Nars Power Matte Lip Pigment | Review & Swatches

This has to be one of the most exciting beauty launches in August, and they were selling out super fast when they first launched in Selfridges, most shades were sold out by the time I sat down to do an order, but I did manage to track down 3 of the hot shades through Nars website.

There are 20 shades available in this range, so you'll definitely be able to find at least one shade suitable for you! I have American woman, Slow ride and Under My thumb

The packaging is very simple, you get to see the shade from the clear strip in the middle part of the tube, the colour you see is pretty much what you will get on your lips, as it provides 100% coverage no matter what your lip colour is. The wand is quite solid with a slightly pointed tip, however because of the formula I do think it offers too much product and I have to wipe off a lot of excess to get a better application. 

Formula wise, it is very liquidy, almost as light as water therefore it is very runny so you have to be very careful when applying along your lip line, I often find myself have to go back to it and spend about 3 mins to perfect my lip line, so if you are in a rush, you might want to choose something else or simply use a lipliner to help this situation.  It is very long wearing, when I say long wearing I mean it will still be there perfectly after a light meal!  However it will pick up any dry patch you might have on your lips and make them look more visible and add some 3D effect to them, hahaha... I also find it can be quite drying after 5-6 hours, so it's not the best option if you suffer from dry sensitive lips a lot like me, but I guess that's what most liquid lipstick have in common, apart form my favourite Chanel Rouge Allure Ink which I can wear for days without feeling uncomfortable. 

So here I swatches these shades under indoor natural lighting so you can see the true colour.

Slow Ride is a rusty sienna shade

American Woman is a warm mauvy pink

Under My Thumb is a deep dark berry red 

Top to bottom: Slow Ride, American Woman, Under My Thumb

Top to Bottom: Slow Ride, American Woman, Under My Thumb 

Nars Power Matte Lip Pigment in Slow Ride

Nars Power Matte Lip Pigment in American Woman

Nars Power Matte Lip Pigment in Under My Thumb 

Under My Thumb in direct daylight 

My favourite is definitely Under My Thumb as you may see I have put 2 photos of this shade on here. Overall I think it is a good buy despite the fact it is a bit tricky to use without lipliner and can be drying after 6 hours, but that still beats most other liquid lipsticks on the market and with a reasonable £23 price tag, I cannot fault it. I mean, yes I love Chanel Rouge Allure Ink more, but that is £28 each, so I would definitely recommend this range if you want a good quality high end liquid lipstick without a hefty price tag . 

Nars X Sarah Moon Holiday 2016: Mind Game Velvet Lip Glide Set Review & Swatch

Ok! I shared my crazy love for Chanel Rouge Allure Ink in my previous post, and I know everyone was comparing these 2 together, so I had to get my hands on these since they are only £32.

First of all, if you are not a dark lip lover, you might want to skip these, this set contains 3 permanent shades( Bound, Unspeakable, Toy) and 3 exclusive shades(No.675, Chez Claude, Plato's). Some of the shades are extremely similar on the lips, so there's a bit of disappointment there, but considering the full sizes are £22 each, I can't complain too much here, very good value if you only want to try the formula out. 

From Top to Bottom, we have :

Bound -- cool, lilac pink 

No.675 -- warm, brick red 

Chez Claude -- warm, fuchsia red 

Unspeakable -- warm, brownish red

Plato's -- cool, wine red 

Toy -- intense, deep plum  

Nars Velvet Lip Glide in BOUND

Nars Velvet Lip Glide in NO.675

Nars Velvet Lip Glide in CHEZ CLAUDE

Nars Velvet Lip Glide in UNSPEAKABLE

Nars Velvet Lip Glide in PLATO'S

Nars Velvet Lip Glide in TOY

The formula is quite strange, darker shades are like whipped cream, lighter ones are like gloss, however they are all lightweight and opaque, it has a slight sweet chocolate scent, sets to satin finish. I can get 2-3 hours wear out of them before they bleed on my lips, yes they do bleed! Darker shades like TOY are impossible to achieve an even look, it looks OK from safe distance, but any closer you can definitely see how streaky it appears, down below is a close up photo of me wearing TOY:

Nars Velvet Lip Glide in TOY close up

My thoughts? Well, I think they are comfortable on the lips, non-drying, the packaging is cute, however they are just not quite there for me, I much prefer Chanel Rouge Allure Ink!

