Illamasqua lipstick in "Eurydice"

If there's a colour I love, is hot pink. There's nothing I love more than a bright warm pink, and whenever I see someone wearing a bright pink lipstick and pulls it off, I'm just downright jealous. 

Some months ago, I looked into Illamasqua's lipstick called "Eurydice". Back then, it was out of stock, but some weeks ago they emailed me to inform me that it was back on stock. 

The problem with Illamasqua is that, not only is it an expensive (but worth it) brand, but it also has very high shipping fees. I was about to cancel everything, when I just looked at one of Eurydice's swatches online, and I just had to click "Confirm order". It's just too beautiful not to own!

So that was that, 30€ spent on a lipstick. It might as well be the most beautiful lipstick, won't it?

IT IS.

And, I'm glad to say Illamasqua sent me four 15% off coupons, so I'll be doing some shopping there soon again! 

I first applied the lipstick directly from the tube, and then softened the edges with my ring finger. As you can see, it was left completely stained.

I'm an Illamasqua convert, and this lipstick is my new obsession!

Love,
Maria.

Summer lip trends!

The summer has started, at least for me (finally), after finishing my exams and starting to make authentic summer plans such as parties on the beach, a trip to an island nearby, etc. 

However, what beach party would be complete without a summer lipstick to wear? 

This is the reason why I have searched through my collection to find the most adequate lip products for summer, with different trends: classic red, bright fuchsia/hot pink and orangey red. There's one for everybody! 

Trend #1: Classic Red

Everyone loves a good cool toned red, it's a classic look that's been going on for decades, right? And I have the perfect colour for you guys: NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in "Dragon Girl".

This product is great for summer because it comes in a pencil form, so that means you don't need a lip brush or anything else. I put it on my lips, and then dab with my ring finger to soften any hard edges. 

I think it's a pretty easy product to use, and as it's so bright, and not a dark red at all, this is very summer appropriate. You can see more of "Dragon Girl" in this post: CLICK.

Trend #2: Fuchsia/Hot pink lips

I really love fuchsia colours on the lips, especially when they're matte, but I also find that for summer the matte look is quite uncomfortable, that's why I put together three different looks, depending if you're more of a light lip person or matte at heart, and then I threw a fuchsia lip stain too :) 

First, is my matte alternative: NARS' Lipstick in "Funny Face"

This is straight from the tube, and as you can see it's a beautiful lipstick. It's very bright, but not what you'd call a barbie pink, which I'm glad it's not, because cool toned pinks don't look too good on me. 

You can also apply this by dabbing it with your fingers, creating a matte but light look, which I think is more suitable for summer rather than the straight-from-the-tube way.

Second is L'Oreal Rouge Caresse in "Impulsive Fuchsia".

This is a sheer balmy lipstick, but it packs a punch of colour that looks really good in summer, because it's a very vibrant and beautiful fuchsia! Definitely one of my favourite lipsticks for this summer :) 

To see more, click.

And the third look is a lip stain, Stila's Raspberry Crush.

I found out this lip stain has SHIMMER. Oh, that was such a disappointment, because I had the Cherry Crush and that didn't contain any shimmer whatsoever. So I think this doesn't look right if you apply it straight from the tube.

However... 

...If you wait a couple of minutes and you take a makeup wipe, gently take away the shimmer, and you're left with this BEAUTIFUL stain on your lips. And if it looks a bit patchy like mine do in the picture below, I just apply my BodyShop plum balm because it evens it out and moisturizes!  

Trend #3: Orangey-red lips

2012 being the year of the colour Tangerine Tango, I only see fit that we talk about this colour for lips. However, I'm not a big fan of BRIGHT ORANGE lips, at least not on myself, so I think this is a more wearable way of taking advantage of this trend.

I prepared two looks, a matte one and a sheer glossy one. 

First look, is NARS' Lipstick in "Heat wave". 

Both of the pictures above show the lipstick applied onto the lips straight from the tube. It may be a little too thick for summer, or depending on what you like your lipstick to be like. That's why I also  dabbed it with my finger for a more soft look, without losing any brightness.

