All Things Purple - Lipstick Edition

So I finished my exams, and went to the ball, and turned 23. I'm now at home for a week or so, packing for a month in Nepal, and rediscovering my love for purple makeup products.

Kicking off with lipsticks, naturally!

L-R: MAC Violetta, Snob, Up the Amp, Topshop On the Town

Top to bottom: MAC Violetta, Snob, Up the Amp, Topshop On the Town

MAC Violetta is the queen of purple lipsticks. This is a Pro shade, which I bought at the (admittedly sometimes quite scary and unwelcoming) MAC Pro store in London. It's pretty damn purple - no lilac or mauve nonsense here, just straight up bright purple. Can be a teeny bit unflattering against the teeth, but a stunning lipstick nevertheless. Just to round things off, it's in my favourite Amplified formula, which is super-opaque and long-wearing.

Taking it down a notch to MAC Snob, which is a very blue-toned lilac pink (Satin finish). I got this (and the Topshop lipstick here) a month or so ago from Alice's blog sale, which is awesome. Very pretty girly daytime shade - barely purple against the others here, but a more wearable variation on the theme.

And of course the classic MAC Up the Amp. I highly recommend trying this out if you don't already own it - great Amplified formula, really unusual darkened lavender colour which is wearable day to night (I'd say). Love this one!

Finally, a non-MAC contender, Topshop On the Town. Sadly I think this is discontinued, so I snapped it up from Alice's blog sale! I think MAC have released limited edition versions of this shade in the past (Lavender Whip?). It's a pale mauve colour, not the most flattering but unusual and fun, particularly for spring pastel makeup which I love wearing. I haven't come across a dud Topshop lipstick yet in terms of formula - this is similar to MAC's Amplified finish.

If you have any other purple lipstick recommendations (especially non-MAC), do drop me a comment!

Lots more purple where that came from, in the shape of blushes (MAC, NARS, Illamasqua), eyeshadows (MAC and Chanel spring to mind), and the odd nail varnish/lipgloss/miscellaneous item.

Till next time,

Josephine x

Revision Ate My Life

To the extent that I've only acquired three new things recently. I bought two, and one was a lovely present from my mother, hurray!

Here we have Chanel No. 19 Eau de Parfum, Illamasqua Skin Base foundation in 02, and Illamasqua lipstick in Eurydice (from the new Human Fundamentalism collection).

The perfume was the gift, earlier this month, after I went through a phase of loving No. 5 again. It is a bit of a shock when you first smell it if you're used to standard popular fruity/sweet scents, and I wasn't sure I liked it when I first wore it. I'm happy to say it's grown on me, and I now love it. It's a very green floral, heavy on the iris, and almost woody - perfect for this wet spring we're having! Victoria has a lovely review, as does Angela on Now Smell This. It's completely different from any other scent I own, and I can see myself getting through this bottle pretty quickly! I must say it doesn't last as long on the skin as you might expect from an EDP, but then again I do like my perfume obnoxiously strong, so maybe it's just me.

I reached the halfway point in my exams on Friday (I now have a week "off" to revise for the next set), and wandered over to Selfridges in the afternoon to peruse the Illamasqua counter. I did nip into the Beak St store first, but got fairly terrible service (for the first time ever, I may add) so left, shame! Anyway, I was keen to test the Skin Base foundation in 02, the next shade down from white, since I'd seen swatches of its pinky-pale brilliance - and I was not disappointed. I've only worn it twice, but the match is perfect and if I moisturise well in the potentially flaky (delightful) areas around my nose the finish is also lovely. Very pleased with this so far!

And of course I bought this lipstick. It's bright blue-pink AND matte, two of my favourite qualities in a lipstick. Need I say more? Well, it's incredibly long-wearing, without being too heavy-feeling or cakey on the lips. This is my first lipstick from Illamasqua, and I'm impressed.

My tea break is now over, and I shall slink back to my land law revision. Woe is me. Hope everyone is well and looking forward to summer! (Eternal optimist alert.)

Till next time,

Josephine x

PS. I am so impressed with myself for only having bought TWO things on Oxford St. I nearly bought four more (two blushers from Dainty Doll, and a blusher and lipstick from Topshop) but just wasn't enthused enough to get to the till. A sea change in my spending habits, perhaps...I can only hope!

MAC Lipsticks: Lustre Edition

I only have three lustres - I know, only! They're all more recent purchases, after I figured out that the more eye-catching shades I bought initially don't cut it for everyday wear in some circumstances! These three are all very wearable for daytime in any environment, particularly since the lustre formula is relatively sheer and glossy - you can slick it on lightly, or build up the colour for more intensity.

