fyrinnae shadows and finishing powder- review and swatches.

My last post focused on the Lip Lustres by Fyrinnae and gave an overview of the brand (if you missed it, check it out here), but today, I want to turn my attention to some of their other products. Originally, I first checked the site to perve on the Lip Lustres, but their pretty array of shadows snagged at my sparkle loving heart too. So I stuck mini versions of Sugar Skulls and Rapunzel Had Extensions in my basket and, when my order arrived, found a free sample of Nepenthe too. And I couldn't be happier with them.

It was quite hard to capture their colours and the sparkle levels on camera, so here they are under different angles.

Aren't they just beautiful? Rapunzel had extensions is described as 'pale pink with a stunning brilliant light gold highlight- one of our all time best selling shades'. I can definitely see why it's so popular! Apart from the funky name, it's also super versatile as either a highlight shade or all over lid shade for a polished and luminous look. To my eye, it's definitely more of  a peachy pink, and the gold tones are very noticeable, especially in the light. Sugar skulls is described as a 'vibrant deep warm pink, with a glimmering copper-orange (not gold) highlight and sparkle'. Mhhm. It's a gorgeously unique coral pink which is a simply stunning colour for summer. I've never seen a shadow similar to it. Nepenthe is described as 'vivid, metallic Byzantium purple, unlike any of our existing shades. It's a warm bright purple, but still works on neutral or cool skin tones. Not lip safe'. Well who doesn't love a pop of purple? I have a tonne in my collection and this is by far my favourite. It definitely is 'bright' and makes a sweet change to the cool toned purple shadows out there. Anyway, swatches!  

 The following swatches are applied over bare skin just to show how they look alone, but foiled with a wet brush or over a primer they seriously POP.





fyrinnae eyeshadow- Rapunzel had extentions

Fyrinnae eyeshadow- sugar skulls

fyrinnae eyeshadow- nepenthe

Hopefully you get some idea of the prettiness from those swatches, but seriously, the quality is up there too. They're a kind of 'semi-loose' shadow, in the sense that they aren't totally powdery and do 'stick' a little, and that means they last longer than the average loose shadow and there isn't so much fallout during application (though there will be some unless you use a base). They're also super blendable and not chalky or gritty at all. And as another bonus, most of them are lip safe! Basically, unless stated otherwise in the description- as with Nepenthe above- they're A-Okay for lip use. Obviously I'm chuffed at this. There are loads of ways you can wear them on your pout. Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy (sticky shadow base) is lip safe, so you could use that and just pat the shadows on. You could mix with gloss. Dab it over lipstick as a highlight. Anything, really. Below, I just patted it over lip balm and it stuck right on and STAYED on with no transfer or fading until I wiped it off myself. I used Sugar Skulls all over and Rapunzel had extensions as a cupid's bow highlight. What fun! You can get really creative with all sorts of colours and blends and techniques.



The other product I wanted to share was their finishing powder. Initially, I received a small free sample of it. I loved it so much that I went back to buy the full size. Mine is in the shade Hollywood Sorcery.

You can't really see the delicate shimmer in it from the pictures (in fact it's pretty hard to see in person unless you angle it to the light), but it's there. It's not glitter, it's not sparkle. Just a subtle luminous sheen. This is different to a highlighter (Fyrinnae do those too) in that it's meant to be brushed all over the face just to add radiance and soft glow, pulling the complexion together. It sets makeup well and gives a soft focus effect that looks really natural. It's also really sheer, so don't worry about the colour not suiting you. This one will work for a wide range of tones, though there is a darker one too, called 'Bollywood sorcery'. Overall, I recommend!

Can you tell I love this brand? Ugh. Watch this space, because you can bet I'll be hauling some more. The shadows are priced at $6.75 full size and $2.75 for the mini samples, and the finishing powder costs $7 dollars at full price and $1.50 in sample size. STEALS.

xx

fyrinnae lip lustres- review and swatches.

I've had my Fyrinnae lip lustres for quite a while now and have really loved them. I always intended to review them, but I just never got round to it. So what finally pushed me? Well, rumour has it, they're going to be discontinued and replaced with liquid to matte and traditional lipsticks. NOOOOO. I really hope it is just a rumour, because these lip lustres are among the most unique lip products I own (though obviously I'm looking forward to the brand's newer releases too). But if it is true, I don't have long to convince you guys that they're awesome and you need them in your life before they're gone forever. Right. Here goes.