Thanks for reading. xx

Chanel Rouge Allure Ink 140, 142, 148, 154 | Review & Swatches

When I first heard that Chanel was going to release a liquid lipstick collection, I wasn't interested at all, to be honest I hated liquid lipsticks! They are always so drying on the lips, I tried so many different formulas, but they just disappoint me every single time!!

It all happened when I went into my local Chanel counter to check the Le Rouge palette as I was on the waiting list, of course it was still out of stock, but instead they just had these delivered, the lady was kind enough to open the delivery and let me have a good play with them, and that's it, I instantly fell in love with them!

And here we are, I have 4 shades to share with you guys:

140 AMOUREUX -  pinky nude, prefect MLBB shade

142 CREATIF - fresh rose petal pink

148 LIBERE - bright warm red with a little orange undertone

154 EXPERIMENTE - deep red, my favourite!

This collection has 8 shades, retail for £26 each.

Chanel Rouge Allure Ink 140, 142, 148, 154 in natural lighting 

Rouge Allure Ink 140, 142, 148, 154 after blotting in natural lighting 

The packaging is stunning, frosty glass bottle, black with gold "CC" logo lid, it feels heavy and luxurious.

The application is quite slippery, some people find they always end up overdrawing their lips, but I find it easier to use the tip of the applicator to draw your lip line, then use the flat side to pack on the colour, I find lighter shades (140 and 142) require a second layer, but no problem with darker shades, such as 148 and 154.

The formula appears quite glossy initially, but after 4-5 mins I just smack my lips together gently, they matte down perfectly, it is extremely lightweight and comfortable on the lips, once it has dried down, it appears to have minimal transfer, kiss proof, no mark leaves on white mug neither. Reapplies really well, no weird texture problem, no streaky mark, no dryness.

Here's a picture of me wearing 148:

Rouge Allure Ink 148 

After 2 weeks of wearing them non stop, I have to say they have become my absolute favourite lip products. They caused no flaky lips, no dryness. If you are like me, didn't get along with the liquid lipstick trend, or can't find a lip product gentle enough on your sensitive lips, then you have to check these babies out! They are worth every penny in my opinion! Have you tried them yet? Do you love them as much as I do?

Thanks for reading. Until next time! x

Affordable Micellar Cleansing Water Comparison: Super facialist, Simple, La Roche Posay

Ok, we all love Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Water, but it's still not available nationwide unless you order from Boots.com or Escentual.com, so what happens if you need an emergency replacement or you just want to explore other options? So with this thought in my mind, I started to test different micellar water cleansers from different brands and price tags.

Super Facialist Probiotic Micellar water By Una Brennan £6.99 / 200ml 
I bought this after watching Lily Pebbles' monthly favourites, she absolutely loved it. I don't think myself as a definite sensitive skin type, I do get a few episodes of sensitivity but not all year round, so listen to me when I say this is definitely not suitable for sensitive skin, whenever I use this I can always feel the stinging and burning sensation on my skin, and if I dare to use this to take my eye makeup off...actually, DON'T!  Or you'll cry like I did.  It also leaves a slightly sticky residue so maybe give it a pass if don't like the sticky feeling. Very sad this didn't work out for me.  You can find it here on Boot.com

Simple Kind To Skin Micellar Cleansing Water  £4.99 / 200ML
Oh my my...Why didn't I pick this up earlier? This is truly the holy grail for super sensitive skin, completely fragrance free, contains 2 types of Vitamin B to prevent stripping your skin's moisture away, and it leaves the skin super soft!! Chamomile extract to calm and sooth the skin, it's 120% safe to use on your eyelids, the best part is---it even takes off waterproof mascaras!!!! It's currently on offer on Boot.com, STOCK UP!

