I didn't even swatch it in store. As I'm currently being a little more adventurous with my lip colours I felt drawn to trying one of Maybelline's Color Stay 24 Hour dual ended lip colour shades and although I worried it might be a little too purple it's actually a really beautiful red berry shade once applied. 

Maybelline Super Stay 24 Color in 'Raspberry'

The idea behind Maybelline's Super Stay dual ended lip colour is that you apply the long lasting liquid lipstick first, allowing it to dry fully before slicking on a coating of the clear balm to keep your lips moisturised and to prevent them from drying out, a common problem with long lasting lipsticks. Now, when Maybelline recommend letting the liquid colour dry, really do let it dry! I didn't on my first go and ended up with a horrible mess of patchy colour... But only because I didn't read the instructions given on the side of the tube! My second attempt was much more successful. The raspberry colour is highly pigmented and delivers a good even colour, although I did end up with a bit of a stronger lip line as I lined my lips with the tip of the foam applicator first. I did find that pressing my lips together too often before the colour dried made it a little patchy, so I'd recommend resisting the temptation to do so until it's fully dry or until you've applied a layer of balm on top. I would definitely recommend being extra careful when tracing your lip line as the colour really does stick immediately, and it's near impossible to dab away at mistakes without resorting to a make-up remover soaked cotton wool pad. It really does have super staying power!

Maybelline Super Stay 24 Color in 'Raspberry', £8.99 at Boots

Clear balm to be applied on top of colour

'Raspberry' is a gorgeous berry shade with blue/purple undertones. It makes my teeth look whiter which is always a plus! Plus it smells like berries which is a delicious plus in my eyes. I can't stress enough just how long lasting this is; I applied it in the morning to test it out and it was still going strong well into the afternoon without needing a top-up. It did eventually start to get a little patchy but another swipe of the balm helped even it out again. I also swatched it on my hand and the swatch didn't budge for two days. Two days! There's still a faded mark on my hand, and yes, I do wash my hands regularly! To take it off my lips I use a cotton wool pad soaked in make-up remover and have to rub quite firmly to take it all off. It really does lock to your lips, making it perfect for nights out when you want a low maintenance but bold lip look. The colour doesn't bleed or smudge and although you have to be very precise when applying it, it's well worth the effort. 

'Raspberry' without balm 

'Raspberry' with balm on top

Although the swatch looks a little sheer the colour is very much opaque and bold on the lips. It dries to a matte finish, and the balm adds a glossy sheen to it. You could wear it without the balm although it would depend on the condition of your lips. I absolutely love this shade and also picked up a bright coral peach colour as well, which I can't wait to review. At £8.99 each these are a little pricey but I'd say they're definitely worth it as they deliver on their promise of long lasting lip colour (although 24 hours? I can't say I've needed to leave it on for quite that long!) 

There you have it, my Weekly Roundup done and dusted for another week. What have your favourite products been this week? Have you discovered any hidden gems or have you been using your old favourites? Feel free to share below. 

New obsession alert! Soap & Glory Peach Party multi-colour blush brick

I'm a sucker for anything Soap & Glory, especially their high quality cosmetics range. When they first released a selection of make-up items I spent £70 in one go... oops! While I managed to restrain myself from spending quite that much again this morning in Boots, I couldn't walk away without purchasing the new Peach Party multi-colour blush brick made up of  'Apricot Jam' peach, pink, gold and bronze shades. It's a brand new product and isn't on the Boots website yet so I couldn't link to it here, but I bought it for £11 in store and think it's well worth the money. 

Handy click-shut compact with mirror

Drooling! Pretty pretty pretty!

How beautiful?! I have the original Love At First Blush shimmer brick which is a collection of pinks and silver-white shimmers, and now they've brought out Peach Party, a beautiful blend of four shimmer shades: pale gold, pale rose gold pink, apricot gold, and rust-bronze. This is my perfect summer product, ideal for using as a blusher, bronzer and highlighter. Plus the individual shades also work very well as eyeshadows, which I discovered when testing it out earlier on today. I am totally in love! 

