Revlon Colourburst Balm Stains - Review and lip swatches...

I recently picked up a couple of extra shades of the Revlon Colourburst Balm Stains, which I briefly talked about in my drugstore haul post.  Having used them for a little while, I felt I could give them a proper review now and can compare all three shades that I own from the range!

'Honey' I've raved about multiple times previously...it transforms on the lips to the perfect soft pinky-berry stain shade that stains the lips beautifully.  The formula of all three of these dries out my lips a tiny bit, but is so lightweight and comfortable to wear - some people aren't fond of the minty scent but I love how it feels soothing - a little like Carmex.

'Lovesick' is a lovely bright cool-toned pink that because it's somewhat sheer, isn't too in your face!  This one stains the lips immediately though, so beware - any chapped areas will be left bright pink on removal.  I'm really looking forward to wearing this throughout the warmer months and hope that this will help me build up the courage to try out a more opaque version of the colour!

'Rendezvous' looks pretty daunting in the bullet - completely orange - but in reality is extremely wearable.  Because my teeth aren't the whitest in the world, I tend to avoid super warm toned lip shades but as this looks like more of a dark orangey red on the lips I can just about pull it off!  It does make dry patches more noticeable than the other shades, but much less so than other lighter lip colours I own.  It also did require a bit of building up to get the result pictured, but I don't
really mind as once you've applied it the colour sticks
around long after the product has worn off!

xxx

Huge drugstore makeup haul!

This time last week, I decided I'd head into town for a little shopping pick-me-up.  And ended up going a little bonkers in the aisles of Boots and Superdrug!  I thought It'd be fun to share them with you, as I don't often purchase this many items in one go - oops...

It's been at least a couple of months since I purchased any lip products, and since I absolutely love the Revlon Balm Stain in 'Honey' I thought I'd try out some other shades from the range.  In a post last week I mentioned I had a gap in my lipstick stash for a bright pink and an orange lip colour - so when I was in Boots I picked out 'Lovesick' and 'Rendezvous'.  They both look gorgeous, so fingers crossed the wear time is just as good as 'Honey'!  I also happened to wander past the Barry M stand, and I ended up grabbing a couple of their polishes - who can resist, right?  'Eat my dust' is a gorgeous pale, pastel blue that pulls a tiny bit lilac, and it's from their Speedy Quick Dry range which I was curious to try.  'Damson' is the most stunning bright blue shade, from the Gelly Hi-Shine range (which I've been super impressed with before).  Plus, they were buy one get one half price, so it was a win-win situation!

In Superdrug, there's also a 3 for 2 on currently but across all brands.  I'd heard a lot about the Max Factor Creme Puff blushes, and how they have a very similar glow-y effect to the Hourglass ones but at a fraction of the price.  Since I love Rimmel 'Santa Rose' as it's the perfect natural blush for my skintone, I thought I'd give '10 Nude Mauve' a go - which is very similar but adds a little more dimension to the face as it's not totally matte (I've already tried this out aswell, and it's super soft with very little fallout so applies like a dream!)  I also decided to try out Rimmel's (relatively new) foundation, which is the Nude version of their Lasting Finish formulation.  As I have a tiny bit more colour in my skin post-holiday, I think '010 Light Porcelain' should be a pretty good shade match - thankyou drugstore brands for finally catering to us super pale people!  Finally, I knew that my Benefit Roller Lash was on it's last legs so I was on the market for a new mascara.  In the end, the lovely counter staff pointed out that Max Factor's False Lash Effect had several pounds off, making it cheaper than the other two products which meant I got it for free!  I'd seen Suzie from Hello October talk about this, and since her lashes always look amazing I thought it was definitely worth a go.  Plus, the packaging is super pretty (I think part of the profits go to the Marie Curie trust, which is awesome too).

And just as a little add on at the end, whilst I was in Wilko (getting ice cube trays if you must know!) I stopped off at the Essence stand and chose one of their Longlasting Lipsticks in the shade '01 Coral Calling' It's a lovely, bright peachy coral and was only a couple of pounds.  It has a similar scent to their lipliners - slightly chemically woody cherry but isn't strong at all (or that offensive to be honest!)

xxx

Asos wishlist...

If I ordered everything that caught my fancy on Asos, my student loan would be gone in a heartbeat.  There are a few things though, that I've let myself add to my 'saved items' for when the next 20 percent off student sale comes along...



Becksondergaard Oversized Perrine Scarf
Throughout the winter, I've used my star-patterned scarf but now that it's getting warmer I fancied something more lightweight.  This one is still pretty pricey for just cotton, so I may wait until its in a  proper sale before picking it up - but the tiny red detailing round the edges is lovely and I can see this going with practically every outfit.  We shall see...

