A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

“It’s cold!”

“I’m putting the heating on!”

These are two sentences that I read on my Twitter timeline yesterday, truly signalling the advent of September and the end of Summer.  There are many things to feel gloomy about… the darker evenings and shorter days will always be at the top of my list but let’s not get too disheartened.  There is nothing that a chunky knit, leather boots, and an Autumnal lipstick can’t make better.

Seeing as I’m not a fashion blog, I’ll let you go elsewhere for your style fix but hang around for a little while longer while I show you a lovely transitional lipstick that should guide you gently from one season to the next.

Today, I’m looking at a lovely chunky lip pencil from Aussie brand Lipstick Queen.  You’d be forgiven for thinking that the brand have only recently joined the pencil love in, but oh no… The Chinatown Glossy Pencils are the forefathers of the trend, Poppy King released these back in 2009… long before you couldn’t move for chubby lip love.

There are eight shades available and of these, I’m showing you Thriller… the closest to a traditional red.

The package comes complete with an oversized pencil sharpener, I like to think that were these put into production today, Poppy would have designed them as twist-up crayons… having to sharpen pencils is an irritation.

The formula is soft but firm enough to apply withut any issues, the tip glides across the lips and delivers a sheer-but-buildable amount of colour.  Although glossy, the overall effect isn’t one of “gloss”… there’s no “wet-look” lips here and no stickiness either, thankfully.  The product wears comfortably over a decent-enough time period, around 3 hours, needing a topup after drinks or lunch.

The fomula doesn’t dry my lips out but leaves them in the same condition prior to application, a good choice for any dry-lips sufferers in the coming colder weather.

The colour is a sheer, berry red with a hint of pink.  It’s a really comfortable in-between shade for anyone who isn’t quite ready to go all out Autumnal vamp.  I know I always need a little bit of gentle easing into the season… and Thriller is a great shade choice for anyone who wants to explore a red lip without having to commit to full-blown colour.

Lipstick Queen Chinatown Glossy Lip Pencils are priced at £22 each and available to buy online from SpaceNK.com

* press sample

Whenever I write a post or a review about a lipgloss, I start it off with the words: “I don’t like lipgloss”. This is an absolute. It cannot be changed.  I don’t like lipgloss, I think it’s a horrible lip-covering that puts me in mind of windy days/sticky lips scenarios…. lipgloss lips that create strands of gloop as the mouth opens and closes, you know what I’m talking about.

For you, as a reader, it means that when I do review a lipgloss… I’m reviewing it because it delivers something that makes it more interesting than your bog-standard tube o’ lip-jizz.

The BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie range… (btw, “marvelous/marvellous”.. you say tomayto, I say tomahto – obviously I’m right and you’re wrong) does deliver something in addition to the norm.  It packs a fair-to-middling amount of lip-plumping goodness in that little tube.  It’s not as good as the old crew mind… do you remember the old Pout Lip plumper that used to feel like you’d actually been punched in the face to achieve the trout pout of your dreams?  Those were the days…

Anyway, Marvelous Moxie contains enough peppermint oil to deliver that satisfying tingle and pleasing fullness to the lip-line.  As I’m getting a wee bit older, I’m appreciating things like this more readily.

The formula is fairly typical though thankfully, not too thick or heavy in texture on the lips.  It spreads nicely and the applicator allows for some precision without overloading the doe-foot tip.

Game Changer is a somewhat cool-toned red, quite dense in its opacity (for a gloss) and will layer up on your lips, building in pigmentation as you apply.  For me, I can’t bear more than a single swipe, so the photos below show just that.  The texture isn’t too bad… it’s tacky but not to the extreme, just enough to ensure some longevity during wear.

If I’m honest, I begrudgingly like it and I’ve reached for it a couple of times in recent weeks.  Usually when I want something to brighten my look without screaming “bold lips” in your face.  That’s not to say that I don’t inevitably end up wiping the back of my hand across my mouth after an hour… but still, I’m always tempted to reapply.

Excuse the fringe…

One coat delivers semi-sheer coverage that, on my pale lips, delivers a fairly impressive amount of pigment.  It’s enough to give a hint to my love of red on those days when I’m not quite feeling brave enough to go the whole hog.  Red lips for wimps?  Absolutely… but with the added benefit of some super-sexy shine and a plumped-up lipline.

Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Game Changer is available to buy online from feelunique.com priced at £12.80

* press sample

You can’t eat cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner without getting porky.  You can’t put in zero effort and reap all the rewards (unless you’re a cow).  And you can’t wear a kickass, uber-matte lipstick without it all going wrong… eventually.

This is how I feel about the Lime Crime Velvetines in Red Velvet.  I’d held off buying for ages, I’m not a fan of the way the brand has conducted itself in the past and to be honest, I haven’t been a fan of the products that they’ve released either.  But the swatches have been amazing.  Screw the fact that I’m in the 30+ category and “really” shouldn’t be wearing uber matte lipsticks, seriously… screw that!  Red Velvet has been on my radar as a must-have for a long while.  I had to try it, I just had to, didn’t I?

The packaging is rather nice actually, less unicorny and more sophisticated girlie… I do like the frosted glass container but there’s one irritation that bothers me each time I use it.  Why is there no inner ridge in the tube where I can scrape off the excess product?  Peering inside, it’s like looking into the Black Hole of Calcutta and when something is this frighteningly pigmented, you need absolute control over the amount of product on the wand.

Without smearing this around the opening, I don’t have that control and it balls up pretty quickly at the top, threatening to make a holy mess.

But the one thing you can’t deny is that once applied, Red Velvet is in a league of its own.  Richly pigmented, deeply opaque, and velvet-textured… it’s a cracker.  I’ve found it best to apply in two thin layers… once to get perfect outline and once to fill in for complete coverage.  The formula is very wet to begin with and I inevitably end up with some of it on my front teeth.  However, within 60-seconds it dries to an almost powdery finish.

The texture is lightweight but you can “feel” it on your lips because of the apparent dryness it imparts.  It’s not actually that drying in terms of what it does to the condition of your lips but it will happily settle into all of your lip furrows and stick like the proverbial to the outer lip-line.  It’s colour-depth and downright vampiness makes this the perfect choice for a night out… except, you might not want to choose it…

Let me explain…

On me, it wears U-G-L-Y.  I have a large bottom lip and the first place that this disappears is toward the inside of my lip, leaving a horribly apparent ridge of colour.  This colour-ridge narrows as the colour slowly disappears from the centre of my mouth, eventually leaving me with a rather impressive ring around the lower lip-line.  And this is without eating, only drinking.

Compared to some red lipsticks, I actually found this to be relatively transfer-proof, there’s a little left on my glass after drinking but nowhere near as much as most lipsticks.  It also resists transferring to my teeth once it has set on the lip, so it’s a real shame that I experience such horrible overall wear.  You can see the kind of wear I get in this photo on my Tumblr.  You should note, however, that this may be a peculiarity on me… many other bloggers report great wear from this product.

Ultimately, it’s a gorgeous red but I probably won’t wear it without a serious case of paranoia, and when you’re braving a lip this ka-pow, that’s not a great combination.

Lime Crime Velvetines in Red Velvet is priced at £11.50 and available to buy online from love-makeup.co.uk and cutecosmetics.co.uk

Do you own one of the Velvetines?  What are your thoughts on them?

Bury me in it.  For long after the blood has ceased to reach my vital organs, Pink Power surely has the might to defibrillate my weary heart back into action and bring me to life again.  Probably.

Ok, so maybe it’s more of a heart-stopping pink than a heart-starting one but either way, you see where I’m coming from with the over-dramatisation of a lipstick.  Basically, it’s a luverly pink with all the rage and sultriness that our Summer has yet to deliver.

It’s not too drying, lasts pretty well through anything except a monsoon (watch out August) or a doughnut (watch out fatty), and has a fairly light texture that belies its price tag.

As for that price tag?  Seventeen Pink Power is a mere snip at only £4.29 from boots.com

What’s your brightest pink and do you fancy owning this one?

A makeup artist once told me that straight men don’t like bold lips. They can feel intimidated by a statement colour and don’t consider these women as “kissable” as their smoky-eyed/nude-lipped counterparts.

Just as well I don’t give a shit then, isn’t it?

Here are five of my most retina-searingly, beautiful pink lipsticks and you’ll be delighted (or at least, you should be, I engineered it this way!) to hear that they’re all under £20.  As much as I do love my Tom Ford Pure Pink, you can get some raging pigment for much, much less moneh.

