A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

After a few requests, here’s a boring FOTD, but I am wearing my new Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited lippie in shade BG907.

On my lips, this comes out a lovely creamy pale pink nude.

Considering it’s paleness it still manages to look soft, rather than stark.  It’s not statement lip at all like Lingerie Pink or BarryM 101, it’s more subtle than GOSH Darling… I really like it’s neutrality – it’s the Switzerland of lipsticks

It feels nice on my lips and isn’t at all drying despite having a semi-matte appearance.  It’s smooth to apply although no-where near as creamy as the YSL Rouge Voluptes.

Longevity is average.  Lasted easily through a couple of drinks – defeated by a pastry.  The colour isn’t hugely pigmented, I did need to apply a few layers to build up the shade but nothing ridiculous like some balmy products.  Despite a few layers I was really pleased to discover that it doesn’t *feel* like I have lippie on… it’s very light and not at all waxy.

Honestly, I do love it… but (being the skinflint I am) I wouldn’t spend this much money on it (£17.50) if it weren’t the perfect nude shade for my pale complexion.

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My final Urban Decay review now I’ve had a good while to play with the items I was sent.

I received two shades, and my initial reactions to them couldn’t have been more different.

1. Naked

This is a beautiful soft rose shade, that on many complexions would pass as a pinky-nude.  The (vanilla) scent is lovely, although it may be a little overpowering for some.  Application is smooth with a glossy creamy finish.  It’s supposed to be full coverage but I find it a little sheer.  I would put it on a par with MAC’s Lustre formula in terms of pigmentation.

This isn’t the best swatch… it looks more cool toned here than it is in reality.  But it’s a good example of the lovely glossy finish.  I’ve cropped my lips out of a FOTD image below to show a truer representation of the colour.

Lovely, isn’t it!  As you can see, it’s a little too dark on my complexion for me to consider it a nude.

2. Confession

The second lippie up for review is a far vampier affair!

Confession is a deep, dark claret shade that scared the heck out of me when I twisted the tube up!

I looked at it for many minutes wondering what the hell I was gonna look like with such a statement shade.

I needn’t have worried thanks to the semi-sheer formula:

I was surprised to find this quite flattering and wearable, but being the scaredy-cat that I am, ended up pairing it with a nude gloss anyway and I really like the result!

Confession was a bit more fiddly application-wise than Naked.  I found that it had a tendency to appear a little darker in the creases on my lips and more sheer on the smoother surfaces.  This may be visible in the above image (top lip of 1st photo).  I *think* I may have been applying a little too much wondering if I could amp up the pigmentation… but as it’s something that bothered me at the time, into the review it goes!

I was satisfied with the staying-power of both lipsticks and wear was nice and even on the darker shade (no dark rings here!)

Urban Decay Iconic Lipsticks available from Boots and Debenhams, priced at £12

I’m a lazy girl.. I hate reapplying lipsticks, so I do have a fondness for long-lasting lip colours.

I picked these glosses up in Superdrug a few weeks ago after falling in love with the shades whilst noseying through the Sleek stand.

Purity (on the left) and Christobell (on the right)

Purity is a lovely creamy dusky nude shade on my lips, whilst Christobell is a pale silvery pink with lots of shimmer.

Sleek say:

…Wonderlast Duo Lipgloss will equip you with a long lasting high gloss pout, allowing you to face the battles of the day without the endless need for reapplication. A lustrous, hydrating and long-lasting lip gloss. Available in 8 shades…

The idea behind this gloss is not a new one… Revlon released a version earlier this year (Colorstay Liquid Lipstick – which I’m a fan of), Maybelline does one (Superstay Lip Color) and even GOSH had one called Everlasting Lips (not sure if that’s still available).

Anyway, how do these glosses stand up to their claims?

First up, we have “Purity”:

Purity, with and without the gloss topcoat.

Well, firstly.. the shade is true to the tube and it applied smoothly.  However, I could instantly feel my lips reacting to the drying lipcolour.  Even with the gloss attempting to disguise the furrows… the drying effects are still visible.