Vero Moda Lace Insert Blouse

I always find that viscose tops, although they crease like a b****, are the comfiest things around besides cotton.  This one is so pretty and summery looking, and I can see it being dressed up with a pair of heeled sandals, or dressed down with some trainers.  

Asos Oval Classic Retro Sunglasses
I actually only have a couple of pairs of sunglasses that halfway suit my face shape - and both are wayfarers.  One is a pair of ahem Ray-ban homages, purchased on holiday in Santorini and the others are Emporio Armani ones that I got for a great deal a few years back.  My Armani ones however rub a lot of my foundation/concealer off as they basically rest across the middle of my face - so I fancied a pair with nose pads that might do this slightly less!  Fingers crossed these fit my massive head...



Asos Triple Triangle Swing Earrings and Asos Tiny Triangle Earrings
I adore rose gold jewellary, but there hardly ever seems to be a middle-price bracket.  It's either the sort where the plating wears off in a week or the uber-expensive vermeil.  These fall into the first category I suppose, but as they're earrings only the post comes into contact with the skin so the plate should last much longer than say, on a ring.
The first ones look a little edgy, which is exactly what I've been looking for - I love the chandelier-type earrings but find they weigh down on my ears far too much nowadays and these look to be the perfect inbetween.  The others are much daintier, but since my very similar pair of Pia hammered studs have been worn on a daily basis I thought these would be nice for a change!  Also, I might have made a cheeky purchase in the shape of a rose-gold faced watch (Topshop have the 20 percent off for students promotion on right now) so these would go beautifully with it!






Vila Classic Trench Coat
Recently, I've been hunting up and down for the perfect trench coat.  I thought I'd found it in this one from New Look, but it just didn't look quite right as it fell a little too far past my knees.  This looks quite a bit shorter, but I love how it looks a bit like a pea coat but in much more lightweight material.



xxx

The best for blemishes!

You know those days when you take your makeup off just before bed, and discover that a real corker of a spot has risen from nowhere to take over the middle of your face?  Previously - I'd panic, squeeze and regret.  Regret a lot.  Recently aswell, as my immune system has been a bit haywire (thanks very much, Vitamin deficiency) even if I so much as gently prodded a blemish it would develop into a cyst from hell...
After a couple of months, I think I've managed to train myself to deal with my skin a little more gently and look after the breakout-prone areas a bit better.  A few products have helped with this, and I thought I'd share them with you today as some of them are real gems!

For that breakout-prone area...

Boots Skin Clear Ultra Treatment Cream is the main thing I'll use.  This, I dot pretty much all over my face before applying moisturiser in the morning.  I've taken to using a bit of Tea Tree and Witch Hazel solution aswell at this point, spritzed all over the face and neck.  I feel like both of these calm down any areas that might look a bit suspicious, especially those that may have flared up overnight.  Distilled Witch Hazel is also pretty darn awesome, if you've got a corker of a zit that hurts a lot it'll help a lot with the inflammation - plus it's dirt cheap!  It's the sort of thing that's kept upstairs with the Arnicare in Boots, but worth hunting down.


To stop that spot in it's tracks...

From the same Skin Clear range, the Ultra Rapid Action Spot Gel is amazing to use overnight or in the day when you're not wearing makeup.  It's the same sort of formula as the Nick Lowe Gel I used to love but a fraction of the price, and I think it works so much better.  It does dry out the skin a little, so if you're using it for more than a couple of days then make sure you use a super hydrating moisturiser on the healing skin afterwards.  Despite this, I now swear by this stuff.  Even if a spot has almost come to a head (gross, sorry!) this slowly but surely calms it back down - and if it's a small one then it can make it disappear overnight.  I've heard that Origins' Super Spot Remover is supposed to be like this, but is obviously much pricier, and I'm chuffed to bits with how well Boots' offering works.


And for when your skin feels clogged up...

On my skin, I trust the Origins Clear Improvement Mask implicitly.  If a particular area feels like its brewing up a spot, I'll apply a little of this for 20 minutes or so and I feel that it really does help with calming it down.  I do use this all over occasionally, but much more so in just treating individual areas as it can dry out the skin a little.

All in all, I try to avoid the strong, real antiseptics unless absolutely necessary as the bacteria on your skin can become resistant - which is bad news.  Instead, all the options I've mentioned here are either natural extracts or oils or are Salicylic Acid based, so you can keep the Savlon or Sudocrem for when you've got a proper cut or scrape!

xxx

The perfect tinted moisturiser for pale skin...?