01: Boots Seventeen Lasting Fix Lipstick in Pink Power

This is my latest pink acquisition and I’ve been reliably informed that it’s a dupe for MAC’s legendary Girl About town.  I won’t “review” it because I’m posting a FOTD with it later… suffice to say, for under a fiver… it’s a bit of a bargain bright! (£4.29, boots.com)

02: Wet n’ Wild Mega Last Lipstick in Don’t Blink Pink

An eBay purchase from last year, this staggeringly intense pink is almost neon and definitely leans a little warmer than the rest, making it quite an unusual shade.  Most of these bright pinks can often be mistaken for fuchsia, so it’s nice to see one that’s a little bit different.  You can see it in a FOTD, here. (£2.80 not inc. shipping, ebay.co.uk)

03: BarryM Lip Paint in #145 Punky Pink

This is another apparent Girl About Town dupe (what is it with that shade!) though I think it’s a wee bit more cherry-toned, slightly deeper than the MAC offering.  A hair more expensive than the Seventeen lipstick but still under a fiver, you can’t go wrong! (£4.49, barrym.com)

04: BarryM Lip Paint in #146 Dolly Pink

Now, I have to admit… I don’t wear this one a huge amount, mostly because it’s one of those lipsticks that like to wear you.  Dolly Pink is a candy-fest that just about has enough depth to keep it a little more classy (haters gonna hate) than the Nicki Minaj, Gaga, shitty pinks that look like you’ve ground a piece of chalk into your lips.  This is as blue-pink as I can go without looking like a revolting caricature of myself.  I’ve even binned MAC Snob. (£4.49, barrym.com)

05. Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense #36 Satin Fuchsia

The most expensive of the bunch but a truly pretty fuchsia that lasts and lasts.  This MUFE offering is part of a huge range that of lipsticks that make me wish I lived closer to a stockist for some serious swatching.  It’s a very clean, bright pink that whitens the teeth and makes the eyes sparkle.  Not a bad makeover for less than twenty quid. (£16.95, gurumakeupemporium.com)

What do you think of my “do not adjust your set” selection of pink lipsticks?  Am I missing any of your favourites?  Let me know in the comments!

The world is awash with lip crayons! Perhaps we’re all reverting back to our childhoods as an alternative to a rather gloomy reality but what is it with wanting to make our cosmetics look like crayola?

Well, whatever it is, I’m loving it.

Seventeen, the brand from Boots… one of the most accessible in the UK market, have firmly jumped aboard the lip crayon bandwagon and released their own version.  I had no idea what to expect.  Would they be sheer and balmy a la the original Clinique formula?  Would they be drying like the Revlon Just Bitten Stains?  Or perhaps they’ll be uber-glossy like the new No7 Lip Crayons?

Well, they actually strike a rather good balance… but with the added bonus of some proper pigment.  Hear that?  It’s a choir of colour-loving lips singing in celebration.

The two shades that I’m swatching today are Bold (orange) and Knockout (plum pink).  The packaging is functional and practical with a winder mechanism to wind the crayon up and down.  It’s bright… chunky and you’d be hard-pushed to lose it in your handbag.

The texture of these lip crayons are both very similar, so although I’ve only tried two from the five shades available, I’m expecting a consistent formula from a brand as well-established as Seventeen are.

Talking of the texture, I found it to be quite light considering the amount of pigment it provided.  You can see in the lip swatches below that there is no thick layer of product over my lips.  The furrows and creases are still fairly well-defined and not filled in with goop!  Despite this light layer of product, it punches well above its weight when it comes to coverage.  That is some pretty strong colour from a quick slick of crayon.

bare lips

Seventeen Lip Crayon in shade: Bold

Seventeen Lip Crayon in shade: Knockout

I didn’t notice any horrible smell during application (I’m looking at you Revlon), and the colour glided on with little effort.  I’d say that these aren’t quite as moisturising as the original Clinique formula but slightly more moisturising than their newer, intense formula.  Considering that we’re looking at nearly the same level of pigmentation, render me suitable impressed.

I wouldn’t describe the finish as a high-gloss one, it’s fairly low-key (which I personally prefer) and the colour lasts nicely for about 4-5 hours (less if you’re eating/drinking).  It doesn’t leave a stain behind but it does fade pretty evenly.

All in all, at only £4.99 a-piece (also currently on buy-one-get-2nd-half-price), the new Seventeen Lip Crayons* are a bleedin’ steal.  Have you tried any of the shades yet?

* press sample

So, Rimmel… and their “apocaliptic” hybrid gloss/lipstick.  Available in eight shades of lip-smacking colour from vampy plum through to pale nude, has been setting the blogging world alight from day one.  Except, I can’t for the life of me work out why.