I LOVE the clear gloss topcoat though, it’s smooth almost creamy and completely non-sticky – great stuff!

Moving on to “Christobell”…

Sorry… Did someone just post a picture of a cat’s bumhole?

Erm… check that out!  Way to age my lips by about 30 years, thanks Sleek!  The gloss does do quite a good job of disguising this though.  I’ll just have to walk around with a constant smile on my face to stretch out that skin.

One problem though… one BIG problem…

WTF is that? 5 minutes later… I felt my lips becoming “gritty” and this is what greeted me in the mirror.  Attractive no?  Just gonna go see if my husband fancies a snog…

This shade has done this before for me, I’m not sure if it’s an application issue or if I’ve got an odd tube.  I *think* it’s when I apply more than one coat of the colour.  But you HAVE to if you want to achieve anything near the intensity it looks in the tube as this shade is quite sheer.

As for longevity, it’s not bad.. but it’s not the best.  Revlon Liquid Lipstick wins that one for me (although also drying).  I would say that these Wonderlast Duo Lipglosses last an average of 3 hours on me before fading.  They also fade a little unevenly, so you may find yourself scrubbing away at your lips with the back of your hand well before the 3hrs are up.

Removal can be tricky (as with all of these types of product) But I overcome this by using my fingertip with a slick of cleansing oil or some other dual-phase makeup remover.

I’m disappointed that I’m not happier with these lipglosses, at a price of £3.91 each they’re an absolute steal and I’ve already declared my adoration for the 2 shades above.

However cat bum lips simply won’t do and if we lived in the U.S. I’d demand my money back for Sleek being so cheeky as to claim they’re “hydrating”.

I *may* repurchase Purity for the shade and to use the gloss coat ontop of other lipsticks but Christobell is a total no-no for me.

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I treated myself to these 2 much talked about lippies a couple of days ago. 

Nude Attitude is quite warm and tan, I can imagine that it would look awesome on medium/olive skin.  However, it does absolutely nothing for my cool toned complexion unfortunately.

Pink Pout on the other hand is quite a nice choice for me… It’s a very cool toned pink with a hint of lavender.  Both shades are matte (as you would expect from the name of the line!)  They’re quite easy to apply considering their texture… but aren’t particularly forgiving if your lips are at all dry.  I would definitely pair this up with a good coat of lip balm underneath.

Pink Pout is looking a little warmer in the swatch above than it does in person,  the shot was taken early evening as the sun was going down.  Ha! shows how ridiculously pale and ‘blue’ my skintone must be if this is warm!

I shall include Pink Pout in my next FOTD in the hope it gives a truer impression.  As for Nude Attitude, I’m not keeping it.  £5 inc. postage (within UK) if anyone wants it?

Are you loving the Mattes range?  What are your favourite shades?

Just another boring neutral FOTD…

Eyes:

Body Shop Shimmer Cube in Warm (Thanks Tali!)
Sleek Ink Pot in Black (Dominatrix)
Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara
GOSH Velvet Touch eyeliner (Black)

Face:

Gale Hayman Youth Light Foundation (Porcelain) – A Direct Cosmetics cheapy I’ve surprised myself by liking!
Earthen Glow Minerals Matte Blush (Emotions)
MAC MSF in Perfect Topping

Lips:

GOSH Darling Lipstick

My hooded eyelids make things really tricky for a novice like me… I can hardly ever achieve a decent eyeliner flick, and getting my shadows to appear above the crease without looking plain odd I find really tricky.  Help!

A lovely, lovely nude that’s a dream to apply.  I enjoy being able to get away with keeping nudes on my nails a bit longer, especially this one which only suffers minimal and even tip wear.

