Thursday 30 January 2014

Maybelline | Big Eyes Mascara Review

Mascara was the first make up items I ever brought, I was 12 years old and I brought a Natural Collection one, 6 years on and I am still buying different mascaras trying to find the best one.
My eyelashes are very spares and short, and they struggle to hold a curl. I have tried countless brands and by far the best is Maybelline, so when I heard they brought a brand new mascara out, I had to buy it. 




The Big Eyes Mascara is a double ended mascara, one end is a thicker larger wand for the top lashes, this wand is like no other I have seen, it reminds me of the Falsies in the fact that it's quite flat with longer bristles at the side, but the bristles spiral around the wand. Its rather hard to explain. I found it applies rather easily and takes 2 layers to build the volume and length that I like. It can tend to clump but if you brush through them gentle and don't wiggle the wand at the base, it helps them fan out nicely. It holds a curl really well and doesn't flake. I have worn this for 9 hours and it looks the same as when I first applied it. Amazing!



However, at the other end of this product, is a smaller thinner brush that is used for the lower lashes. I am not a fan of lower lash mascara, I find that it makes my eyes look smaller and it tends to smudge everywhere, not a good look! But I thought I would give it a try, and I was pleasantly surprised. It made my eyes open up nicely, and added definition. the wand was very easy to work with, but similar to the bigger wand, I found it clumped my lashes if I didn't take the time to apply it slowly. It lasted well as a lower lash mascara, 6 hours and no smudges or flaking, I found after that it just started to disappear.


If you have time to apply your mascara carefully and layer it and work with it, I highly recommend this mascara, it hold really well and looks amazing, its the closest I have gotten to looking like I have false lashing. However, if you're looking for a mascara that you can grab on the go and apply quickly, this won't be it.

How do you feel about double sided mascaras?
Do you like them?

Maybelline | Baby Skin Primer Review

I will put my hand up and admit, I have never used a primer before. I have wanted to but I have never had the money to splash out on them or thought that the cheaper versions would be worth it. But when Maybelline came out with their Baby Skin Primer I had to try it, as I have a few pores on my nose, forehead and chin, they're not big but my foundation does skin into them and makes them more visible.



First thing I noticed about this product was how smooth it felt, as I was applying it to my face, focusing on my pores, I just felt like it glided so effortlessly. It made my oily skin feel so soft and it had a demi matte finish to the skin. In terms of 'Instant Pore Eraser' when used alone on the skin, it made no difference, But when I applied foundation over top, it didn't sink in to my pores, it created an even base so my foundation looked better than it every had. I tested it using my Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, as this usually separates on my skin and doesn't look that great. But with the Baby Skin primer, it lasted 8 hours happily and still looked good and felt really soft. As I said before, I haven't tested any primers before so I sadly cannot compare it to any higher end products.

I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a smoother and even foundation application. This has made me want to look into higher end primers, but for now, this baby is making me very happy!

Whats your experience with Baby Skin?
Do you have any primer recommendations?


Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm | Striking and Elusive Review

As a huge fan of the Kissable Lip Balm Stains, I was very excited to hear that Revlon were releasing a similar product, in a matte formulation. Matte products are my favourite as they last longer and I think they look more casual than a glossy lip. I knew I had to try these products so on the day of release I went to 3 different Boots to try and find them! The one Boots I found only had 4 shades in, and to my disappoint  only 1 of them were the one I wanted, but as they were on a 3 for 2 deal, I decided to bite the bullet and step out of my comfort zone and try something new. So I got 2 of the Matte Balms and 1 Lip Lacquer (Review coming soon!)

The packaging of these are amazing. Chubby Pencil products are everywhere now, and I adore them, they're so easy to apply, they're small and sleek so it will travel easily and also you don't need to sharpen this as it twists up. They have the same scent as the Kissable Lip Balm Stains, a light minty scent, I have heard a few people say they dont like it, personally I am a fan. You can kind of taste the mint when you apply it, so I suggest you smell the product to see if you like the scent first as it can be tasted.



