Delayed blog post.. red lippy swatches :)

So so sorry for not posting in a little while. I have been trying to complete my overdue college assignments *_*
I procrastinate so bad when it comes to theory work.. so I’m 3 down 2 to go.
I’ve also been going through my make up stash and decided to swatch some red lipsticks I purchased last month.

So, I bought 5 lipsticks from the W7 red range which were on sale for 50p.. yes, 50p!
They are all very pigmented, have no offensive odour (some cheap lipsticks can smell very chemically) and the texture is lovely. They aren’t slimy or feel greasy on the lip and have a lovely satin sheen.

Each picture has the name of the shade below – this image has no filter and has not been edited apart from being entered into a collage with the text :)
They were taken with the main camera on my iPhone 4s.. the image below is a collage of the same shades in the same order taken with the front camera of my iPhone 4s.

I hope you have all liked this post and have been shown that cheap prices for make up doesn’t necessarily mean a cheap and nasty product!
You can buy these lipsticks from different cosmetics online shops, drugstores and the factory shop (where I bought them)
Here are some links for the time being:
Forever Red
Chestnut
Pillar Box
Ruby Red
Scarlet Fever

I’ve noticed that these lipsticks are available in different packaging from different sites. The original W7 cosmetics website link for these lipsticks is here and originally around £5 each. I’m not sure whether they are updated quite regularly but mine were in a black tube like this:

Love,
DD xo

Todays make up look - using affordable products

I didn't have any plans for today but I fancied dolling myself up.
Most of the products are really quite affordable - apart from my eyebrows, eyeshadow and mascara.

I used:

• Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow pomade in ebony $18 (£10.69)
• Anastasia Beverly Hills brow wiz in ebony $21 (£12.47)
• Illamasqua 'Heroine' eyeshadow £15.50
• Benefit 'they're real' mascara £19.50

The rest of the products used were all under £10 each:

• Seventeen (from Boots) stay time foundation in porcelain £6.49
• Seventeen (from Boots) stay time primer £5.49
• Sleek make up blusher in flamingo £4.49
• Sleek 'eau la la liner' in white noise £4.99
• Rimmel glam eyes liquid eyeliner £5.29
• w7 red lipstick - can't find a link, but I managed to pick it up for 50p and considering it has stayed on throughout two meals of the day, I think this is amazing.

Sleek Makeup i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette in Vintage Romance

What is it meant to do?
Sleek MakeUP’s legendary i-Divine eyeshadow palettes are 12 shades of super-pigmented, longlasting, mineral based eyeshadows, designed to suit all.
Each i-Divine contains pearlescent shades, which contain mica particles that highlight and illuminate giving you an overal radiant, wide eyed effect, and the perfect makeup bag essential.
Available in a variety of colour ways, your i-Divine is waiting for you.
Get creative and blend contrasting colours together or mix shimmers with matte shades. Each i-Divine includes a classic matte dark colour, great to perfect that classic smoky effect.

My experience:
So I bought this Sleek make up i-Divine Vintage Romance eyeshadow palette without really know what the quality of their products were. Boots were doing the 3 for 2 offer as they usually do so I decided to try this. You can buy it from here for £7.99 – that offer isn’t available anymore but they do have a free gift whenever you spend over £10 on Sleek make up.
I started to apply the eyeshadow onto my lids using Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer Potion as a base (£16). I used 2 brushes from no. 7 (blending and eyeliner) and one from my FCUK set I got at Christmas.
The colours are absolutely gorgeous and super pigmented with the perfect mix of shimmer and matte shades to compliment each other. They go on smoothly, blend extremely well and there is little to no fall out onto your skin. I have used this palette twice now and both looks have been different. I did quite a smokey eye look at first as well as applying some of the gold shimmer to my bottom lip to give it a fuller look. The second look I did was quite girly – I used the pink, purple and blue toned shadows with the silver and black which work perfectly with a baby pink lip. In both looks I used Sleek make ups matte me lip paints too.

