My Top 5 Nude Lipsticks!

Hi!

 

I'm not really a "lip" person when it comes to makeup...I prefer to spend more time on my eyes!

Saying that though I am a big fan of nude lipsticks as I don't feel that bright lips suit me particularly well...having fair skin, blue eyes and blonde hair it's hard for me to pull off a lot of colour on my face.

 

 

I've compiled a list of my favourite nude lipsticks!

These aren't in any order, just my top 5 and I'll have swatches further down :)

 

1) Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick in 700 Nude Delight

 

 

I absolutely love this, it's the most beautiful peachy nude colour and it's not drying on the lips. I think this is probably my most used lipstick as it's great to throw on everyday!

 

2) Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick in Caramel

 

 

This can look a little frosty if you pile it on but as long as you put on a light layer this is well moisturising and looks really pretty!

 

3) 17 Supreme Shine Lipstick in Bella

 

 

The photo is making this look like a dark brown...(this weather is so bad recently and it makes lighting awful) but really this is a great matte nude colour!

 

4) Urban Decay Lipstick in Midnight Cowboy

 

 

It's a real shame that I only have a mini version of this as it's so pretty! It's the lightest nude here but it's got a sparkle too it that isn't obnoxious or really noticeable. It's also the most moisturising lipstick I have.

 

5) Sleek True Colour Sheen Lipstick in 785 Naked

 

 

This is quite brown and it's very opaque so I have to be careful not to apply too much of this but if I just put on a light layer it looks so pretty! This would also work so well with darker skin tones too where you could put on a thicker layer.

 

Here are some swatches!

 

 

Left to right:

 

Rimmel London, Natural Collection, 17, Urban Decay, Sleek.

 

 

So there you go! There are my favourite nude lipsticks...I love having nude lipsticks and plan to collect a lot more so one day maybe I'll update this list if I ever find another one that I love!

 

Have you tried any of these lipsticks?

Thanks for reading!

Libby x

 

Top 5 Products For £5 Or Under!

Hi!

 

I thought today I'd show you my top five products that are all either £5 or under... sometimes you don't have to spend a ridiculous amount of money when there are gems hidden in the drugstore! :)

 

 

 

1) E.L.F All Over Colour Stick in Spotlight

 

This retails for £1.50 on the E.L.F website (www.eyeslipsface.com) and I love this!

I have another one of these in Lilac Petal but this one is my favourite.

Dabbed on the tops of the cheekbones and blended it makes a beautiful highlight colour!

Just subtle enough yet still noticeable.

And you can't argue with the price! :)

I have a review HERE.

 

2) MUA Pearl Eyeshadow in Shade 12

 

I have a lot of these (actually...about 7...) but this one is my favourite I think.

Shade 12 is a lovely brown base with a blue reflect duo chrome and it is just beautiful!

It's pigmented, easy to blend (you can even blend it in the crease to give the impression of 2 different shadows when you've only used 1!) and the best bit, these shadows only cost £1!

 

I have reviews and swatches of all of these shadows HERE.

 

 

3) NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk

 

I have 3 of these sticks from NYX and I absolutely love them!

This is my favourite one as the clean, matte white colour means it's great for dotting on the inner tear duct to brighten the eye and sometimes blend below the brow bone.

I've gotten SO much use out of this and this pencil is so much shorter than my others...will definitely be repurchasing this when I run out!

This retails for £5 on the NYX website but shopping around on the internet you can sometimes get them for less....I think I got mine for around £3.85.

 

Once again...I have a review & swatches HERE if you're interested.

 

 

4) Rimmel London Match Perfection Skin Tone Adapting Concealer

 

I think I've mentioned this before...it's such a staple product for me!

I'm on my second tube of this and nearly running out so I definitely need to pick up another!
This is a very lightweight concealer that still as pretty good coverage and just does wonders in terms of brightening everything up under the eye.

Mine is in shade 010 Ivory and I got mine for £5.

This is one of the few products here that I actually haven't got a review on...but I'll do one if anyone wants it!

I basically love this product and I'm about to repurchase it for the 3rd time!

 

 

5) Collection Super Size Fat Lash Mascara

 

I got this fairly recently and have actually really enjoyed it!

I find that this separates my lashes really well ad builds a nice amount of volume too which I really like for the price!

