Coloured Raine

There is something absolutely exciting about finding a brand that creates fantastic products!

I came across Coloured Raine on Instagram as well as Youtube and as soon as I saw their colour selection I knew I had to order!

Coloured Raine is a US cosmetics brand that create cruelty free cosmetics in incredible colours.

Coloured Raine also sell eyeshadows and pigments in an array of colours however my eyes were on their lipsticks.

39

MAC Smoked Purple

Guys, guys, guys!

I have been rebelling lately!

I have had NO time for pretty corals, pinks or orange lipsticks this summer.

I've been all about dark vampy lips, don't ask me why...I JUST HAVE ALLLLRIGHT!

8

OCC Lip Tar in Hoochie

One of my purchases from IMATS London (post HERE) was this Lip Tar by OCC.

I had heard so many great things about the Lip Tars but the thing that stood out to me was their pigmentation.

I picked up my first ever lip tar a few months back, that was Black Dhalia, a GORGEOUS deep berry shade.

I absolutely love it, so when I heard OCC were going to be at IMATS I knew I had to pick up another one, so I did!

Say hello to OCC Lip Tar in Hoochie.

This is a cool and creamy pastel magenta colour with blue undertones which dries to a slightly matte finish.

I love the way this looks on me! 

It is lighter than the bolds I normally wear on my lips but I think the cool undertones work well with my skin tone.

I applied this by gracefully 'blobbing' a drop (and I mean a drop, a little goes a loooong way) of it on my bottom lip and working it in with my finger, I find this give me the best coverage, however OCC does provide small lip brushes with their lip tars.

One of the cool things about this product, besides it's awesome pigmentation is it's peppermintiness.

Yes! That's right!

It contains a small amount of Peppermint oil which gives a weird tingly sensation when you apply.

Nothing too annoying and long lasting but just enough added fun!

Here I've worn Hoochie with Barry M's lip liner in Plum 11, you can also wear this with MAC's Nightmoth lip liner too for a more dramatic lip.

From seeing swatches of this lip tar its evident that this colour has changed over time but I've gotta say I love this version more!

OCC Lip Tars can be brought from various online stockist including Selfridges, Cute Cosmetics and Love Makeup.

Do you own any lip tars?

What colours would you recommend?

14

YSL Buys

YSL Babydoll Mascara/ YSL Rouge Pur Couture in 39

Working within walking distance of Oxford Street has it's pros and cons. 

Pros include the vast array of shops, however this is also considered a con in my eyes as I happily add to my ever expanding wishlist!

After work on Thursday my colleagues and I headed to Oxford Street to take advantage of the high street beauty offers.

However somehow (I cannot figure out how!) I ended up at the YSL counter in Debenhams.

I have never been a YSL girl, I own nothing from this luxury brand and to be perfectly honest I had no plans to buy anything from them until I saw Tanya Burr's video. 

I loved the look of Touche Eclat foundation on her so I wanted to try this out but I became distracted by the GORGEOUS range of lipsticks on offer.

I swatched until I had no space left on my hand and vowed to pick up the gorgeous purple that had caught my eye.

Cue two days later and an overwhelming amount of begging to my brother... I took my short lil self to my local Debenhams in order to pick up the YSL Shocking Mascara and the purple lipstick I had swatched.

The lady at the counter was super nice! 

Instead of the Shocking Mascara she recommend YSL's newest mascara Babydoll which worked much better for me as I found upon testing Shocking my lashes clumped up A LOT.

She then matched my shade of Touche Eclat foundation to B70 and finished off with a GORGEOUS YSL bronzer in 30.

It was safe to say I was fully YSL'd up!

I left happy and very impressed.

When I got home I wasted no time swatching my new lipstick!

I picked up YSL Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick in 39 Pourpre Divin

This lipstick is DE-vine! 

I mean with YSL you get what you pay for!!

It glides on fabulously and provides the most beautiful smell as well as colour.

Here I'm wearing the Babydoll mascara as well as my new gorgeous lipstick.