Each of the four shades is super pigmented and chocked full of subtle shimmer, and the powder blends so easily on skin. I use them combined with an extra rose dose of rose gold as blusher on the apples of my cheeks, then combined with an extra dose of rust-bronze to add a sun-kissed touch to my cheekbones. I also sweep a little of the lightest pale gold shade under my eyebrows and on my nose to highlight. A little goes a long way, especially with the darker bronze shade, but as the colours are easy to blend it isn't too difficult to rectify mistakes. As I'm quite pale this colour combo works excellently as a bronzer and gives a natural looking sun kissed effect. The lightest shade is fab at magicking up cheekbones! The rust-bronze would also work well for contouring, although I'm still sort of learning how to do that properly... it's a work in progress! I wasn't able to get a good photo of me wearing the blush brick on my face, but I can promise you it adds a really flattering wash of colour that catches the light beautifully. 

Here are some swatches on my arm for a closer look:

L-R: rust-bronze, apricot gold, rose gold, pale gold

All shades blended together (you can kind of see that the bronze is the strongest shade, so go easy when applying!) 

All shades combined on blusher brush

If you like a dose of shimmer in your blusher, bronzer or highlighter you're sure to love Peach Party. I feel so much healthier looking with it on! It lasts for hours once applied and comes with a mirror in the lid for touch-ups. I especially like that it comes in a plastic compact case that snaps shut, unlike Love At First Blush which came in a cardboard case that didn't close securely. This feels a little more expensive and glamorous, although it might be that all Soap & Glory powders are packaged this way now. 

What do you think? Are you a fan of Peach Party? It's definitely my new essential for summer. 

Lip balm addiction and thoughts of summer sun

New blog new blog new blog! I'm not ashamed to admit I've given in to my beauty addiction and have finally set up a blog to indulge my habits. I'm a regular visitor of Boots and Superdrug on pay day, and spend a lot on beauty bits and bobs, so thought it time to write down my finds and favourites. Um, please excuse the photographs, my camera isn't the best and I'm still navigating my way around it... I'm sure they will improve over time *crosses fingers*

This week I've fully given in to my lip balm obsession. With news of the new Soap & Gloy 'A Great Kisser' lip balms I HAD to hit Boots and grab all three flavours. And trust me, I showed serious dedication by visiting four different stores before finally getting my hands on the goods! 

'A Great Kisser' Soap & Glory lip balms

As you can see from the pic above, there are three flavours/colours. From left: Juicy Peach, Sweet Coconut, and Chocolate Cherry. They leave more of a glossy finish rather than a balm, which I really like. They're incredibly long lasting and really do soothe chapped lips. My fave in terms of colour has to be Chocolate Cherry, which delivers a reddy sheer tint; my fave in terms of scent has to be Juicy Peach, which smells delicious. Sweet Coconut is growing on me, having perhaps neglected it in favour of the others so far. It leaves a nice subtle shimmer and works well on top of other lip colours as a clear gloss. 

Being the Soap & Glory obsessive that I am, I was expecting good things and these little beauties don't disappoint. Best thing is, they cost a very reasonable (in my opinion) £5 each.  

My next purchase was from a brand I haven't really visited since my early teens, but which I was surprised to discover has some great products for summer: 17 at Boots. I picked up the new Instant Glow Pink Bronze Bronzing Rocks based purely on how pretty they look in the packaging: 

17 at Boots Bronzing Rocks 

The rocks are a mixture of pink, gold and bronze and when used with a bronzing brush (which 17 also sell for under £3) they deliver a sheer wash of pinky-pearl colour. I've been using them mainly as a highlighter on my cheekbones and nose, brushing over the pink rocks in particular, although if you load your brush with more colour from the bronze rocks you'll see it will make a great bronzer come summer. The rocks come with a little sponge applicator which is handy if you're on the move, although I've found that using a big fluffy brush works much better at ensuring even application. All for £4.99 :) 

Do feel free to comment with any new product finds or long-standing faves. There's nothing wrong with indulging in thoughts on beautiful things every so often ;) 

Official Soap & Glory site with info & product details

Full Soap & Glory product range at Boots

17 product range