Review: Stila Star-Studded Eight - Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick Set

I am going to admit it - I am addicted to liquid lipsticks. I've tried so many different formulas by different brands but funnily enough had not tried any from some of the first liquid lipsticks on the market - Stila's Stay All Day liquid lipsticks! 

These lipsticks were very popular a few of years ago as not many make up companies were producing liquid lipsticks and are still a favourite amongst make up lovers. I am a sucker for lipstick anyway but when it promises to be "long-lasting, full coverage and comfortable" I cannot resist! 

Review: Marc Jacobs Highliner Matte Gel Eye Crayon

Happy New Year, all. A teething/crawling baby meant I have had no time to blog recently plus life kind of just took over but I am back with lots of posts in the pipeline.

I was so excited to receive these eyeliners through the post from Influenster. I cannot remember the last time I purchased an eyeliner so I was looking forward to trying out something new and different. 

Marc Jacobs has just launched these gorgeous "matte-but-not-flat" gel eyeliners in an array of colours. The eyeliners claim to be waterproof and long-wearing which I always look for in an eyeliner.

I was glad to receive two eyeliners from the collection to test out. I was sent the colours (Earth)Quake and Pink Of Me. 

The eyeliners come housed in sleek, glossy, black cardboard packaging. I love the Marc Jacobs packaging as it is minimalist but looks great on my vanity. 

The eyeliners come in the form of a silver, retractable pencil which is easy to use as there is no need to sharpen. The colour of the eyeliner is easily identifiable by the coloured band across the top of the pencil which is always handy when you are in a rush and need to find something quickly!

I'm a huge fan of both brown and nude eyeliners so was really happy to be sent colours that I know I would definitely get a lot of wear out of. 

(Earth)Quake is a gorgeous, dark, rich brown shade that can be used to line the upper and lower lashline but also as an all over base to create a smokey eye. 

Pink Of Me is a nude/light pink which I would use on the lower waterline to create the illusion of bigger eyes and also to hide signs of tiredness (something I know a lot about at the moment!) and look more awake. 

I was so impressed when I swatched these on the back of my hand. (Earth)Quake was as pigmented as I expected it to be being a darker colour but I was surprised with just how pigmented Pink Of Me was for a such a light shade. Both were so creamy and smooth to apply and the colours are beautiful. The formula is definitely waterproof - it took a lot of scrubbing with a make up wipe to wipe these off! This is always a good sign!

I used (Earth)Quake to line my upper and lower lash lines and smudged it out for a soft, smokey eye. The eyeliner lasted all day on both my upper and lower lash lines and I managed to remove it with ease using my Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm and a muslin cloth.

I took a photo but the lighting was so terrible it did not do it justice. I will be sure to upload a photo of me wearing these soon!

Overall, I love these eyeliners and would love to try out more colours from the range which is available at John Lewis. These retail at £20 which is a little steep but worth every penny. I received a free deluxe-sized, black Marc Jacobs Highliner from Sephora for my birthday gift last year and using these has reminded me to dig the black one out of my collection as I've been loving using eyeliner on my lower lash line recently.

Will you be buying these?

* I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

My Top 5 Foundations

YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation in B50

My holy grail foundation. I bought the original Le Teint Touche Eclat foundation back in 2012 for my wedding events as I loved the finish so much. Glowy and still looks like skin with light to medium coverage. YSL reformulated this last year to provide more coverage. I must say, I loved the original more but the new formula means I just use a little less. The shades seem to have changed so whilst I was B50 in the original formula, the new formula B50 is perhaps a shade or half a shade darker than my skin tone but works for me in the summer months when I'm slightly more tanned. I will always keep purchasing this! On a side note - it smells like watermelon!

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation in 53 - Light Beige

I have been using this foundation for years on a daily basis because it looks so natural on the skin and is a PERFECT match for my skin tone. It feels so light on the skin and you really cannot even tell I'm wearing foundation when I am wearing this. It's a satin finish so my skin looks glowy and luminous. I love the scent of berries, too!

MAC Studio Face and Body Foundation in C3

I never understood the hype around this foundation until I tried it. It has such a strange, almost watery consistency but stays put all day. It is a satin finish which is great for the dewy look but perhaps not great in the summer months as it can make my skin look oily. I set this with my favourite MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Medium Plus and my skin looks flawless. I love that this foundation can be layered for a more full coverage look too. I find using my BeautyBlender to apply this means a lot of the product is soaked up by the sponge therefore I prefer using a dense buffing brush for the best finish.

Too Faced Born This Way Foundation in Golden Beige

Initially I wasn't interested in purchasing this foundation as I felt it was too gimmicky, however, I visited the Too Faced stand in Debenhams and had a little play around with some of the make up and loved the finish of this. I don't own any full coverage foundations apart from MAC's Studio Fix foundation which I find is too heavy for my skin, however, was blown away by how natural this looked on the skin despite being medium to full coverage. It really is almost undetectable. One pump is more than enough for brilliant, medium coverage which looks amazing in photographs and really does blur any imperfections. A new firm favourite!

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Sante Fe

I had a love hate relationship with this foundation at first. Mainly because I felt it clinged to dry patches on my face and I couldn't get the finish I wanted. However, using a moisturising primer underneath along with applying this with a damp BeautyBlender means this goes on like a dream. It's amazing how lightweight it feels but the coverage is completely buildable. I would say it is an almost matte finish but somehow makes the skin look radiant, hence the "sheer glow." I use the shade Sante Fe which is a little too light for me in the summer months but nothing that a bit of bronzer cannot sort. I find it slightly annoying that I had to purchase a pump separately for this foundation but it does not take away from the fact that this looks amazing on the skin!