I think the pictures sell how seductive this lipstick really is!

I can finally end my strenuous mission of finding the perfect purple lipstick!

Thanks YSL!

Do you have any YSL products?

What do you recommend?

Dont forget to enter my GIVEAWAY due to end on the 2nd June 2013.

16

Topshop Lipstick: Straight Ace

I'm a gal who loves a matte lip but this lipstick may have just upped the sheen lipstick game!

Say hello to Topshop Lips lipstick in Straight Ace.

This is a gorgeous creamy blue toned purple with slight gold reflects that literally GLLLIIDDDDDEEESSS on your lips whilst giving you a fantastic colour pay off and an instant statement lip for all skin tones!

The moisturising formula for this is so impressive it has quickly taken a place in my favourite lipsticks of all time.

You can pick up this lipstick from Topshop for £9.00 
(no longer available on the website)

Don't forget to enter my 2nd DOS giveaway HERE 

Great goodies to be won!

8

50 Shades Of Orange

Click To Enlarge
L-R:
Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti/ NYX Lipstick in Femme with NYX Lip Gloss in Natural/ NYX Matte Lipstick in Indie Fick with Maybelline Popstick in Citrus Slice

Welllllll...not really 50 shades...as you can clearly see it's more like 3.

With Spring on the way I have been preparing looks like a maniac, I have never been so excited for warmth. It feels as though every year winter gets colder (if that makes sense,) I cannot deal with it.

As well as sorting out my Spring wardrobe (looks coming up in a post soon) I've also been sorting out Spring/Summer make up.

I've realised that I own several orange lipsticks, however I haven't really paid much attention to them, but orange is a great colour to rock for Spring!

Here you can see the varying shades that you can go for!

Tutti Frutti Lip Butter by Revlon is gorgeous, nourishing and very subtle in colour but still does the job. Fabulous and easy to wear. I had to add brown lip liner to ensure that this did not look too ashy on my skin tone. I think this look may be my go to look for Spring. Easy but effective!

NYX Round Lipstick in Femme is much creamier in colour and texture, however once again it goes on fab. To make this more wearable for my skin tone I once again had to add a brown lipliner and NYX's Round Lip Gloss in Natural to add warmth to it. I wouldn't recommend darker skin tones wearing this lippie on it's own but if you have a neutral warm toned lip gloss it would definitely work!

For the more daring NYX Matte Lipstick in Indie Flick is amaze!
A bright warm toned orange that will definitely get you noticed.
As this is so bright you do have work to do to make it wearable.
Firstly, make sure your lips are prepped; one thing this lipstick does not deal with is unprepared non moisturised lips, remove all excess skin with a lip scrub or brush and moisturise however remember to remove the product/lip balm, we don't want it to sit on the lips, we only want it to soften them.
Once you have done this apply the lipstick, it goes on nice and bright!
Add your lip liner and blend, you will need either a brush or a finger for this, smacking lips wont do the trick.
To help the lipstick to blend with my lip liner I added the Maybelline Popstick in Citrus Slice (please DO NOT buy this, it was a waste of money and I am running out of ways to make it useful.)
Blend until you are happy and voila!
A gorgeous bright orange lip, perfecto for Spring and festival season!

I hope you can take something from this if you're not used to wearing colour on your lips!

Do you think you will try out orange?
Which lipstick is your favourite?

22

Day Swatch: Exxxagerate and Loved Up

L-R: Exxxagerate and Loved Up

Hi all!
I hope these pictures give you a much clearer idea of the two lipsticks from Sleek's newest True Colour lipsticks collection.
You can see the true colour of Exxxagerate, it's a nice colour, suitable for everyday wear I believe but I still wanted more 'pep' from it I guess.
Loved Up is gorgeous and very creamy on the lips, you'd need to blot to get suitable wear as it can become quite greasy!

Are you convinced?
Let me know!

