MUA Luxe Matte Lip Lacquer Review // Is it all it's cracked up to be?

Hey guys!

Today I have decided to review a product out of the MUA Luxe Range!

 They have not long brought this new range out in their collection, which you can find in Supedrug (UK) and I want to give you my honest opinion on one of their lip products. 

The said product is the 'Velvet Lip Lacquer' in the colour 'Criminal'.

I find MUA as a brand can be a little hit and miss at times. Some of their products I really love, whilst others can be a little disappointing. If you don't have this makeup brand available to you across the pond, then I will give you the low down. 

In short, they are a 'budget brand' a lot of their products such as the nail varnishes, eyeliners, eyebrow pencils and lipsticks are like £1 which is super cheap. And to be honest, even though their products are a steal some of them are actually really good. 

How I see it, is why spend a lot of money on a high end product when a budget brand can give you the same results? 

It is total logic. 

Now, this new 'Luxe' range, is a little more expensive than their usual £1 bracket. And most of this range start off at £3 which is still a good deal. I have brought a couple of products from this range, one of which I am yet to try out. 

The packaging is a lot more fancy and I would say kind of expensive looking. They have really put a lot of effort into the appearance of this range and I suppose that is what caught my eye. And I LOVE the frosted glass packaging the product is encased in. Very original. 

This lip lacquer comes in 9 different 'vampy' colours ranging from neutrals to popping bright's, you can see for yourself here. I couldn't decide between 'Kooky' or the 'Criminal' but went for the bright pink because I like my lip colour to stand out. The purple would just make me look like a goth, which I will repeat I am not. :)

This is what the product claims to do. 

A lot of lip products claim to do the whole "kiss proof" thaaang but very few come out of it alive. This lip lacquer however survived the test of fate. Now, when I say "survived the test" I don't mean I have been going around kissing boys, because lets be honest, I have been a lone ranger when it comes to guys for a few years. So of course I had to do the 'blotting' test on my hand for signs of transfer. Nada, zilch.

"Awesome" you say?

Not so much! 

The product may not transfer easily off the mouth but it dries on horrifically!

Urrgghh, even thinking about it makes me uncomfortable, and that is the correct adjective I will use for this product. Uncomfortable. 

Yes, like the company say's it "glides on effortlessly" which in fact it does. I will give it that, it is one of the best lip products I have used for that side of thing. The initial application is brilliant, but where it states that it quickly dries into the matte finish, I think that is where the problem lies. 

It dries onto your lips far too quickly leaving you with an extra dry texture, where your lips feel really tight and you end up with that annoying dried lipstick rim on the inside of your mouth. 

Girls, you should know what I mean when I explain that,where you have to scrape it off with your nail (well I do anyway)and it hasn't blended in. It just dries into the ring of lipstick death.

LIKE THIS!!! 

  

When you apply the lip lacquer initially it seems on application to glide on evenly and you think "la lala leeeelaaa" I am liking this product. 

But then it dries. 

And it is patchy.

And I am like "FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!"

I am sorry MUA but this is not I wanted as an end result. It applied thick in some places and thin in others. 

This is obviously a close up and doesn't look as bad from a distance, but please, this is a tad nasty on the finale!

So basically if you are wanting a flawless looking end result from your lip lacquer, this isn't the product to go for. 

It was £3, what was I expecting really?! 

Ha, I will just edit the photo to show you how I kind of thought it would turn out. 

The overall turn out isn't super bad for this product as the colour is highly pigmented and doesn't change in tone when applied. But it isn't the greatest lip lacquer I have tried to date, it makes the 'Rimmel Apocalypse' lip lacquers look amazing compared. 

Oh, hello ye old dead hand...We meet again!! I am going to stop doing swatches if this is what happens every time.

I really do have normal hands with blood running through it!!  

I am sorry if this swatch offends you. It does me. Ha. 

Someone please enlighten me to why it does this?!

