Nyx Lip Liner Collection | Review & Swatches

Lip liners are usually disregarded and I admit I don't use them as often as I should & only if I "need" to, so I don't believe in spending a lot of money for them! I love the Nyx lip liners, because they are so affordable and they have a huge selection of colours.

6 of the Nyx lip liners I have are the slim lip pencil & 1 long lip pencil, honestly I'm not sure what the difference between them are apart from the length of them. I like to buy them on Ebay from Joys Cosmetics because if you buy more than one it becomes cheaper! & I've been buying from them for years & have never had a problem [By the way, she now stocks Real Techniques brushes at a really good price! (N/A)]

[L-R] Rose: Peachy Pink, goes nicely with any lighter neutral pink lipsticks.

Dolly Pink: Cool toned light barbie pink- Perfect for MAC St Germain or Wet n Wild Dollhouse Pink

Pinky: Deep pinky-fuchsia that I use with darker pinks like Maybelline Vivid Rose.

Mauve: Natural browny-pink colour, I use this when just accentuating outside of my lip line as it matches my natural lip colour almost perfectly, except a couple shades darker. Also looks good blended on the edges with a lighter nude.

Bloom: A gorgeous deep magenta/fuchsia colour, works well with MAC Girl About Town

Prune: Dark purple, would be good for MAC Cyber.

(Long Lip pencil) Plush Red: Hot pinky red, I actually like this with MAC Impassioned for a very slight ombre look.

Now, I find these lip pencils can be slightly dry & can pull on the lips, but they are still very pigmented and when you have them sharpened it's easy to get a precise line. Out of the colours I have, I use Rose, Pinky, Mauve & Bloom the most.

The Slim lip pencils retail for around $3.50 and the Long lip pencil's for $2 which is funny considering they have a lot more product in them. There are so many colours to choose from the Slim range and I'm now eying off some more pink & coral ones, just check out the selection from Cherry Culture!

Have you tried these lip liners before? If so, let me know which colours you get the most use out of!

xxo

All products bought with my own money, not affiliated with any brands mentioned

How to perfect your lipstick | Pictorial

 Sometimes just chucking on a lipstick isn't going to cut it, especially with some formulas that like to make their way over your face, or does that just happen to me?
I've found that applying my lipstick this way, using different lip liners & doing it in different layers helps it to stay put & last a lot longer, too. This is not something that I do everyday but when I have time & I'm wearing a bolder lip colour I like to spend a bit more on the lips.

1. Line just outside of your natural lip line with a lip liner that is close to your natural colour if you prefer a fuller lip.
Tip: If you're going for a nude lip, use a colour slightly darker than your lipstick.
2. Apply your lipstick of choice. It doesn't matter if you don't cover up the liner completely as we'll be going over that again. Make sure to really press your lips together to work the lipstick in.
Tip: Use a lip brush with the first coat which helps the lipstick to press into the creases of the lips, helping it to last longer.
3.Go over your lip line again with a liner that matches your lipstick colour. I do it after because you can see where else you need to fill in to get your desired lip shape & it kinda locks in the edges of the lipstick.
4. Blot with a tissue and reapply, either from the bullet or with a brush.
Tip: You can also hold one layer of a tissue against your lips and press a loose powder to set the first layer & reapply.
5.With a flat concealer brush, fix any edges if needed. Make sure to keep wiping it off so you don't transfer lipstick everywhere and remember to blend out the concealer.
Tip: Use a slightly lighter concealer which will also help to highlight.
6. Sweep a cotton bud in the inner rim which will take off any excess lipstick that will probably transfer onto your teeth. Alternatively, pucker your lips and pull your index finger from inside to out and it will do the same.

Products Used

 Nyx lip liners in Mauve & Pinky, Maybelline Colour Vivid in Vivid Rose, Real Technique concealer brush

Finished result

 I find this method works best for bolder colours, or different formulas such as Sleek's pout paints as the liquid is harder to stay put.

Thanks for reading! I hope these tips where helpful. You can mix up the order you apply which lip liner but I don't find much of a difference.

xx

Buxom Full On Lip Polish | Review

One of the last minute buys that I knew I would regret not buying in America was the Buxom Full On Lip Polish. After hearing about it from Shaaanxo on Youtube & knowing that Sylvia from MakeupAsExpression loves them too,I had to test it out.

 I found it hard to pick out which colour I wanted! They all seemed fairly sheer but there were so many similar colours, in the end I had to keep re-swatching before I settled on Katie.

 The Buxom Full on Lip Pouts are in a long, hard plastic tube with a silver lid & writing on the side, which has started to fade after continuous use which is annoying, but happens to most products for me.

