Mapril favourites

Since we're now half way into April and I've still not done March favourites I thought I'd squish them together (hence the oh-so-clever title) and maybe do a mini favourites at the beginning of May if anything's changed..

So, Mapril favourites...

Soap and Glory's Scrub Your Nose In It. Love this! Great for an oil-free face all day and can be used as a mask as well, lovely minty scent and feel to it, this will be great especially as the weather gets warmer. Full review to come.

Topshop blush in Flush remains a firm favourite, because of the cream-to-powder finish I've been using it over powder mineral foundation (shock!) without any disastrous results too.

Please excuse the ridiculously grubby packaging, although pretty it seems to be like a magnet for staining! I've been using my Lily Lolo mineral foundation with my Liz Earle Skin Tonic for better, more flawless coverage and extra staying power.

L-R Mac Laugh a Lot and No7's Power.

 Mac's Laugh a Lot is a Lustre finish and on my lips doesn't look that much different than my normal lip colour, except with a lovely glossy finish that generally makes a simple face of make up look much more polished. Power is a gorgeous raspberry colour that I tend to blot down to leave a pretty stain, it's perfect for spring and it's not drying either! 

NYX cream blush in Natural. I have finally worked out how to make this work for me. A very, very light hand and my ELF stipple brush, I buff it in and it leaves a wonderful fresh finish and a perfect natural colour, just as the name suggests! 

What are your new spring favourites?

x

Poppy King Lipstick- Power

If I'm honest, the only thing that excited me about the Poppy King range when I first heard about it was the beautiful packaging I was expecting. Sadly this only extends to the cardboard box that houses the lipstick however it does do something to satisfy my craving for pretty packaging!

Take a look at the promotional video for an idea of the other shades on offer...

  

Power is described as raspberry in colour and I totally agree. For a range that's supposed to be sheer I actually don't think that Power is that sheer, sure one swipe leaves less colour than the bullet would have you expect but still it's not all that sheer. The colour also doesn't particularly match the colour in the video, but it's still pretty and not a colour I have already.

I personally like it blotted which leaves a beautiful raspberry stain, that is so perfect for spring. It leaves an even stain as it wears off which sticks around for hours.

swatched 2/3 times

£12 seems a little on the expensive side for such a teeny lipstick (3.5g of product in a tiny lilac-y silver tube) however with a £5 No7 voucher the £6 is so much more reasonable.

Definitely something I feel I'll be getting a lot of wear out of this spring/summer!

Disclosure: I was sent this free lipstick to review. All views and opinions expressed are my own.

ELF's lovely lippies!

L-R- Classy, Gypsy, Seductive

Last year ELF launched their essential (£1.50) line's lipsticks. Within the day there were shades sold out and after a little research (elf's swatches rarely reflect the true colours in my experience) I decided on Classy or Seductive. Typically these were both out of stock and so I ended up with Gypsy first. A deep pink this is reserved for more dramatic looks for me personally but a lovely colour all the same. Classy is a lighter lilac-y pink and Seductive more coral based. 

L-R- As above- Classy, Gypsy, Seductive

Packaging-wise these are sturdily made and survive the battle inside my bag with ease. A silver tube with a transparent band in the middle makes them easily identifiable in amongst a drawer and saves having to rely on the teeny font on the end.

Top to bottom- Classy, Gypsy, Seductive

All three are creamy, pigmented and non-drying, my only niggle being the relatively strong fruity scent that comes with the colour, the only giveaway to their bargain price. I can't decide if this is any better than the wax-crayon-esque cheap lipstick smell but the taste is certainly better. Lasting power is average, but better than the similarly priced MUA lipsticks.


Overall a total steal, perfect for experimentation and everyday wear! Available from ELF at £1.50 each.


Have you tried the ELF essential lipsticks?


x

Guest post from the lovely Lucy Lights!

I'm delighted to write a guest post for Rach, as we've known each other a while now and she's a really lovely girl. I hope I do Queen Of Turquoise justice!

 Now for my favourite thing: Lipstick. 

I first started getting into lipstick about a year ago. Before that I had been fooling myself that eyeshadow was my passion and I wore some truly hideous, badly blended monstrosities. In short, I gave up on glittery powder and turned to rich, creamy sticks of colour that can instantly lift and brighten a face with minimal effort. 

It took me months to perfect my lip routine and now I just about have it down pat. I am not saying mine is the technically correct way, it's just what works for me! I work very long days in a hot and steamy café followed by service in a busy restaurant. This routine helps keep my lipstick on my lips and not running down my neck and into some poor mans lasagne.

For me, the key is all in the preparation.

1. Scrub those lips. I use Lush's Bubblegum Lip Scrub quite liberally. Make sure you get into the corners of your mouth and the inner bottom lip, all those little nooks that lipstick likes to travel into.

2. Line your lips and fill in. You can use whatever you like for this really. A wax, a coloured liner or a stick concealer. I choose Benefit's It Stick and line my lips gently, then shade into the inner lip slightly. If you crave bigger lips, then simply bring your outer line slightly beyond your natural lips. Half on your lip-line and half off is a good formula to remember.

3. Add a light smearing of your chosen balm. I use Original Carmex as the thick formula is perfect for making a drying lipstick workable.

4. Blot, blot, blot, ever so gently. You don't want to yank all your base work off, just get rid of the greasy film that mixing liner and balm creates.

Now you're free to apply your favourite lippie! Just to prove how much the base helps, I've used three lipsticks of various prices and quality.

 MAC - £12.50

Barry M - £5.99

ELF - £3.50

The MAC doesn't need much help to begin with. It's creamy without being stodgy, the perfect formula and my personal favourite. 

The ELF is hard as a rock and drags but it glides when used over a good base.

The Barry M? It's a total bugger. A problem child. It shows every line, every flake, every little flaw when used straight with no base. Afterwards, it looks as innocent and perfect as the MAC.

And to really put my routine to the test.... a MUA £1 lipstick. 

The finished example looks no different to the MAC. Smooth and creamy, holds strong for hours. This is a typical face for me, strong lips with contouring eye and face make-up.

On a good day, I only have to touch-up twice between running around like a headless chicken making low-fat soya lattes with extra foam and cinnamon sprinkles.

If you give this a go and decide on strong lips for the day, do let me know how you get on!

:) xo

Thanks so much for such a great post Lucy! I'll be putting some more work into my lip bases from now on! :)

Lucy's blog- Lights can be found here, go and have a look! 

xx

MUA lipstick disaster...

The MUA range- especially the lipsticks- have grown on me over the last month or so, the range of colours, versatility, their lovely smooth sheen finish... The only down points for me are the availability (rubbish where I am) and this..

A hideous sheer, greasy, glittery mess. This is shade 5, I suggest you avoid it unless you're a 7 year old girl! It could have been such a nice colour if they'd just left the glitter alone!

MUA don't give you an information on the colour, or finish, or how much freaking glitter they've put in! They give you a tiny view of the lipstick in question (like the picture below) and you order hoping for the best... I know that it's only £1, but I'd still rather not be buying things there's no chance I'm ever going to wear! 

Rant over ;)

Have you had any recent makeup disasters that have left you looking like a glitterball or worse?

Rachel xx