Last summer, I had a very close relationship with my Missha BB cream.  It was my go-to base pretty much every day, as my mineral powders weren't quite cutting it on the longevity front through those warmer months (aka sweaty betty days!)  However, this year I fancied giving something new a go for those days where I want to even out my complexion a bit, but not add much coverage.  Having seen a couple of reviews of Lush's Colour Supplements I went and swatched them in store - and to my own chagrin wasn't expecting much.  But one of the shades was a perfect match to my skintone - and I mean perfect!

The shade I use is 'Jackie Oats'.  Below, I've shown it next to Nars' Creamy Concealer in 'Chantilly' which is probably the ghostliest concealer on the market.  Lush's offering though, is actually a tad lighter and has no orange tones whatsoever so completely blends into my skin without being ashy or grey (which was an issue I had experienced with the Missha).  It also has a pleasant oaty scent, which I guess comes from oat milk being a key ingredient.

L-R: Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer 'Chantilly', Lush Colour Supplement 'Jackie Oats'

How the product works, is that you mix it in with your usual moisturiser to create a nicely pigmented but still sheer base.  Obviously, the finish isn't going to be particularly matte unless your moisturiser does that anyway, but I've found that it doesn't separate or slip around during the day.  You also only need a tiny dab of product per usage, so although you only get 20g of product it should last a while.  Also, if I'm looking particularly grey I'll add a little of the Body Shop's Radiant Highlighter - which adds a lovely non-greasy sheen!

Lush Colour Supplements are priced at £9.50, the shade 'Jackie Oats' is available in stores and online here.

xxx

Here comes the sun

Having just published my first post in well over a month, I thought it'd be a good idea to explain what happened - i.e. why I went awol for so long!

I'd been feeling pretty rubbish since Christmas, after that nasty bout of tonsilitis that I caught at work grrr.  By early March though it was getting ridiculous - and after having to leave a couple of uni exams mid way through after nearly passing out on the invigilator, I decided enough was enough and it was time to go to the doctors.  After what seemed like every test under the sun, I got a diagnosis right at the end of term...it was Vitamin D deficiency!  It was such as relief to know it was easily fixable, and long story short, after a month of extra strength supplements I finally feel back to normal.  I've still got to keep them topped up, but hopefully since the sun has started to show it's face up north I'll be able to get some the normal way aswell haha.

Anyway, after a lovely Easter break recuperating (although it flew by with all the stuff we crammed into it!) I'm looking forward to getting back on schedule - both with Uni life and blogging.
Here's to a great Spring and Summer!

xxx

Counting up the corals...

I know for a fact that I've got so many sheer, pinky-coral lip products that they're practically coming out of my ears!  I'd never really lined them all up before though - so I thought I'd share my somewhat messy armful of swatches with you in case anyone else would find the colour comparisons useful...

From L-R: Soap and Glory Gloss Stick 'Fuchsiaristic', YSL Glossy Stain '111', Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil 'Red Square', Dior Lip Glow '4 Coral', Korres Lip Butter 'Mango', Nyx Butter Gloss '6 Peach Cobbler', Revlon Lip Butter 'Juicy Papaya', Barry M Gloss '11'

The most long lasting of the bunch are the YSL and Nyx, which really don't shift unless you eat something oily.  Rather surprisingly these are followed by Barry M's offering.  Despite it being extremely sheer, it really sticks around for a good few hours!  'Red Square' is a bit of an odd one out - not a coral at all - I just scribbled a bit on my arm to see how orangey it really was, and honestly it pulls a lot cooler than you'd think.

I use the Korres Lip Butter almost constantly, as it's so ridiculously hydrating - and then I'll usually top it up with the Dior Lip Glow as that feels pretty much the same but in stick form.  The Dior does change from an almost orange colour to a light fuchsia after a while, but is still quite a bit more pigmented than the original version.  The Revlon is pretty good as a budget dupe, but I do find that it needs quite a bit of building up to get the colour payoff you can see in the swatch and is a little waxier in texture.

Last of the bunch there's Soap and Glory's Sexy Motherpucker Gloss Stick, which is a very sheer hot pink.  Looks gorgeous, but for some reason I haven't used it lots.  'Nudist' gets a heck of a lot more love (and tbh is looking rather battered) - possibly because it's a bit more unique?  I might start popping this in my bag more so it gets a bit more use, perhaps as a slightly brighter alternative to my beloved Revlon 'Honey'!

All in all, having lined them up I feel there's a place for a more pigmented orange and maybe even a hot pink for the spring/summer?!  I've had my eye on a couple of Revlon products for a while, shall keep you updated with what I end up picking up...

xxx