I actually cant look up the price at the moment because there was a power cut and subsequently we have no internet.....Its strange how everyone freaks out when the power goes. Everyone freezes and thinks that the apocalypse is coming.

Anyway, hello again internet. The price for this is £2.99!

 

And yes...I've reviewed this HERE if you're interested!

 

 

 

Anyway, those are my favourite products for £5 or less!

Thanks for reading!

Libby x

5 Different Looks With The UD Naked Palette!

Hi!
 

When the Naked palette came out from Urban Decay, I told myself I wasn't going to buy it. I told myself it was too expensive just for eye shadows. I did manage to hold off buying it for a long time until I found myself reading reviews and seeing swatches and...well...I caved.

 

And I'm very glad I did!

 

Now I have my palette (along with a large percentage of the population) I decided that I had to promise to myself to get good use out of it, something that I feel I have achieved!

Although I am aware that it can be a little tricky working out really different looks that can be created using this, so I thought I'd compile a little list of 5 different looks to hopefully inspire some people!

 

 

 

 

Look how pretty! :)

 

Here's a really quick run down of the colours for reference:

 

Virgin: Soft, satin finished cream

Sin: Shimmery champagne

Naked: Matte light/mid brown

Sidecar: Cool toned light brown with shimmer & some small glitter

Buck: Matte mid brown

Half Baked: Shimmery, intense gold

Smog: Shimmery deep bronze

Darkhorse: Darker brown colour with some gold flecks

Toasted: Dusty pink/rose wit some shimmer

Hustle: Cool taupe colour with some shimmer & hints of purple

Creep: Black base colour with gold sparkle

Gunmetal: Blue toned deep silver

 

 

Just thought I'd quickly mention a couple of my favourite shades: Virgin is my favourite highlight colour ever and the only shade here I've hit pan on. Half Baked is simply beautiful. Smog works great with my blue eyes. Sin makes a pretty, simple light everyday look.

 

Ok, onto the looks!

 

 

Look 1: Soft & Smudged

 

 

 

 

For this look after putting on a primer and NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in milk on my very inner corner (I have a lot of darkness & veins around my eyes) I used the colour Sin on the inner half of my lid and Toasted on the outer half.

I lined my top lash line with the Urban Decay 247 liner in Zero and topped that with the shadow Creep.

I took a pencil brush and blended this out until it looked really soft and smudged.

I blended Virgin under the brow bone and inner corner and finally as a finishing touch I added a tiny bit of the colour Half Baked on the lower lash line, just near the inner corner for just a pop of gold :)

 

Look 2: Sultry & Smoked

 

 

 

For this one I wanted to make the look a little more smokey!

I primed my lids and added the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk again to the inner corner.

I then used Sidecar on the inner half of the lid and then Creep to the outer half of the lid and then blended it to make it smokier.

This time when I did this, I blended out the Creep shade quite a lot but you could easily pack more onto the lid for a really intense look to make it darker!

I also smudged a bit of Sin just on the inner half but on the lower lashline.

I blended Virgin as my highlight on the inner corner and below the brow bone.

Then I used the UD 24/7 liner in Zero on the bottom water line and added mascara!

 

Look 3: Beautiful & Bronzed

 

 

 

*Sigh*

It is SO hard to get these colours to show up as vibrant on camera as they are in real life.

This is one of my favourite looks to do with this palette...Definitely one of my go-to looks!

I really love doing bronze/gold smokey eyes!

I primed my lids...added NYX pencil...etc. See above for details ;)

I used the colour Sin just on the very inner third but then used Half Baked for most of the middle third of the lid, blending into the Sin shade.

I then packed the colour Smog on the outer half of the lid....I think this colour works really well with the blue in my eyes!

I then added a small amount of Darkhorse to the crease and blended this out.

I once again used Virgin as a highlight.

I lined my bottom lash line with the 24/7 liner in Zero and then also decided to add some winged liner for something a little different. I used the Soap & Glory Super Cat liquid liner and then finished with mascara!

 

 

Look 4: Dark & Dramatic

 

 

For this look I wanted to create something quite dramatic!

After priming etc I first applied Gunmetal all over the lid and then used the 24/7 liner in zero to create the shape around the outer v, sort of like a cat eye shape. I then filled this in with the liner and then topped it with the Creep shadow.