The second look was created with L'Oreal Rouge Caresse in "Rebel Red".

This colour is FRUIT PUNCH love. My other favourite for this summer, I just can't stop looking at it, it's SO BEAUTIFUL! And glossy, and comfortable, and it leaves a stain behind! Can you ask for more?

See more swatches here, click.

I hope you all liked these looks, and I recently bought NARS' Bolero, so I may PROBABLY do a second installment of this kind of lip trend posts. I tried mixing up high and low end brands, L'Oreal, NARS... no MAC, however, but it will be present in my second installment if I decide to go for it! 

What recommendations do you have for any of these trends? Do you own a beautiful lipstick that matches any of these categories? Go ahead and comment! 

Love,

Maria.

Lip balm addiction!

Hello everyone! :)
And as much as I love my colourful lipsticks, I think I could live without them (in case of emergency or apocalypse or whatever). This is something I can't say about lip balms. I need them in my life. And I know probably this is an addiction, because if I go a couple hours without lip balm, my lips get dry and start to hurt!

But there you go. I bought three different lip balms, each of one a different flavour and type: a lip butter, a "Born Lippy" lip balm (in a little pot), and "Born Lippy" lip balm (in a tube).

 Born Lippy Tube in Plum, Mango Lip Butter, Born Lippy Pot in Pink Guava

Lip Butter in Mango: it's the first time I try the BodyShop lip butters, and I'm pleasantly surprised, because they're not super thick, which I expected, and they are SO SOFT AND BUTTERY (hence the name). The little pot they had as a tester smelled too strong, but I decided to buy it anyway, because I LOVE MANGO. And thankfully, my pot didn't smell that strong, and on my lips it just gives a very pleasant (and strong, don't get me wrong, this smell doesn't disappear after application) smell, which I adore! 

Born Lippy (tube) in Plum: I just went to the BodyShop to check these out, since they're new! Sadly, some of the classic scents that I love, such as Pink Guava (pictured below) are no longer present in this new line. :(

However, this lipbalm has quite a citrusy gone sweet smell, which I really really like, and it gives a little bit of a rosy color, even though for the most part I'd describe this as a clear lip balm. And I think the tube form is way more hygienic, so this is better for on-the-go. And what's not to love about the whole pop art vibe on the packaging? 

Born Lippy (pot) in Pink Guava: this is my all-time favourite lip balm. This scents and some others are being discontinued, which I hate because.. duh! This is the best balm ever, and has the best scent!!! But, luckily, my local BodyShop still sells them at a discounted price, so I bought one, ipso facto! 

And what can I say? If you are able to get your hands on one of these, DO! You'll thank me for it!

Have you got a lip balm you can't live without? Have you ever tried any BodyShop products you love?

Love,

Maria.

My latest beauty picks. (preview)

Hello everyone! 

I know lately I've been giving the "go natural" speech too often, and this is a makeup blog, right? RIGHT! So I decided to do a sort of mash-up of the products that I really love, and some little trick that maybe you guys didn't know about. And ALL of my picks are bright and beautiful, so no "natural" look here! 

(Iphone and camera pictures are shown)

Hope you like it!

MY LIPSTICK PICKS...

(MAC Ruby Woo; Bourjois Fuchsia Cosmopolite; NARS Heat Wave)

1. NARS Heat Wave

This is a perfect orangey-red, and I truly recommend it to warm skinned girls like me!

I am very pale, and quite scared of reds and bright lipsticks, but I think this lipstick just looks AMAZING!

It has a summery feel to it, but you can wear it all year round! (The red tones do their magic!)

2. Bourjois Fuchsia Cosmopolite

This just smells of summer!

This lipstick is pure summer for me, it's a pinkish coral that looks so amazing on tanned skin, that I just can't even..! It may not look too good on my wintery flushed skin (first picture) but you can definitely see those bright pinky undertones.