   Fyrinnae is an indie brand that sells gorgeous makeup in a rainbow of colours and is refreshingly inclusive, appealing to all genders, races and sexualities. It's really great to see their swatches against dark skin or beards. So far, they've been mostly known for their eye shadows and lip lustres and the cult status shimmer shadow fixer, Pixie Epoxy. However, they now also sell blushers (most are lip safe), matte and shimmer bronzes, illuminating finishing powders, highlighters, primers, and liquid to matte lipsticks, with regular lipsticks soon to make their debut. All products are vegan, the brand is honest and ethical, and the products are of a high quality. But off everything I've tried so far, the lip lustres have to be my favourite.

   But what exactly are they? Well, as I said, they're real unique. They're sort of a semi solid light weight lip colour in tube packaging. There are all sorts of funky colours with funky names, and they can be bought in trial sizes so you can test the ccolours. Some are more sheer, some more opaque. Some have shimmer, some are shimmer free. Here, have a look at mine.



Fyrinnae lip lustres- burrowing owl (sample size), ghostly voice, ghost's kiss, dragon's blood

and in reverse order: dragon's blood, ghost's kiss, ghostly voice, burrowing owl

       The formula on these is as fabulous as it is unique. Very. It glides onto your lips like a thin layer of silk and doesn't settle into lines or bleed, and feels comfortable and lightly hydrating through wear. And it's somehow so lightweight. It doesn't even feel like you have anything on your lips. For those of you who hate heavy, tacky or thick lip products- these will change your life. So onto the colours.

 

Burrowing Owl- described on the site as 'cool violet with a grey-mauve hue. May appear somewhat more purple depending on the natural lip colour, and not as cool. Sheer, slightly metallic finish, but no sparkle'. On me, it looks very violet-grey-mauve applied sheer, but built up with a few more coats, it looks almost navy with a smidgen of purple. This is such a unique shade and I wish I'd bought a full size. You can definitely pull on the tones you want by pairing with a lipliner. I like to wear it full on navy-ish at home, but being a whimp, if I'm going out,  I tend to bring out the purple tones with a smidge of pink liner rubbed in to make it more wearable.

 

Ghostly Voice- described on the site as 'silvery with a greenish cast, this semi sheer Lustre changes to a rose-pink hue as it gets close to light. In low light, or over dark lipstick, the effect tends to show up even more'. How cool! This one makes me feel like a space mermaid creature thing. As suggested, it is great for experimentation and layering with other lipsticks. I do think that it would be more accurate to describe it as 'duochrome' rather than 'colour changing' though, because you won't see any kind of magical metamorphosis. What you will get, though, is a dynamic colour with shifting tones as it catches the light.

 

Ghost's Kiss-  I actually can't find the description of this one on the sight- probably it's out of stock- so I'll tell you what it looks like to me. It's a medium pigmented nude peach with gold and pink shimmer (not glitter). It is absolutely bloody gorgeous, and it simply GLOWS. I think it's probably the most wearable of the shades I own, and is a great luminous and dynamic alternative to the boring standards nudes out there.

 

Dragon's Blood- described on the site as a 'deep, rich, maroon red'. Rich is the word. This shade is fully opaque and is absolutely stunning. No shimmer, just beautiful blood red. I love this one as a winter shade- it's got an almost jewel like quality to it. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite capture the depth or the darkness of it on my shitty camera as it bleached out the colour, so you're just gonna have to trust me on this one.

 

SWATCHES!

fyrinnae lip lustres- ghost's kiss, burrowing owl, ghostly voice, dargon's blood

   Oh, one final note. As mentioned, these are a semi solid product and are prone to stiffening a little in the tube. If you find you're struggling to get much colour out, try warming the tube a little. It'll do wonders. The lip lustres are available from fyrinnae.com and are priced at a BARGAINOUS $7, so hurry up and snag them in case they become extinct forever.

xx

MUA Power Pout Acrylic lip colour: review and swatches

 Well. It's been a long time since I've blogged. Sorry about that. It was exam season at uni, see, and that's a good excuse. But fear not, for I have (obviously) managed to accumulate a shit tonne of lip products in that time.

Today's spotlight is on budget brand MUA's new Power Pout Acrylic lip colour, in the shade 'unwrapped'. This comes in six shades as part of the new summer collection, priced at £3.50. There are also six shades of a Power Pout 'glaze' product, which is basically a gloss, but these 'acrylic' shades are meant to be pigmentation central.

And they are. 

One dip of the doefoot gave me full, opaque coverage on both lips, and the applicator was firm enough to define the edges of the lip without the need for a lip brush. Seriously. The colour you see on the tube is the colour you'll get on your pout. I used a minimal amount of product for my swatch below so it set to a satin-cream finish, but you can definitely build it to a more glossy effect. 

