Tarte quick dry matte lip paint- review and swatches

I didn't like the original the Tarte creamy matte lip paints.

Maybe it was just the shade I got ('Hangry'), because other reviews seemed full of praise. I tried to like it. Honestly I did. But it was hard to get an even finish with and it wasn't opaque, so it always looked a bit streaky. And it had a slippery silicone-y feel. And it transferred like a bitch.

So when the 'quick dry' versions came out, I figured I would like them a lot more. So I grabbed one. I have the shade 'get it!', an apricot nude.

For $20, I think the tube is a little plain. I wish the cool splatter stuff on the carboard outer packaging translated to the actual lipstick. Maybe just on the lid. Hm. One plus point on the design front is that the doefoot has been levelled up from the original line: it's got a scooped tip for maximum surface area in contact with the lip, and hugs gob contours beautifully.  

As soon I swatched it, I thought 'THIS LOOKS A LOT LIKE LIME CRIME 'ELLE' VELVETINE'. So I ran off to do a comparison swatch, and lo and behold! A dupe. In the swatches below, 'get it!' is on the left and 'elle' is on the right. 'Elle' is just a touch deeper, but the difference is so subtle that on the lips they look identical. 

Anyway, I much prefer the new formula. It's quite liquidy but it dries down fairly quickly to a powder-matte finish. It's opaque, not streaky, transfer proof, and while it does feel a little dry, it's also lightweight. I also didn't notice any scent, so good for those of you have sensitive noses. 

And, in finale, the customary lip swatch: 

Tarte quick dry matte lip paint- get it!

Over and out. 

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Lime crime diamond crushers- review and swatches

Lip toppers are the new kids of the lip product world, and are getting to be quite popular. I've been tempted by certain pretties here and there, but the glossy formulae always put me off. I don't want to feel more product on top of product, ya know? Then Lime Crime came out with a line of sparkling lip toppers with a transfer proof lightweight finish. Erm, yes please!

So I have the shade 'strip', which is probably the boldest of the lot in that it has a bright colourful base and bright colourful shimmer. Shimmery Barbie pink on stained Barbie pink. Obnoxious, but undeniably pretty. Now, some of the other shades with more translucent base colours can be doubled up as highlighters. Not so with this shade. Unless you have a dark skin tone, the pink base colour is gonna show up as a weird stripe on your cheekbones. Which might look... odd. So if you want a multi use product, I'd recommend going for a different shade.

Anywho. The low down. It smells like delicious strawberry roll ups. The product can settle and separate in the tube but a quick shake sorts that out. The packaging reminds me of a toy fairy wand.

Application is easy. It's a water based formula which dries town to a lightweight finish, which can be wiped off just using water. The base colour intensity can be built with layering, as can the intensity of the shimmer. You can go from a wash of sparkle to a full on foiled effect. It's touch proof but there will be some transfer of shimmer. It works fine on its own, over liquid matte lipsticks, or even over traditional bullet lipsticks- though make sure to blot down if using a glossy or satin-y formula. In fact, topping a traditional lipstick with a Diamond Crusher can actually kind of 'seal in' the colour, making it almost transfer proof.

Lime crime diamond crushers- strip 

Ok. So, the above swatch shows two coats Strip applied without a base colour. Pretty breathtaking right? Pure light. I wore it to lunch and my friend legit gasped.

Aaaand here's how she looks over light and dark base colours: 'Bloodmoon' and 'marshmallow' velvetines, also by Lime Crime.  

Diamond Crushers 'strip' over lime crime 'bloodmoon' 

Diamond Crushers 'strip' over lime crime 'marshmallow'

Ta da. So all in all, I think this is an innovative and ridiculously pretty lippy, and for £14, considering it's multi use, it's definitely worth it. If you're on the market for a glittergasm, you need these. However if you lean towards the more demure, office friendly lippies... why did you read this post?

Love, 

Me.

Makeup revolution lipstick review

I'm poor. So when there's afforable lipstick up for grabs, I get very grabby. In consequence, I have quite a few products from Makeup Revolution. I thought I'd share my thoughts on a few of them here so other skint kids can get clued up.

Let's start with the Salvation Velvet Lip Lacquers, Makeup Revolution's answer to the liquid matte lipstick hype. These are £3 and come in a funky shade range and are housed in a fairly standard tube which I won't bother showing here because 1) it's not exciting, and 2) it's been bashed about so much that the writing has smudged off.

Makeup revolution salvation velvet lip lacquer- black heart

BAM. In your face. This almost-black purple is called 'black heart' and is a dupe of the ABH Liquid Lips shade 'potion'. So if you love that vampy shade but are on a budget, rejoice.

