collection field day lipstick review and swatches

Oops. I actually got this lippy when it was newly released as part of Collection cosmetics' Field Day spring release, but somehow I forgot to review it then. Better late than never though right? This one is called Tulip, one of three shades. Tulip is matte, as is one of the other shades, and the other is a gloss finish. And here's one I made earlier:

collection field day lipstick- tulip

       As you can see, the packaging is different to the regular black casing. The white and orange is definitely fresh and fun looking, though obviously more likely to appeal to teens than sophisticated coiffed and polished ladies. All the same, it's sturdy and not flimsy at all.  I noticed its really delicious scent. Now I'm usually not a fan of scented products, but this isn't overpowering and is actually really yummy smelling, so it's a win for me.

      Being a budget priced matte, I expected it to be really chalky and drying, but it actually performed quite well. There was a little patchiness on application but a lip brush or a second swipe fixed that, and it was opaque without the need for building and actually not dry. It wasn't moisturising, but it definitely didn't dry my lips out, and considering high end lippies often fail in that regard (cough cough, MAC's matte formulas), that's pretty impressive.

     The colour is a pretty, spring appropriate candy pink. It looks cooler toned on my lips that in the bullet, but I guess that's just a result of how it looks against my skintone. If this isn't your shade of pink, perhaps you'll like one of the other two shades of pink in the collection.

collection field day lipstick- tulip

      If you want to try something from the Field Day collection, I think they're available till the end of summer, so get a move on. The lipsticks are available at a cheap and cheerful £2.99 from Boots, Superdrug, and the Collection website. Let me know your thoughts, babeface xx

Joan Collins Divine Lips lipstick review and swatches.

Did you know Joan Collins has her own makeup line? Well she does. It's called Joan Collins Timeless Beauty. I was pretty intrigued when I first discovered it: there seem to be a lot of beneficial ingredients in the products, which look luxe and high quality. Obviously, I had to try one of the lipsticks. They are named after characters Collins has played and come with matching nail lacquers. I have the shade 'Melanie'. Let's take a look then shall we?

Joan Collins Divine Lips lipstick- Marilyn

       Well, the packaging is lovely. Weighty, fluted gold casing with a satisfyingly slow twist to extend the bullet. It's classy and womanly and, yes, appropriately 'timeless' in its glamour. We'd expect nothing less, innit?

       Melanie is an interesting shade. It looks to be very much a plum in the tube but once applied, appears brightened. I'd say it's a berry-pink on the lips. Either way, it's a beautiful shade that lifts the complexion, and one that's sure to flatter every skin tone. It applies nearly opaque, and simply glides on. Seriously. I'm in love with how it feels on the lips. It's so hydrating and silky- like butter. My lips feel comfortable and pampered throughout wear.

        However, that comes at a cost. Its emollient texture and comfortable slip mean that you will invariably get a lot of transfer and bleeding beyond the lipline. I recommend using a clear lipliner outside of the edges of your lips- that solves the problem of bleeding just fine for me. As for the transfer, it does compromise the longevity, but thankfully the fade is flattering- no dreadful ring of colour.

       So. Overall: it looks amazing, it feels amazing- but it's not for foolproof slapdash last minute application. What do you reckon? Me, I'm itching for the matching nail lacquer...

The Joan Collins Divine Lips lipstick is available from joancollinsbeauty.com, priced at £18.

Xx

Aerin rose balm lipstick- perfect nude

I'm reviewing a high end lippy today! I really shouldn't splurge on pricey lipsticks, what with my meagre student budget and all. .. but... I deserve a treat now and then, so shut up. Anyway, introducing the first lipstick offering by Aerin,  who is, I believe,  the granddaughter of Estee Lauder.  

     Just look how beautiful the packaging is! It's squared and heavy shiny golden gorgeousness with a textured accent at the top. It's that sort of luxury that makes you feel very womanly to toy with it. You feel me? 

          The main feature of this product is meant to be its hydrating properties. Inspired by roses, its waxy texture is supposed to seal moisture in- like the waterproof underside of a rose petal. Rose petals, apparently, have really moisturising properties too, and are somehow infused into the formula. The result?

