Winter/Fall Lipstick Suggestions

I did it! I swatched all my Winter/Fall lipsticks.

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Valentines Day Look: Ravishing Red

For my red lip ladies, I've created a simple and easy to wear red lip look for your Valentines date.

This look is perfect if you're not an eyeshadow wearer or a lashes wearer, all you need is your favourite red and a good liner.

For a full product list please look below!!

Click To Enlarge

Face

Start off with your favourite primer for makeup longevity and to banish those pores, I used the Tony Moly Egg Pore Silky Smooth Balm Primer. I then went in with my L'Oreal True Match Foundation in N8 Cappuccino which I buffed in well with a stippling brush, if you have dry skin feel free to use a foundation such as MAC's Face and Body or Make Up For Ever's Face and Body.

For subtle highlighting use a full coverage concealer one to two shades lighter than your skin tone. I firstly went in with my MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC45 to highlight the arch of my brow as well as underneath my eyes, I found that this was still a bit too understated so I then went in with Kevyn Aucoin's Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX12 which is about two shades lighter, just to perk up the colour. I set my concealer with a light beige eyeshadow from my 28 Neutral Eyeshadow palette.

I then buffed out the edges of my concealer to get rid of any harsh lines and went in with my Inglot AMC Pressed Powder in 60 to blend out any further harsh lines, I also used this to set my foundation as I like the matte look.

My contour which you cannot see (sorry guys, I'll work on that for next time) was a mixture of the Ben Nye HD Matte Foundation in Espresso Bean and the Ben Nye MediaPRO Poudre Refill in Mojave Americano to set(both amazing products!)

For my cheeks I didn't want a shimmery blush, just a natural flush so I used a  bit of the Graftobian HD Blush in Autumn Breeze and set that with NYX's Powder Blush in Cocoa.

For bronzer I used the Inglot AMC Pressed Powder in 68 (a fab rich reddish brown, PERFECT for bronzing)

Then to add a lil something extra I went in with my favourite highlighter on all of my key areas. I used MAC Gold Deposit on the area right above my brows, down the bridge of my nose, on my cupids bow, my philtrum and the tops of my cheek bones. 
Feel free to go liberal with this, obviously you don't want to look like a disco ball but a good quality highlighter will stop this from happening anyway.

Eyes

Very simple!

Simply prime your eye, I used a bit of my Inglot Pressed Powder in 60 for this and then go in with your favourite/most pigmented eye liner. Normally I love using my Make Up Geek Gel Liner in Immortal (all time fav) but for this look I wanted to switch it up. 
I used my L'Oreal Superliner Perfect Slim in Black Intense. I first drew my line across my lid, I then tipped my head back to find where I wanted my flick to go (dunno why, but this method just works for me) I drew in my flick and attached it to the line on my lid, if you make any mistakes (which I always do) go in with a cotton bud dipped in make up remover, this will give you the sharp edge you need as well as fix the angle of your flick if you plotted it out wrong.

Next go in with your favourite mascara, I started with Benefit's They're Real for drama and then went in with the Maybelline The Falsies for volume and more drama.

You can add lashes to this look if you wish but this look works well without lashes too boo boo! 

Lips

Then add your favourite red lipstick. 
I decided to change it up and use a lippie I don't wear very often, if at all. 

Here I'm wearing Rimmel's Kate lipstick in 107, however, I swiftly realised why I never reach for this colour, I'm not a big fan of this lipstick on it's own, it's shade isn't dramatic enough for me (I find it quite flat against my skin tone) so I oomphed it up with Illamasqua's Intense Lipgloss in Succubbus you can also use NYX's Xtreme Lip Cream in Absolute Red, a fabulous alternative and deeper in colour...

anddddd we are all done!

A simple statement eye and lip without going OTT for Val's Day, a look perfect for beginners that doesn't break the bank!

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Rimmel Dark Night WaterL-oops

It's always nice to find a shade that you can buy from Superdrug or Boots that isn't your generic red or glittery baby pink.

I felt like a little winner when I saw Dark Night WaterL-oops (no, it's not a typo, that is really what it's called, hyphen and all) just sitting silently in the corner next to all the smug reds and pinks, waiting for a new home.

I picked him up, swatched immediately and took him home (and yes I did pay!)

The main thing that drew me to this lipstick was it's colour, different from what we're normally offered on the high-street.