All in all, for me, it's a 'slate' not 'rate' product I am afraid. Yes it does most of the things it claims to do, but by'eck does it leave you with a gross feeling mouth, "velvety texture" nope, more of a "I need to get this off instantly" feel! Oh, and another thing, when removing it, it leaves you with a non-budge stain AND it crumbles and falls off your lips. What the?! 

I am glad I didn't get another shade from this collection as it turns out this product is quite disappointing. It would be okay left on for an hour or so, but throughout the day. No way hosay. 

The packaging is deceptive. It is still a cheap product!

 I suppose you get what you pay for in this instance.

I don't know if any of you ladies have tried this product and liked it? But let me know what you think if you have. 

I will leave you with a few 'selfie' snaps to have a look through.

 ♥

After the colour wore off. Not so vibrant. :(

I am loving the no eye makeup & lipstick look at the moment.

Primark Kimono & More Lush Bath Bombs.

Before I begin, I would like to apologise for my picture quality on this post.

They are a little grainy due to poor lighting as we occurred a horrible little storm when I took these photos. 

I seriously need a DSLR but that isn't happening straight away so I am trying my best with what I have. 

I will state, that I LOVE to take photo's and I love to edit them too, I just don't have the amazing equipment that most of the 'cool' bloggers have. :( 

I hope that's okay? :)

Lets get started!

I went into town with my parents again Friday as I needed to grab Cody's (my guinea pigs) fruit and veg and decided to have a look around the shops whilst I was there. And since I am currently jobless it is killing me walking around the shops because I am wanting everything that is in there. Girl problems. 

I originally went into town to see if I could upgrade my phone at Phones 4 U, but their prices and tariffs are stupidly high. So I thought I would just leave it until my contract ends. 

It's not worth the trouble in the long run!

So, after visiting there I went into Primark. I tried on a couple of t-shirts and some jumpers and I didn't like any of them or the fit in particular. I made my way down to the bag section (my favourite isle) and to the left of me something caught my eye. 

It was a black knitted kimono with tassels. 

I was like "YES". Finally I have found one I like. 

I tried on a size medium and a size large as I like my clothes at the moment to be kind of baggy and boyish. I ended up going for the medium as the large was a little overwhelming and engulfed me to say the least. Plus it seemed a lot heavier than the medium. 

I had no one to take the picture. You want a job done... Do it yourself. 

 Ha, I took that picture in my parent's room as the lighting was way better than in mine. The kimono is the right length and you can't go wrong with black as it goes pretty much with everything you own. 

Well, most of the clothes I own are black. I really need to change it up. 

I love the Boohoo Kimono that I featured in my 'Wish List' post earlier in the month as it had splashes of floral colour and well, was more interesting to look at than this one. 

BUT...

This Primark Kimono is a complete steal at £14 and the quality isn't that bad considering it's from there. I find sometimes with their products that they can be of poor quality and actually quite expensive for what it is. I am very picky when it comes to spending my money in Primarni. I have a good eye for detail and getting value for money so I tend to walk out of there with nothing at all. That said, they can sometimes have some great pieces and this item is one of them.

The hang.

This kimono is great to wear in the summer and ties in nicely with the festival season. But I think this would also wear nicely in the fall and winter, teamed with some jumper layering. 

I would like to add, that whilst coming out of Primark I got caught in a rain shower and got SOAKED. My Primark bag almost fell apart and I was running like Phoebe from Friends.

If you don't know what I am on about YouTube it and you will see what I mean. Too funny. 

Before I left the town, I HAD to pop into Lush again as I feel like I owed it to myself as I am that stupid and didn't realise we had one. I don't know where I have been for all of these years. 

Not in the real world. That's for sure!

And I picked up these bath bombs that were on my MUST HAVE list. 

'Think Pink' bath bomb. 

'Butterball' bath bomb

Each of these bath bombs were £2.50 which I think is pretty good and I cannot wait to use them!! The 'Think Pink' bomb apparently has heart shaped confetti inside so when it hits the water they explode into your bath. I am actually quite excited about using this one. And the 'Butterball' bomb is meant to be good for sensitive skin, which I have, so I hope it makes my skin feel nice after using it. 

