A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

My first foray into the infamous world of BB Creams!

What are BB Creams?

BB Cream stands for Blemish Balm Cream and is a very popular base product in Asia.  Korean companies in particular offer a wide-range of BB Creams to suit many different skin types.  They fill the gap in the market between cosmetics and skincare… a product designed to give flawless coverage whilst benefiting the health of your skin in one (or many) ways.

I first heard of BB Creams when I went to South Korea a few years ago, I had absolutely no idea what they were or did until I arrived back in the UK and started blog reading.

BB Creams at the minimum, offer moisturisation and coverage, with many more offering SPF, Whitening Properties and Anti-Aging to name but a few.  They’re big business in Asia and have been slowly but steadily making a splash amongst makeup aficionados worldwide.

So, why has it taken me so long to try one?  Ultimately… convenience.  You have to head to eBay or online stores that specialise in Asian cosmetics.  Then you have to work out which BB Cream you fancy trying and frankly, there are so many available… it all gets a bit confusing.

I took the plunge and settled for South Korean brand Skin Food.

Skin Food Gingko Green BB Cream #1 (50g) to be exact.

Here’s what they say about it:

A multi-function product for skin care and makeup.  Containing gingko leaf and green tea extracts rich in lecithin and vitamin B, it protects sensitive skin and improves skin tone.  Use when you want to achieve a bright, radiant skin tone.

It’s a little warmer than my skintone but ultimately blends to a decent match.  Colour matching seems to be one of the biggest issues with BB Creams and it’s always worth googling for a swatch to get an idea of how it might suit you.

The texture is truly rather lovely.  Thick but not so thick that it’s hard to spread.  There’s still enough slip to the product to stop it dragging across your face as you spread it.  Coverage is medium… it tones down my redness quite well and evens out my skintone.  Blemishes are not covered and concealer is necessary.  It really does feel like I’m wearing something different to my usual foundations… far more natural feeling on the skin.

Ultimately, this would be all you need if you’re blessed with great skin.  Oily skins will probably want something a little more matte.  I’m pleased I bought it, do I want to try more?  Oh yes….

I think I may have developed a dangerous new addiction.

Are you a fan of BB Creams?  Let me know some of your favourites!

Multi-use products often don’t provide the results that they claim.  The innovation is there, but the performance generally isn’t.

Not so with Jemma Kidd Pro Lip Perfector I was sent last month.

Jemma Kidd Pro Lip Perfector is a product clearly designed to fulfill three uses: Anti-feather, Prime and Plump… all housed in a single double ended pen-esque container.

I am terribly dubious about most primers (excluding my beloved UDPP) and it wasn’t too long ago that I tried the new Urban Decay Lip Primer Potion, which went a long way to solving my pigmentation issues but was a drag (literally) to apply and left my lips feeling a little dry.

I expected something similar from this.

One end houses the anti-feather ‘nib’.  A waxy translucent lip liner that creates an impenetrable barrier in the same way you would Vaseline your hairline to stop your hair dye from seeping down towards your eyebrows.  The other end holds a concealer-coloured bullet which claims to ‘prime & plump’.  And it does so nicely.

The primer glides on in comparison to the Urban Decay version… it’s a joy.  The concealer colour that it imparts blanks out the colour from my lips and allows for a neutral base.  I would recommend blotting the primer before applying a lipstick ontop just to remove the excess product but keep the neutral colour base.

It does indeed tingle like a true plumper should and doesn’t leave my lips feeling any dryer than normal.  Infact, I applied the primer to one half of my mouth before using a lipstick… and in all honesty, couldn’t see a massive difference in application BUT the primer’ed half felt far more comfortable 10 minutes later, whilst the non primer’ed side began to feel a little dry and tight.

The photo above shows my lips wearing just the Jemma Kidd Pro Lip Perfector with nothing ontop.  You can see that it blanks out all natural pigmentation successfully.  I would recommend this over the Urban Decay Lip Primer Potion because it is so good at creating a blank canvas without drying.  I’m not convinced it gives me any extra wear from my lipsticks, but the addition of the anti-feather product makes this an extremely useful tool to own.

The Jemma Kidd Pro Lip Perfector is £15 and available from QVC online.

During one of my recent Fyrinnae splurges, I picked up their highly-regarded Pixie Epoxy to use with my mineral shadows.

In the tube, it reminds me of when clear mascara goes rank!  I used to buy clear mascara to set my brows, but it always went this cloudy consistency after a couple of months.

