review and swatches: revlon colorstay moisture stain in london posh

It's the last instalment of the glossy stain posts guys, for now anyway. I thought I'd feature a different colour this time- we've had our fill of reds, haven't we? We have. Introducing the latest offering from Revlon: the colorstay moisture stain. I keep writing 'colour', with a U, then checking myself (before wrecking myself).

  Design-wise, this is a streetwise and funky version of the YSL. We still have the boxy rectangular packaging, but the rounded corners are replaced with unapologetic edges. It's not so posh, but I really like it. It's modern and cool and a bit different to the pretty curves that tend to grace the makeup aisles. Like the YSL too, the moisture stain also has a wide paddle-shaped applicator which handles well and distributes the perfect amount of product.

  As for texture, well, this is where it gets a little weird. It applies thick but really wet feeling, and it looks and feels like spreading a puréed slug over your lips. It's sort of plasticky and gooey and streaky. I was genuinely really disappointed, and was part hoping mine just happened to be dodgy one and that they weren't meant to be all icky. But then, relief! after a few seconds, all that plastic-ness seemed to melt away into a balmy, non-sticky, easy to spread texture, Hurrah! What an emotional whirlwind. I think I might need a lie down.

Revlon colorstay moisture stain - London posh 

  Anyway, yeah. The texture is lovely- just don't be deterred by the first spreadage of gunkery. It's actually really moisturising through wear. Now, onto the colour. London Posh is the palest of the (impressive) shade selection, and the closest to nude territory. It's a warm peach shade- it looks more pink in the tube- with subtle gold iridescence that adds luminosity and a rather glamorous perk to an otherwise unassuming shade. I really love it. Unfortunately, I can't comment on the staining properties of this as the shade is too light to really do anything to my pigmented lips, but some of the deeper shades look like they could pack a punch, or ten.  

    It's a thumbs up from me, and at £7.99, they're not gonna break the bank. If you've tried any other shades, let me know how they fared in the staining stakes yeah? Ta. x

topshop gloss ink relentless: review and swatches

It's another shade of red in gloss stain series! First up, we had a wine  red with the YSL glossy stain. Then it was an apple red with the Baviphat Urban Dollkiss. Now, we have jewel toned, ruby-esque, blue toned, brilliant red brought to us by Topshop, in their Gloss Ink stained gloss, in the shade 'relentless'. I'll tell you a secret. I thought I was buying an orange shade! Never mind though, because I'm finding this shade beautiful indeed. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

   Topshop's beauty line manages to combine 'minimalism' with 'cute' and 'cool'. Think spots and stripes. The gloss inks are no exception- with matte, rubber look packaging with shiney black detailing, it's classic Topshop goodness. Ok, it might be prone to catching dust, but it's no biggie. It comes with a standard doefoot which I found easy to use, and the formula is of a super glossy richly pigmented gloss which stains the lips. It does, and does so very well. Longevity, like the previous gloss stains reviewed, was impressive. 

    But. There is a but. The reason I can't completely gush about this product is because it has two flaws that the other products don't have. One, it's sticky. Not  pva glue-lipgloss-nightmare sticky, but there is a slight tackiness which just ain't as lovely as the sliky, creamy feel of its contenders. And, secondly, it feathers, Again, it's not a huge amount- in fact it's only noticeable up close, but it's strange for me as lip products very rarely feather on me. 

    I don't want to be too negative here because I do love the shade, and can in fact see my self finishing up the tube. But I would bear in mind that the formula isn't foolproof. That said, it's only £8, so beats the YSL and Baviphat in terms of affordability and availability. 

   Finally, some swatches. It looked way more vivid in real life. *shakes fist at camera*

what do you reckon? Will you be giving it a whirl?

x

Baviphat urban dollkiss I love tint gloss, a review and swatches.

Well, it's the second instalment of my gloss stain series. Bet you thought it'd be the L'oreal glam shine stain splash, huh? But that would be predictable, and I'm edgy and like to keep my readers on their toes. And, er, I don't own it. I do however own a little known product by Asian brand Baviphat. Introducing the Urban Dollkiss I Love Tint Gloss.

  Uwrapping my parcel, I was confronted a with cute and very ludicrously packaged thingamibob. It looked like something from the sugary girl's aisle in a toy shop.

 But, bless my socks, isn't it cute? In fact, I might even stretch to call it 'kawaii'. It's shaped like a little apple! The stem twists open to reveal a short, dinky little applicator with a groove in the paddle for getting the right amount of product on. It comes in a variety of shades- orange, peach, etc- but mine is in the shade 'cherry', which is bright happy red. Surely it could've just been called...apple? Humph. Whatever.