I own three shades of these liquid lipsticks and I've found the formula to be a little inconsistent. None of theme feel lightweight, but a shocking bright pink one I tried felt like actual cement and crumbled all over the place. Another shade was a little less cement-like but was streaky. 'Black heart' definitely performs the best of the ones I've tried. Considering it's such a dark shade, it's not too difficult to get an even finish with. It looks good for a couple of hours before it starts to break down and crumble, at which point it's best to just remove with oil and reapply than to attempt any kind of touch up.

It's definitely not a comfortable or foolproof formula, but for the price, it's not too bad.

Moving on.

The Ultra Amplification lipsticks are a fairly new addition to the MUR lipstick family. They're £3 a pop and promise comfort and and intense colour. I quite like the gunmetal effect of the tube. Not bad for a cheap product. I have the shade 'activate'.

Makeup revolution ultra amplification lipstick- activate

Yeah, it looks nothing like the bullet! It's definitely a muted plum shade on first impression (and going by the website swatch), but upon 'breaking' the surface, it turns out to be a mauve-ey pink. You can kind of see the difference in colour where I've touched the bullet on the first picture. The swatch above shows it to be a tad more pink than it is in real life, but that's my camera being shitty. It leans more mauve in person. Well, it's a pretty colour! Just not what I was expecting.

As for formula, I agree with the 'comfortable' claim. It does feel good on the lips and you won't need lip balm underneath. I don't agree that it's 'intensely' pigmented though. It's a little more sheer than I expected, though it is buildable to something near-opaque.

It's a nice lippy. Work friendly and not too fussy. Just don't expect any POW and Google for swatches in case you end up with a colour other than what you anticipated.

I'll post a few more Makeup Revolution lippies here as and when I get around to roadtesting them, so what this space.

Xox

Lime crime unicorn lipstick- review and swatches

Liquid lipsticks are fabulous and all, but nothing really beats the luxurious decadence of a creamy lipstick bullet does it?

I've been wearing a few traditional lippies in rotation of late. I have a whole bunch of them I've been meaning to review, but I'm gonna talk about Lime Crime's new unicorn lipsticks today. Mostly because, being limited edition, a review on these kids is a bit more 'urgent'.

Ah. The girly toybox whimsical bullet we know and love. The packaging is the same as the discontinued original line of unicorn lipsticks, but the colours and formula are different. Instead of the rainbow of colourful hues offered before, the new range consists of more 'wearable' shades. This is good thing if you shy away from mint green lips, but maybe disappointing if that's totally your jam. I still have my wacky colours from the old line, so I'm more than happy with the current options. I picked the shade 'soft spot', a creamy nude.

Lime crime soft stop unicorn lipstick 

Aww. I definitely have a soft spot for this colour. It's flattering nude that would work well for fair to medium skintones, but could be paired with a darker lipliner for deeper skintones too. The formula is slightly more matte than the original line, which translates to a somewhat stiffer texture but also longer wear. It's opaque and feather resistant, and while it does transfer, it's so pigmented that you still have colour on your lips for a while. I found it to be neither drying nor hydrating. I'd suggest the old scrub and balm routine before application anyway, just because it makes for a smoother canvas.

So. If you feel like you might want to try one of these, get your skates on kid. They're limited edition.

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Cryptic cosmetics liquid matte lipstick- review and swatches

Instagram lipswatch extraordinaire @depechegurl has had her own makeup line, Cryptic Cosmetics, for a while now. I missed out on the 'gore couture' collection but managed to snag one of the shades from the newer 'till death do us part' gang. I got 'ceremony', which is described on the site as follows:

A rosy taupe goth brown named after the last song written by Joy Division. The shade represents the color dead red roses become.

Ooh. Sold to the closeted goth with good taste in music. 

She's a looker! A frosted glass tube with thorny rose patterns in the lid and a cool logo. What's not to like? Full marks on the aesthetic front. 

On opening, I was chuffed to find the applicator was of the teardrop shape variety- my favourite kind for precise application. It's got a little groove in it that holds just the right amount of product in one dip.  

Application was beautiful. Creamy consistency, opaque coverage, perfect drying time. The finish is a matte that feels soft and cushiony and doesn't look or feel the least bit drying. If you avoid liquid to matte lipsticks because you find them dry and tight, check these out. You will be convered. 

SWATCH TIME. 

Cryptic cosmetics- ceremony 

On me, 'ceremony' looks somewhere between plum and brown and dark taupe. It's dark and edgy but not to the point where it's 'scary', if you know what I mean. I can see this shade looking great on all skin tones. 

Overall, I'm very very impressed. It's a £13.54 lippie that's luxurious as heck and performs like a high end product. 

Epic win, amirite? 

2016 empties.. and a confession.

If you haven't already guessed, I have a bit of a thing for lipstick. I hoard lippies like they're going out fashion- and they're doing the opposite, so there's more I end up hoarding. My collection numbers in the hundreds. It is obscene. To be fair, I don't really give a shit about anything else. Bags, shoes, hair products, other makeup, clothes, designer stuff, perfumes... meh. 