I blended out the crease a lot to make it smoked and then used the colour Sin on the very inner corner and on the inner corner of the lower lash line.

I lined my waterline with the 24/7 liner and used Virgin as a highlight.

And then I finished with mascara!

I think it's really useful how even though most of the colours in the palette are neutral you can still create something really dramatic and smokey!

 

Look 5: Simple & Safe

 

 

I decided to include this look because it just emphasises what this palette is great at, just producing really simple and safe looks that still look pretty.

For this look after priming I used Sin all over the lid, but in all honesty you could use most of the shades in the palette all over the lid. Some of my favourites for a one shadow look are Sin, Sidecar, Virgin, Toasted and Hustle.

I then just used Virgin as a highlight and added mascara!

I think this palette makes doing these looks so easy and this look is great for when you only have about 5 minutes to do your makeup! :)

 

 

Wow. That's a long post!

I realise that there are 2 shades that I neglect in this palette, Naked and Buck. I think this is just because they are not shades that I would normally use. They are matte for a start (I'm such a sucker for shimmery shadows) and also being very fair skinned they are too dark for me to use as a blending colour. Because of this, they don't get used a lot and so weren't really used much in my looks here either. However every single other shade of this palette I DO get good use out of! :)

I hope some people found this useful, it definitely took a while together but I do think that this is a versatile palette and because I've gotten so much use out of it I think it's worth the price.

I think generally it's one of those palettes that I reach for when I'm being lazy because you can just pick out a random combination of shadows and it will pretty much always turn into a pretty look.

One that I just remembered that I love doing is having Smog all over the lid and Creep in the crease, these two blend so beautifully together!

 

So even though the shadows are all neutral (ish) you can still create quite a lot of different looks!

 

Thanks for reading!

Libby x

 

5 Products I Regret Buying!

Hi!

 

I think that even though positive reviews on things are very useful, I find that a negative review on a product can be just as informative.

Hence, I decided to compile a quick little list of the top 5 products that I have really regretted wasting money on.

 

 

These aren't in any order!

Basically I was choosing products that I really dislike using.

There are loads of products in my collection that I'm not 100% in love with, but these are the ones I really regret buying!

 

1) BD Designer Eyes in Lapis

 

 

At the time I got this, I thought it was a good idea to have the places for the shades stamped on and it reminded me of the Wet N Wild eye shadows. I seem to remember picking this up in Tesco for around £3/4.

 

 

Can you even call these swatches?

The "Shade" shade (?) had pretty much no pigmentation, it looked like dust on my eye.

The "Shape" shade had more pigmentation but the strip in the trio was so tiny it was damn near impossible to get any on a brush.

The "Shine" was the least awful of the three and I would actually use this as a brow bone highlight occasionally...if the darker shade next to it didn't keep messing it up.

 

Basically, all three shades had bad pigmentation, the texture was rock solid and I really didn't like this. It's been sat at the back of my eye shadow drawer since.

 

2) Benefit Boi-ing Concealer

 

I'm not keen on this, it was pricey too.

 

 

Of all 5 this is probably the product I dislike the least, but I'm still not happy with it.

This stuff is greasy as hell, it slides around on your face and if you put it under your eyes it just cakes up and creases badly. You need so much powder to cover up the shininess it leaves that you just end up with a cakey mess.

And on top of that, it doesn't even cover that well. Eek.

 

You can see that I've actually hit pan on this, but that's not actually an amazing feat. There's around 3g of this (compared to the 7g in MAC Studio Finish) and because the pan is so big you actually hit the metal pretty quickly.

The only thing I use this for now is for muting out the natural colour of my lips when I use a lip colour and even then I use the tiniest bit.

For £16.50, I expected better.

 

3) Accessorize Primer

 

 

It's such a shame that I don't like this because I've tried other products from Accessorize (eg their nail polishes and eye shadows) and loved them.

 

I've done a full review of this HERE if you want to have a read...its...er....less than favourable.

 

The first problem I have with this is the packaging.

Even when I bought it new, there was a lot of air in the actual packaging, combined with the ridiculously large opening in the tube, this creates ultimately a very messy experience.

Far too much primer leaks out, gets everywhere and then you have to waste it.

