LA SPLASH Studioshine Lip Lustre Aurora Review

(Side Note: Apologies for my absence and lack of responses over the past few months. I've been dealing with a lot of changes in my personal life lately and haven't had the time/energy for blogging. Consider this my hopeful return.)

Today I'm reviewing one of the new shades of LA Splash's Studioshine Lip Lustre range, inspired by Disney's female characters. When I saw the internet going crazy over these new lip shades, I admit I was weak. All they had to do was stick the name of a few Disney princesses on these and I had to have at least one lipstick from the range.

I went for Aurora as I loved the dark pinky/red tone it seemed to have and it was a shade I didn't have already as I usually go for straight up, bold reds. I ordered it from ebay in the end, as the postage if ordered directly from LA Splash's website to the UK was pretty extortionate (I wasn't paying £30 for this baby).

First things first: This can be one messy product when applying. My first time wearing this to my friend's birthday dinner, I applied it in the bathroom at work in a huge hurry which was a BIG mistake. There were pink smears all over my face and hands and in the end I had to use my Dolce and Gabbana trusty lipstick over the top to try and cover up the horror underneath. So essentially, probably don't try wearing this on a day you are late for work.

However, when applied calmly and carefully and in half-decent light, I love the result. As I've mentioned before, the more matte a lip colour, the better as far as I'm concerned as like most liquid lipsticks, it doesn't get more matte than this. It can feel a little dry, but I don't really expect anything else from a liquid lipstick like this. It stays put through kisses and drinking but can slide off a bit if you are eating oily food. I use Johnson's moisturising face wipes to get it off at the end of the day which contain oil and therefore work like a charm. 

I find the colour surprisingly flattering on my pale skin and I'm sold, despite the fact that I'm not usually a pink lips person. It reminds me of Rimmel's Kate 107 lipstick which is a favourite, but this is slightly brighter and more pink. 

So, I say, if you fancy a bit of princess in your life, go for it. It's a shame these are so difficult to come by in the UK at the moment, I've now ordered Evil Queen too (couldn't resist as I love a bit of Once Upon a Time) which I shall review shortly! 

Crazy Eyes!

This week I've been feeling really under the weather and unfortunately today I had to drag my self-pitying body out of bed and to a meeting. Therefore I think I subconsciously made the decision to overcompensate for my lack of enthusiasm for getting out of my PJs this morning with BAT S**T CRAZY EYE MAKE UP! I mean really over-the-top, I'm wearing a rainbow on my face kind of eye make up. 

I decided to take a couple of quick pictures for this spontaneous post and share the look with you which I created using a mixture of indie vegan eye shadows and the Urban Decay Vice 3 pallete.

For your reference, I'm wearing: Shiro Cosmetics' Finklestein all over the lid, Notoriously Morbid's Dita on the outer V and a little into the crease, Urban Decay's Alien on the outer half of my lid, Urban Decay's Alchemy  in the crease, outer V and outer third of my lower lash line (what a mouhtful!) and finally a little wash of Urban Decay's Bobby Dazzle  all over and then built up on the inner third of my eye. 

I was surprisingly happy with how this look turned out this morning and I felt it brought a little edge to my otherwise boring outfit today. As a side note, what you can't really see in these photographs is that Finklestein has a strange green/purple thing going on which I love. 

If you happen to have some of these products lying around, give this an experimental try! 

(Note: I'm wearing a coat of Pixie Epoxy under this to bring out the shadows to their best)

The Matte Reds: Part 1

Searching for the perfect matte lipstick? You've come to the right place! 

I'm an addict when it comes to red lipsticks and for me, it's matte all the way. So today I've decided to share with you some of my favourite matte reds, including one from the new Dolce and Gabbana range (reviewed here). 

Left to right: L'Oreal Exlusive Reds Blake, L'Oreal Exclusive Reds Eva, Rimmel Kate 01, Dolce and Gabbana Desire

1: L'Oreal Exclusive Reds Blake £7.99

To me, this shade is a perfect red. It's the purist red of all the reds! With a lovely very matte finish.

02. L'Oreal Exclusive Reds Eva £7.99

With an identical finish to the Blake shade in the same range, this lipstick is a very rich orange-red. It's not overly bright and therefore I find it very flattering and easy to wear, and I think it would suit olive skin tones beautifully (like Eva's of course)

03. Rimmel Kate 01 £5.49

Similar in colour to Eva but brighter and slightly more red, this shade is pretty bold. It has the least matte finish of the four but tends to dry to a more matte finish after a little while. This is one of my oldest and trustiest reds!