           A thick, balmy, slightly heavy formula that smells of roses. It glides on smoothly and is well pigmented, settling to a soft sheen finish. If you don't like scented lipsticks or just find the smell of roses overpowering, I think you might want to give this miss, as while the frangrance doesn't linger once on, it is definitely strong on application. You might also give this a miss if you prefer your lipstick to feel barely-there and lightweight. Personally, I'm in love with the creamy, luxurious texture. It makes my lips feel soft and plump, and, as promised, moisturised. As for the scent, it definitely took some getting used to, but I quite like it now.

      I got the shade 'perfect nude', which is a light brown-beige with a smidge of mauve, and it is literally the PERFECT nude. Oh em gee. I seriously love it. I've got a medium wheat asian skintone and it complements my complexion so well without washing me out, though it's such a pretty neutral shade that I think it would work universally on all skin tones. 

Aerin Rose Balm lipstick is available from the Estee Lauder website and is priced at £26. What do you think? Are ypu tempted or nah?

avon ultra colour lipstick review- review and swatches

Babes. Brace yerselves, because I've got a MASSIVE post for you today. You know those Avon ultra colour rich lipsticks? Well, they've been updated and revamped and reinvented into a new line. simply called: the Ultra Colour Lipsticks. Over the past year, my collection of these babies has steadily grown, including one of every themed/ limited edition line and a variety of finishes. So I thought it was high time I got a review down. Here they are!

Avon Ultra Colour Lipsticks

    Don't they look great? As you can see, there's a pretty wide colour selection-  and I've only got around a third of them- so you can bet there'll be a shade to suit you within the collection. As you can also see, the packaging is different to the original rounded tubes. They're still black with a shiny silver panel for the logo so they're not radically transformed, by I think the squared shape and the handy clear window at the top look great. Sophisticated and sturdy and practical. The plastic is of good quality, the kind that won't be easily scratched up. 

        As I mentioned though, there are some themed collections within the line. Most of them (like the spring shades) have the same packaging as the regular line, but the above ones are slightly different. The 'Soft Matte' collection has a matte black band with the logo on instead of the silver; the 'Bling' collection has a plastic gem on top instead of the clear window; the 'Hollywood' collection has lettering on the cap and gold rather than silver detailing, including the inner tube. Thankfully, none of them look tacky or OTT.



Avon Ultra Colour Lipstick- spring shades

Avon Ultra colour Soft Matte/ Bling/ Hollywood collection

        These lipsticks promise creamy, rich, comfortable colour- and they seriously deliver. They all, without exception, glide onto the lips like butter and feel hydrating and soft throughout wear. Considering the emollient texture, they last fairly well and don't bleed at all. They have no discernible scent or taste and don't feel sticky or heavy. Priced at £7.50 and regularly on offer, I reckon that's a proper bargain. The only thing is, the opacity varies between shades, so it's a good idea to research the colours you want if you're unsure of the pigmentation. Well, ain't you lucky I'm your friend. I've found that generally speaking, the colours in the bold line are entirely opaque, the ones in the regular line are very pigmented, the matte and shimmer shades are a little sheerer but still give a pop of colour, and the spring shades are quite sheer, with just a gentle wash of colour. Ready for some swatches? Of course you are.

 

clockwise from top left: wild ginger, matte blossom, optimistic orchid, starlet glamour, demure, fearless fuchsia,

clockwise from top left- twinkle pink, lava love, discovery pink, nude vixen, wandering rose, oxford wine

avon ultra colour bling lipstick- wild ginger

avon ultra colour soft matte lipstick- matte blossom

avon ultra colour spring shades lipstick- optimistic orchid

avon ultra colour Hollywood collection lipstick- starlet glamour

avon ultra colour lipstick- demure

avon ultra colour bold lipstick- fearless fuchsia

avon ultra colour shimmer lipstick- twinkle pink

avon ultra colour lipstick- lava love

avon ultra colour spring shades lipstick- discovery pink

avon ultra colour lipstick- nude vixen

avon ultra colour spring shades lipstick- wandering rose

avon ultra colour lipstick- oxford wine

Thanks for dropping by, you xx

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