Anyway, Fyrinnae’s Pixie Epoxy isn’t supposed to be a primer… it’s a foiling agent.  Nothing to do with espionage and everything to do with making mineral eyeshadows extra purdy!

Slick some of this Pixie Epoxy over your eyelid… wait about 30 seconds and apply your mineral eyeshadow as normal.

Fyrinnae advise that you use the teeniest amount you can manage… and for super staying power, apply it ontop of your usual eye primer.

On the left is a mineral eyeshadow applied over bare skin, and on the right… the same eyeshadow applied over a small quantity of Pixie Epoxy.  Look how much more vibrant it is!  The bottom photo is after I did a single heavy-handed smudge in an attempt to dislodge the product.  You can see that the Pixie Epoxy has great staying power.

Available online from Fyrinnae and priced from $1.50 ($7.00 full size)

Have you tried Fyrinnae’s Pixe Epoxy?  How do you make it work best for you?

If you wanted an introduction to some of Shu Uemura’s most iconic products… look no further than the limited edition Iconic Discovery Set which comprises 3 of Shu’s most well-known offerings.

The neat little box contains:

~ Shu Uemura Eye Lash Curler (multi-award winning.. yano the ones)
~ Shu Uemura UV Under Base Mousse SPF30 (full size, new formula)
~ Shu Uemura High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil (50ml complimentary/travel size)

After being sent the set for review consideration, I was extremely keen to find out if the infamous cleansing oil would live up to the hype that surrounds it.  Infact, so keen was I… I went and took all my makeup off with it in the middle of the day.  In the same way a 4yr old with no patience might.

It’s a light-feeling oil that spreads easily over skin with no dragging as you massage it into the delicate eye area.  The scent is extremely mild and totally pleasant… not at all oily-smelling like the DHC oil.

It emulsifies nicely with warm water and rinses away leaving my skin completely free from makeup.  Mascara melts happily between my fingers as I gently work the oil across my lashline.  If you are going to use a cleansing oil to melt away mascara, then you need to GENTLY encourage the oil onto those lashes.  I have used cleansing oils in the past that have left my eyes stinging or at the very least – cloudy.  This is a total “no no” for me and thankfully the Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil left my eyes fully unaffected.

I was hoping that the Shu Uemura High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil would be the one that put an end to the ‘after cleansing tightness’ that is a significant cleansing oil annoyance for me.  It didn’t.  My skin was left a little tight as with most oils I’ve used… nothing that wasn’t remedied by a slick of moisturiser, but it means that (for me) Shu Uemura Cleansing Oils have been lifted down from their pedestal status.

A great cleansing oil, but I’ve used ones that are just as good for 2/3 of the price.

Ahhh, those “eyeconic” lash curlers!

I’m blessed with naturally curly lashes, so curlers aren’t something I generally incorporate into my daily routine.

At least, they weren’t until I tried these.

I’d previously owned one pair of curlers, a set of ELF ones that I bought last year and struggled to make fit my eye socket… contorting my face and gurning as I angled my head this way and that trying to get all my lashes to squish into the business end.

I gave up.

When I pulled these out, I was surprised by how light they felt.  There’s a real delicate ‘springiness’ to them.  I have to say, they fit my lashline perfectly… from those little lashes right in the inner corner around to the longer outer ones.  I can also get right down into the base of my lashes with these Shu Uemura curlers.  I can completely see why they’ve achieved the cult status that they enjoy.

My lashes get enough natural lift at the base, but a little squeeze towards the tips with these curlers makes quite a difference to achieving a more doe-eyed flutter!  I’m impressed.

Shu Uemura UV Under Base Mousse SPF30 PA+++

Beige it says on the can…. Beige.

Beige is never good for me.  As a pale chick, you get to know these words… “honey, beige, sand, caramel, fawn…” and seeing them written on the back of any kind of base product is enough to set the corners of your mouth into a downward direction.

“Beige” (in this case) is actually more “Vanilla” to be frank.  You can see in my swatches that it’s really quite pale.

You give the can a shake (it has a noisy little metal ball bearing inside which makes this far more enjoyable than it sounds!) and squirt a walnut-sized amount onto your fingers.  Spread between your digits and then straight over your face before the mousse evaporates.

Love. It.

There’s a definite ashiness visible at first thanks to the SPF which is a touch off-putting to say the least…  but after about 40 seconds the base turns completely invisible on my skin.  I would insert a caveat here that if you’re darker-skinned it may not be quite so invisible… because lets face it, if it looks ashy on ME… anyone darker will really notice that greyness and it may not fade so well.