04. Dolce and Gabbana Dolce: Desire £26.50

My current favourite, this shade from Dolce and Gabbana is a cut above the rest, with a somewhat hefty price tag. Personally, I think it's totally worth it for that creamy velvet finish that this lipstick gives, and I love the deep pink-red colour. It's the most matte of all which in my opinion is a great thing!

So there you have it, I hope I've helped you on your way to finding your favourite matte red lipstick! If you're still searching, come back soon for part 2 where I'll have a few more matte reds for you deliberation (I know, I have problems).

Plus, if you have any recommendations for me of your favourites, I'd love to hear about them so please leave a comment below. 

Dolce & Gabbana's New Matte Lipsticks - Dolce Desire

Today is just a really quick post about my first impressions of the new Dolce & Gabbana matte lipstick range. I haven't worn the lipstick out yet so I can't tell you how well it fairs all day (although I'm already thinking it will do pretty well) but thought a few of you out there might want a better grasp on the colour and finish of the product so here it is.

(please excuse the state of me, it's been a long weekend!)

I am OBSESSED with matte red lipsticks, have been for years. To be honest, I struggle with the concept of ever wanting a red lipstick that doesn't have a matte finish. I just don't understand why I would ever want glossy red, when I can have matte red. I'm weird like that. So when I saw the ads for the new range by Dolce & Gabbana I was super excited. Mostly because I wanted to be the woman on the poster of course.

I picked up my lipstick in Harrods yesterday, which I am pretty sure is the only store in the UK currently selling this range and I went for Dolce Desire which is the pinker shade worn by one of the two lovely ladies from the ad campaign.

In the harsh department store lighting the shade looked a little bit too pink for my liking, but I remembered how lovely it looked on the advert and behind the scenes footage and how excited I had been and went for it. Boy am I glad I did.

Firstly it is unlike any other colour I have in my somewhat extensive range of matte reds. The slightly pinkish hue is beautiful and brings out the whiteness in my teeth more than some more orangey reds in my collection which can make them look a little yellow. I think what makes it that bit fresh and original is the deepness of the colour, as most pinkish lipsticks I have tried in the past have been quite bright but this one is so deep and sexy. The finish is PERFECTLY MATTE. Like your lips are coated with velvet or suede. The packaging is simple but feels expensive and heavy as you would expect. 

So to conclude, I am loving this lipstick and no doubt will slowly be building myself a collection of many of the colours in the range although I am super glad I picked this shade to start off with.

Has anyone tried any other shades in the range yet? 

Review: Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Primer

Recently, for the first time in my life I have been suffering with terrible dry skin. My skin has always been quite oily, particularly on my T-zone so I was pretty surprised and upset this winter when I noticed dry, flaky patches on my forehead, nose and chin. While I have been trying a combination of different techniques and products to solve my new skin issues, I decided to try the Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Primer when I saw a set of three Smashbox primers on sale in my local store. 

This primer is different to the type of primers I am used to using before I put on my make up, in that it doesn't give that soft, blurring effect. It does however leave a nice dewy look on my skin instead.

The real question for me is whether it combats my dry patches which are heightened by my foundation. 

I've tried this product out for a few days now and I would say, while it doesn't completely cover up my dry skin on a bad day, it definitely helps and can cover it completely when my skin isn't doing so bad.

I don't think I would splash out the full cost for a regular tube of this primer but I also don't regret purchasing it at a lower cost and can see myself easily using it up this winter. 

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Keep an eye out for upcoming reviews of the other two Smashbox primers featured in the set.

Tutorial: My Sleepy Concealer Routine (for those pesky dark circles)

One of the problems with being a sleepy beauty enthusiast like me, is those pesky dark circles that never seem to go away! 
So today I decided to share with you my current everyday routine for concealing the dark circles under my eyes. 

Here we go!

Before:

In this photo I have already applied a day cream, face primer and a light foundation

Step 1.

I begin my concealing routine with this cream eyeshadow from No 7 in Pretty Pink! I find the light pink colour and the shimmer give a great brightening lift to my under eye area. I apply it in a triangular shape underneath each eye (about 3 strokes of the applicator per eye) and also on top of the eyelid as an easy eye primer. (If I'm not feeling like wearing a lot of eye make up I can go out just with this on my lids and it looks great. If I want a really refined eye make up look, I usually add another primer on top of this one)

Then I just blend it with my finger!

In this photo I hope you can see the shadow has brightened up my eyes and the shimmer in it reflects the light in this area.

Step 2. I still need a bit more coverage on my dark circles and also I don't want it to look too glittery! So next I apply a thicker concealer over the top.

It's usually this Dermablend Corrective Stick in Opal but sometimes I use my MAC concealer in NW15 instead.

Blend it out with a beauty blender! 

(Please excuse the condition of mine!)