Overall opinion:
I love the texture and pigment of these shadows and will definitely invest in more of their palettes at such an affordable price!

Rating:
9/10

Eyebrows: unsculpted vs. sculpted.

My eyebrows are what I put the most effort into when applying my daily make up. They frame my face and make me look 100 times better than what I do without my eyebrows made up.
I start off with Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in ebony to get the basic shape down then I fill in most of my eyebrow with Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in ebony apart from the start of the brows – I use the spooly brush of the brow wiz to blend in the product towards the centre to get that ‘ombre’ look.
Using Illamasquas concealer in 135, I sculpt underneath the brow starting from the centre outwards to get that sharp point at the end and a little above the brow. When there is no product on the brush, blend it into the skin and set with some powder.
This eyebrow product does stay on all day and doesn’t budge when you wipe over them so you don’t necessarily need a setting gel but I choose to use Urban Decay’s Urbanbrow Styling Brush and Setting Gel just to make sure.

As you can see on the photo, using concealer to sculpt makes quite a difference.

I hope this post has helped a little or taught you a few things :)

New lipsticks from superdrug...

So I decided to treat myself by ordering some lipsticks online from Superdrug.
Here are some swatches, pictures of the products and what I think



What are they meant to do?
The luxuriously moist formulation of the ‘wet’ collection leaves lips lucious and glossy with long lasting shine. Our ‘Matte’ formula gives a nourishing ,long-lasting pop of colour that packs a punch! all formulated with a fresh and tasty minty flavour.

My experience:
These 3 are from the Beauty UK range and I think for £3.49 they are quite the bargain. I purchased ‘plumalicious no.17‘, ‘passion no.10‘ and ‘vampire no.6‘. They hav a soft and creamy texture when you apply and if I were to wear them out (I only applied them to see what they felt like when I was in bed lol!) I would need a lip pencil to prevent the product from bleeding. They don’t feel heavy on your lips and they’re really quite pigmented for the price. I would definitely buy more shades :)

Overall opinion:
Excellent pigment, GORGEOUS minty smell & tingle and worth the price.

Rating:
7/10



What is it meant to do?
Awaken your makeup with a True Colour Lipstick. Get high impact lips with our vitamin E enriched lipstick in a selection of matte and sheen finishes.

My experience:
This lipstick is Sleek Make-up’s True Colour ‘Mulberry’ and was £4.99. You can buy it from here. I adored this colour when I saw it online and I adored it when I opened the packaging. It goes on very smoothly and is quite true to colour. Just like the ‘Beauty UK’ lipsticks above, I would recommend applying a lipliner prior to the lipstick to prevent any feathering and bleeding into the skin. Also, if I wanted this to last all day, it would probably be best if I powdered the first layer and added a second.

Overall opinion:
All in all, the colour is great and so is the texture. Perfect for a dramatic night look.

Rating:
7/10



What is it meant to do?
Everything from nudes to bolds, MUA’s matte lipsticks are available in 5 wearable shades that glide smoothly over lips to give a beautiful non-glossy finish. Classic red colour, glides over lips to give a soft matte- satin finish.

My experience:
When I ordered MUA’s Matte Lipstick in Scarlet Siren for £1, I thought it was too good to be true. I liked the packaging, the texture was great and the smell was a delicious soft vanilla. When I swatched it on my hand, I didn’t think much of the pigment but it was certainly quite matte in it’s appearance. I showed my mother this product, and as she isn’t a ‘dramatic lip’ kind of person, she thought it was perfect for a subtle red lip as she doesn’t suit brightly coloured lipsticks.

Overall opinion:
I liked this product, especially for the price. I prefer highly pigmented and dramatic lipsticks, but this would be good for you who don’t like that look or if you already have a bold eye make up.

Rating:
5/10

Models Own - Velvet Goth Collection

What is it meant to do?
Five intensely inky pigmented colours each with an extraordinary 2D finish. Matte yet sparkly at the same time, each shade applies glossy and dries down giving a multi-faceted effect that can be seen but not felt!