I hope you enjoyed reading about my little purchases. 

And if you liked it give me a follow. Or even subscribe.

Over and out. 

♥

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Lush Bath Bombs // My New Obsession.

Oh wow!! I have a brand new obsession with Lush!! 

I need to get out more, seriously, as I have never stepped foot into that shop until the other day. And even when I told the people that worked there that, they recoiled in shock. 

I said, and I quote " This is my new favourite shop. I have never been in here before" *store workers gasp*

"Yes, I know I am probably the only person that hasn't and that would make me a weirdo!" Ha. 

It was laughed off, it was fine. Deep inside though, I bet they did think that I was a little sad as EVERYONE has at least once in their lives shopped in there. 

I don't know why I haven't to be honest with you, I cannot give you a justified explanation to this absurdity. But all shall be forgiven as, I know I will be spending a lot more time in there from now on. 

I went to Bristol the other day, taking my little guinea pig Cody to the vets(it's a very long story and I will fill you in at some point), and baring in mind I live in Worcestershire, it was a long way to go. So whilst my little baby was getting a CT scan I had to wait around to be called back to collect the results and him of course. So I had a couple of hours to waste.

Papa Hutt (my dad) had to take me as, important fact number 1, I couldn't drive on my own with Cody as he is a freakin terror and tries to chew his way out of his box. And important fact number 2, I probably wouldn't even make it there as I am not great at driving to new places. Actually I was being too kind to myself, I suck ass. There I said it. 

Anyway, getting off track here. Ooopps. So I was on a mission to find the Lush shop. The night before I just decided I must have a bath bomb, just like that. I needed one in my life. I wanted to see what all the hype was about. A few minutes later, I FOUND IT!!

That shop smells AMAZING!!! If I could put the smell on this post I would, it was incredible. Granted, a little overwhelming and I had seriously bad hay fever, so it didn't do wonders for my nose. Nevertheless, that smell was super nice and I didn't know where to look first. 

What I did notice was that a few things in that shop were quite pricey and currently out of my price range. I found the bath bombs eventually and I was spoilt for choice. I had looked on-line the night before to make a mental note of the ones that I wanted to pick up. I get there, I had severe memory loss and couldn't decide which one to pick. Evidently, I actually brought the one I wanted without really realising it. 

And that was 'Phoenix Rising'. 

   

And it looks like this. 

 ♥

It's so pretty! I was drawn to this one because I am loving purple at the moment, and it reminded me of my wall in my bedroom at home. The bath bomb is laced with tiny flecks of gold glitter and has this indented line going through the centre. Well you can see this in the picture. Oh, and guys it smells awesome, it smells like cinnamon and that is one of my favourite smells. I kind of reminds me of Christmas, it's relaxing and in some ways has this powerful aura. 

The colour is so vibrant and pigmented it's easily caught by the eye, as are all the other bath bombs and bubble bars. I haven't used this bomb yet but I soon will be. When I do I will do a post on the results and what I thought. 

I may as well of said " I'll do a review". 

If any of you guys fancy purchasing this bath bomb or any other product that Lush sell then click HERE. 

Do you guys outside of the UK have Lush shops? If not, you are in luck as they ship internationally. Win, win. 

If you are a 'newbie' like me to this shop, take a look at their website or even go visit their shop as you won't be disappointed. I hope I don't change my mind when I have tested the bomb though! We will see. 

The customer service I received in the Bristol branch was really good and I even got complimented on my shoes! Score. 

I will leave you with a little video clip of where one of the girls showed me and pops how the bombs work. 

Enjoy. 

 ♥

Song: 'Get Outside!' by Jason Farnham (YouTube audio) 

Licensed under the Creative Commons Act. 