12

Night Swatch: Loved Up and Exxxagerate

L-R: Loved Up/ Exxxagerate/
With Flash/Without Flash

Ohh have I perhaps broken rule number one (or maybe two) of blogging?
Only take pictures in natural light...never artificial, warm lights...at night.

However, after several requests I decided to post this as early as possible!

This wont be a full review as I have not yet had the opportunity to rock these out for a while, this will simply be a quick 'show and tell!'

I am rocking two of Sleek's newest True Colour Lipsticks.
Above you can see Loved Up and Exxxagerate which both retail for £4.99 each.

Loved Up is a cool hot pink which comes in a creamy sheen texture, whilst Exxxagerate is a creamy blueish purple which comes in a matte texture with slight gold reflects.

Although I like Exxxagerate it is a bit disappointing colour wise. It looks a bit washed out above but this could be due to the warm lights but the picture is not far off from it's true colour
I expected a deeper richer purple.
 If this is what you are looking for I recommend Wet N Wild's Ravin Raisin'.
I am loving Loved Up (no pun intended...was that even a pun, who knows?) another great dupe for Candy Yum Yum!

Both lipstick require several coats to get a decent colour pay off but once they are on they look great!

I know a lot of readers wanted to see swatches so I uploaded them as fast as I could unfortunately I could only take them at night.

If you wish to see these lippies in natural daylight just let me know with a comment below and I will get to it for this weekend!

16

Shocking Pink

I can't lie!

I have been caught up in the hype over the return of MAC's Candy Yum Yum however I still could not bring myself to drop £14 on a lipstick, so I went on a mission which just consisted of watching Candy Yum Yum dupe videos on Youtube. 

It was a long and exhausting road (exaggerating much?) but at last I found a dupe!

NYX's Matte Lipstick in Shocking Pink.

I had previously picked up this shade when I shopped at Beauty Joint as I wanted to broaden my lipstick colour collection, however being such a bold bright pink I was too scared to wear it out...until now.

I also knew I needed a good deep purple/plum liner to make this colour wearable on my skin tone. I had also been craving MAC's Night Moth lip liner but I set myself the task of finding a cheaper alternative.

Say hello to Barry M's lip liner in Number 11 Plum.

Combine the two together and viola!

A gorgeous statement neon pink lip for less than a tenner!!!

Perfect for dress down days to add something special to your outfit!

Hoorah for dupes!!

23

The Festive Look

At Christmas you have to go a lil bit 'all out' and get your 'fabulous' on!

You should also have a make up look to accompany those glad rags and this is mine.

The classic siren look with a twist.

The focus being the eyes and the lips without one overpowering the other.

How To Achieve This Look

For a flawless base make sure you apply primer, as the siren look is more about the eyes and lips we want to keep the face flawless and away from shine! 

 Use a mattifying primer such as Laura Mercier's Oil Free Foundation Primer.

Then move onto foundation, once again we want to reinforce the matte appearance so use a foundation such as MAC Matchmaster which is matte and adapts to the skin's natural tone. In this look I used shade 7.5. Conceal any imperfections with your favourite concealer.

I used MAC Studio Finish Concealer in shade NC50.

Next, I applied a base colour on my lid. 

This colour should be the same colour as your skin tone, we do not want an overpowering colour, just something to create a more flawless base. 

In this case I used my MAC Mineralise Skin Finish in Deep Dark as this is a perfect colour to mimic my skin tone.

To create some definition to the eye and to create an uber subtle smokey eye I applied a dark brown eyeshadow to the outer corner of my crease and blended well.

Once I was happy with that I went in my a black gel eyeliner and lined my top lid. 

You can use Bobbi Brown's Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink. 

A stiff eyeliner brush will aid greatly in creating the PERFECT flick, however if you are not too great at this have some cotton buds and make up remover near by to clear up any mistakes!

Line the outer corner of your bottom lid with a brown eyeliner pencil to enhance the subtle smokey look. MAC Kohl Eyeliner in Teddy is perfect for this! 

Use a pencil brush to smoke it out a little bit. 