The first shade I got was the one I was most excited about, Striking.
Striking is a gorgeous vibrant Red, I personally cant see any undertones, but reading other reviews I have seen people say they think it leans more orange, and others say it leans pink. For me, I say it comes off as a true red. I am always on the hunt for the perfect red lipstick and this rates pretty high.



It applies so effortlessly, a few swipes and your lips are opaque. I recommend using a lip balm under these for smoother application but it isn't a necessity like some matte products as it is more of a velvet finish than a true matte, so it isn't as drying, this shade doesn't show any dry patches on the lips either. However, I find that after a few hours, you can feel your lips becoming dry, but a bit of lip balm or a reapplication fixes that perfectly. I first tested this out when me and James went out to have some lunch, I had a cup of tea and a panini, and I noticed that the product began to fade at the centre of my lips, but it wasn't obvious until I looked closely into a mirror. I think without drinking or eating, this product can stay strong for 5-6 hours.

The second shade I got is Elusive, this is the one that scared me.
I am a big red lipstick fan, and I can wear it with ease, but for some reason, the thought of wearing a pink lip scares me, I think pink lipstick can either look good on someone or rubbish. But I swatched this shade and thought I would give it a go as it was quite a wearable shade of pink.



Elusive is a nice dusty pink, that is a perfect subtle shade to wear if you want a hint of colour but nothing to bright or in your face. I found that this took a few coats to get the right opaquency that I wanted and it chowed dry patches more than Striking, I believe this it because it is a lighter shade. I found the texture the same as Striking, it started velvety then dried down to a matte finish. I wore this to wore and it lasted really well over 4 hours, but after my lunch break I did have to reapply, it then stayed strong until I got home 5 hours later.

I think these lip products are absolutely amazing, I think they're one of the best lip products on the high street right now, the only fault I could find with these is that you have to reapply after eating but I dont know any lipstick that you dont have to do that to. They are a bit pricey at £9 each, but they are really worth it, I am looking forward to getting more shades when I can find them!



Wednesday 29 January 2014

Liebster Award!


Rules of the Award:
1. Link the blog that nominated you for this award
2. Chose 11 bloggers to nominate that have less than 200 followers 
3. Answer the 11 questions given to you
4. Let the people you have nominated know you have done so
5. You cant nominate the person who nominated you
6. Create 11 questions for the people you have nominated to answer
7. You must follow the blog that has nominated you

So I was about to upload a new post when I noticed the lovely Selina  had nominated Pale and Painted for the Liebster Award. I did not expect it as I have only been blogging since August! I am so grateful! :D

1. Do you have any pets?
Yes I have 3 Staffordshire Bull Terriers, The oldest male called DJ, and his 2 puppy sons called Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo. We also have a goldfish called Osso

2. One thing you would never wear.
Bootcut jeans. I see others wearing them and think they look good, but as I have thin short legs, the end up looking horrible on me.

3. Which is your favourite animal?
Owls, no question about it. I think they're so beautiful and graceful, but they have a vicious side to them. I would love to hold and feed an owl

4. Do you have or would you ever get a tattoo?
No I dont have any at this moment, but I do have plenty of tattoos that I would like to get, the first one being my grandparents handwriting on my wrist 

5. Cat person or dog person?
As an owner of 3 dogs, I have to say dogs. As cute as cats look, they make me freak out because of their claws, am I the only one?

6. Which country would you like to live in?
Some where in America, I dont know where though, New York, Texas, California.. To be honest, I would go any where that has good food!

7. Style Inspirations
I dont really have any style inspirations, I was always brought up to wear what made me happy and not to follow others, but I do find myself going to Pinterest a lot of ideas, so can I say Pinterest?

8. Do you play any instruments?
I used to play the Clarinet in a Jazz band but I stopped t do my GCSEs, I miss playing a lot and will probably start playing again. I also learnt to play piano and saxophone but I wasn't that great at them

9. Summer or Winter? Why?
This is the impossible question! As soon as it gets cold I want Summer, but as soon as Summer comes I want Winter. I really do like both, Winter because its always cosy and bright because of Christmas, but I love Summer because you can wear cute dresses all the time and eat ice cream every single day. As of right now, Summer, because its horribly cold right now and I miss wearing shorts.