My experience:
I adore these nail polishes – the colours are just so luxurious as well as being matte AND glitter! A combination I didn’t think existed or would look good but it works so well. The nails appear matte but up close you can see the depth and detail to all the glitter and sparkle.
The green polish is ‘Absinthe’ and the red is ‘Sardonyx’. You can buy them here: http://www.modelsownit.com/products/nails/velvet-goth-collection.html
At £5 I think they are quite the bargain. They go on smoothly and I barely need another layer as they are so thick and highly pigmented. If I was picky, I would paint on a second coat.
My nails are usually quite oily and nail polishes chip off so easily, but with these I don’t use a base or top coat and they stay on for so long, I end up picking at it or having to eventually remove it.
This colour combination, I admit, would be more appropriate for Christmas but I wanted to use them so badly!

Overall opinion:
Perfect for a dramatic nail look to pair with evening outfits especially.

Rating:
10/10

ELF Cosmetics - Mineral Eye Brightener & Zit Zapping Concealer

Tried out 2 of my ELF cosmetics products yesterday.


The first is ‘ELF mineral eye brightener in buff‘ £3.95 and you can purchase it from this link:
http://eyeslipsface.co.uk/en/restofworld/eyeshadow/mineral-eye-brightener/invt/6535




What is it meant to do?
‘Perk up those tired eyes and diminish the appearance of dark shadows with the Eye Brightener. Infused with Chamomile, Green Tea, Mulberry and Vitamins C & E to nourish, tighten and refresh! Great for using as an eyeshadow base or around the nose, lips and anywhere you want to brighten and revitalise.’

My experience:
The directions say to use it to brighten your eyes by applying it in the corners, however I found it amazing at helping to blend the edges of my eyeshadow to lessen the harshness.  All I did was use a little of the product with my eyeshadow blending brush and proceeded to blend the edges and up to the brow bone as well as under the lower lashes. The product is light and colourless which is perfect for what I used it for.

Overall opinion:
It does what it says and more. Multi-use cosmetics are always a positive.

Rating:
8/10

The second item I tried out was the ‘ELF zit zapping concealer’ £2.95 in fair and you can buy it from this link:
http://eyeslipsface.co.uk/en/restofworld/concealer/zit-zapping-concealer/invt/23160




What is it meant to do?
The 2-in-1 Zit Zapping Concealer fights and prevents acne with the unique blend of Salicylic Acid, Tea Tree Oil and Camphor. Safe and gentle formula minimises pores while hiding and concealing blemishes.

My experience:
I used it a few weeks ago on a full face of make up and it has complete coverage. I’m officially in love with this item after yesterday though. The weather was really warm for England and I didn’t fancy a full face of foundation so I thought to apply some of this concealer to a few blemished on my chin and the redness on my cheeks, in between my eyebrows and the dark areas under my eyes. It completely covered all redness and blended so well. It is a heavy product but you don’t need to use much so it feels like you have nothing on your face. Plus it smells of tea tree and doesn’t make me break out.

Overall opinion:
A new must-have in my personal make up bag. When opening a salon I will be purchasing the other shades.

Rating:
9/10

The image below shows what my skin looked like with just the concealer and a bit of bronzer/blusher on my cheek bone.
I also used the eye brightener to blend out the eyeshadow.

New to the blogging world!

Hi everybody, my name’s Rebecca and I’m a qualified hairdresser and make up artist.
I have always bought beauty products with the intention of reviewing them but never got round to it – I love giving people advice and recommendations!
I am opening a salon in the near future and I want it to be a salon with a difference. Online networking, finding new and upcoming beauty products, accessories and clothing and the ability to share my work and what I use online by reviewing them.

I know it’s not easy doing these as there are so many people that are already popular and newbies don’ get a look in but I am always here to try and will post as often as possible.

Thanks for reading – more to come!

DD x