'Unwrapped' is a pale, somewhat milky peachy pink nude shade. I like the shade but I think I'd use a lipliner to maker work better against by skin tone. As for the formula, personally, I'd categorise it as a liquid lipstick because it's so much more pigmented than a gloss and lasts a long time too. Thankfully, it didn't dry my lips out, have an odd smell, or have any stickiness to it at all. 

mua power pout acrylic- unwrapped

mua power pout acrylic- unwrapped

It's a big yes from me. Will you be trying out a shade or two?  x

primark p.s love lipstick- review and swatches

  

Hello again lovelies. I've got another budget beauty post for you today, and it's back to my trusty and ever pleasing Primark beauty range, P.S Love, and two more of their lipsticks. The first is just a quid, and it is pretty lovely. 

     There doesn't appear to be shade name for this one, but I'd describe it as a browny-pinky-nude. Of the same colour category as mac Whirl,  I guess. It's a perfect 'my lips but better' shade on me, and is great for reaching for in a hurry because it will polish off your look and will go with whatever makeup/outfit you're wearing. You can't really go wrong with a shade like this, and I think it would suit every skin tone. 

     The texture of this lipstick is great too. It's a satin finish that keeps lips smooth and moist, and gives medium coverage. It lasts a decent while and doesn't bleed. As a happy bonus, it smells delicious! Like love heart sweets. I could eat it.

primark p.s love lipstick

      Moving swiftly on to lippy number 2. This one is called 'hot pink', because it's hot pink. Ha. It's described as 'deep colour ultra shine' lipstick, which sounded pretty promising. This one was £1.50.

    Well, I can totally agree with the deep colour bit. You get fully opaque, intense coverage with this one, which means you get an impressive bang for your buck. As for the ultra shine bit.... well, I'd say it's more of a soft sheen. It's pretty much a satin finish, but that's a-okay in my book. It lasts very well thanks to its pigmentation and slightly waxy texture, and it doesn't dry the lips out. Another general thumbs up, but this one does have an unfortunate caveat: a really unpleasantly strong rose perfume. It's a bit sickening. 

Thanks for dropping by, you babe xox

avon ultra colour indulgence lipstick- review and swatches

Oh my Gosh. Guys. I have a bloody brilliant lippy to share with you guys today. Introducing Avon's brand new ultra colour indulgence lipstick...behold!

       There she is. It's the typical Avon glossy black with a silver band affair, though taller and cylindrical rather than square-ish. It's sleek and sturdy- no complaints. The bullet shape is rather flat and wide though, as you can see. I found this to be no problem. In fact, I quite liked that it distributed a good sweep of colour to easily coat my fuller lips. However, if you have thinner lips, or a more defined cupid's bow, you may find it a bit fiddly to get a precise edge. Perhaps. 

       I have the shade 'spring lilac', which is indeed an appropriate pop of girly colour for the arrival or the more lively season, It's not a true lilal though- more of a pinkish plum. Very pretty, though, and I found it brightened my overall complexion and made me feel like an utter doll.

       All well and good so far, but what makes it so special? Well, the texture is MINDBLOWINGLY FABULOUS. The description on the site said the formula was gel-based (as opposed to wax-based), and I kind of wrote it off as irrelevant and a bit gimmicky. But it is really quite amazing. Now, when I first tried it on, I swept it on over dry lips. I had a cold and they were in an unusually grim state. Did the colour catch on dry bits? Did it emphasise the chappiness? Did it go on patchy? Did it fudgecake. It positively glided over and completely erased all the dryness with it. It was like a super good emollient lip balm, with none of the sticky heaviness. The water based formula meant it felt lightweight despite being hydrating, and it had the perfect amount of slip to comfortable but not slip-right-off-your-face slippery. 

       The thing is, there are other hydrating lightweight lipsticks about. But this goes one up. First of, it has good colour payoff. Usually, hydrating tends to translate as 'sheer'. Not here. One coat gives a good medium flush of colour, and this can be built up with layering without getting a greasy gooey mess. Secondly, it doesn't bleed. Lastly, and most fabulously, it lasts well! How rare is that for a lipstick of this texture? It's usually easy come easy go, innit. This lisptick, though, seems to stain a little, so even when the glossy sheen wears off, a good tint of colour remains. It's not super long wearing per se, but it definitely lasts beyond the average mark, and I wasn't expecting that at all.