Once the base has had about a minute to “fit” to my skin, I’m SO loving the effect.  Again, as with all primers I’ve used… I’m not seeing any pore filling or wrinkle reducing stuff.  But what I’m seeing on my skin-tone is a reduction in redness, a far matte-er appearance, a softer feeling complexion and thanks to the hint of colour, a more even overall tone.  Throw into that mix a decent SPF30 sun protection and I would be more than happy to pop down the shops sans foundation.

Another reason that I’m loving this product so much is… it’s easy.  You don’t need brushes… it’s fun to use.  Squirt and spread, squirt and spread.  It dries to a powder matte finish in less than a minute.  It’s a true no-fuss base.

My one reservation with this product is that I think it would be too drying for me to use in the Winter.  For the Summer, I will be squirting with reckless abandon… thrilled to have found something that leaves a long-lasting matte effect down the bridge of my nose!  However, I have a couple of dry patches at the moment above my eyebrows and I don’t think that this base is doing them any favours.  It’s something to consider if you’re a dry-skinned lady.  If you’re more oily… I think this could be a fantastic product for you.

So, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad (as they say).

You can purchase the Shu Uemura Limited Edition Iconic Discovery Set from Beauty Expert.  It’s priced at £41, which is a saving of £12.50 were you to buy the curlers and UV under base separately.

Are you a fan of the Shu?

These little pots of loveliness are currently enjoying a bit of a resurgence in popularity, and so they should.

I own 4, yes I can count (just about)… but couldn’t find my ‘Flatter Me’ shade for the photos – boo!  Above, from left to right are: R.S.V.P (a peach shade), Skinny Jeans (an oh-so-popular pewter) and My Date’s My Brother (a girly pink).

The heavy glass jars seal well, ensuring that your product stays in the best condition for as long as possible before eventually (like most cream products) becoming a little drier and harder to work with.  So don’t forget to screw the lids on as tightly as possible!  The usual cutesy kitsch Benefit design is apparent on both the outer box packaging and the glass jars.  I think I’m in the majority when I admit to being a perpetual fan of this 50s style design.  A lot of brands try to mimic the Benefit styling, but none pull if off quite so well in my opinion.

L-R: R.S.V.P, Skinny Jeans and My Date’s My Brother.

The creams pick up well on a synthetic brush like a concealer brush or simillar.  I mainly use my creaseless creams as an allover base which is why I prefer the paler, more neutral shades.  I only use Skinny Jeans if I’m doing a smoky eye.  My favourite of all the Creaseless Creams I own is R.S.V.P, it’s a beautiful peach that works well as an allover wash with a taupe shadow (powder) blended into the socket line for some definition.

As their name would suggest, these things don’t crease.  Infact they don’t budge an inch once set, which means that any other shadows you apply ontop also hold fast.  Benefit Creaseless Creams hold a dear place in my collection and I’m always on the hunt to add some new shades!

Are you a fan of cream shadows?  What are your favourites?

Here comes the older, more glam sister…

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin has been out in the US for over a year now, and I’ve been cooling my heels ever since I saw it pop up on Sephora many moons ago!

It promises all the benefits of the original UDPP with a little added pizazz.

They Say:

~ Use it alone; it’s a crease proof shadow!
~ Maximise it’s potential by using it as a highlighter, dab on brow bone, eye corners and cheeks for a radiant finish.
~ Sin works perfectly with any eye shadow and doesn’t show through, experience vibrant colour all day, with absolutely no creasing!

I received the sample of this last week and as a fan of the original, I was keen to see exactly why I’d want to purchase this one instead.

The new-fangled angled (I’m a poet) wand which promises to reach into each dark primer-potion filled corner of your tube.  I was initially sceptical about how putting an angle on the wand would *really* help, but having had a little play at ‘scooping’ from that very bottom jutting out bit, I think it might just work.  I don’t like how it makes the wand more difficult to remove from the tube though, I keep thinking it’s gonna ping primer at me as it pops free.

Swatched beside the original UDPP you can see that it’s a champagne cream with a metallic looking shimmer.  I instantly liked it… what with being a fan of metallic neutrals with a bit of shimmer n’all  😉

It’s quite heavily pigmented and the first thought that struck me was that it may do a better job at evening out skintone on pigmented eyelids better than the original.  I’m only speculating here as I don’t have a particular issue with red eyelids, but it makes a nice neutral base that sheers out well depending on how much you blend.