  I'm gonna say this now: I actually prefer this to the Yves Saint Laurent offering. Not only is it miles cheaper (I got mine for around a fiver on ebay), but its texture and appearance on the lips is better, I think. Though not as glossy as the YSL, and probably not as sophisticated, this apple gunk looks vibrant and youthful, and manages to last fairly well for a gloss product. The main difference between this baby and the YSL is the texture: The YSL is a true gloss that happens to stain, whereas this has more of a creamy liquid lipstick-ish consistency. It still has minor staining properties, but the finish is more of a sheen than out and out glossiness. Like the YSL though, it's not sticky at all.

  I tend to wear just this with one dip of the wand, and find it gives me enough product to spread all over my lips with sheer but still noticeably flushed coverage. This does layer really well though, so you could totally add on another coat if you want to amp up the vibrancy and glossiness.

Baviphat urban dollkiss I love tint gloss 

This was my first foray into the brand, and it was a positive one. Will you be trying this or other Baviphat products? Let me know! 

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Lip Stain (Vernis A Levres), review and swatches.

Right, so you know how I said I was gonna do some themed posts? I'm thinking of covering lip velvet products and lip and cheek products, but I'm gonna start off with some staining gloss products. And what better product to kick this off than the now cult status lippie, the YSL glossy stain. With a fluffy, ergonomically shaped paddle-style applicator that hugs the lip contour precisely, the brand's trademark gold casing embellished with the logo, and a handy little window to show the colour, this is well designed and looks as expensive as it is. £21.25 from feelunique.com, but usually at £25. Ouch. That said, it's not as show-off-ish as some other YSL offerings, and I know you know I'm thinking of the Rouge Voluptes, which are almost too beautiful to use.

    Now, I'm not much of a gloss fan. I don't like the stickiness or the transfer or the lack of wear time or the lack of pigment. That's why I'm loving this; It combines the best bits about gloss (er, glossiness) with the pigmentation of a lipstick and the hydration of a balm and the longevity of a stain. Pretty good, huh?

ysl rouge our couture glossy lip stain- shade 33

  Really, the texture and finish are great. The formula glides on and somehow manages to stay glossy for a long time, whilst magically locking the colour to your lips. If you've tried other felt pen type lip stains, you'll know that the fade is often unattractive and the finish is uneven, or they just don't last like they promise. So a fabulous stain formula is no small feat. And did I mention it's not sticky? It's not sticky.

   I have shade 33, Bourogne Artistique, which is a deep berry stain that looks lovely aound this time of year. I find it really brightens up my face.

So yeah, I like it. But hot damn is it pricey. And there are much cheaper products that promise similar things. But are they any good?

Ah. You'll just have to wait and see, won't you? :) 

Yaby lip colour refill in disagree, review and swatches

Don't you just love autumn? Fireworks, fluffy socks, hot chocolate, blankets, and warm, earthy colours.

  Does orange count? It's just a shade shy (or brave) of russet, which is trademark autumn right? And anyway, our lips will match the leaves. And summer vibes are still lingering, in our makeup if not the weather.

   Well, this shade is called 'disagree'. What a great name! It's a warm, spicy, full-bodied orange that brightens up the face enough to disguise the cold-bitten blue undertones. It's by Yaby, which is probably the ORIGINAL GANGSTA of makeup palettes and custom compacts. They have refills of foundation, concealer, blusher, eyeshadow and lipstick. Lipstick is my thang, so it's the product I decided to try out. The idea is to buy an empty palette and fill it with the magnetised pans of your choice, but I just bought a single refill on it's own, because I ain't gonna commit to a pricey palette if I'm not sure I love it.

      It turns out I do love it. The formula is simply perfect. It sticks to your lips without being sticky or dry, and is in fact comfortable and moisturisng throughout wear. It glides on evenly and feels lightweight and luxurious. In terms of coverage, it's not opaque, but is certainly not sheer. You get good colour payoff that is far from half hearted, but not exclusively reserved to the bold. If you're new to oranges, try this. Its depth can be increased depending on how many coats you apply, and a light stroke will give you an easy tint of colour. It lasts really well indeed and fades forgivingly.