The wear time isn't great, but this is in the nature of the formula; these wear off nicely and are so easy to reapply, so it isn't really a problem. Lustres are the perfect choice if you don't fancy the done-up look of a opaque, highly pigmented lipstick (such as the mattes or amplified cremes, both of which are coming up!).

L-R: See Sheer, Syrup, Plumful

Top to bottom: See Sheer, Syrup, Plumful

Top to bottom: See Sheer, Syrup, Plumful

See Sheer is a muted coral, particularly lovely for spring/summer. MAC describes it as a "grapefruit pink", which is admittedly cute, and grapefruit is spot on, but if you want a pink lipstick, go for one of the other two!

The easiest way to describe Syrup is as one of those "my lips but better" shades. This is probably the most natural-looking, easy to wear MAC lipstick I own! (See also Cosmo, which is a shade darker and more pigmented, but also made of awesome.) Syrup is what I would class as a neutral or "nude" lipstick, since it is a close match to the colour of my lips (rather than the colour of my skin, as with other so-called nudes!). This is easy to touch up without a mirror, to give a dash of colour and make your face look brighter and more groomed - I usually apply it on the train in the mornings! Highly recommended. (MAC have this down as a "cloudy pink", whatever that means.)

Plumful is a deeper, plummier (surprise!) version of Syrup. Given my penchant for berry colours and purples, I love this as a wearable member of that colour family. Great for a slightly more dramatic lip which is still very wearable. MAC call it a "blossoming rose-plum" - I guess rosy plum is quite accurate, though how helpful "blossoming" is is up for debate.

The first MAC lipstick I was ever recommended was Patisserie, a lustre which looks like another MLBB colour, but it was out of stock at the time (excellent sales tactic, Oxford MAC girl!), and now I have Syrup I don't feel the need to buy it. Honest...

Till next time,

Josephine x

MAC Lipsticks: Cremesheen Edition

Just putting it out there: I have a lot of MAC lipsticks. What can I say, addictive personality and all that jazz. There's something about them that got me seriously hooked a while back - Ruby Woo was my first (which I think I've talked about in my post on MAC red lipsticks), and I soon accumulated a lot more. My last purchases were some of the matte brights from the Iris Apfel collection, and I think my obsession has eased off a bit now - you never know, though...

I love seeing which shades people have chosen, so I thought I'd swatch my collection for you. I've split them up by formula, as categorising by colour would be too messy and random when you have as many pinky and/or bright shades I do!

Kicking off with the cremesheens, for no reason at all. It turns out I own seven. Which is bizarre, since I don't think of this as my favourite formula - I prefer mattes and amplified cremes (I have nearly all of the amplifieds!), or lustres for less pigmented colour. I can't say I wear any of these on a truly regular basis except Speed Dial, though part of my motivation for swatching them all is to encourage myself to use more of my collection!

PINKS

L-R: Creme Cup, Speed Dial, Speak Louder

Top to bottom: Creme Cup, Speed Dial, Speak Louder

I can never figure out why I don't like Creme Cup more! It's a cool-toned light pink, which everyone loves, but I just don't warm to it (ha) very much. Maybe I'll try wearing this one more, as it seems undeservedly neglected! However, I much prefer the other two colours here...

Speak Louder and Speed Dial are both blue-toned pinks, though Speak Louder is darker and redder. These don't get mentioned all that often on blogs/YT - people seem to favour nudes or super-brights! Speed Dial is a very wearable, pretty everyday pink, while Speak Louder is pretty bright on the lips (which I love for daytime, but it may be more of an evening shade for other more tasteful people!). Both great for summer.

CORALS/PEACHES

L-R: Shy Girl, Ever Hip, Jazzed, Crosswires

Top to bottom: Shy Girl, Ever Hip, Jazzed, Crosswires

Ever Hip and Jazzed are limited edition shades I got in a blog sale last summer, when I was going through a coral phase. I'm usually not that keen on coral shades on me, as I find them tricky with my colouring for some reason, despite wanting to like them! Ever Hip is a lovely pinky coral which does work fairly well on me (also, I adore the Liberty of London packaging!), while Jazzed is more true coral.

Crosswires is a shade you rarely hear mentioned on blogs/Youtube - it's a pinky coral red (helpful), like a more pigmented version of the lustre See Sheer. Gorgeous for easy-to-wear summer lips. (This is basically a coral version of Speak Louder, if that makes sense!)