The Power Mouth // A Rimmel Lipstick Every Girl Should Own

First of all, I apologise for not writing for a couple of days. I have literally had the worst hay fever in the history of allergic reactions. So I have been trying really hard to sleep off the itchy eyes, itchy face and throat, swollen eyes and horrendous amounts of sneezing. To my dismay... It hasn't worked at all. If any of you guys reading this have any good tips on how to ease these symptoms please leave a comment on this post. 

Now I have got that out of the way.

"Ahhhh, hmmmm" *clears throat*

What I am going to talk to you about today is what I call 'The Power Mouth'. The Power Mouth basically, in short is a mouth that does all the talking. And not literally. I mean by appearance, a set of lips that are eye-catching, bold and makes a statement to the naked human eye. 

I am all for understated makeup, you know your neutral colourings, 'barely there' base and some slick mascara, but sometimes just by adding a pop of colour to your face really can make a difference.

The lipstick that I feel every girl should own is the Rimmel London, Kate Moss Lasting Finish, Matte lipstick in 111 - Kiss of Life. Seriously I have brought this lipstick so many times now because it is THAT good. This is my go to lipstick at the moment as it is highly pigmented and the colour payoff is fantastic. It is in a matte finish which is what I look for in a lip product as I don't really like shimmery/moisture ones, and the staying power is awesome. 

If you too like a matte lipstick then this is the one to grab and add to your bag. This summer is all about bold colours!! Let's forget pastel shades for a moment and appreciate the vibrant, sultry red's that are bulldozing the shelves at present. Nothing says "wow" more than a perfect lined and filled in red mouth. Let's face it, it's a classic colour and screams "look at me". 

And who doesn't want to feel glamorous? 

Oh dear, the old lady hand strikes again. This uploading programme really hates my hands. 

It is highly easy to apply and doesn't overtly need re-applying. Sometimes I don't at all in a day and the colour hasn't feathered (bled) into the skin around the lip once. As I have said before I have never used a Mac product once in my life (I hate myself for this statement. Tut tut), but I think this could actually rival the 'Ruby Woo' as I have seen people wear it and it isn't far off the same texture and pigment. Plus it is only £5.49 in Superdrug (UK) which is an absolute steal and a great Mac dupe if you can't stretch to their prices. If you click the highlighted word 'Superdrug' above I have added a link to the product for you.

You're welcome. :)  

Superdrug at the the time of me posting this have an offer on this exact lipstick for £3.99 so please girls if you want 'stand out' lips I highly recommend buying this product. It is my HG (holy grail) lipstick and you will never see me without it!! 

I also team this lipstick with the Rimmel Exaggerate Lipliner in Red Diva 24.

   

This twist out lip liner is a god send. I line my lips with this every time I use the lipstick.And because I love my lipstick to be extra matte I also fill my lips in with this liner before I apply the lipstick. These two products go amazingly well together and there is no difference in colour pigmentation at all. It's a perfect match.

The texture to this liner is quite waxy but it's soft too and easy to work. When you first open it it's tip is quite angular so it's great to draw straight lines without the 'wobble'. The only disappointing thing that I would say about the lip liner is that it doesn't last that long and I have gone through SO many of them it's silly. 

This product is £3.99 in Superdrug (again the item is linked within the 'Superdrug' word.) 

You don't even have to wear a lot of makeup to carry off 'The Power Mouth' either, you can either wear it with smoky eyes or just plain old mascara. Either way anyone can pull off this look, and it looks super cool in the day as well as at night.

Ladies, what are you waiting for? Go and grab it quick, they are flying off the shelves.

Good work Kate Moss. I salute you. 

If you are more of a pink, coral or orange kinda gal then have a look at these alternatives to the red.

Barry M (left-right): Shade 54, shade 158 & shade 52

                                            

Yay a normal looking hand :) 

    

Finally I will leave you with some pictures on how I wear 

'The Power Mouth' 

♥

X

Foundation Review // Maybelline Superstay 24hr & L'oréal Lumi Magique

Once upon a time, I never used to wear foundation...Well any makeup at all. Firstly, because I wasn't allowed to wear it at school and secondly I just didn't need to. I never had dark circles and bags under my eyes, I didn't have uneven looking skin and more importantly, NEVER did I get spots. 

