Maybelline Baby Lips

Hello lovelies

Today I have for you a post that has been almost a year in waiting. I cannot believe I haven't done this before because this is by far my favourite range in terms of lip balms. I adore these. Let's review Maybelline Baby Lips!

I do, in fact, own all six of the Baby Lips available in Superdrug/Boots on the Isle of Man but I can't seem to find the Hydrate one at the moment, I'm pretty sure I left it in my college bag but it's not there. Hmm. 

So Maybelline released these in the UK last August and I held off at first as I always do with new releases, to give myself a chance to hear some reviews. I'm not in a position where I can afford to buy products and not like them. I heard a huge amount of good reviews and one month later I'd bought them all. Here is another good review to add to the pile...

My favourites (I also love Hydrate) from the dozen available.

The balms contain Shea butter to give softness, Vitamins that condition the lips and SPF 20 that protects lips from sun damage. There are also hints of Centalla to plump up the lips. A good all rounder, wouldn't you say?

They claim to hydrate for up to 8 hours. Although they certainly do hydrate for a while, I find myself topping up after about 4-5 hours. They leave my lips well conditioned and super soft after every application, so it's OK.

In the UK you can purchase these from Boots and Superdrug for just £2.99! You read correctly there, all that goodness for less than a fiver. It's a miracle.

We can't forget that half of the range are tinted. There really is a colour for everyone; Peach Kiss suits darker skin tones, it looks beautifully on my Indian friend. She wears it daily and loves it. It's the gold shimmer that makes the look.

The Pink Punch suits paler people. It's a bright pink shade that just sits it my drawer because it doesn't really suit me. I also think this one looks great on blondes! 

Finally, Cherry Me suits the in the middle people, like me. This is a pink toned red. I like it a lot.

The colours are quite subtle but can be built up for a stronger look. Which is your favourite?

I use Intense Care (yellow one) every night before bed and every morning when I wake up and I've not suffered from painful chapped lips all Winter. For me, this is a big achievement. I carry Hydrate with me to college and keep Cherry Me in my daily makeup bag for a pop of colour whenever I feel like it. 

I applied this in a lecture one day and my friend walked in and said "Your lips look great, they've gone a pretty cherry colour" - so the colour must show through well and of course I was more than happy to receive the compliment and tell her about Baby Lips.

10 out of 10 Maybelline, but please bring the rest of the range to the UK!

So there is my opinion, what's yours? and if you haven't tried them yet, WHY?

Until next time

xx

All Bronzed Up (High Street)

Hello

We're leaving Autumn behind now (which is actually when I had hoped to get this post up.. oops!) and moving steadily into the Winter months where the days get cooler but as does our makeup. 

Personally, in Winter months I like to go with the pale/natural look with maybe a bit of contour. I avoid the bronzed up look. I do know however, that a lot of you like to keep your tan all year round so today I'd like to talk about three high street bronzers you may (or may not) want to invest in.

Note that I'm not discussing these products because they are my favourites nor because they're the best on the market but simply because they are the only ones in my collection. Despite being a massive contour-er, I'm really not that much of a bronze-y person...

So we'll start with Maybelline SunGlow pressed bronzing powder because it was the first bronzer I ever bought (we're not counting the compact I got from a Zoey 101 magazine aged 8, okay? pfft. It's not like I collected every single one just for the makeup or anything).

The packaging isn't great, much like the Rimmel Stay Matte powder it's cheap and easily broken. The lid doesn't screw on properly and the product falls out of the pan every single time I open it! It's simple, though, and I like simple. 

I really do like the slogan 'dust on a touch of sun'. It's simply fantastic. Every bronzer should have a slogan like this one. It goes well with the imprint of a sun shine on the powder also. 

The colouring is quite subtle but far too easily gives you a nasty orange tint. A little is a lot with this product. 

Well since we're going in order of purchase today, I picked up this cheap little compact from Superdrug at the beginning of the year. I like the perfectly sized, cubic packaging made from clear plastic. It's a handy thing to keep in your handbag. It's well priced to at just £1.00! I've always loved MUA for their prices. 

I believe this is in shade 3. It works well on fair skin as a contour or a light bronzer on the high points of the face. For a cheap, "drug store" product I give this full marks. 

And finally, my most recent (I'd say early Summer this year) bronzing buy, the love it or hate it, most raved about bronzer by the beauty bloggers. It's the Bourjois chocolate bronzer!

This is quite a controversial product since a lot of gurus, such as Zoe (Zoella280390 on YouTube) have made clear how much they love it while others, such as Gabrielle Rose (Velvetgh0st on YouTube) have said they're not so much a fan. 

Me? I love this bronzer! More recently I've been using it as a contour when I can't find my beloved Sleek contour kit. It works as both. 

The smell is more like cocoa butter than chocolate but either way I can't get enough of it. I'm sure you know I'm a scent obsessed kind of girl so anything fragranced has my attention. The colour pay off is good, a warm golden colour which I guess can be a little orange if you're super pale, but this is definitely my favourite. 

I'm not financially well off enough to afford high end products unless they're gifted to me so I'm not an owner of any top bronzers but if I was I think I'd like to give the Nars Lagoona a whirl. Hint hint to friends. Christmas is coming ;)

Until next time

xx

Fall Favourites

Hello

Nope I'm not American and yes I love the word Autumn but 'Fall Favourites' just has that ring to it, don't you think? So that's what we're going with today. I present to you my favourites from September/October.