Shy Girl is one of those incredibly popular shades, but I find I have to be careful what makeup I wear with this. For a warm-toned summery look - bronzer, peachy blush, golds on the eyes - this peachy nude is lovely, and the formula is miles better than Hue, a glaze finish which is basically a pink version of this. So if that's your style I definitely recommend Shy Girl (though you probably already own it!). On me, however, this look is not the most flattering - I wear it occasionally when I'm feeling summery, and I do enjoy it, but it's slightly jarring against my complexion.

Having swatched all these, I'll definitely be wearing them more in future - especially Speak Louder and Crosswires, which have been unfairly relegated to obscurity in the bottom of my makeup drawers!

Till next time,

Josephine x

PS. I think I heard some of the lesser-known colours, like Crosswires and Speed Dial, mentioned in Miss Princess Pancake's excellent video on her favourite MAC lipsticks, which features some really wearable shades. Thought I must have got the idea from somewhere when putting in that particular online order!

On Red Lipstick - Rockalily Instalment

Despite all the well-deserved publicity (I won't say "hype", since I have negative associations with that term!) surrounding this brand in the beauty blogging world, I wasn't aware of it till very recently. If you read a lot of beauty blogs I'm sure you've come across Rockalily, run by the gorgeous and inspiring ReeRee Rockette, so I won't add too much about the brand here - I'll just say that, if you enjoy wearing red lipstick and you don't own one by Rockalily yet, you're missing out big-time!

L-R: Rockette Red, Roulette Red

A glance at my Beauty board on Pinterest (and, indeed, the fact I'm doing a red lipstick series at all - I'm subtle like that) will reveal that I like red lips. I'm very pale, with light blue/grey/indecisive eyes and very dark hair, so I love the dramatic effect of a bright, blue-based red lipstick on me. I'm also a bit of a sucker for all things retro - this is a horrendously generalised catch-all term, I know, so if I were to be a bit more specific I'd plump for the eternally flattering fifties style, particularly dear to my heart because it embraces The Waist and shuns my particular sartorial nightmare, the low-waisted skinny jean (possibly the least flattering item of clothing known to womankind). And we all know how those fifties housewives worked a red lip, repression be damned.

However, I had yet to find a red lipstick which wore comfortably while lasting all day, meaning I generally sported red lips on a one-evening-only basis. So when I eventually came across so many rave reviews by bloggers about Rockalily lipsticks, I had to try one!

Top: Rockette Red; bottom: Roulette Red; background: laptop (vintage)

My first pick was Rockette Red. It's a blue-based bright red - a flattering, classic shade. But the formula is what really impressed me. It's pretty matte, which is my preferred finish for bold lip colours, but more importantly it has none of the issues which bedevil so many matte shades: it goes on very smoothly, and isn't at all drying, hurrah! I found it to be very pigmented, with amazing lasting power, even without lipliner (I went with my usual MAC Cherry, which matched fine). The first time I wore this, I went through cups of tea, biscuits, and dinner, and my lipstick was still going strong, with only minimal touching up required after a few hours. This stuff is genius, and makes wearing red lipstick as effortless as it can be!

As you can see, one lipstick quickly turned into two: I soon had to (you know how it is) get Roulette Red, Rockette Red's slightly darker sister. Same flattering blue tone and outstanding matte formula, but the colour is a touch deeper. You probably don't need both, but when a lipstick works this well, hey, why not? (To see these on the lips, I refer you to the many glowing reviews by various bloggers collated on the Rockalily website.)

These lipsticks are priced at £14 each, which is by no means cheap - however, bear in mind it's only 50p more than MAC, and the formula is SO much better than some of MAC's mattes (I'm looking at you, Ruby Woo, and not just because you rhyme pleasingly). I think delivery is around £2.50, and I found it to be super speedy. All in all, highly recommended!

Oh yes, and they smell lovely. I rest my case.

Till next time,

Josephine x

PS. If this isn't enough red lipstick for you, there's more where that came from: choice selections from Revlon and MAC.

On Red Lipstick - Revlon Instalment

Revlon are my favourite high street brand for lip products. (And this was before some of their amazing new Lip Butters came into my possession, via the lovely Stacey.) I even own and enjoy (occasionally) a few of their lipglosses in the Super Lustrous formula, of one-time Lilac Pastelle fame; and I generally hate lipglosses. I especially like their range of matte shades, though sadly it looks like several of these have been discontinued (why, Revlon, why?? Strawberry Suede was my favourite!).