I really like this worn as a cream eyeshadow combined with a powder crease colour, as you would imagine, the staying power is rather marvellous.

The two primers blended out a little (not completely).

You can see that Sin retains it’s champagne shimmer whilst the original UDPP is well on it’s way to blending invisibly.

I’m an idiot and forgot to take a photo demonstrating how the same eye shadow looked applied over both primers.  I promise I’ll do it before the week is out and just pop up a quick comparison post.  Basically, if you’re applying a shadow over UDPP Sin… it ups the shimmer.  I <3 it, but it’s important to see as it may put you off completely.

I find that staying power for eyeshadows applied ontop is pretty equal for both primers, if there is a difference, it’s not discernible to me.  Blendability is still hard work over Sin and I’m a bit disappointed about that as it’s the only thing I really would have loved to see changed about the original UDPP.

D’yanowot… I’m on the fence about it with regards to my original question: “Why would I purchase this one over the original?”

Don’t get me wrong… I  really like it, there’s nothing for me not to like.  I like neutral, I like shimmer…

Might I sometimes want some of my shimmer eyeshadows even more shimmery… Possibly!

Do I want all my eyeshadows turned a bit shimmery by using it?  Probably not…

Do I want a lovely champagne cream eyeshadow practically guaranteed not to budge in the summer? Yes please!

Would I purchase?  I dunno!  Stop asking me hard questions!!  What say you?

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin is due out next month, priced at £11.50.

Still on the hunt for an easier to blend alternative to UDPP, I decided to give Art Deco’s Eyeshadow Base a go.

I’ve tried Art Deco products before and on the whole, I’ve been impressed.  I’m a fan of their eyeshadows and camouflage concealers in particular.

Art Deco are a German brand established in 1985 and they’ve been trying to make an impact on this side of the channel for a couple of years now.

I often spy “z”elebrities pictured in the likes of Heat magazine clutching their little Art Deco shopping bags.  You can find the brand stocked in beauty salons and the like, but they’re mostly still trying to find a way into the mainstream market.

Packaged in a sleek little black pot… nice and sturdy.  Honestly though, this is my least favourite style of packaging… especially with these long nails of mine.  HATE digging product out from under these talons.  Yes, I could use a brush, but most of the time I can’t be bothered.

The actual product is a warm flesh-toned creme with shimmer.  If you’re in too much of a hurry for full eye makeup, I have used a touch of this to even out my lids with a slick of eyeliner and I’ve been pleased with the effect.  The shimmer kicks it up a notch, and aids in making me look a little more awake than I feel.

It glides onto the eyelids smoothly and blends (with my finger) to an almost powdery soft finish.  No stickiness or greasy residue is left on the lids.

Shadows glide easily over the base, and blending is much more fluid than I find with UDPP.  Still a little trickier than with no base or the Kryolan Supracolor, but it’s fine.

The million dollar question… does it keep my eyeshadow crease free?

UDPP keeps my shadows glued to my lid like me to Eastenders on Christmas Day, they just don’t budge till the last duh, duh, duhs.

Here’s how my eyeshadow looked after 8hrs with Art Deco’s Eyeshadow Base:

That’s not bad huh?

It actually looks worse in the picture than it did in the mirror, I think the flash from the camera really makes the imperfections stand out.

On the plus side…

It’s creamy, non-drying, makes a good base when worn alone.  It’s easier to blend with than UDPP and it does a thoroughly stand up job at keeping shadows in place.

On the down side…

I don’t think I get quite so much longevity from it as I do with UDPP, but a minimum of 8hrs decent wear is probably all I really need.  I’ve just been spoilt by UDPP still wowing me at bedtime.

On the fence…

It seems to make the shadows just as vivid as UDPP and doesn’t appear to alter the original shades any more than UDPP does, but I’m not really that adept at noticing subtle changes which may well drive other people crazy with frustrations.

Overall, I’m hugely impressed.

It’s also substantially cheaper than UDPP… from memory, I think I paid around £6-£7 for my pot.

You can check out stockists on the UK Art Deco website

[starreview tpl=14]

So, after some suggestions from you lovely ladies (and before consigning the Supra Color to the ever-growing pile of “tried but don’t love” products) I thought I’d give the Kryolan Supra Color another go with some UDPP underneath.

tick tock tick tock…

So, that’s 4 hours… an hour longer than last time.  I don’t see any improvement in the creasing issue do you?