Oh and, they made it a permanent color of their collection, so I'm really impressed with Bourjois lately, and with their lipstick improvements! I will definitely re-purchase when I run out (although I started it in August and I barely use it because I save it for special occasions!)

3. MAC Ruby Woo

Really wintery lipstick, although you can use it in summer too for a more SOPHISTICATED LOOK, but I'm not usually drawn to those kind of looks during the hot summer months. For winter though, it looks perfect, especially when my skin is at its palest!

MY EYE PICKS... 

(Having SO MANY eyeshadows made me wonder... should I use eyeliner?)

 (Bobbi Brown Gel eyeliner in Violet Ink)

 (Bobbi Brown Gel eyeliner in Ivy Shimmer Ink)

To achieve both of these looks I just dabbed the eyeliner directly from the pot with my fingers, and used a brush to wing it out a little bit and blend it. No extra product on the eyelid was required for this OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD beautiful smokey eye! 

(I used my L'Oreal Voluminous mascara on my top lashes!)

I admit sometimes these can be a little overwhelming for an everyday smokey look, but for a night out?  It's perfect! They are fuss-free, you should put on some eye primer though, just in case it creases on you, though. 

Even so, sometimes, we girls like to take time to do a nice eye, right?

What do you think about these products? Have you got your own lipstick picks? Have you got any tricks to make your eyes pop without having to lose too much time?

Love,

Maria.

MAC Lipstick Series: Ruby Woo

Hello ladies!

I've taken a short hiatus from my blog I'm afraid, but I'm back! Even so, my exam period starts next week, so I may post more randomly than I would like, so please be patient with me :)

But first things first, today I would like to talk about a classic staple lipstick from MAC, RUBY WOO. Hasn't every single girl and woman heard about this beautiful red lipstick? The thing is I purchased this lipstick not long ago because I've never been too sure about bright red lipsticks working on me. And whenever I saw swatches of this lipstick, it sometimes looked more orange and other times it looked really pinkish. 

When I finally decided to go and check it out, I didn't like it under the bright store lights, it just looked to dark on me. So I didn't purchase it at first. But some weeks later I thought to myself: "let's try it at home, plus it's a classic, it can prove to be useful in the future!". So I finally bought it.

I should tell you about my MAC red lipstick history, because I now own FOUR red lipsticks from MAC, which are: Russian Red, Lady Bug, New York Apple (and Ruby Woo). And up until now, I didn't think any of these suited me, except maybe Lady Bug, because it has a Lustre finish so it can be worn slightly sheerer and looks quite fresh (will review on my next post). Still, none of these three (the ones purchased before Ruby Woo) were what I was looking for. 

Let me show you what Ruby Woo (Matte finish) looks like on my skin (warm toned, I have a lot of yellow undertones but I'm quite pale), but take into account that lip swatches contain no lip pencil whatsoever and I've just put on some balm before applying the lipstick, because matte lipsticks can dry my lips and they can look far from perfect. 

Light swatch of Lady Bug (left) and Ruby Woo (right)

You can see the shine that Lady Bug has (especially noticeable on the last two pictures) and how matte Ruby Woo is. We can also see that Ruby Woo is brighter, while Lady Bug is a tad darker and more orangey (you can notice this on the first picture). 

(Lady Bug, left; Ruby Woo, right)

In this overexposed picture we can clearly see the orange undertones in Lady Bug 

and the bluish undertones in Ruby Woo. 

Now, onto the lip swatches! I actually couldn't find my lip pencil and I was DETERMINED to do a decent lip swatch with this lipstick. But I'm afraid I didn't find it (I will keep looking) but I actually didn't need it to get a good application since it's a fairly new lipstick, so it is still sharp.

As you can see, this is a beautiful lipstick color, and it suits my skin quite well. I'm up for bright lipsticks, more than for dark ones, so that's why I really love this lipstick. I also like matte finishes, although I admit this lipstick can be quite drying without any balm underneath (and it still is with a little on, but it doesn't bother me that much).

My conclusion?

I am in love.

Maria.