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This is a tiny haul, it was larger but MsCuppyCakes was out of stock on a few items of my order.  How much do I hate it when e-tailers send half an order without giving me the option to adjust/add to my original order in lieu of the out of stock stuff.  I mean, I’m already paying the international shipping, so gimme the god damn option to choose alternative products or simply re-order from fresh if their online merchant service doesn’t allow exchanges.  *and breathe…*

Other than that, I was pleased with the service.  I received my items fairly quickly (within 14 days) and everything arrive in one piece and well packaged.  The value of my order was stated correctly on the customs form and not overinsured (important to avoid unecessary import duty).  I would order again, although I would definitely double check stock levels with a quick email and go to NonPareilBoutique instead if they were unsatisfactory.

Overall, 3/5… definite room for improvement with regards to stock updates and communication.

Anyway, here’s some of the infamous round lipsticks I selected:

From L -> R: Darling, Chaos, Ceto and Rea

and the swatches…

Darling and Ceto are a little too simillar for it to be worth owning them both.  Out of the 2, I prefer the slightly less sheer Darling.  Rea is a nice medium matte nude which isn’t at all drying on the lips like some mattes.

Chaos… beautiful in the tube, I’m really not sure whether I can pull this colour off or not… what do you think?  Yay or Nay?  Be honest now, or I’ll come round your house and pee in your cornflake box.

I also bought some of the NYX Loose Pearl Eyeshadows and Nail Polishes, although none of the polishes turned up *sigh*.  First impressions of the Loose Pearl Eyeshadows are positive (for the price).  Can’t stand the little pots they come in so I’ve ordered some pigment pots from eBay to decant them into.  I shall do some swatches of them soon.

I have a couple of GOSH brushes which I love and picked up on a 3for2 last year in Superdrug, but I haven’t ventured any further into the GOSH range than that, until now.

After discovering my love for bare coloured polishes (but not Nails Inc.) I picked up GOSH Nail Polish in shade ‘Ginger’ to try out.  I also picked up ‘Tangerine’ but that’s for another day!

It’s a very pretty shade with a subtle but definite shimmer, it’s not particularly ‘ginger’ as far as I’m concerned.

Application was a dream in comparison to Nails Inc., this is a solid 2 thin coater which builds up a lovely solid opacity.   The consistency is smooth and runny enough to allow for quick drying between the two coats.  I’m seriously impressed.  It doesn’t have a hugely glossy finish despite the shimmer, but that’s nothing that a top coat doesn’t put right.

I’ll definitely be heading back to the GOSH range for some more colours for the summer.  Great stuff!

GOSH Nail Polishes are priced at £4.89 each and available from Superdrug.

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Did you grab June’s InStyle magazine yet?  I did and I’m currently sporting my new nails.

The magazine shelf at Asda had been ransacked and I could only find Coral and Bare (typically I wanted Berry), but no matter, I grabbed Bare as I totally wouldn’t be able to carry off the super bright Coral colour.

Here it is!

It’s a really, really lovely soft colour – milky beige with a hint of pink.  And that’s where the compliments end.

Applying it reminded me of when I used to paint my nails with Tippex in school science classes.  It was a chalky, draggy nightmare!

I have no other experience with Nails Inc. as a brand, and wonder whether the quality was lowered for this huge InStyle promotion.  I don’t know if that’s usual practice – but if it is, how stoopid?  It’s left me pretty uninterested in ever picking up another Nails Inc. product.

As I’ve said before, my application skills suck (I’m slowly getting better though!) – and this looks like the worst I’ve ever done.  Up close, you can really see the drag marks at the base of the nail and the cleaning up I had to do after drying took me longer than painting did (2 coats btw).

It doesn’t look so bad here, but trust me it is.  I don’t know if paler colours are less forgiving – so that may make a difference.

The quality of the brush also left a lot to be desired, I had to snip the end a little to make the bristles align.  Surely, this must just because it’s a free promotional item – you wouldn’t pay £10.50 RRP for polish like that or are Nails Inc. incredibly over-rated?  I dunno, but thanks to the shoddy 1st impression I’m curious but not inclined to spend money on their products to find out.

Any reader opinions on Nails Inc. would be appreciated – tell me I’ve got it all wrong, or save me from my curiosity and let me know that YES, Nails Inc. are indeed overrated.

Shame, cos I really do love that colour.

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