10. Your favourite memory from the school days?
I have far too many! I was very lucky to have an amazing bunch of friends at school so no day was boring. A few are falling asleep in the Prefect room on bean bags with Amy (Best nap of my life), Every Drama lesson and performance , Making outfits for fashion shows, Science lessons with Mr O who would teach us about how sound travelled by shouting swear words across the field, and slow dancing at prom with Lauren.

11. What do you want to be?
I have changed this answer so many times, its been a ballerina, an actress, a lawyer, a forensic scientist, a criminal psychologist (I blame Criminal Minds for those choices) a photographer, a make up artist, a director, a hair dresser, a nail technician, a tattoo artist, a primary school teacher.. I constantly change my mind with this, but right now I will just settle for a Sales Consultant until I can decide 


My Questions to You:
1. What inspired you to start blogging?
2. Where would you like to go on holiday?
3. If you could only own 1 lipstick what would it be?
4. Favourite fashion trend?
5. What are you looking forward to in 2014?
6. Would you rather spend more on hair products or skin care?
7. Whats your guilty pleasure movie?
8. What is one book you recommend?
9. Worst product you have ever used?
10. How long does it take you to get ready?
11. Pastel or brights?

The blogs I nominate?

Tuesday 14 January 2014

Rimmel Apocolips | Big Bang Review

Every since these were released I have heard people raving about them, and I got sucked into the hype and had to get one. As a huge red lip fan I thought Big Bang was the best choice especially as I am on the hunt for a holy grail red lipstick. The first thing that drew me towards this range was the packaging. Oh the packaging it gorgeous, its very sleek and the colour of the product is clearly displayed so you don't have to worry about searching for the label to find the shade.. But sadly that's where the excitement of this product ends..



Formulation
The formulation was the big selling point for this product. Its a liquid lipstick, it has the shine of a lipgloss but its opaque like a lipstick, if you dont like the shine you can blot your lips on a tissue and it will mattify your lips. Its a really creamy formulation, that feels smooth on the lips, not sticky or cakey. But it can feel thick if you apply too much. At first this product was nice but when it started to dry, I started having troubles. It went really stiff and cracked on my lips, it looked a mess. Even when I tried to apply over top, it felt clumpy on my lips and thick and even when I blotted it still felt bad and looked bad. When I removed it, my lips felt irritated and chapped.

Application
I found the easiest way to apply this is to outline your lines first with the tip of the doe foot and then fill in, you get a neat line and makes the likeliness of going outside your natural lip shape a lot less. The applicator of this product is really good. The doe foot applicator has a dip in the middle which stores product which means you dont have to re-dip your wand several times.

Colour
Big Bang is a true red, it wasn't too blue toned or yellow toned, it sat perfectly in the middle. From what I have seen from swatches I think it would perfectly go with every skin tone, however I think your skin tone will change how the lipstick looks, for example I have seen this look darker on some people and brighter on others.

Staying Power
This is where I became disappointed with this product. I have heard people say that this lasts so long and stained there lips. However, after 2 hours I found that this has smudged everywhere on my face, it was on my chin, my upper lip, and I think at one point my nose. It didnt fade nicely, it went horrible patchy and settled into the lines and felt really drying and uncomfortable.

Overall I was really disappointed in this product, I expect a lipstick to last longer than 2 hours and not make me want to scrap it off of my lips and lather them in lip balm, especially one that advertises itself as having a 'conditioning formulation' I definitely think a red lipstick is a staple for a collection which has to be done correctly so the fact that the red failed me, makes me question if the rest are actually that good either. I wouldn't recommend these to anyone, I am a huge fan of Rimmels lip products so I hate that I hate this, but it really is that bad. 

Did you had the same experience as I did?





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