The gloss has a thicker, slightly sticky texture, but nothing to drive me crazy. The unique thing about this product is the refreshing menthol feeling that doesn't sting compared to other plumping lip glosses that lasts for as long as you wear it, although it does fade. It also has a sweet-minty scent that goes with the cooling sensation.
It's hard for me to tell if this is actually plumping my lips, but the gorgeous shimmer helps my lips to appear fuller anyway, not that it is one of my concerns.

The coverage is sheer but leaves behind a hint of colour & glitter and it is very long lasting. Katie is a light pinky peach colour & looks lovely over nude, light pink or peach lipsticks, or on it's own for a natural look.

 Please excuse my dry/chapped lips! Here is a before & after wearing the lipgloss on it's own. You can see that it's also fairly moisturizing as you cannot see much of the chapping & my lips feel smoother.

And here is wearing a matte nude lipstick (Revlon Nude Attitude) & then the gloss. It is still present after 4 hours later and I can still feel the menthol sensation however it isn't as strong.

Overall, although I prefer lipstick to lip glosses, I absolutely love the formula, longevity & feeling of the Buxom Full On Lip Polish and would love to buy more.

Have you tried these before?
xx

My MAC Lipstick Collection

Hello dolls, sorry for the lack of posts/ comments!
Today I am bringing you my MAC lipstick collection. I've posted my lipstick collection (back then, anyway) sorted out by colours, so I do have some of these in there but I wanted to group my MAC ones all together and do a generalized review.

MAC has to be one of my favourite brands for lipsticks, because I can really notice the quality compared to cheaper brands. The biggest differences are the pigmentation, how they apply & how long wearing they are. I find some of the brighter/ deeper ones stain my lips so much that I still have a tinge on my lips when I wake up in the morning.

The packaging is quite simple with the usual black, bullet shaped tubes, but I like how the Viva Glam ones stand out with pink instead of silver on the inside. I also love the standard vanilla smell that all MAC lipsticks have.

MAC lipsticks have come in 9 finishes: Matte, Satin, Frost, Cremesheen, Cremesheen Pearl, Lustre, Amplified, Amplified Pearl, Glaze. Wow that's a lot more than what I thought there was until I looked it up. For a great in-depth description of each finish, this blog describes them better than what I could ever do.

Hue

A light nude pink, Hue is perfect for when you don't want a full on nude look.The glaze finish is the most natural out of them all, providing a subtle colour but also lasts the least amount of time, which is ok because it is easy to reapply.

Creme D' Nude

A nude peach colour in a very moisturizing & creamy formula which makes it only last around the 2 hour mark, but is also easy to reapply. It has a decent amount of coverage but is still fairly natural.
Myth

A pink-beige nude which I find way too creamy & have to smooth it out with my fingers after applying it from the tube, but it is perfect for a blanked out lip look. You can tell from the skin swatch how much comes off from a light application. Is anyone else's the same? From what I've read it is one of the more drying shades but it is not like that on me at all.

Angel

One of the most perfect pink nude lipsticks I own, I do not find this as frosty as what everyone else claims it to be. I can see why this is a cult classic!

Please Me

A matte muted pink lip colour which is more forgiving than some mattes which will dry out your lips completely & tug on application, which this does not. One of my favourite muted lip colours of all time!

Snob

A satiny-matte finish that is a cool toned lilac-pink, a bit less dramatic than Saint Germain, which makes it a wearable barbie-pink and is non-drying!

Crossswires

A gorgeous coral-orange that I thought never really tried when I received it from the lovely Amalia in a blog sale, but started wearing later and really appreciated the colour. It is perfect for spring & day time & has a lovely sheen thanks to the formula!

Viva GLam Nicki

The first MAC lipstick I had ever bought by myself, that i had to go back & buy as a gift for a friend because I loved it that much! This can pull off different colours on different people, on my friend it looks fuchsia somehow but on me, a vibrant, almost neon coral-pink. DAYMN! Such a nice formula, it applies nicely & lasts a long time.

Impassioned

The first MAC Lipstick I had ever lusted over, is finally no longer a lust! This beautiful amplified finish makes the warm watermelon pink colour stand out & makes it a long wearing, moisturizing lip colour.

Girl About Town

A fuchsia berry colour that I could assume would look awesome on any skin tone & colour. Another amplified finish that leaves your lips glossy & moisturized.

Candy Yum Yum

So glad I ended up buying this at the last minute! A gorgeous **bright** candy pink colour that will be sure to make you stand out. It is matte so it lasts for ages and is slightly drying but I find it very forgiving to wear.