Add mascara, my current FAAAVVV is Lancome's Hynose Doll Eyes and then add your favourite flirty lashes and viola! 

Eyes complete! 

Simple right?!?

Now lips! 

You can go with a classic red lip but yawn!! 

Where's the fun in that?!

Let's go ombre!

Take a dark plum lip liner such as MAC's Night Moth or Vino and line your lips, focussing mostly on the outer corners of your mouth.

Then apply your lipstick and blend

I used MAC's Lipstick in Runaway Red but you can use Diva or M.A.C Red.
For an added pop, dab pink lipstick onto the center of your lips!

Once satisfied, tidy up neatly with your concealer and set your make up with your favourite finishing powder.

And there you have it! 

A simple but effective festive look perfect for all skin tones!

What do you think? 

Will you be trying this out for your xmas parties?

What would you substitute?

15

LimeCrime Red Velvet

Ladies and gentlefolk welcome to my blog post about my new favourite red lippie.

It is no secret that I am a big fan of all things lipstick, especially red lipstick so when I came across a picture of Lime Crime's Velvetines in Red Velvet on Instagram I fell in love INSTANTLY.

Lime Crime itself is a unique American based vegan and cruelty free brand, founded by Doe Deere, the brand creates...

' a unique blend of innovative beauty products and fantasy presentation. Ranging from opaque lipsticks to eyeliners and eyeshadows, Lime Crime is a known trend-setter of the makeup world."

Lime Crime is a brand that isn't afraid to be different and their new Velvetines prove this.

Their Velvetines come in two colours: 

Red Velvet

and 

Suedeberry 

and are described as the following:

'Long-lasting waterproof liquid lipstick that goes on with the ease of gloss and dries completely matte.'

The description sums up the product perfectly really!

Application

Application was a bit messy, this was due to the fact that the product is a liquid which comes with a doe foot applicator. 

I think maybe a brush would have been more ideal but it wasn't too much of a big deal breaker...nothing that concealer couldn't fix.

I didn't apply any lipliner, instead I went straight in with the product, applying a first layer and letting that dry.

Coverage was superb with one coat however I went in with another, well...just because!

Drying is a bit odd, maybe because I'm used to matte products drying super fast, however with the Velvetines expect to wait a little bit longer than usual. Around maybe half a minute to a minute.

Once it dried I tidied up the edges with some concealer. 

Simples.

My Thoughts

I LOVE THIS!!!!!!

Why?

For various reasons, but mostly because of the colour pay off.

I liken it to Ruby Woo on crack!

Very bright and vivid but long lasting and the soft non-drying matte finish just makes this product a winner.

Perfect for the classic red lip for a vintage, siren look.

It works perfect on my skin tone and I am more than sure that it would also look amazing on paler skin tones but if you are unsure and you own

 Ruby Woo then this will work for you!

I definitely recommend this product!

I think I will be purchasing more products from Lime Crime from now on, I love the idea of their daring lip colours and eyeliners.

Where To Buy

If you live in the US you can purchase Lime Crime products directly for their site HERE. 

The Velvetines retail for $16.99

I purchased my Lime Crime Velvetines from Love Makeup.com HERE.

 At current they only stock the Red Velvet Velvetine which retails for £11.50.

I also received a free sample pot of Lime Crime's Eyeshadow Helper too!

Result!

What do you think about the Velvetines?

Have you tried any Lime Crime products?

Would you recommend? 

Let me know!

20

Nineties

As I sit here shouting at Nicole "I've been hiding my stupidity away for years until now" Scherzinger on X Factor I thought now would be a perfect time to share one of my new purchases.

I've wanted vintage high waisted Levi's for the longest and I managed to snag two on eBay both for less than £25, can someone say BARGAIN!?!

I teamed this one with my ASOS crop top and will probably team with my black Timbs or black heeled sandals.

I haven't had the courage to wear this out, when I drop another dress size then hells yeah!

In case your wondering on my lips I am wearing

Wet N Wild's Vamp It Up & 908C, loving this combo!