Even worse… it’s slid my eyeshadow *up* my lid so It looks like I’ve applied my eyeshadow with a freakin’ set square for precision. *That chick looks like she could do with a 217 for Christmas*

I’m admitting defeat on this one.  I wanted to love it for it’s reasonable price, the way it makes pigments even more vibrant, the way pigments stick to it like the proverbial to a blanket.  But creasing is never a good look *sniff*.

Onwards and upwards! Aqua Color next?

I bought the Kryolan Supra Color to use as a base for my mineral eyeshadows which tend to apply sheerly without a solid base not to mention the fall out if they don’t have something to sitck to!

It’s basically a black grease paint.  Upon opening, it has a clear layer of grease ontop which I ‘patted’ off with a piece of kitchen roll until I got to the black stuff below!

As you can see by the swatch above, it’s a very deep and pigmented black which applies smoothly.  You can use a brush or your finger to apply, I’ve been using a synthetic flat shadow brush to apply which seems to work really well.

I then pat my mineral/loose eyeshadows ontop of a thin layer of the Supra Color.  The shadows stick really well to the Supra Color with minimal fall out and even more impressively, I’ve discovered that I actually do have some blending ability!  It is SO much easier to blend out eyeshadows over this base than it is over UDPP.

Here’s the finished result:

Unfortunately (and as I mentioned yesterday) my eyeshadows start to crease after a mere 3 hours 🙁  UDPP holds them firm for at least 9 hours on me.

The picture below was taken after 3 hours wear:

What a shame huh?

JoBetterDays & GraceLondon both recommend I try it over a little UDPP.  I’m really hopeful that’ll make the difference because my GOD I don’t want to give up my new-found blending abilities!  Imagine… colour that lasts AND looks fantastic!

Not too much to ask… is it?

That time had come… the moment I’d been dreading for almost 8 months.

It was time to sacrifice the UDPP packaging in the quest for more product.

Thanks to some advice and gentle nudges in the right direction from the lovely girls on Twitter (AbbieandBrian, Lollipop, Ally, cosmetic-candy, melovemakeup, get_lippie, slaphappybeauty & Rhamnousia) I felt a little more confident that I could depot without removing most of my fingers in the process.

Here we go:

The cast of (necessary) characters.  I’m using a Body Shop sample pot – did you know that you can ask for a samples in The Body Shop?

Grab your boyfriend, husband, dad (or someone else you can palm this thankless task onto) and get them to saw straight through the middle.  Make sure you’re using a knife with a serated blade!

Ta-Da! Look at all that product!

Look! That’s enough to keep me going for another month right there!

All scraped out..

Goodness me, that would have gone in the bin if it weren’t for all you lovely bloggers alerting me to the packaging shame that is UDPP

But wait! There’s more! – Get that knife back out and start sawing the bottom of the tube too, ‘cos look!

Yes! Shame on you Urban Decay!

Get every last splodge!

Et Voila! One dead UDPP tube and one very nearly full pot of Primer Potion.

I know, I know… there’s hundreds of these tutorials about now in the blogosphere and on youtube.  I should know, I’ve watched most of them…

Why add to it?  Well… because DESPITE that – I very nearly just binned the UDPP without doing this.  I figured it would be too much hassle, too hard, too whatever other lazy ass excuse I could come up with.

It was fine.  I mean, it was hard work waiting patiently whilst my husband sawed through the middle bit… FASTER *whipcrack* – but he got there in the end.  So, I’m happy to saturate the UDPP depotting tutorial presence on the internet if it helps bully YOU (or your general dogsbody) into making sure you do this when the time comes.

I generally balk at the prospect of paying more than £8 for a high street/drug store product, but I had seen/read a few reviews of the new L’oreal Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer and was too excited by the “resurfacing” claims not to at least check it out.

My skin isn’t too bad and I’m generally fairly content with it… however, improvements can always be made right? and the thought of poreless, mattified smooth skin was one temptation too far.  So, I left Superdrug clutching my little 15ml pot of miracles whilst trying not to growl too loudly at the £12.99 receipt sat in the bottom of the bag.

Please excuse the stock image, I’ve still got the sniffles and the thought of digging out my camera feels far too energetic!

The consistency reminds me of a slightly less fluffy Maybelline Dream Mousse product, it’s a pale pink colour and a little goes quite a long way as it spreads smoothly and easily across the skin.  It feels quite heavy thanks to the silicones, although this feeling does fade after a little while you’ll be pleased to hear.  After application, my skin feels very velvety and soft – but unfortunately, that feeling fades aswell.