Morange

A super bright, neon orange lip colour that applies exactly the same as Impassioned & is extremely pigmented with just one swipe. This is lovely to wear with minimal makeup or a brown smoky eye.

Ruby Woo

A classic blue-based red lipstick which has become a cult favourite, Ruby Woo is super matte which also means it is one of the most drying lipsticks I own and tugs on your lips when applying, but also lasts throughout pretty much anything & even when it wears off, your lips are so stained that you almost only need lipgloss to freshen it up.

Rebel

An almost impossible colour for me to wear, mainly because I find it way too creamy (just like Myth- I think I got both dud shades from a flash sale website!) I can't get this to apply evenly, so I have to stain it on. It looks a lot more scary in the tube but when applied is a deep plum-berry. I have no idea why it doesn't work on me because everybody else loves it!

 Edit: Just realized that I forgot to include the arm swatches!

L-R: Hue, Creme D' Nude, Myth, Angel, Snob, Please Me, Crosswires

L-R: Viva Glam Nicki, Morange, Candy Yum Yum, Impassioned, Girl About Town, Ruby Woo, Rebel

So that is my MAC Lipstick collection. I am very happy with it and think I have a nice selection of brights & nudes. My favourite colours, if I had to pick any, would be Angel, Please Me, Viva Glam Nicki, Impassioned, Morange & Ruby Woo, although I do love them all.

Let me know what your favourite MAC lipsticks are, or your favourite brand for lipsticks!
xx

Stila After Glow Lip Colours | Review & Swatches

This post is as I promised in my Stila Haul Post  I wanted to do the review before I go away especially as they are limited edition & I have no idea how long they will be around for!

The Stila After Glow Lip Colours are not really lipsticks, not really lip stains but like a jumbo lip pencil with a balmy, lipstick-type texture. Something that makes them different to other lip products are that they glow in UV light, which is what suckered me into them in the first place. Although I don't go clubbing as often as I used to, this would make for a nice surprise once the UV lights go on!

I was going to have to wait to take a pic under black light but then I remembered that I had a UV light that was in an "invisible pen set" many years ago so I could test it out sooner rather than later.

 Packaging: Black chubby stick-like wind-able pencils, with writing on tube corresponding to the colour of the lipstick that also glows.
Texture: They apply smoothly like a lip pencil & are very moisturizing. On application they start off sheer so you could leave it like that or you can build up the colour for a brighter look.
Colours: Electric Pink is basically that, a bright barbie pink & Festive Fuchsia is a gorgeous fuchsia (surprisingly). The other colours available are Party Pink, Rave Red, Tangerine Dream & Vivid Violet (check out Pang's blog to see her swatch of VV)
Longevity: Without eating I've found it to last around 4 hours but as it fades it leaves a stain behind. When eating & drinking it comes off almost straight away, but if you're careful & you use a straw it should be ok.

Electric Pink, Festive Fuchsia

Electric Pink Lip Swatch & Comparison

Electric Pink in normal light, with UV light.

I've found a couple of similar looks in my collection to see how the colours would compare, However the formulas are completely different, the Stila Lip Colour is hydrating & glossy where the other two are matte & drying.

Stila Electric Fuchsia, MAC Candy Yum Yum, Sleek Amped

Festive Fuchsia Lip Swatch & Comparison

Festive Fuchsia natural light, under UV light

Stila Festive Fuchsia, Revlon Fuchsia, Sleek Pinkini

The Revlon & Stila texture & colours are very similar, Pinkini is too much of a hot pink but I didn't think they would be an exact match anyway.

Overall I'm really loving the feel of the Stila After Glow Lip Colours, I think it's ingenious that they glow under UV Light (obviously all over, unlike mine where I only had a tiny light) which goes with the Festival theme, and I can't wait to wear them out to a club, but I love that they are so wearable for daytime, too.

These are limited edition so if you were wanting to get your hands on them you can buy in store or online from Sephora (only has 4 shades but includes these two), online from Beauty Bay where the prices range around $18 or directly from Stila. At time of writing Beauty Bay has the most colours available.

Would you ever try out the UV aspect of these lip colours or prefer to wear them normally?
xx

No affiliates, everything bought with my own money & this is not a sponsored review.

Stila Festival Of Colour | Haul

So I stated in my July wishlist that I had cut down on my spending, and I think I've been pretty good with it! It feels like forever since I've bought any new products, but when I heard about the Stila Festival Of Colour collection, I knew I had to get in fast.

The main reason I wanted to buy from this collection were the Stila After Glow Lip Colours. I was going to wait until my holiday until I found out that they were limited edition. It was something I didn't want to miss out on, even if they were still available I mightn't be able to get the colours I wanted, so of course when Beauty Bay had them in stock I placed an order. Unfortunately a few other LE items caught my eye too!