 

And on top of that, its pretty greasy feeling and doesn't do anything in the way of helping foundation or concealer lasting longer.

 

Definitely not a product I will be repurchasing, unfortunately. 

It does slightly improve the pigmentation of certain eye shadows, and so sometimes I use it for swatching (where it doesn't matter so much that so much primer leaks out because I need a lot) but basically I'll be pleased when this is finished up.

 

4) Barry M Glitter Liquid Eyeliner (13)

 

 

I don't remember ever liking this.

Again, I LOVE most of Barry M's products. Their Dazzle Dusts are incredible and I love their Nail Paints.

However this for me was just a dud.

I think you can probably see from the photo, this completely dried out and there is very little actual product in the tube.

It's strange because when I bought it I remember there being liquid glitter actually inside the tube, but this crafty little devil seems to have dried up before I even properly got a chance to use it.

It's vanishing act is better than some magicians I've seen.

 

I'm not sure this counts as a swatch...but this is all I can get out of this little tube and I think all I've ever been able to get out of it. *sigh*

It looked so pretty in the tube when I first bought it too.

 

5) L'Oreal Paris Glam Shine Holographic Liquid Lips (Gold Rose 86)

 

 

 

 

Last but not least(....well...technically all of these products are "least" but you get my drift) is this lipgloss.

 

I'm going to cut straight to it: This stuff smells. And it's not a gone off smell it's an intentional smell.

The scent that they have given this is strong and nauseating. It reminds me of some kind of yogurt that's been given a fake berry scent to it. To me, it's far too strong and just not nice. It also hangs around ages after you've applied it.

 

I just put some of this on to see if it was as bad as I remember (haven't used it in ages) and yes it is.

The smell is too strong but also it's heavy and thick and just generally isn't a nice product.

 

 

So...there you go! I think that's enough ranting about makeup products for one day ;)

 

What are your makeup regrets?

Thanks for reading!

Libby x

My Best Products For Summer!

Hi! :)
My post for you today is my best products that I think work best for the hot summer days...
Admittedly here in the UK we do not get a whole lot of hot summer days but still...when they come around its useful to have the right products ready!
I think the most important things for summer products is that they are lightweight, yet long wearing so I've compiled this little list of my favourite products :)

 

1) Simple Kind To Skin Sun Kissed Moisture Cream

 

Streaks...Orange skin...nasty smell...just some of the perils of fake tanning.

However, this is an amazing alternative!

This is a moisturiser that you use twice a day and it slowly builds up a natural tan really slowly. There are no streaks, it looks natural and not orange and it doesn't have a lasting smell!

I usually have to use this for about a week or two before I notice a difference but it is perfect for making you look like you've been sat on the beach and it works well as a moisturiser for the hotter months too, being not too heavy yet it still provides moisture.

 

2) Rimmel London Match Perfection Skin Tone Adapting Concealer

 

I really love this.

This is my second tube and I will definitely buy another one soon because mine is running out.

This is really lightweight but is really brightening too.

I use this as a touch-up product as it instantly brightens my under eyes and banishes any cakiness that can sometime form after long days.

And because it's so lightweight, your face doesn't feel all clogged up with product.

 

3) E.L.F Tinted Moisturiser

 

I've mentioned this a few times here and I still love it.

I love tinted moisturiser instead of foundation when its hot out.

This tinted moisturiser in particular gives a really pretty glow to the skin and I absolutely adore the way it evens out my skin tone without being heavy on the skin.

This allows skin to breathe and the best bit is its only £1.50!

 

4) Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner

 

I adore these too.

These last ALL DAY. They will cling onto your lids even through water and look simply beautiful.

They are a little pricey at £14.50 but the colours are amazing and quite unique.

They will not fade throughout the day and their beautiful colours make them a staple for me all year round, but also particularly in the hotter months.

The shades I have are Peacock and Bluefin and I've done a review of these which you can read HERE as it includes swatches too!

 

5) NYX Single Eyeshadow in Aloha

 

This is a really great shade and just light and pretty enough for summer.

 

It is a pink/champagne colour with lots of shimmer and it really brightens up the eye.

This is one of my favourite shadows from NYX and definitely the one I've used the most.

 

That's it!
Thank you for reading my post, what are your favourite products for summer?

Libby x