Spot any of your favourites?

P x

Review: Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette

Back in June, Urban Decay had an early pre-sale for the palette before the general release towards the end of July. I was lucky enough to grab one of the 5,000 palettes available in the pre-sale and was so excited try out the colours in this palette since none of the palettes in my collection have the warm, red tones found in the Naked Heat Palette.

The packaging is one of my favourites from the Naked palettes I own. The palette comes housed in a matchstick-style box where the bottom can be slid out. Once the palette is removed from the box, there are 12 matchsticks symbolising the colours getting warmer/hotter from left to right in the palette. I love this little detail!

The palette itself is made from a sturdy plastic and has a magnetic closure which makes opening and closing the palette easier. The warm colours of the packaging complement the tones found in the palette.

Like all the Naked palettes, the palette features 12 colours and features a double-ended eyeshadow brush. The colours range from a pale, highlighter pink called Ounce to a dark, plummy bronze colour called Ember. The colours are stunning and so different compared to the other Naked palettes. I love the terracotta hues and the selection of warm browns and deep plum colours to use as transition colours and to darken the outer eye area. 

Ounce is a great eyebrow and inner corner highlighter with a satin finish. Lumbre, Dirty Talk, Scorched and Ember are shimmer shades to be used all over the lid. The shimmer shades are all creamy and apply well over a primed eyelid. I found the matte shades to be slightly powdery (as often is the case with matte shadows) but blend together really well and complement each other when building depth in the crease and outer eye area. 

L-R: Ounce, Chaser, Sauced, Low Blow, Lumbre, He Devil

Chaser is a great nude, matte pink that looks really natural on the eyelid as an all-over wash of colour. This can be used along with warm browns such as Sauced and Low Blow for a natural, daytime look. 

Lumbre is a gorgeous rose gold shimmer shade that looks amazing either on its own or with the deeper matte colours to create a soft, smokey eye.

L-R: Dirty Talk, Scorched, Cayenne, En Fuego, Ashes, Ember

I found Dirty Talk and Scorched to be very similar, with the only noticeable difference for me being that Dirty Talk leans slightly warmer than Scorched. I love Cayenne and En Fuego to smoke out the outer edge of the eye. 

My favourite colours overall from this palette are Lumbre, Cayenne, En Fuego and Ember. 

I'm looking forward to using Dirty Talk and Scorched as these are definitely out of my comfort zone but are so pretty.

This palette will be great for the autumn months paired with a mauve or nude lip. The colours in the palette have been compared to those in the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette, however, I feel the colours in the ABH palette are not as warm and lean more pink whereas the colours in the Naked Heat palette definitely lean more red.

I do wish there was a gold/bronze colour included in this palette as that would make it a little more versatile, however, I guess this just makes the palette a little more unique. 

Overall, I love this palette and cannot wait to create more looks with it. I will be uploading a MOTD using this palette soon. 😇

Will you be buying this?

P x

Review: Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Lips Matte Contour Liquid Lipstick - Too Bad I'm Bad

Last month, Charlotte Tilbury launched her new line of liquid lipsticks. There are 10 shades of the Hollywood Lips liquid lipsticks and from the swatches I had seen online, I wanted them all!

The line consists mainly of nude shades. The shades range from Charlotte Darling, Charlotte's signature nude to Screen Siren a bright, bold red.

Charlotte describes the lipsticks as weightless and long wearing, as well as boasting anti-ageing properties and making the lips look fuller and plumper. 

I love the formula of Charlotte Tilbury's Matte Revolution lipsticks which are so comfortable to wear and never feel dry as well as having amazing pigmentation. I was excited to try her new line of liquid lipsticks to see if they too had the same moisturising properties as her lipsticks, along with opaque coverage and the same luxurious packaging. 

Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Lips Matte Contour Liquid Lipstick in Too Bad I'm Bad

After seeing swatches online, I opted for the shade Too Bad I'm Bad. Charlotte describes this as a "warm rosy pink" which "glides on seamlessly like a gloss yet feels completely weightless – like lingerie for your lips!"

These lipsticks are not cheap and retail at £24 in the UK, the same price as the normal Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks. A little steep but just look at the gorgeous colour and packaging! 😍 I purchased mine from feelunique.com.

The lipstick comes in Charlotte's signature burgundy packaging with rose gold embossed wording. The lipstick comes in a sleek rose gold tube which would look amazing on any vanity and has a window showing the colour of the lipstick which I personally love as it makes finding colours in my collection easier.

The doe foot applicator has a crescent-like shape which is supposed to help sculpt and contour the lips. I found there was no need to dip the applicator in to the tube again, one applicator full of product is more than enough product for the whole lip.

Upon application, the formula feels quite thick and creamy. Once applied evenly all over the lips, the lipstick looks smooth and my lips definitely looked fuller. The pigmentation is amazing and one swipe delivers opaque coverage. The lipstick dries down to a matte finish but isn't completely transfer-proof which is a little disappointing as being a new mummy, I'm always wanting to kiss and cuddle my baby without getting lipstick all over his cheeks/face!

The colour complements my skin tone and is a perfect everyday pink for me (for reference, I am an NC25-30 in MAC). Warm undertones mean it will work with orange and pink blushers which I love in a lipstick. 

The colour and pigmentation of this lipstick really stand out for me. I love that it doesn't make my lips look or feel dry and have that "cracked" look. The formula is a little disappointing in that the lipstick isn't completely transfer-proof but that is the only downside to this lipstick. There is a barely there sweet, vanilla scent to this but nothing overpowering and this fades once applied to the lips.

Overall, I love this lipstick and formula and it definitely feels moisturising on the lips which is what I love in a liquid lipstick. 

Will you be buying these?

P x