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. 

review and swatches: Primark p.s love matte long last lipstick

My mum bought me a lipstick because I was sad. Isn't that cute? It's nowt fancy, but I really like it, and think you will too. It's from Primark, and is only £1.50! Poor kids rejoice.

   There she is. The packaging looks a lot like the Max Factor colour elixir lipsticks, though it definitely feels more lightweight. Alas, there are no names, so I can only point you to my shade by description. It looks a true red under store lighting, but is actually a sort of strawberry red, with a pinkish tinge. It's a lovely 'happy' shade, one of those reds that are easy to wear and never look stark. 

    The formula, thankfully, belies the price tag. It's matte without being drying or uncomfortable, and that's no small feat. We all know higher end brands that struggle to pull it off, right? Cough cough, mac. I really did find it to be long wearing, which I honestly wasn't expecting. Its texture really does stick, and I found it to have minimal transfer. It's well pigmented but not completely opaque. Which is good, because it makes the bright shade much more wearable. 

Primark p.s love matte long last lipstick 

    The only complaint I have (other than it not having a name, weep weep), is that it does have quite a strong stawberry scent. I didn't have too much of a problem, but some people might find it cloying. Overall though, it's a thumbs up for me, and just goes to show that budget beauty buys really can surprise you with their quality. 

What do you think? Have you tried any other shades or lip products from Primark? How did they fare? x 

mua lipstick review and swatches- shades 1, 2, 10, 11

 Oh, am I gonna give you two budget lippy posts in one day? Yes I am. Thank me later.

      It's the MUA one pound lipsticks that have taken our makeup bags and out skint wallets by storm. Everyone seems to be talking about them, and now I'm gonna add my lipstick-edged voice to the hubbub. Thing is, each one of these are different, so I'm gonna take you through them shade by shade. First things first, here they are: 

L-R- shade 1, shade 2, shade 10, shade 11

L-R- shade 1, shade 2, shade 10, shade 11

And, just to be annoying, in a different order:

L-R- Shade 2, Shade 10, Shade 11, Shade 1

Packaging, as you can see, is impressive for the price. Lightweight and sleek and sturdy, with a lipstick filled cap to show the colour. It can be unscrewed! Woo. A handy little extra product for touchups and such. Nice touch.

    Now, my first disappointment was that none of these had names (though a few in the collection do). I know it's no biggie, but I like my lipsticks to be more than just numbers. It's the little obsessive streak in me. So I'm gonna christen them! Yay.

Shade 1 is a deep, blue toned, almost maroon red. It glides on smoothly and imparts coverage that is entirely, flawlessly opaque. It's actually quite ridiculous- one pound lipsticks shouldn't get you colour payoff like this, and the end result is classic, classy womanliness with a satin finish. It's theft. Blot and reapply this one, and you've got some impressive longevity. I'm gonna call this one SOPHISTICAT.

Shade 2 is the lovechild of a deep lilac and a pink. It's creamy to apply, and gives soft coverage that's decently pigmented. I'd compare it to a NYX round lipstick in texture, as it has a similar finish, a similar wear time (average), and a similar level of slip. I'd describe the finish as more of a creme. I really like this shade and wear it quite often, and can see it suiting pretty much every skin tone, every season. I'm gonna call this one SUGAR LICK.

Shade 10 is a lovely rusty red which lends medium coverage with gorgeous, subtle gold shimmer. Not glitter, Shimmer. I found this shade to be beautifully flattering to my complexion, and to last really well, even through an endless eating and drinking campaign. If you're scared of a full on red, give this one a go, because you can wear it as sheer or as deep as you like and it's fool proof prettiness. This one shall be called GIFTWRAP.

Shade 11. Well, it's my favourite of the bunch, at least as far as wearability is concerned. It's a lovely, creamy, warm everyday shade that you can slick on in a hurry and trust to suit whatever else you're wearing, in terms of outfit or complementary makeup. Formula wise, it's almost identical to shade 2 (sugar lick). The colour is so pretty! It's somewhere between a peach and a tea rose, and could pass for a deep nude. I'm gonna call it PEACHYPIE. 

Overall, I think you should buy a million of them because they are fab. Or at least one. At a quid a stick, you can afford to experiment with some new colours.

Which are your favourite shades? x 

review and swatches: essence longlast lipstick 13- love me

  

It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that. It's been a hectic couple of weeks. Student finance, Eid celebrations, illness. But no matter what life throws at me, you can count on it that my lipstick love will never go neglected. Or indeed, that my lipstick loves will never neglect me. I'm gonna share a cheap and rather lovely lippy that has been a trusty friend to me in my late hours of need. And it's a budget friendly one! 

    Remember Essence? Their old lipstick formulas were really crap. But, thankfully, they've been revised and repackaged and the new kids are a vast improvement. Retailing at a mere £2.30 (I got mine from Wilkinson's), they're one of the cheapest brands out there, excepting poundshop offerings, which can be a little... meh...

    I got the shade 'love me', because I was feeling quite unloved at the time. Pass around the box of tissues. It's a lovely warm toned coral pink that translates into a cooler tone on my lips, which I don't mind as it's still flattering. 

 I found the coverage to be medium, with a little scope for buildability (I don't care if that's not a word). Application is a dream: it glides on with no drag at all and doesn't ever look patchy or streaky, and all the while remains comfortable with plenty of slip. As far as longevity is concerned, I think calling these lippes 'longlast' is a bit of stretch. I found wear to be pretty average, which is all you can ask for for the price. Oh, it does have a slight chemical scent but it dissipates in no time. 

Essence longlast lipstick - 13 love me 

   Overall, I'm glad I bought this lipstick, and though it's far from luxe, I think it's great value for the price. It gives you a fuss free wash of colour when you're in no mood for fuss. 

What do you think? Will you be checking these out?