Oh how times have changed!

As the years have gone by my skin has got progressively worse. It brings a tear to my eye even thinking about it. I have to wear primer, concealer, foundation and sometimes bronzer and that is just to correct my paleness, spot outbreaks, dark circles and uneven skin tone. I know I am not the only girl that struggles with this, so I thought I would do a review on the two foundations that are my go to product at the moment giving you my honest opinions on both. 

Maybelline Superstay 24hr Foundation

This product claims that is has the staying power. 

For 24 hours in fact.

 But is this actually true? 

The foundation also claims to do the following:

• Transfer resistant (which is what we all hope for when we are trying to make our face picture perfect right?)
• SPF 19 (we don't actually know if it really contains this though!)
• Look naturally flawless all day (that's a big promise.)
• Micro-flex formula providing 24 hour wear. 
• Withstands heat, sweat, transfer and touch (again a big claim.)
• Oil free, fragrance free, tested under dermatological control.
• Suitable for all skin types. 

As far as I am aware there a 6 shades. I did go onto their site to check this, but one of their sites shows 8 shades and the other 6. You can make your minds up about that. The shade I own is 010 Ivory, now you may say "woaaaahh, that is like...White!" Well surprisingly it isn't, it is actually more of a creamy beige colour with pink undertones. If that makes sense. It is still pretty pale compared to the other shades available and people that actually have colour to their face rather than looking like the living dead. Like me. 

Here I will show you a swatch. 

Wow, my hand looks awful in this picture. I promise you this is an upload error and I don't have grey scaly looking hands. :) I don't know what's up with this upload programme on Blogger. 

Sort it out!!! 

Moving on! You can see from the swatch that the consistency is fairly thick and smooth in texture. The colour payoff doesn't look much on the swatch but it's actually super good when applied to the face. I went for a shade darker than my natural skin as I wanted to add a drop of healthy colour to my face. I do find however, that the foundation does oxidise (when the foundation reacts to your natural skin PH and turn orangey), ever so slightly during application but it is easily blended out to achieve a natural look. 

I have tried many foundations in my time and used to use Estée Lauder's Double Wear foundation because it was slightly thicker than your average foundation and it was touch proof. For some reason I always seem to be touching my face or have my hands around that area and my base never seemed to falter wearing this. But of course it was getting a little pricey so I needed to find a drug store alternative. And for me this Maybelline Superstay foundation is it!! 

The consistency is exactly the same as Estée Lauder's and it stays put all day long just like it says on the packet. I have had many compliments about how my makeup looks flawless and this foundation is a big factor for that. You can use this foundation every day or just for a night out, it depends on how you like to wear slightly thicker bases.  

I do find under my eyes need touching up throughout the day as slowly the circles start making their way through, but that is all. I also find it sets best with a light dusting of bronzer and it literally looks flawless. It isn't heavy on the skin at all, which you think it would be considering the thickness of this foundation, and it doesn't look cakey either, it provides a natural finish even though it's fairly pigmented. However,the whole withstands "sweat and heat" claim I find isn't particularly true! I exercise and dance around my room with my Ipod on (as we all do at some point in the day *raises eyebrow*. Ha), and I get really hot and I am wiping my face a lot. Afterwards I find the foundation has made its way off my face slightly and I am left with the odd patchy part on my skin. With that said, it does withstand a beating and over all I am pretty impressed with its staying power even through exercise. 

Over all I LOVE this dupe Estée Lauder foundation and it is my 100% go to product and a definite must have foundation. At £8.99 (in Boots) you cannot go wrong, it is a steal and super easy to apply and blend. Boots,currently have an offer on in the UK for 'buy 1 get 2nd half price on selected Maybelline cosmetics'. If you didn't have a reason to go makeup shopping before... You do now!!    

I always look so happy in my pictures!! I am really. :D 

L'oréal Lumi Magique Foundation

A complexion illuminating base.