Countless Colour Pigments in Lyric, Smudgestick in Turquoise, After Glow Lip Colours in Electric Pink & Festive Fuchsia

 So the main reason why I wanted the After Glow Lip colours so badly are because they glow in UV light which I can picture would be a shock to see someone with glowing lips in a nightclub (I've had that happen with my neon nail polishes before haha.) They also make great day colours so they look great on their so if clubbing is not your scene you may still be interesting in these. Keep an eye out for a review!
I was also preparing myself for summer by getting the smudge stick in Turquoise which is a LE colour
& a Countless Colour Pigment in Lyric which Dawn pointed it out as a blush which I didn't think about, but it makes for a lovely eyeshadow that you can use the colours separately or mix together.

A few quick swatches, sorry about the different lighting but I will have separate posts with proper swatches.

 Shipping with Beauty Bay is free, but if you spend an extra $2.20 you get a sample & your package is meant to leave the warehouse faster. It still took 3 weeks to arrive, but I got some pretty decent samples!

 

I've never tried the Urban Decay Primer Potion, only Too Faced Shadow Insurance, so I was thrilled to have a sample size! I also got a Sebastian Colour Ignite shampoo sample which is perfect because I've been using one of their conditioners & colour protection shampoos are the type that I use, so it ended up being perfect for me.

What products from Stila do you like? Do you think you will pick up any of these products?

Check out these products & more from Beauty Bay

xx

Everything paid with my own money, this is not a sponsored post & no affiliation to any brands mentioned

Lip Inventory 5: Mauves, Berry & Wine

I am slowly getting through my lipstick collection!! I wish I had posted brand by brand but I've almost finished it so there's no point in starting again. Also as I have bought many new lip products since I've started some aren't included in the older ones. And I'm planning to buy many more in a few months time ;)
 I also timed this badly as Autumn is just about finished here in the Southern Hemisphere, but hope it will be helpful to others later in the year!

Firstly, the colours I'm describing can get a bit too confusing between each other so I hope this helps a bit to those who are wondering about the differences.
 Mauve is a pale lavender-lilac colour. I think of it as a very My Lips But Better (MLBB) colour as it is fairly close to my natural lip colour.
Berry colours are closer to claret, burgundy or deep purple tones, as obviously berries come in a lot of different colours, these are the hues I am referring to.
Wine is a dark shade of red,as I'm sure you would probably be aware of.
These are just my views on these colours, I hope it makes sense! The deeper colours are very suited to Autumn & Winter, but the lighter ones can be used all year around because they go with lighter eye looks as well.

Mauve

 L-R: Nyx round lipstick in Tea Rose, Bloom Honeysuckle, Australis Colour Inject lipstick in Samba, Boogie Woogie

Wow, these are all almost identical! If I had to downsize I would probably keep Honeysuckle (I decided I need to wear it more now!) & maybe Samba, I can't choose between the two Australis colours.

 

Tea Rose has a very creamy, satin finish, and is a mid toned pinky mauve. It is not very long lasting but easy to apply. Honeysuckle is a soft pink leaning towards mauve and has a non-drying matte finish. It smells similar to MAC's lipsticks. Samba is another muted pink colour with mauve undertones & has a moisturizing satin finish, Boogie Woogie is almost the same as Samba except slightly darker on my lips.
I'm thinking maybe the pigment in my lips (although I don't have much) brings out the mauve tones of all of these lipsticks. Anyway, if you love understated, neutral lips I'm sure any of these colours would be suited to you!

Berry & Wines 

 L-R BYS Longwear lipstick Lip Service, Maybelline Color Sensational Party Pink , Milani Berry Rich, Kate by Rimmel 09, Bite Beauty Rhone, MAC Rebel.

Lip Service is a purple toned wine colour, similar to Party Pink (pink but, seriously?) which is a darker berry colour with a magenta tinge.  Berry Rich is a richer red wine colour, Kate '09' is deeper & darker than Berry Rich & with both wine & berry tones, Rhone is very similar to Kate 09 except slightly more coloured & Rebel is a slightly aubergine, very dark berry colour which can come off a bit magenta some times.

 I'm sure I could easily downsize as a few of these are very similar, I'd probably keep Party Pink, Berry Rich, Rhone & Rebel although I do like the other two colours they are just too similar.


Let me know what your favourite deeper colours are!
I'm going to move onto another part of my collection soon so please stay tuned to find out what that will be!
xx

Check out the previous posts here: Pinks | Reds | Oranges & Coral | Nudes