Step 3. Set it with powder

I'm using this loose one by Lancome (poudre majeure exellence) in 01 Translucide

Et Voila! All done with the concealin'

My finished make up look today

(I just went to the shops)

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and maybe found it useful if you need a little extra help in the under eye area like me!

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On a side note, today I got dragged in to a skincare shop by a sales assistant and was told that I had wrinkles and that my face was sagging past my chin and so I needed her £115 face scrub. I found it pretty amusing but at twenty-two, I didn't take that kindly to her suggesting my face has had it already, especially as I try to take pretty good care of my skin. Any similar funny experiences out there?

Kiko Cosmetics: Eyeshadow Review

102 Dark Pearly Gold

128 Macropearly Whipped Cream

132 Pearly Bronze

137 Pearly Copper

Let me start by saying, these eyeshadows are a steal at only £2.90. I find Kiko Cosmetics a bit hit and miss. All of their products are a bargain but some are of a much higher quality than others. 

 I was really looking for a nice red/burgundy shade when I purchased these colours and so was most excited about Pearly Copper. 

The claim on the Kiko website is that these shadows are highly pigmented and should last up to 12 hours. Highly pigmented is definitely not a phrase I would use for these. 
The photo below shows swatches of the four shades, with no primer underneath. Each one is two or three layers of shadow. 

From left to right: 132, 128, 137, 102

128 Macropearly Whipped Cream is the most pigmented on it's own, although I find this shows up less on the eyes than it does in a swatch on my hand or arm. It tends to get a bit lost, especially in the inner corner of the eye which is where I like to wear it although I do find it works pretty well as a highlighter under the brows, even if it's a bit over the top. It's the most chalky of the bunch and has a fair amount of shimmer.

From left to right: Over Pixie Epoxy, No 7 Smoothing Eyeshadow in Pretty Pink, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Original

The white is hard to see on my deathly-pale skin so you'll have to take my word for it. This chalky shadow doesn't do very well over Pixie Epoxy. Over Urban Decay it looks pretty matte and it's at it's most chalky. I think this one works the best over the No 7 shadow (in the middle), probably because it is already quite white and shimmery underneath and so enchances these two effects. Ultimately though this shadow doesn't show up that well on any of them.

102 Dark Pearly Gold is my favourite, and the only one I really tend to use. It has the second-richest pigment and is a nice yellow-toned gold. It makes me think of Aztec gold. The pigmentation is still not great on it's own. 

From left to right: Over Pixie Epoxy, No 7 Smoothing Eyeshadow in Pretty Pink, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Original

Primer brightens this shadow up wonderfully although I do find you have to pack on the colour. The Urban Decay gives the deepest, richest colour until it almost becomes a copper instead of a gold. Pixie Epoxy gives the second strongest colour but really brings out the shimmer which I love, and stays truest to the colour of the shadow on it's own. The No 7 eyeshadow (which I like to use as an eyeshadow base among other things) is the least vibrant and turns the shadow into a highly reflective rose gold. I like to use this shadow as a cheaper alternative to some of my favourite gold shadows and, over a primer, it lasts pretty well. 

137 Pearly Copper isn't really a copper at all. It's a slightly shimmery red/burgundy and the pigmentation is pretty poor. I very rarely use this shadow even though it was the main reason I purchased all of these.

From left to right: Over Pixie Epoxy, No 7 Smoothing Eyeshadow in Pretty Pink, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Original

As you may be able to tell, this shadow didn't really work at all with Pixie Epoxy. This shadow is more metallic than shimmery like the others and this primer doesn't really bring out the colour much at all. On top of the No 7 the colour goes even paler but it is at it's most shimmery on top of this primer. It also goes quite a nice brown-y-pink colour. The shadow works the best on top of the Urban Decay primer which brings out the metallic quality and really ups the pigmentation too. I've since found some much better quality burgundy shadows (although not for a price like this!)

132 Pearly Bronze I wouldn't call a bronze. This is more a shimmery medium-dark brown. I'd like to use this in the crease and outer v of the eye but it just doesn't work that well. The colour is quite murky and not a rich brown like it appears in the pan.

From left to right: Over Pixie Epoxy, No 7 Smoothing Eyeshadow in Pretty Pink, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Original

Over Pixie Epoxy the colour is at it's richest but it looks quite a mess (perhaps it wouldn't look as bad patted carefully on to the eyelid on top of this primer). The shadow acquires a grey tone over the No 7 shadow and has a nice shimmer to it. Over Urban Decay the colour is dark and richer but ultimately I find it quite boring (Hey, maybe that's just me).

So there's an extremely in-depth look into four of these budget shadows from Kiko. I hope this was helpful to some, and if you know of any other shades in the Kiko collection that you think stand out like I think 102 does, I'd love to hear about them!