Waterl-oops plum wine shade is beautiful on the lips and slightly understated.

Now, when I normally buy lipsticks I tend to pay little to no attention to what it claims to do, or the properties it brings. In my eyes, a lipstick is for colour on the lips, so when I applied Waterl-oops I was surprised at how nourishing it was, which led me to do some research...Hello Google!

 5 minutes later I found out that Dark Night WaterL-oops was part of a new collection from Rimmel called  Moisture Renew Lipsticks. These lipsticks are designed to provide moisture to the lips(duh!) with vitamins A,C,E as well as provide you with great pigmentation.

In the above swatches I've filled my lips in first with MAC's Nightmoth lip liner first and then applied Dark Night.

The lipstick applies like a dream however I've found that it provides a bit too much moisture, it's very slippery and for someone who loves a matte lip, this is something I'm trying to get used to!

All in all this is a fabulously unique colour for the high-street and great for the price as well, at £6.49 rrp you cannot go wrong.

Do you have any Rimmel products?
What colours do you wish the high-street would stock?

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Inexpensive Products: Festive Look

I am a firm fan of affordable makeup, yes I know with luxury you get what you pay for but I don't always want to shell out an arm and a leg when I want a new foundation or blush.

I like to shop around and test out super affordable products to see if you can produce great looks with them!

As expected, around Christmas everyone gets Festive, some in the form of jumpers, some in the form of food, but I, I get festive with make up!

I created the following look with super affordable products.

Any item listed with a º was on promotion at the time for half price. 

Face

ELF Studio Eyebrow Lifter and Filler in Ivory/Dark - £1.86 º

NYX Above and Beyond Full Coverage Concealer in Orange - £6.00

ELF Personal Blend Foundation in Dark - £4.00 º 

L.A. Girl Pro Conceal Concealer in Fawn -  £1.95

ELF High Definition Powder in Yellow - £3.00 º 

B. Sunkissed Bronzing Powder in Dark - £8.99

Fashionista Blusher in Crimson - £1.65

I was really impressed with the products used above for my base in terms of pigmentation and quality, especially in relation to ELF's Personal Blend Foundation and the Fashionista blusher, both provided me with excellent cover and pigmentation.

The only product I was not overly keen on was the B. Sunkissed bronzer but this was only due to it's pigmentation, it's not dark enough for me to use as an all over bronzer however I did use it to contour my nose.

Eyes

ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer - £1.50 

Maybelline 24 Hour Tattoo in On and On Bronze - £4.99

ELF Little Black Beauty Book in Festive Everyday - £4.00 º

Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Pencil in Nude 5 - £3.99

Barry M Bold Waterproof Eyeliner in Bold Black - £3.99

MUA Everylash Waterproof Mascara - £3.00

Once again I was super impressed with the above!
The ELF Little Black Beauty Book is a fab lil thing that holds 48 shadows. I expected them to be very chalky but they were surprisingly soft! 

In terms of pigmentation, the golden bronze shade I used on my lids was ok, it wasn't lucious, it didn't exactly pop but it covered well, I blended the the shade out with a matte brown which is hindsight wasn't the best decision, I think the look would have worked better with a black shadow but I wanted to keep the look soft.

When it comes to inexpensive/drugstore makeup I aim to pick up waterproof products to ensure longevity, the pencils and mascara I used were fab, they did not budge and were very easy to apply! 

Lips

Sheer Berry Lip - Fashionista Maxi Moisture Lipstick in Style Transformation - £1.50

Red Lip - MUA Lipstick in Shade 1 - £1.00

Last but not least, lips.

I went with two looks, the first look was with a berry sheen lipstick from Fashionista (MUA.)
I don't know what I was expecting when I bought this but I was pleasantly surprised when I applied it. On impact it was nourishing, more like a heavily tinted lip balm than a lipstick. It's a very comfortable lipstick to wear and great for those of you who do not like a lot of colour on your lips.

For those of you who do like colour MUA is the way to go!
If you don't know about MUA's £1.00 lipsticks then please get to know!
They do not come in a huge array of colours but their selection should satisfy any red or pink lipstick lovers. 
Easy to apply and heavily pigmented for a £1.00 you cannot go wrong, also the bottom pops off to allow you to apply the product with a brush which is always handy!



What do you guys think of my inexpensive makeup look?
Do you own any of these products?
Are you an inexpensive makeup lover?

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