Without further ado, here are the reds I own:

 L-R: Revlon Red, Really Red, Fire & Ice

Top to bottom: Revlon Red, Really Red, Fire & Ice

 Revlon Red is a Super Lustrous lipstick. It's a blue-based red, with a finish similar to a MAC Amplified Creme - very pigmented, with a sheen finish, and wears well on the lips.

Really Red is a matte, and still listed as available on the (shocking) Boots website. The finish is comparable to one of the better MAC mattes - longwearing and not too drying. It's a browner, more winey red, but still very wearable.

Swatching these made me wonder why I don't wear Fire & Ice more often! It's really bright, neutral red, leaning slightly warm (a tad brighter than Revlon Red). It's another Super Lustrous shade. You've probably seen the revamped ad campaign featuring Jessica Biel (of course, I prefer the original image!). I think there's a matching nail polish, which I don't own.




These are £7.49, and often on special offers in Boots/Superdrug, so definitely worth looking into, especially if you don't fancy shelling out for MAC. I should wear these more often!

Till next time,

Josephine x

On Red Lipstick - MAC Instalment

Lipstick may well be my favourite makeup item (OK, so I love a good blush too). It’s such a grown-up, sophisticated product, which can totally transform your face – or switch up the shade or finish, and it can be completely girly/loud/crazy/you name it.

I didn’t really wear lipstick at all until fairly recently. Shocking. At school, like every other girl, I wore lipgloss (Lancome Juicy Tubes were my weapon of choice). Then I had a few rosy-pink Estee Lauder lipsticks which were passed on to me by my mother, the queen of the everyday bright pink lip, who never wears a neutral – her current favourite is the classic Revlon Cherries in the Snow, which I also own and love (and which will feature in the bright pink series shortly!).

I thought about doing a post on my lipstick collection, but swiftly realised this would be intolerably epic, because I have so darn many. Rather than dividing them up just by brand (which would be ridiculously MAC-heavy, I’ll be honest), I decided colour groups was the way to go. And, in the spirit of my rediscovered love of Mad Men, what better place to start than RED. This will be a series of posts on what I would class as classic, bright reds. Starting with:

MAC

L-R: Ruby Woo, Russian Red; Cherry lipliner

Top to bottom: Ruby Woo, Russian Red, Cherry

Ruby Woo was my first ever MAC lipstick purchase. Momentous stuff. I was heavily influenced by a glamorous American friend on my course, who wore Russian Red to class, had rockabilly bangs, and always looked amazing. So we went to the MAC counter in Debenhams one afternoon, where I picked up Ruby Woo and Cherry lipliner (ah, the classic MAC girls and their sulky hard sell). Despite it being the driest lipstick known to humanity - so dry it actually skids on the lips! - I loved the shade and the matte finish (and even the bizarre vanilla-esque scent) so much I wore it to every formal event for a term. It even bears the scars of being dropped under the table in hall after too much wine. I can't say I wear this often now, but it's a gorgeous blue-based bright red if you don't have issues with drying lipsticks.

After my love affair with Ruby Woo, it was inevitable I would purchase Russian Red at some point. It's another classic red, a bit more neutral in tone I'd say, and a tad deeper in colour. It's also a matte finish, but the formula is much, much easier to wear, which was a major factor in picking this up. Out of these two, I would probably choose Russian Red for the better texture (more forgiving on the lips and easier to apply being two particular advantages), but I do love the bright blue red of Ruby Woo!

Cherry is a good all-round bright red lipliner, which I'd wear with pretty much any bright red lipstick. I find it quite dry, which makes it a bit laborious to apply (especially in winter when it's cold!), but I suppose this means it lasts longer on the lips.

I don't think I'll be acquiring any more reds from MAC, if only because I have more than enough choice as it is. If there was a bright red in the Amplified Creme finish, which I love, I'd probably have to get it (full disclosure: I have Dubonnet and Dark Side - more of which later). So far I've steered clear of the other popular matte reds such as Lady Danger, because I'm cautious about wearing orange-toned reds - while I'm not shy about bold lips (for some reason I own an actual orange lipstick), the warmer reds clash with my skintone and certainly don't whiten teeth!

I'm going to post this as it is rather than tagging on all the other brands, to stop it becoming hugely long! Suffice it to say I have Revlon, Rockalily, Chanel, NARS, and Estee Lauder coming up next (oh the suspense!).

Till next time,

Josephine x

My NARS Collection

I hesitated to use the word "collection" in the title, since I only have seven products from NARS (I know, "only"), and I'm determined not to let this spiral to a ludicrous number (see: my issue with MAC lipsticks and eyeshadows). I have my eye on a few more shades of blush - namely Mata Hari, Douceur, and Deep Throat - and perhaps the Sheer Glow foundation (in Siberia, naturally), but that's about it.