First things first, they smell bad.  I’m not the kind of blogger that harps on about scented products being the root of all evil, I couldn’t normally give a chuff about scented/flavoured products but these are so horribly synthetic, I find them almost offensive.  Smell and taste are so closely linked, that if something smells bad… it often tastes bad too and I just don’t want this genetically-modified Jolly Rancher crap on my lips with it’s faux fruit salad gooeyness mere centimeters from my nostrils.

When it comes to application, the wand – complete with product dip/well – doesn’t work properly.  There’s no real give to the sponge, the product contained within the well is staying there.  For all eternity.  It’s not coating your lips, you’re just double dipping it back into the container each time you use it.  Give it up.

When I headed down to Boots, finally giving into the hype I was reading everywhere, I umm’ed and ahh’ed over the shades… in the end, I settled for Celestial, and the colour is indeed very, very, pretty.  That neutral kind of pink that goes with everything… looking good on practically every skin-tone.  But my love for the shade just cannot overcome.  Let me tell you what else I hate about this product.

It feels heavy on the lips.  Like tar.  Like a new kind of tar that has been created from lead.  Spread over my lips and left to bake in the sun.  It’s 2013, lip products don’t feel like this anymore.  I crave lightweight textures that deliver strong pigment without making me feel like my lips have been glued together with eye bogies.  And because the product just kinda sits there… it travels.  Within the hour, I experienced the kind of feathering you’d expect from a siren-red lipstick that had been applied with a trowel.

At least you’d think with that kind of “creamy” coverage, your lips would stay well-nourished underneath?  No.  I found the formula drying and unforgiving to my “not even very dry” lips.  The product settled in the furrows and felt less and less comfortable with every passing minute.

And so, for its parting demonstration… did it stay on for long?  No… it lasted no more than a couple of hours before wearing away without leaving even a hint of a stain to see me through the afternoon.

I have basically been violated by a lipstick.  And that my friends, is a hugely disappointing sensation.

Rimmel Apocalips are priced at £4.49 each and are available to buy instore or online from boots.com, superdrug.com, and asos.com

Wotcha, I just thought I’d post a little update to apologise for my lack of… err… updates.  You see, to put it plainly, I’ve lost my blogging mojo in a big way.  So majorly infact, that I didn’t really want to voice it aloud out of fear of cementing it in my psyche as a “thing”.  In 4+ years of beauty blogging, I’ve only ever lost my blogging motivation in the most superficial of ways but this time it feels more emotional and backed with the full force of a little resentment.  I’ve always been a great believer in not forcing things and sometimes you just need to take a step back for a while, I can’t even remember the number of times I’ve said that to other bloggers who have found themselves drifting aimlessly and posting for the sake of it.

The problem is, I’m actually a bit too scared to take my own advice.  It’s not as if I have a thrilling social life once Leila has gone to bed, sure I’m kinda tempted to get back into the CSI franchise that made my pregnancy 100x more enjoyable (“Oh, I think the morning sickness is back, leave me alone with Greg Sanders K?”) and I haven’t watched an uninterrupted episode of Eastenders since 2011!  But where will all those unwritten posts go?  Not the reviews as such, but the random observations that creep into my head at 2am when I should be sleeping.  Has a lapsed-blogger ever exploded from not having somewhere to put these things?

Anyway, while I work through my “ishoos”, I’ll share yesterday’s FOTD.  You might be a little surprised to know that I’ve rediscovered a bit of love for nude lips.  I often look to the queen of nude lips (a.k.a Holly) for inspiration and remember my first nude lip love which was an old YSL Rouge Pur Transparent (we’re talking 10+ years ago).

This isn’t my old old favourite but it is still a YSL, and one of my favourites, Rouge Volupte #1 Nude Beige.  I bought this a few years ago when the Volupte’s were causing major pants wetting across the blogosphere and unlike my dabble into #7 Lingerie Pink, this one has remained a staple for whenever I need to glam up a smoky eye.

Whilst I prefer my bold shades to be richly pigmented… for me, there’s nothing worse than a white-based nude.  Anything remotely chalky can go straight into room 101 and this one is about as opaque as I can go before I start to feel like a wannabe ganguro.  I’m excited by YSL’s latest launch of Volupte Sheer Candy lipsticks (obv. not the should-be-bloody-bold-and-nothing-else shades) and hope that I may find another nude friend (please with sparkle?) among its collection.

