Review - L'oreal Caresse Lipsticks

Today I am sharing with you some of my new favourite drugstore finds; The L'oreal Caresse lipsticks. Now I know they're old news, I remember people were going crazy for them around the same time as the Revlon Lip Butters blew up but for some reason I just never fancied dipping my toe in the water. Whilst I love moisturising lipsticks, I'm also a big fan of bold colour so I thought these tints might be a little wishy washy for me. How wrong I was.

(L-R: Cheeky Magenta, Dating Coral, Tempting Lilac)

The three colours I picked up were 'Cheeky Magenta' a suprisingly intense blue toned pink, 'Dating Coral' a natural looking every day coral and 'Tempting Lilac' a really wearable pinky-lilac. The packaging of these lipsticks is chic, sleek and expensive looking and the colour payoff is buildable to that of a regular lipstick, but with a more glossy, balmy finish. Dating Coral is by far my favourite, it is subtle enough to be worn every day but really helps brighten the complexion and make you look awake on those chilly mornings.

(Top-Bottom: Tempting Lilac, Dating Coral, Cheeky Magenta)

I am super impressed with these lipsticks. The formula, packaging and colour pay off is seriously admirable and I definitely prefer these to their drugstore rivals, the Revlon Lip Butters. These are the perfect lipsticks for work, keeping your lips nicely moisturised whilst maintaining a bright pop of colour. I've definitely got my eye on a few more of these bad boys.

Becca.x

"Drugstore" Lip Haul + Swatches

I've got a lip related post for you today, shock horror! I am seriously feeling this season's whole vampy makeup trend so I've been heading to Boots and Superdrug a lot to update my look on the cheap.

Superdrug have had 3 for 2 on all their makeup the past few weeks so I headed straight to the Sleek stand to pick up a few of their lipsticks. I am a massive Sleek fan, every single item I have used from them is incredible quality and the prices are such good value. I have to be careful when selecting lip shades as a good selection of them are matte which my dry lips do not agree with, although I know some people will love that. The colours I settled for in the end are 'Peaches & Cream', 'Cherry' and 'Mulberry'.

(L-R Sleek Lipsticks in 'Mulberry', 'Cherry' and 'Peaches & Cream)

(Mulberry)

(Cherry)

(Peaches & Cream)

All 3 lipsticks are in a 'Sheen' finish which means they glide on smoothly and have a subtle shine to them, I find the texture similar to a Mac 'Cremesheen' for reference. They are really impressively opaque and not at all drying on the lips, for £4.99 I don't really have a bad word to say. Props to Sleek!

I wanted 'Peaches & Cream' for the whole of Summer but it was constantly sold out, so I figured while it was in stock and on 3 for 2 I may as well pick it it up! It is the perfect creamy peach and intensely pigmented. I have naturally quite dark pink lips but I found the shade easily covered it up. 

My favourite of the 3 I bought is definitely Cherry. It is a vivid, deep red but different from any other red I own. It is darker than a true red such as Topshop 'Hazard' or Mac 'Ruby Woo' but brighter than your classic Autumnal berry red hue such as 'Dubonnet'. 

The final shade I picked up is WAY out of my comfort zone. 'Mulberry' is an extremely dark, blackened purple and to be honest, a shade I'm not sure I'd actually wear out the house. This is unusual for me as I'm not one to shy away from bold lipsticks but this is just that bit too close to black for me. It hasn't translated just how dark it is in the swatch on the lips as I had to use the flash due to our incredible English weather, but I think the swatch on the hand portrays better the true colour. Whilst this colour isn't for me, I still cannot say a bad word against it. It has incredible pigmentation, an excellent creamy texture, and if a super dark vampy lipstick on a budget is what you are after, I couldn't recommend this highly enough.

All hail Sleek!

I've also been desperate to try Revlon's answer to Clinique's Chubby Sticks, the 'Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains' for so long and when I saw they were also on 3 for 2 I finally jumped on the bandwagon and got myself a couple, as well as one for a friend. The colours I picked were 'Crush' and 'Rendezvous'.