So here are the products I've accumulated thus far:

Two blushers, a single eyeshadow, a lipstick, and three Pure Matte lipsticks. And what shades did I plump for, I hear you cry?

Desire (L) and Sin (R) blushes; Lhasa single eyeshadow

Sin has already featured in my "everyday face" post, and it's still the resident blush in my daily makeup bag. It's a gorgeous shimmery plum colour, with a smooth buttery formula, which looks surprisingly natural on my pale pink skintone - especially lovely for cold weather.

Desire is a straight-up matte pink, leaning on the cool side. It has good colour pay-off, though it's not as smooth as Sin when swatched (probably due to the matte formula). I can't say I've used this anywhere near as much as Sin so far; I do love a good dolly-pink cheek, which this delivers when applied with a light hand, but I'm not in love yet. I shall persevere! I also managed to resist buying the new Gaiety blush from the Spring collection, after swatching it and finding it was just a cooler, less pigmented version of Desire. Sad face. Fingers crossed NARS isn't heading down the MAC "selling you the same colour three times over" road...

But that's not to say the Spring collection didn't have its redeeming features. Far from it, since it features my new favourite eyeshadow, Lhasa. I knew as soon as I saw the promo pictures online that I HAD to have this. Lavender grey? YES. (This is a situation for capitals, shouty and obnoxious though they are, trust me.) I haven't been seriously tempted by any eyeshadows from the brand before, as all the neutrals looked a bit warm for my taste/face. But this is a stunning heathery/misty grey (which clearly brings out the lame poet in me), just perfect for a subtle smoky daytime eye. It is also destined to be partnered with MAC Vex, which is possibly my all-time favourite MAC shadow. Success.

[Edit: Sabrina at The Beauty Look Book has a lovely post with swatches of Lhasa and other NARS shadows, including the new 413 BLKR eyeshadow which looks suspiciously similar. Why, NARS, why??]

And look, I did swatches! Crappy crappy swatches, but still. Taken in daylight, no flash.

Top to bottom: Lhasa, Sin, Desire

 Sin isn't looking particularly inspiring here, particularly because the shimmer doesn't translate well onto my freakish giant hand (and it isn't this brown in person, more cool plum), but it's definitely worth a look next time you're at a NARS counter.

And now for the lipsticks:

L-R: Schiap, Carthage, Valparaiso, Vesuvio

And on my luminously white arm (these are literally one swipe each, that's how pigmented they are):

Top to bottom: Vesuvio, Valparaiso, Carthage, Schiap

Schiap was my first ever NARS purchase, which I bought in Selfridges after an assessment day last summer. Hot, sticky, and knackered, I made a beeline to Oxford Street as soon as the last hideous business analysis exercise was over, and bought the brightest damn lipstick I could find. Hot pink lip products are my weakness (okay, one of my weaknesses!). This is a fabulous example of my particular favourite, the matte blue-pink lipstick.

Carthage is a recent acquisition from Charlie's blogsale. I'd been eyeing it up for a while, but couldn't justify it full price given its similarity to Schiap - then when I came across it in a blogsale I couldn't resist! It's a slightly warmer, lighter pink than Schiap, perfect for summer. And of course it's in the truly excellent Pure Matte formula, which swipes on in seconds, is completely matte, and wears for an age - what more could you need?

Valparaiso also comes from the Spring collection, though why they thought this gorgeous, dramatic purple-berry shade was appropriate for spring I do not know. But I love it for the wintry weather we're having at the moment. The sales guy tried to entice me to buy a matching lipgloss, blasphemy! I would never sully its matte perfection with a tacky gloss.

And finally, Vesuvio - because much as I love pink lipsticks, you can't go wrong with a classic neutral bright red. You can see I'm not a big fan of subtle lip colours, let alone the dreaded nude lip - which looks great on some people, but makes me look absolutely terrible. (That's not to say I didn't purchase a few paler lipsticks, like the raved-about Hue and Creme Cup, during the first flush of my MAC addiction, but they now sit completely unloved in my makeup drawers, oops!)

So, if you enjoy bold matte lip colours, I highly recommend the Pure Matte line - and there are some pretty-looking more natural shades as well, if that's more your bag. However, I've got to say my recent lipstick acquisitions have somewhat cast these into the shade (shocking, I know!). Yes, I am the proud owner of three(!) Rockalily lipsticks, which I've been wearing nonstop since I got them. Definitely a blog post in the making!

Till next time,

Josephine x