L’oreal say:

Inspired by professional make-up, this primer masks wrinkles and uneven textures in the skin, making the complexion incredibly smooth with a velvety touch. Skin feels soft as if resurfaced.

The high elastomer content in the Smoothing Primer means that it has a beautifully smooth texture and is incredibly effective at disguising wrinkles and pores. The combination of soft, light powders gives a matte look and a silky finish.

Bold claims huh?

Well, this is where I stop talking and let you decide.  I’ve uploaded a picture… a great big massive ugly close up picture.  Here are my pores and wrinkles for all the world to see.  I’ve primed half my face with this product before applying my foundation whilst the other half has the foundation applied on bare skin.

Please excuse the wild hair and slightly goofy bug-eyed expression – my camera’s wide angle lens is not the most flattering (but great for pinpoint focusing accuracy on those pores!)

Click the image to make it SUPER-SIZED! (if you dare)

Are you back? Do you need therapy?

So what do you think?  Is there a discernible difference?  If there is… is it worth £12.99 of your money?

Personally, I don’t think I’ll bother repurchasing.

Tell me what you think!

Synonymous with the brand (and highly regarded) is Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer Potion, so I was excited to get the chance to test and review some of their latest primers.

Urban Decay Lip Primer Potion is a new release to coincide with their Autumn/Winter collection…

They say:

Prepare your lips for the day ahead. Our invisible primer lays a silky foundation for your favorite lipstick or gloss. Color is truer, applies smoother, lasts longer, and will not fade or feather. The easy-glide formula feels velvety-soft, without the drying feeling often associated with long-lasting lip color.

The formula includes SPF 15 (yay!) and moisturizing Vitamins A, C and E for a primer that protects and perfects. And, our pretty roll-up tube and slanted bullet make for precise, easy application.

It’s a concealer coloured unassuming little product decked out in Urban Decay’s trademark pretty purple packaging.  All very nice, but does it actually do anything?

Let’s put it to the test!

First of all, let me introduce you to my bare lips.  I make no apologies for the total lack of makeup… it’s a Sunday and I couldn’t be bothered.

You’ll notice that I have a very full bottom lip (and not much top lip unfortunately).  This really causes quite a problem for me with lipsticks, especially pale ones.  The inner part of my bottom lip is highly pigmented in comparison to the rest of the lip (see the redder bit?).  Lipsticks simply don’t stick to that part of my lip which isn’t too much of a problem if the shade is dark enough… but if I’m wearing a nude or pale lip, you can spot where the lipstick hasn’t applied properly from a mile away.

I also have dry lips and some deep creases which I put down to a 20-a-day cigarette habit that lasted nearly 15 years.

The only lip primers I’ve ever tried in the past have been those plumping stinging ones, so I was interested to put Urban Decay’s Lip Primer Potion to the ultimate test!

Firstly…

I applied a lip scrub (I keep thinking Dr. Evil when I look at this picture).  I use a minty sugar based scrub from Earthen Glow Minerals.

Then I generously applied the primer all over my lips… Look! The red bit isn’t quite so noticeable! It created a nice even base without giving concealer lips!

Applying Revlon Matte Lipstick in Pink Pout, a lovely shade that I’ve barely worn because of my uneven pigmentation problem.  I found that the primer helped smooth the application of this matte which drags more than most lipsticks.

Finished! Apologies for looking so smug here… not quite sure why that is…

Final thoughts:

I’m very pleased to have discovered this product!  It offers a solution to my uneven pigmentation problem and that is the one thing I really hoped it would solve.  I’m not convinced that my lipstick lasted longer than usual… but it definitely faded evenly instead of leaving a ring around the edge of my lips as per usual.

Unfortunately, I found the actual primer itself quite hard to apply, a little bit draggy.  I also didn’t feel that it was very moisturising on my dry lips which was one of the promises made.  I did try the primer again with a waxy lip balm underneath and that definitely eased the dryness.. but worked against the whole priming effect so obviously not a very good solution!  I shall try a more cream-like lip moisturiser (think Body Shop) and see if that helps at all.

Would I purchase this?  Yes.  I’ve never found anything that evens out my lip pigmentation so EFFECTIVELY without completely drying my lips out or wearing off rapidly (concealer).  For me at least, this is a product that will change how I wear lipstick.  I will have far more confidence in pale lips without reapplying constantly and trying to grind the colour into a uniform application.  That’s a HUGE breakthrough for me!

Now… Urban Decay, listen up… please could you squeeze a little more moisturiser into it for old scabby-lipped ladies like me?

Available from the usual Urban Decay stockists and priced at £10