La Roche-Posay Micellar Water £14/400ML  £11/200ML
My all time favourite! I love it more than Bioderma!  This is the one I would recommend to every single person no matter what skin type you have, I have no other words to describe it, if you haven't tried it, go buy it now! You need it!  You can't do wrong with La Roche-Posay. Always look out for special offers, it's currently on offer on LookFantastic.com for £8/200ml  £9.35/400ml


Don't forget to find me on Instagram, I'd love to hear more recommendations from you all. xx

Shiseido Anessa Prefect UV Sunscreen Aqua Booster SPF50 PA++++

More and more girls across the world have become obsessed with Japanese sunscreens. Among them, Shiseido Anessa has been one of the best selling sunscreens in Japan for so many years. Now I finally got my hands on the latest formula of Anessa Prefect UV sunscreen.(Japanese products tend to change formula quite often, the older formula is PA+++)

Before I start, I just want to quickly explain that whenever you see a Japanese/Asian made sunscreen, the "PA" means the protection strength against UVA, the new formula is ++++, which is the highest protection on their market, you will normally see this level on beach appropriate sunscreens.

It contains 60ml, I paid roughly around £16 each. This sunscreen contains both chemical and physical sunscreen filters, the formula is waterproof which means prefect for beach, incredibly lightweight and runny, slightly velvety texture when you rubbing in, absorbs fast, leaves no residual on the skin, it says "Aqua booster" on the bottle, unfortunately I don't find it moisturises my skin, however it's definitely not drying throughout the day, nor greasy which again is prefect for hot sweaty weather.

I have tried on my face and body 3 times in a week, and each time it left me a few red itchy bumps/spots on my face, but my body is absolutely fine with it,  which I did predict would happen, because whenever I try Shiseido skincare,  such as Shiseido white lucenct, Clea de peau, IPSA, they all make me spotty and red, I don't know why I'm still trying... Oh well, it is a fantastic body sunscreen after all, I'll save them for my Barcelona holiday in Aug.

Burberry Full Kisses Review & Swatches

This month Burberry has released a whole new lipstick range--Full Kisses. This for me, has to be the most exciting new launch this season. Yes, I have been waiting for over 2 months! 

Official :

• Celebrate the Burberry Kisses collection with new Burberry Full Kisses for bold, long-lasting colour and fuller-looking lips.
• Designed to hug every contour of the lip, the unique flat-top bullet follows every curve as it draws, effortlessly defining, shaping and enhancing from corner to corner.
• Mistake-proof and ideal for on-the-go application, the formula coats lips in one vibrant stroke with a rich veil of bold, luminous colour lasting up to eight hours.
• Infused with active ingredients, the lip-contouring formula saturates lips with hydration, each shade delivering a smooth, intense and creamy finish.
• – Shaped and full lips
• – Bold, luminous colour
• – Lasts up to eight hours

Burberry Full Kisses has 14 gorgeous shades in total, retails for £24 each, you can find them here. I have No.529 English rose which is a gorgeous rosy pink on my medium skin-tone, and after 1 week of trying out, I'm more than ready to share my thoughts(good and bad) with you guys. 

Just like they claimed the formula is incredibly opaque and moisturising! One swipe is enough to provide rich colour pay off, it lasts around 6-7 hours on my lips without the need of touching up, it doesn't dry out my lips throughout the day, it's definitely not lightweight, but it's very comfortable on the lips, it feels like and acts like a heavy duty lip balm, so if you do not like lip balm feeling, you might want to step away from this.