Does it do what it says on the tin? 

L'oréal Lumi Magique claims that it contains new Liquid Light Technology. This in return is meant to "infuse skin with a ray of light, illuminating your complexion as if lit-from-within." It also claims to give 'perfect coverage, without masking' and the result, 'a radiant flawless complexion that's full of life.'

• Gives instant skin radiance.
• Light texture, lets the skin breathe & 24 hour hours of hydration.
• Contains SPF 18.

Their site are  showing 5 different shades which isn't a vast range compared to other foundations out there and they are all pretty similar in tone. The shade I picked up is C4 - Rose Beige, I was looking to match the Maybelline shade that I had as I knew that goes with my skin tone. I would say it appears slightly more darker (shown in swatch picture down the page)than the other foundation swatch but when applied it has the same appearance.

 At the time of buying this I had blonde hair and I wanted a light foundation that I could wear when I just needed to take the edge off my own skin and didn't want a load of makeup on. I wanted something illuminating that would give me a natural glow and covered my under eye circles. Unfortunately as soon as I put it on it completely oxidised and the colour payoff was awful. I looked like a Dorito crisp!! Ha. Since then it had been sitting on my dressing table looking a sorry state. 

 I have obviously now become a brunette and a few months ago I decided to try this foundation again.The reason being was because I was running pretty low on my Maybelline one and wanted to save that until I really needed it. 

I was actually shocked at how different the foundation was on my skin. It looked awesome! It didn't oxidise and the colour payoff was true to what was in the packaging. I couldn't believe the difference, and I think the reason it looked how it should of in the beginning was because of my hair colour change. My hair was white before and I assume the orange tone to it was because my hair was so light. Now that I am darker it looks so natural and 'glowy'. If you are blonde and pale like I was, I would go for a shade lighter than mine, which I think is C1 - Rose Pearl. 

Here is a swatch. 

This foundation seems a lot more 'watery' compared to the Maybelline one which in turn makes it thinner to apply and is a great every day product. I find you have to blend this foundation in a lot more to avoid streaking and have to apply a few 'dabbed' layers under the eye to cover the circles but it is true to its word. It makes my skin have an illuminated sheen to it. A healthy glow. Again this product is light to wear, it feels like you don't have anything on, maybe it feels more like a second skin? 

It doesn't dry out the skin, but 24 hours moisture isn't really a given, it just feels the same to me. 

I have makeup brushes but I always end up using my hands to blend as it's quicker for me when I am in a rush and I am lazy. Ha. 

The only real downside to this product is that it isn't really touch proof, it does wear off after a while. So the staying power isn't entirely great and it does go patchy towards the end of the day. But it's a must have if you are just looking for something to throw on to make you feel human again. 

Here are a couple of pictures with me wearing the product. 

   

Excuse the awfully drawn eyebrows!! 

Whoops.

I literally just have the foundation on here.

No bronzer or blush. 

It's such a nice product to wear. 

 You can also get this product in your local drug store. At Boots & Superdrug it is £10.99. 

Over all I love both of these products, and I love them both for different reasons. The Maybelline Superstay 24 hour foundation is my favourite for its staying power and matte finish. I love how easy it is to apply and blend, I love how I can still touch my face without it transferring and of course I love the price. It is so affordable and actually lasts quite a while. The L'oréal Lumi Magique foundation is my favourite "throw it on" foundation that gives a super nice glow to your complexion. Is lightweight enough just to wear around the house and hide imperfections and is my go to product when I am looking 'crappy' but chilling indoors. Ha ha. 

I would recommend buying both of these products but if I had to chose my 'must have' foundation the Maybelline Superstay 24hours wins hands down as an all rounder. 

I am really picky with products... Well a lot of things in general (it has to be right), but if I say something is good... It is good!! I will always give a 100% honest opinion and if I don't like a product I will say. 

You can trust me fellow readers! :) 

I hope you enjoyed reading this review? Don't forget you can leave me comments, subscribe and follow me on all social media outlets. 

♥