     But I wouldn't buy it again. It just works out too pricey to justify getting a palette. Each lip color refill is £3.95, which doesn't sound so bad in itself, but it's not much product for your money. The pan is about the size of a penny. And to buy a whole load of them, then a compact case too? Sorry, I'm a poor student, Yaby. If I'm gonna spend that much, I'll want more product for my money or it just won't feel worthwhile. That said, if I was a makeup artist with a more generous budget and a need for high quality, mixable, convenient makeup on the go? I would be all over these.

     I'm glad I have this little penny sized beauty though. Look. 

I'm wearing it quite lightly here, but you can definitely build it up. 

Have you tried any Yaby Cosmetics stuff? x 

anna sui lip colour palette: review and swatches

Oh, I've been looking forward to reviewing this one. In fact, when I first got it, I found it too beautiful to use. I just admired it like an enamoured twit for the first couple of weeks until the desire to smoosh the pretty colours eventually won over. It's Anna Sui's limited edition lip colour palette. Ten lipsticks in adorable shades housed in a case that features its creator's baroque, feminine styling. Have a look...

     See, it's gorgeous, isn't it? It's carboard, but the sturdy kind that will probably stand the wear and tear of travel quite well, and closes with a satisfying magnetic seal. Ok, so the brush is very useless- like using a flimsy down feather to paint your lips, it just ain't gonna work. But what's a crap brush in the face of this much loveliness? Nowt. 

     As for the actual lip colours, well, they're divine. The are all incredibly comfortable and lightweight to wear. They have the texture of buttercream laced with silk. They simply glide onto the lips. Of course, when a product has this much slip, the flipside is really rubbish staying power. Still, fade tends to happen evenly and naturally, so you don't have to worry about no pesky ring of death. 

Pigmentation varies on these; all have at least medium coverage, but others (notably the coral and the pillarbox red) are completely opaque. Swatched below is a mix of the two pink shades. 

Anna Sui's lip colour palette 

The shades are all flattering and wearable and great for mixing. But be warned: they smell strongly of roses. Sensitive sniffers, these lippies are not for you.  

Me? I can tolerate it. The pretty is worth it. 

many smooches x

review and swatches: rimmel provocalips in kiss me you fool

What's better than a pretty lipstick? A pretty lipstick that stays prettily on your lips. We like lasting power, don't we? We do, and the industry knows it. Brand after brand have bought out their own long lasting lip products, some performing better than others. Whilst some really do live up to their claims, it's often at a price- a sticky, heavy formulation, or a drying effect, or a texture that pools and peels. So how do we react when Rimmel bring out their Provocalips range, and promise a staggering 16 hour kissproof formula? Well, if you're anything like me, with a heady mix of skepticism and intrigue. I just had to try it, didn't I.

I'm gonna say it now. It is hands down the best long lasting formula I have ever tried. Ever.

     Rimmel Provocalips is a double sided product with some pretty cute pout prints. One end is the liquid lip colour with a doe foot applicator, the other, a glossy balmy overcoat. This might remind you of other products- you know the ones, with a liquid that dries to a slightly sticky quite drying film, a gloss to slick over in an attempt to gloss over the withered puckeriness. This ain't that. It's actually completely unique. The colour end is entirely opaque- super super vivid colour. It applies wet but dries in 30 seconds to a touch proof finish. At this stage, it doesn't feel drying, but it does stick if you rub your lips together, sort of like unsticking two sides of a deflated balloon. The gloss, however, changes the game. It's completely balmy and lightweight and not sticky at all, and, unlike most glosses, which actually reduce wear time due to giving the lip colour more slip and 'unsticking' the solidity, this actually acts as a sealant, and doesn't interfere with the colour at all. The doe foot with not be stained red. And, the best bit, it makes the stickiness of the base colour disappear. The end result feels weightless and super comfortable. And MINDBLOWINGLY GORGEOUS. 

Rimmel Provocalips- kiss me you fool

Onto the claims. I'm not gonna lie, I immediately dismissed them as an exaggeration. But they are NOT. If anything, this lasts even longer than 16 hours. I does not budge, at all. It is actually kiss proof, I checked. I wore it all day and even fell asleep in it, and in the morning, it was still immaculate. And still felt comfortable. It is seriously, seriously impressive, and is a gamechanger in the lipstick world. Yes, Rimmel! That's how you do it. 

The only thing to watch out for is oily food. I dined all Italian yesterday- garlic bread, spaghetti- and I ended up with the red ring which is the nightmare of lipstick people. A little won't matter, but I ate ferociously and glutinously, and was served my just desserts. Other than that, this is absolutely fool proof (it's actually very hard to remove) and you should totally get yourself a shade or two or ten.