Burberry Full Kisses Swatches

No.529 English Rose under direct sunlight

English Rose against sunlight 

bare lips

English rose in natural lighting

English rose under flashlight 

Next, let's talk about the packaging, the bullet top sticks out quite a bit, which means it's very very difficult to put the lid back on without scratching the bullet itself, especially when you are on-the-go! I made sure to pay extra attention when I used it, but still...well, you can see it for yourself in the photo down below. 

see inside of the lid

Overall, I think it's a great product, if you don't mind the packaging issue, then I'd say you'll love it! I love how nourishing it is, I love how long-lasting it is, I love how opaque it is, and the price tag is not ridiculous, I mean think about Tom Ford. ^-^ 

Thanks for reading. Until next time. xx

 

LET'S TALK ABOUT MASCARAS: DIOR ICONIC OVERCURL, YSL VOLUME EFFECT FAUX CLIS, HELENA RUBINSTEIN LASH QUEEN

I have very specific requirements when it comes to mascara, it has to be able to hold the curl, elongate my short lashes and be waterproof! If one can tick all 3, then I'm all for it! 

Today I have 3 high end mascaras to talk about. The reason I only talk about luxury mascaras is because whenever I use a drugstore one such as Maybelline or Loreal, I find myself constantly using eye drops to relieve the dryness and soreness it gave me, that's when I realised I probably should stop trying them for the sake of my eye health.  

DIOR ICONIC OVERCURL WATERPROOF: £25 
It has a incurved brush, fits perfectly on my eye shape, definitely holds the curl very very well, provides extreme volume if you use the hollow side and lifts the lashes from the roots if you use the raised side which is wonderful!  But it doesn't elongate the lashes much, the brush takes out too much product when its fresh so it can be very lumpy, you end up wiping the excess off which is a huge waste, and it dries out very very quick! It just doesn't worth the money, so I didn't bother to repurchase.

Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Sexy Blacks: £24 
It's a pain to get hold of!!!!
HR definitely makes the best mascaras in the industry, they tick all my boxes, and that beautiful beautiful packaging! Ugh...I'm obsessed! Its unique 90-60-90 brush is truly amazing, it has 2 sides, i only captured 1 side which is above, but if you turn the brush around, it's flat, so it allows you to reach all the lashes, gives you the prefect control! The one in this picture is actually not waterproof, I ordered the wrong one, I don't love it as much as I love the waterproof version, so make sure you don't make the same mistake!

YSL VOLUME EFFECT FAUX CLIS WATERPROOF MASCARA: £25

This one is my all time favourite, it doesn't have a fancy brush, just a simple tiny brush, but it really does the job, gives me ultimate curl, doesn't provide as much volume as the DIOR OVERCURL, ultra waterproof, safe for crying, sweaty summer and even gym! But it means you have to use oil based eye makeup remover, micellar water won't work on this baby! 

OK, that is all for now, let me know if you have any recommendations you think I will like. 

Thanks for reading. xxx

Swatches and Review: Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire Lipsticks

Guerlain just released their gorgeous adorable lips and nails collection last week, same line as their most loved fragrance -- La Petite Robe Noire!

La Petite Robe Noire Collection: 

•       Deliciously Shiny Lip Colour: 20 shades -- £21.5 each
•       Deliciously Shiny Nail Colour: 8 shades plus base coat and top coat -- £17 each 

The Packaging is to die for! Plastic Crystal clear shell with sleek black tube, a little heart on the bottom as a handle, it has a very similar feel as the Dior Addict Lipsticks.

The lipstick itself has a fruity floral fragrance with accents of bergamot, rose and raspberry. If you are not a fan of scented lipsticks, you might want to try it before you place an order, as it is quite strong, and you definitely can taste it if you accidentally licked your lips!

It was described as vibrant shades in innovative texture:

•    Light-weight texture, feels very comfortable on the lips!
•    Does not dry out lips throughout the day, reapplies really well!
•    Buildable coverage, 1 or 2 swipes for a natural wash of colour, 3 or 4 for a vibrant pop of        colour!
•    Ultra shiny when first applied, once the oil soaks into your lips, it settles down to semi-matte!

Here I have 061 Pink Ballerinas,  067 Cherry Cape.

Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire Lip Colours

Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire Lip Colour Swatches

Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire Lip Colour Swatches 

Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire 061 Pink Ballerinas, Natural Lighting 

Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire 061 Pink Ballerinas, Flash Light

Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire 067 Cherry Cape, Natural Lighting 

Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire 067 Cherry Cape, Flash Light

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram and let me know if you picked up any.