(L-R Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in 'Crush' and 'Rendezvous')

(Crush)

(Rendezvous)

'Crush' is by far my favourite of the two balm stains I chose. It is a beautiful deep, pinky berry colour that literally looks as though you have crushed a blackberry on your lips. The other colour I selected, 'Rendezvous' is a subtle wash of orange and will be perfect for summer time (forward planning!). 

The texture of the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains is very smooth and easy to apply and there is a nice minty flavour which is very fresh and not too sickly. The colours are sheer but extremely buildable, however the only negative I have to say is that when the balmy texture wears off, the colour left can become a little patchy and slightly flaky. This is nothing carrying round a good lipbalm doesn't solve and the stain really does last all day. For £7.99 I think Revlon are on to a winner and I will definately be picking up a few more shades, 'Honey' is next on my wishlist!

What are your favourite drugstore lip products?

Becca.x

Top 5 Lipsticks For Autumn/Winter

With my love for lipsticks ever growing, the start of new seasons brings about exciting new lip colours and new trends to try out. Surprisingly, I haven't actually bought a new lipstick this Autumn yet (although Mac-Rebel will be mine) so I've put together my Top 5 Autumn/Winter lippies from the ones already cluttering up my dressing table.

(L-R: Nars 'Senorita', Revlon Lip Butter 'Macaroon', Revlon Super Lustrous 'Spiced Brandy', Benefit 'No Competition', Mac 'Dubonnet')

Apologies in advance for the moody faces and the greasy scraped back hair; it just personally really annoys me when I'm looking for online swatches of a lipstick and all I can see is it on the back of someone's hand. I don't want to see your hand, I want to see your face!

1) Mac - 'Dubonnet' 

You may recall I included Dubonnet in my 'Top 5 Mac Lipsticks' post back in June when I started my blog and it is easily my favourite Autumn/Winter lipstick of all time. The Mac website describes it as a 'Deepened Claret' and I would definately agree; It is a beautiful dark, wine red that applies super smooth and creamy due to it's Amplified formula.

2) Revlon Lip Butter - 'Macaroon'

I bought quite a few of the Revlon Lip Butters when they first came out in the UK as there was a massive hype around them but I actually found myself to be quite disappointed with most of them. This is one of only 2 I ended up keeping and it is a beautiful dark dusty rose colour with a subtle shimmer. It is perfect for the Autumn and Winter months due to not only it's rich colour, but also it's moisturising formula.

3) Benefit - 'No Competition' 

The Benefit website describes this lipstick as a 'Heathered Plum' and it's amazingly creamy and moisturising formula has made this a firm favourite in my A/W2012 lipstick collection. This is the only Benefit lipstick I have but I love the texture so much that I definately want to add to it and 'Espionage' is next on my list for an even darker berry hit.

4) Nars - 'Senorita' 

Whilst berry colours are the most obvious choice for an on-trend Autumnal lip colour, sometimes the occasion just calls for a nice nude and it's particularly in these colder winter months that I struggle to find a shade that doesn't make me look like the living dead. I bought Nars 'Senorita' online last year and it's taken me until these last few weeks to actually dare to wear it. In the tube it looks incredibly frosty and shimmery, and to be honest, on the lips this does pick up too, but it manages to really warm the skin up and create a fuller looking lip. I LOVE this lipstick and recommend that everyone tries it on before ruling it out, it truly is transforming. 

5) Revlon Super Lustrous -  'Spiced Brandy'

'Spiced Brandy' is possibly the nicest textured dark lipstick I've ever worn. I often find darker lipsticks to be quite drying but this is seriously moisturising and lovely and creamy. I have heard a fair few people saying this is a pretty good dupe for Mac's 'Fresh Moroccan' but having not tried that I can't really comment. I personally find it gives a similar overall effect to that of 'Dubonnet' however this has a fair bit of shimmer in, which normally I would say I'm not too keen on but in this case looks really pretty and perfect for these colder months.

So those are my top 5 lipsticks for these treacherous winter months. I'm thinking of following this up with a similar nail polish post as Autumn is by far my favourite time of year and quite frankly, it's getting me excited for Christmas. Too soon? 

What are your favourite lipsticks for Autumn/Winter?

Becca.x