        The swatch below is from my first time trying it, so it's over my dry cold-mardy lips. Hopefully you can see how well it looked despite the manky canvass. This is one coat. 

avon ultra colour indulgence lipstick- spring lilac

Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised by this unassuming offering, and obviously recommend trying it out, particularly for those of you prone to dry lips. It's priced at a very reasonable £7.50, and often on offer. Let me know if you try it!

mua luxe whipped velvet lip cream: review and swatches

      MUA have churned out a lot of new releases lately, one of which is this little offering: The whipped velvet lip cream. Now, as a fan of the original velvet lip lacquers (review here), I was curious to see how these would fare in comparison. I went for the shade 'spry', an easy to wear warm pink-beige nude. 

mua luxe whipped velvet lip cream- spry

         Sorry about the dodgy blanket- I took it camping with me! Right. So this applies with a standard doe-foot which does the job of applying the colour smoothly and precisely. The formula itself was a surprise- I was expecting a lacquer-like liquid lipstick. Instead, I got a feather light lip cream that was comfortable to wear and didn't set, but somehow still looked pretty matte. For those of you who hate 'feeling' lip products on your lips, give this a shot. You'll forget you have anything on.

      As for pigmentation, I found it to apply with medium coverage that could be sheered out with blotting or a light touch or built up a little for greater intensity. I can't really comment on how long it lasted because it's quite hard to tell with a nude this natural-looking, but top ups are definitely easy and fool-proof. 

    As you can see from the pictures below, it's a true nude against my Asian skintone. I like to wear it paired with a wine/burgundy smokey eye and flushed cheeks. On fairer skin tones, I think it'd look a little warmer and deeper, and I think it could work with darker skintones too. Of course, there are also brighter, more colourful options available, and MUA have also released whipped velvet blushers in corresponding shades! 

mua luxe whipped velvet lips- spry

mua luxe whipped velvet lips- spry

    Overall, I think that at a mere £3 a pop, these are a great, easy to wear lip product to have in your stash. Will you be trying a shade or two?

x

avon colourtrend limited edition kiss n go spring shades lipstick review

Ok, so I know it's not quite spring yet, but I couldn't wait to pop out my new spring themed lipstick. For those who don't know, Colortrend is an Avon brand that tends to be more budget friendly than their other products, and are usually pretty colourful, and tend to be appeal to teens. My experiences with have been a mixed bag- the eyeliners are great, the eyeshadows are dire, and lipsticks are the best things on the entire planet. 

    No, seriously. I'll explain why in a minute. But first, let's have a look at one. The 'Kiss n go' line has been around for a long while, and has undergone a few transformations in that time. When I first became acquainted with them, they came in cheap black bullets with clear black caps (they looked cheap- very cheap) and felt waxy on lips, often having overly frosty finishes. In a word, cheap. Then, BOOM. They went and revamped the line. The packaging became more sturdy and less flimsy and more colourful. Not sleek by any means, but cheap and cheerful in a perfectly acceptable way, and a huge improvement.

     While the usual lipsticks are white, these spring-themed babies are all pinkified and floral, which is pretty and fitting, I think. Again, not particularly grown up, but pretty. And as an added extra pretty touch, there's a floral design engraved on the bullet! It's the little things, ain't it?

     And the formula? well it was revamped too. The new Kiss n go lipsticks turned out to be richly pigmented, hydrating, smooth, and very long lasting thanks to a grippy-not-slippy formula. The shape of the bullet was also changed: a wider, slanted surface that defined contours while depositing a generous amount of colour in one wide sweep. Feather-proof. No foul taste or smell. And on top of all that- they boast spf15. All this for a lippy at (and often under) £3.75? ALL OF THE WOW. There are high end lipsticks that don't deliver like these do. 

    Anyway, this particular shade is called 'racy raspberry', and is, as you might have guessed, a raspberry shade. It's the deepest in the spring collection, alongside other shades of pink. I found it to have a satin finish that wore to almost matte as I munched and sipped tea throughout the day, and it lasted well over five hours with its vibrancy still intact, though the juiciness had worn away. It does have a subtle shimmer to it, but it's nothing tacky- it just gives a radiant, luminous finish.

colortrend kiss n go lipstick- racy raspberry

     I was genuinely blown away with how brilliant they were, and kept going back for more. They have an impressive range of colours, and I now own an indecent number of them, as well as some from various limited edition collections. I'm a hoarder. So sue me.

    (Un)lucky for you guys, that means I'll have a mega swatchy review post of a jillion of these beauties on the way soon. In the mean time, GO BUY A WHOLE TRUCKLOAD. You will love them. 

xx