I'm going to split it into categories this season, so if you'd like to skip some sections this is the order;

1. skin care
2. makeup 
3. nails
4. scent
5. Misc

I'm also not going to talk in detail because there are so many things! I hope this is okay and if there is anything you want me to review, leave a comment.

Skin care

Unfortunately for my skin, since my life got a little busier my skin isn't as high in my priorities as it should be. I only cleanse if I'm wearing makeup - even that has slipped to a makeup wipe the past couple of nights (yep, naughty me!), I never tone and I'm always forgetting to moisturise! Night cream just doesn't exist to me anymore. However there are still a couple of things I've been loving recently. 

First of, I am still enjoying my Manuka Doctor hydrating facial cleanser, it does exactly what it says on the tube and bee venom skin products is the number 1 trend 2013.

Second, I picked up the 'Catastrophe Cosmetic' fresh face mask from Lush about two weeks ago and I've used it five times since then. It's only the 75g tub but I've barely got through any and I like a generous coverage. I definitely recommend Lush face masks. 

Make-up

This section has a lot of products this month, but hey! I wouldn't be a decent beauty blogger if I wasn't a beauty addict now, would I?! It's only my bank account that suffers...

First up I've been going crazy for Maybelline 24HR Color Tatattoos! I have four shades in total but my favourites, which I've been getting a LOT of use from include Metallic Pomegranite which is like a bronzey-brown-purple colour (centre), On and On Bronze which is a deep gold colour (right) and my absolute favourite is Pink Gold (left)! The pigmentation is fantastic, I use these as both bases and on their own sometimes. I actually prefer these to my MAC paint pot - much cheaper too. Swatches below.

Something which I bought a very long time ago but I've recently been loving due it's ability to hide under eye bags and cover any blotches that my foundation cannot, is my Witch concealer in shade 01 (Natural). It was just a pharmacy pick up when from when I had really bad skin because witch hazel is great for blemishes but I never really got into it until now. I like the strong smell too. 

Another fabulous product Maybelline has brought to us this year are theBaby Lips lip balms! I have all six available in the UK (very jealous of the wider variety in the US) and I love every. single. one of them. In particular my favourites are Cherry Me for it's colour and taste, Hydrate for it's hydrating qualities and the smell and taste of a sweet I just can't put my finger on, and finally, Intense Care for being all round a great lip balm. I keep the latter by my bed for last thing at night, first thing in the morning and everything in between! Makeup award goes to Maybelline for there brilliant high street products.  

I have been using my Photo Finish face primer from Smashbox almost everyday since August and I love it. It does a great job and you don't need much of it - my tiny 12ml tube is still going strong.

A blush I bought due to it being recommended to me by a friend is Sleek Rose Gold. Now, I was already a fan of the Sleek powder blushes but this one is just so beautiful! It is more a summery blush but I like it for Autumn just as much. Ahh I could just stare at it forever.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned before that I'd picked up the Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless mascara but I have. I got the brown shade because I feel like black is too much for my eyes and I'm loving it. It isn't clumpy and it looks so pretty. It's made my lashes grow too which although it claims to do so, I did not believe it would. I like the long, slim application wand too. My new favourite mascara. 

Finally for this category I have two lip products; My Model Co lip gloss in Strip Tease which I believe I have featured on here before now (well I'm still in love with it) and my Calvin Klein lip stick in Mesmerize which I talked about waaayyyy back in one of my very first posts here. It's a little bright for Autumn but I think it's great all year round, especially in the season of the crunchy leaves. :) 

Pheww, now that's over. 

Nails

Just the two polishes that I actually own are in my favourites this month;Barry M Red Wine because it's just the perfect October colour and MUA Fairy Dust which is beautiful with just one coat and doesn't chip either. I love this type of polish.

However there is one nail varnish which ALL the gurus have been chatting about and I''ve just been stood drooling over it in Boots. That isEssie's After School Boy Blazer from their new Autumn 2013 collection. Anyone want to buy it for me? I'll love ya forever. 

Scent

I'm a girl who loves her smells and this month I've got a couple of candles for you to try out. 

Mandarin Cranberry is one of my absolute favourite Yankee candles for its beautiful smell and I like the colour too. I've been burning this small votive size one a lot lately and I just find it delicious. 

Also - and we're getting in the holiday spirit now - I have one of the Halloween scents. Witches brew is a lovely spicey scent. I like the label too. 

Last but not least I shopped my stash and found an old NEXT body spritz in lemongrass. I adore this fresh, 'invigorating' spray and I've been using it on a daily basis, I'm a little sad that it isn't available anymore though. 

Misc.

So finally the miscellaneous category. Three things for you this month;

First I've been enjoying to use the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush to apply my foundation with. 

Next I am currently reading (once again, I'm late to jump on the band wagon) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and I'm really enjoying it. An older read, yes but I recommend it all the same. 

ANDDD finally the last thing in my favourites is the Halloweentown film series from Disney. I love every single of one these movies, they are some of the very few films I can watch more than once - in fact, I watch these EVERY YEAR. I seriously recommend you go and watch them. 

I hope you enjoyed this slightly too long, wordy post full of my favourite things.

Until next time
xx