14

Change

This week has been an absolute whirlwind, I have barely had time to catch my breath.

2012 seems to be a year of huge changes.

I've never been too good with change so I'm finding it slightly difficult to cope but I am trying hard, I've felt so blessed this year, it has been unbelievable! 

In my last post I was feeling sorry for myself, my job was coming to an end and I had nothing to look forward to except weeks/months of unemployment.

In the space of 24 hours that all changed,

to cut a long story short, I am on my way to getting a full time job and I am now back on radio with my own show!

I'm not going to lie, I am scared shitless...the responsibility is HUGE, I have contemplated just giving it all up on various occasions but that would be way too easy.

So I am just taking each day as it comes in life.

This week I felt as though I had taken a few steps back with my life by engaging with people who are not good for me spiritually or mentally but God always has your lessons lined up for you, I've learnt, and I now know that I must close the door on them and look forward.

I'm excited and nervous and scared all at the same time about everything, lol, but I know I am blessed so I can't go wrong.

One of my friends posted this quote by Lao Tzu on Instagram which I thought was quite fitting:

"If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present."

I totally agree!

In other news if you are a regular reader of DOS you would have noticed the change to my layout which was done by the gorgeous Gillian of Elevator Musik.

I'm absolutely loving it, it makes my blog an easier read, that paired with my new cam means that posts will be a lil bit more effective visually.

You will also see that I am creating more beauty based posts, this blog was not intentionally made for beauty but it is something that I am beginning to develop an interest in and it feels comfortable to me so please stay tuned for more beauty posts! 

Anything you want to suggest that I review or try out please feel free to leave a comment below or email me: 

discoveriesofself@gmail.com

I have some posts coming up on new buys and hopefully another video! 

I am now on YouTube, you can find my channel HERE

In the mean time I wanted to show a sneak peek of my new buys!

This gorgeous head chain and M.A.C Runaway Red Lipstick! 

(The nose ring is fake, mama would kill me if it was real!!!)

Can we also all take a moment to just droool over the amazingness of Solange's new song, the video, the fashion, the song, her dancing, EVERYTHING IS GIVING ME LIFE!!!

It's been on repeat for literally EVER today!!!

Before I sign off for another post,  I wanted to say thank you and hello to new subbies and old and thanks to every one who has commented! I read everyone and respond to them all. Your support and interaction means a lot to me! :) xxx

18

Berrylicious

This week has been fulla ups and downs...I am back on the job hunt as my temp job is coming to an end, I was feeling sorry for myself because I did enjoy working there and my contract was not extended but after some time I realised God must have other plans for me so I shouldn't be too sad about the situation...it's just the thought of being unemployed that scares the hell outta me! That added to the arrival of winter and the days getting shorter I've been feeling a bit MEH about everything this week but I'm trying to remain positive! Pay day is on it's way! ;)

This is today's face which I also posted up on my Instagram (@NatalieKayo.)

This face was inspired by a mish mash of YT vids that I had seen by the following talented ladies:

BeautybyJJ

Lil Pumpkin Pie 05

Charlotte Tilbury c/o Lisa Eldridge 

I took the subtle smokey eye from the Charlotte Tilbury and Jackie-O tutorial and the berry lip from Jennie.

I really like this look and I'm loving the brown smokey eye, I will definitely use this again but I'll probably use a lighter base such as a BB cream (all about the Sleek one right now as well as the Skin 79 and Skin Base combo! Two thumbs up baby!)

Face

Body Shop "Matte It" Primer

Illamasqua Skin Base in SB15

L.A Girl Pro Conceal in Fawn

Covergirl Queen Ebony Bronze Bronzer
MAC MSF Gold Deposit

Sleek Blush in Flushed

NYX Blush in Terracota 

Eyes

ELF Eyelid Primer in Sheer

ELF Cream Eyeliner in Copper (Base)

MUA Heaven and Earth Palette Shimmery Brown (Lid)

28 Neutral Eyeshadow Palette Black (Outer V)

Covergirl Queen Ebony Bronze Bronzer (Crease)

L'Oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim Intense Black (Love This!)
Avon Supershock Liner Black

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara Blackest Black

Lips

Wet N Wild Lipsticks in Vamp It Up and Sugar Plum Fairy

Sleek Pout Paint Port

What do you think of this look, would you rock it?