I managed to get through four lipsticks in 2016. Ground em right down to the stub (have you any idea how satisfying that is?). Considering I have literally hundreds of lipsticks, to use up FOUR is no small feat. 

They must have been pretty special to get that much usage, right? Wrong. Here they are: 

1) (top left) revlon colorstay moisture stain in 'London posh'- full review here.  

2) (top right) avon pro colour and gloss lip duo in 'berry luscious', now discontinued. 

3) (bottom left) a lipstick from this limited edition tiny boxy palette thing by No7 from boots. It had this colour in a slidey drawer and two lip glosses on the top compartment. No longer available. 

4) (bottom right) Estee lauder pure colour long lasting lipstick in 'tiger eye', reviewed here.  

None of these lipsticks are particularly mindblowing, they just happened to live in my bag or coat pocket and therefore got reached for on the regular. Lambs to the slaughter.  

And they were slaughtered often because I have this weird rule. Okay, so I have ocd. I've had it since childhood and it's manifested in different ways throughout the years, some more harmful than others. This particular thing is more silly than harmful though. I can't touch my bare lips against a cup. 

It started out as a 'ritual' with coffee. Put on lipstick, drink coffee. Then it extended to tea, hot chocolate... even fucking lemsip. And the lipstick thing went from habit to essential. If I'm out and I'm absolutely dying for a coffee, and there's one put in front of me, but I don't have a lipstick handy.... I just can't. I can't drink it. 

This has been a confession.  

Another Primark lipstick review and swatches

New year, new m- ... lol nah, still an emotionally unstable wasteman with an unhealthy dependence on lipstick. So. On to the first review of 2017.

If you're a regular here, you'll know I'm generally a huge fan of Primark's cheap and cheerful makeup. If you're a new visitor, well, er... I'm generally a huge fan of Primark's cheap and cheerful makeup. If you fancy acquainting yourself with a range of their offerings, you can find previous reviews here, here, here and here. Today's ramble, however, will be on the lippies below:

I'll start with the P.S Love matte long last lipstick because it's a tried and tested fave and probably the most widely available throughout Primark stores. The shade is called 'claret' and it costs a mere quid.

Primark p.s love matte long last lipstick- claret

It's pretty damn gorgeous. In real life it's a touch more brown than the maroony shade my camera picked up, and is even deeper and richer. I shit you not. It's deliciously dark with a little building up and matte without feeling dry, and surprisingly non streaky given the colour. I found it wore really well for a traditional bullet lipstick. Not much transfer and none of that dreaded lipstick ring.

If this particular shade is a bit too vampy for your liking, they usually have a few more demure options on offer too.

Primark p.s love metallic liquid lipstick 

Up next is the fussy-but-hella-worth-it metallic matte liquid lipstick. Metallic lippies are (rightly) all the rage these days, so I was stoked to find the humble aisles of Primark proffering a cheap option. This shade is a bright and super reflective gold called 'queen'. In the above swatch, I'm wearing it lightly over Neve Cosmetics pastello lip liner in 'rose'.

And you will need some sort of a base, at least with this shade. Applied alone, it dries quickly to form a touch proof film of colour that whilst being dazzling, also looks tight and dry, exaggerating lip lines in a not so pretty way. It looks great as a lip topper though, and will seal your lippy to make it transfer proof.

Oddly, whilst most liquid to matte lipsticks are broken down by oil, this one is dissolved by water. That's not any kind of problem though, at least not for me. Just something to bear in mind if you have a wet snog scheduled.

MOVING ON.

Primark p.s Pro kiss proof liquid lipstick- nude in private 

This very pretty shade is called 'nude in private'. Which is odd because it's a mauve and not a nude hue. Shrug. It's from the P.S Pro range so is marginally more expensive than the regular P.S Love stuff. I think it was around the £4 mark, but that's still very affordable.

I really liked the P.S Love liquid matte lippy for its powder-like matte finish and bold colour. This one has a very different formula, but it's still a winner. It's entirely opaque, smells like cake batter, and dries to a touch proof matte finish which still feels a little moist. So long as you don't slather on too much, it doesn't look or feel dry at all.

Oh, and the paddle shaped applicator deserves some praise too. It's wide and flat with a curved top, which gets you a fully painted lip in one sweep and easily clean edges. Win.

Primark p.s Pro sheer shine lip crayon- bubblegum pink

Aaaand ending with the only dud of the bunch: the P.S Pro sheer shine lip crayon. It's shit. I can usually appreciate a good old juicy lip crayon, but this ain't that. It's somehow both greasy feeling and matte looking. It's a pain in the left buttock to get an even finish with and even then, it manages to cling to dry patches you could have sworn you didn't have.

Avoid it like it's your manipulative and not even that attractive ex.

Hope that was helpful.

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