The rest of the FOTD was a touch warmed up by the setting sun but it involved rediscovering my MUFE Face and Body Liquid Foundation in #36 (what lovely, natural coverage), a bargainous Wet n’ Wild palette in Comfort Zone, and some eyeliner (which could have done with a lot more smudging) courtesy of Clarin’s Kohl Kajal, which was a limited edition release from last Summer.

I hate to be such a giant cliche when it comes to changing my lipstick according to the seasons but when something feels right, well… you’ve just got to go with it haven’t you?

What colours are you wearing on your lips at the moment?

GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH

GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH

GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH GUSH

Dying from pigmented, juicy lipstick love.  I wanna squeeze it’s chubbiness until it spews a slash of hot pink glory all over my lips.

Clinique Chubby Stick Intense in Plushest Punch*, priced at £16.00 and available on counter and online from www.clinique.co.uk. 

We gonna need moar than eight shades please Clinique.

* PR sample (thank god I’m not a gusher)

It’s been a while since I’ve pulled MAC Speed Dial out from the lipstick drawer but there’s something so damn irresistible about pink lipsticks and Spring-time.  Looking back through my archives, I notice that I always start wearing the pinks at this time of year, and I tend to go more “nude” (har har) in the Summer-time.  I’m such a sheep for trends.

One of my favourite things about MAC Speed Dial is that it’s a beautifully clean-looking pink.  Bright without being in your face… a little cool-toned without being blue.  As is typical of most MAC lipsticks, I don’t find this to be the best formula in the world.  The cremesheen finish is slightly claggy on the lips if you build it up, feeling quite thick and heavy from the first application… staying power is good for around 2hrs, without eating.  I’m just not a massive MAC lipstick fan I guess.

Grumbles aside, the colour just makes me happy.  It brightens up an otherwise boring FOTD and goes nicely with a simple eyeliner flick and tidy brows.

What’s your favourite spring-time pink lipstick?

MAC Speed Dial is priced at £14.00 and available to buy on counter or online at www.maccosmetics.co.uk

Looking for a KAPOW! red?  Of course you are.

Of. course. you. are.

Lipstick Queen’s Scarlet Red* is as lusty as they come.  Richly pigmented with a long-lasting formula, it’s not one for the faint-hearted.

Sitting halfway between a matte and a satin finish, I find that once applied, it sticks extremely well… if you have trouble with bold lip colours feathering, you should add this to your “to try” list.  Infact, I think it’s fair to say that this kind of stickability appears to be quite the selling point throughout the Sinner range.

Unfortunately, and probably because of this… it’s not as moisturising as I’d like it to be.  There’s a sacrifice to be made, and although I wouldn’t go quite so far as to call it “drying”, you may not find it as comfortable on the lips as you’d like without a slick of balm underneath and then you’d probably lose the “sticks like sh*t to a blanket” factor that I’ve just bigged up so much.  Bloody cosmetic formulas.

Application is easy enough with or without a lip brush.  In the photo below, I used a brush because any slight wobbles always seem to show up far more in photos than they do in person.  However, the firmer texture will allow you to work some precision lip-lining direct from the bullet if you can’t be doing with any faffing around carrying brushes.

As for the actual shade?  Well, it’s heart-beat inducing.  A red that I’d say leans slightly toward the cooler side of the spectrum without being a full-bodied blue red.  It should suit most skintones as I think it’s one of those reds that will somehow allow your own natural colouring to impact on how it looks in the context of a full-face.  What I love most about the colour though is its brightness.  Scarlet Red delivers a vivid slash of colour and brightens my complexion thanks to its clarity and clean hue.

Lipstick Queen Sinner Scarlet Red is priced at £18, available instore and online at uk.spacenk.com

* press sample

1. Jenny from Beauty And The Biryani is looking lovely in Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate lipstick in shade 01

2. Rachel from Rachel tbeauty is resplendent in Lancome’s L’absolu Rouge, shade #132 Caprica

3. Adrianna from Agent Coulson Lives does her country proud(!) in MAC Ruffian Red

4. Kadian from Ace Your Face rocks a budget beauty in the form of Maybelline’s Colour Sensational in Red Revival

5. Cassie from Shimmer Dreamz pulls of the classic red lip and liner look with the help of Clinique’s High Impact lipstick in Red-y To Wear.

If you want to submit your red lip look, email me a photo of your lovely selves with the following info:

Your name:
Lip shade name:
Link to blog (if applicable):

Are you wearing a red lip today?  Tell me about it in the comments below!