Change the lip colour maybe?

Let me know!

In other news I have been completely OBSSESSED with Frank Ocean's Pyramids, the song and the video...amazing!

Stay blessed lovelies!

14

Beauty Joint Haul

I shopped yo!

This is my haulage video, my first haul video so please be kind, sorry for the unnecessary close up of my face, it pans out after a while.

So if you want to kill some time...click play!

Thanks for watching! 

2

Lip Service

Nooo! Get your filthy mind out of the gutter!

I'm talking LIPSTICKS people!!!

I recently put in a ridiculous order to Beauty Joint, the reason why it was ridiculous..? 

The sheer amount of lipsticks I ordered, however I tried to rationalise my decision by reminding myself that if I were to shop at MAC I would be spending a hell of a lot more. 

That keep my conscious clear....for about an hour until I realised I still wanted several lippies from MAC...anyway I digress.

I decided to purchase several Wet N Wild Mega Last Matte Lip Cover lipsticks as I had heard nothing but good things about them. 

When I tried them on I was pleasantly surprised (baring in mind I scored these for £1.74 each) at their quality. 

The lipsticks are described as the following...ahem:

"This 4-hour, longwearing lip color leaves a semi-matte, crème finish in one stroke. Glides on easily with rich, velvety color that doesn't cake, feather, or bleed"

The description does say it all, the lipsticks are not matte, (farrr from MAC matte) in fact they are very nourishing and pigmented but not sheer. 

 Despite this they are long lasting, I had a hard time getting the swatches off my hand and the pigmentation off my lips.

I brought the following:

I love all of these lipsticks!

They all work so well with my skin tone, even Vamp.

Can't wait to rock them all!
(BTW I'm wearing Sleek BB cream in Medium for these pics, LURVVE it)

Out of my haul my favourite product was an Xtreme Lip Cream by NYX! 
Crazily pigmented but moisturising and not sticky at all!

Which one do you like? 
And can you recommend more colours?
I will definitely be purchasing more!

The rest of my haul will be up in my next post!

Mwah! ;)

37

Beauty Cutie

L-R: Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in Dark, Sleek Pout Paint in Pin Up, Ruby Woo with Sleek Eau La La Liner in Moulin Rouge, Bare Lips with Balance Me Rose Otta Lip Salve, Maybelline Great Lip Wear in Dazzling Violet and NYX Jumbo Pencil in Purple Velvet

I am super excited about my new love for all things beauty, I have a RIDICULOUSLY long list of items that I want to buy but whilst I work to make that wish more than just a fantasy, I've been experimenting with what I have at home.

Here are some of the combo's I've discovered recently, I haven't yet worn the purple one out but can't wait til I do!

Not only am I loving the above shades I am also loving the Balance Me Rose Otto Lip Salve - this stuff is GOLD! I have super dry lips and I have tried EVERYTHANG out there for them...vaseline included (-_-) and this stuff blows them all out of the water! 

It goes on easily, it's not too gloopy but thick enough to moisturise your lips well! This is petroleum free as well as 100% natural so you can't go wrong! I would definitely recommend this to people who suffer from dry or cracked lips.

I'm also trying out the much talked about Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream, this one is in the shade Dark. It really reminds me of Bobbi Brown's Tinted Moisturiser only its lighter in consistency. 

It takes a while for it to really set in and I have to set it with my MSF powder as I have oily skin and also to warm it up as its on the light side (nothing new here my fellow dark skinned ladies.) Today is my first time wearing it and although I don't hate it (my skin does look fresh and this is without concealer) it's not my favourite product.

What do you think about this BB phase...I'm still trying to work out if its just another way of saying "tinted moisturiser!'

13