MUA Lipsticks #3

In my recent MUA haul I decided to grab some of the lipsticks I don't have - there aren't many! If you haven't seen them before, here are my previous posts on this product - MUA Lipsticks #1 and MUA Lipsticks #2.

I bought shades 16, 5 and 4 as I thought these looked the most wearable from seeing swatches online. I'm not going to repeat myself, so if you're after a full on MUA lipstick review check out the links from my previous posts. The consistency of MUA lipsticks is pretty standard across the shades.

Out of the three shades I got, shade 16 surprised me most of all. It's a very highly pigmented orangey coral, which I can think you can see really well in the swatch below. 5 is a sheer, glittery pink that's almost too subtle to show on my lips except the glitter, and 4 is a very sheer baby pink that is more of a lip tint than a lipstick IMO.

Swatched from top > bottom: 4, 5, 16

Overall I wasn't too impressed with these shades. I can't see myself wearing any of them that often as I'm certainly not a baby pink kind of girl, and the orange just looks wrong on my pale skin. I definitely recommend trying MUA lipsticks, as some of my all time favourite lipsticks are MUA - I suggest you try and swatch them in store prior to purchase to avoid wasting pennies on the wrong colours for your skintone! Luckily these were 65p each (35% off on MUA online at the time of purchase) so I'm not shedding too many tears over them.. the lipsticks are usually £1 each so won't break the bank and I think they're a great way to try new shades of lipstick before investing in more expensive brands.

If you're keen to try MUA or expand your current collection, there's currently an amazing offer on with 50% off everything on the site and free delivery! Head over to the site to see what might take your fancy, using MUA50 for 50% off and free international shipping.

xx

Natural Collection Lipstick Review

In my pootles around the blogosphere I noticed lots of bloggers posting good reviews about the Boots Natural Collection lipsticks! I never even gave any thought to trying these before, but curiosity got the better of me and I decided to try 3 different shades with Boots' recent 3 for 2 offer - at only £1.99 each it wasn't really that much to gamble!

The packaging could be a lot prettier, but I suppose you get what you pay for. The lipsticks feel cheap and light and plasticy - and a little wobbly in their tubes which was my biggest concern. It's always awful when a lipstick breaks whilst safe in its tube in your bag!

The shades I went for were Cranberry, Cherry Red and Pink Orchid. I hoped to try some sheer and matte shades to get a really good feel for the overall collection.

Here they are, from top to bottom Pink Orchid, Cherry Red and Cranberry. I think you can see that Pink Orchid was more of a sheer colour and requires the colour to be built up quite a lot before you get this amount of payoff. Cherry Red is a gorgeous bright red that's perfect for autumn and looks lovely with my pale skin tone. But my favourite has to be Cranberry - its such a nice natural colour and just brightens up my whole face when I wear it.

These lipsticks aren't the best for moisturising your lips, despite being 'Moisture Drench' lippies, but they're nowhere near as chalky as Barry M or other 'budget' brands. I do like all the shades I chose, but the one I would probably repurchase after it runs out is Cranberry. It's so versatile and easy to wear, day or night, dressed up or down. I really recommend trying at least one shade if you've never used Natural Collection lipstick before, for the price you can't go wrong!

xx

Kiss me, beneath the milky twilight...

I have always been a big fan of lipstick. I think there's something very chic and classic about wearing lipstick in general, regardless of the shade. I love wearing a neutral shade in the day, and something a bit more daring and bright on an evening.

I was always advised away from wearing bright lipstick when I was a teenager due to my pale skin, and it took me a while to find the courage to ignore this ridiculous advice and try some daring new pinks and reds! Since then I've never looked back, and so I invested in 4 new lipsticks last week - 3 as part of the 3 for 2 offer at Boots, and 1 Maybelline 24 hour lipstick which was on offer (£2 off!)

This is the new Maybelline Super Stay 24 Color in shade no. 260 'Wild Berry'. The Super Stay range is a new idea in lipsticks - you basically get a two-ended product that has the lip stain at one side and the 'conditioning balm' at the other. The concept is that you stain your lips once, with a 'thin layer' of the colour, and then all you need to do for the rest of the night is apply the balm to keep your lips soft and shiny, and stop the colour creasing. Simple enough? It actually is!

I chose this plummy colour because I have plenty of bright pinks and too many reds to count, and wanted something dark(ish) for an evening. The colour came off a lot lighter when I tried it on my hand compared to when worn on the lips. I've put pics of the lipstick with and without the conditioning balm so you can see the difference it makes. I really liked this - excellent staying power, superb colour and the freshness of the idea is good too. I'd definitely recommend this for an evening wear lipstick - for example if you're going on a date and expect to be eating, drinking etc long into the night, as it means you don't have to worry about smearing, smudging or touching up your colour. Brilliant! It's currently £8.19 at Boots, but I managed to get it last week on offer for £6.99. Linky

The other 3 lipsticks I've bought are all Barry M 'Lip Paint' - £4.49 each from Boots (currently on 3 for the price of 2). I already have a luscious pillar box Blondie-esque red lipstick from the Barry M range and have always been very happy with it. The lipsticks are generally very highly pigmented, even the more natural and sheer colours. They go on very easily but at the same time are easy to wipe off if you make a mistake around the lip area. I've found most lipsticks to have a drying effect (even the really expensive ones!) and so Barry M Lip Paint is no exception. I will say, however, that these lipsticks don't dry my lips out as much as cheaper brands or other ranges I've tried. Linky

This is shade 152 - it's a lovely shimmery plummy pink colour and just perfect for wearing on a night out without being too overstated. I plan on wearing this with a more natural, low-impact eye, in order to avoid looking too drag-queen!

Next up is shade 53, which is an iridescent bright coral/pink colour.

Again this is probably more of an evening paint as in my opinion the colour's too high impact for just wearing during the day. It's an absolutely incredible colour though, very pearly and shimmery and looks great in the sunshine!

Finally, shade 150 - a delightful shimmer nude colour that is ideal for daywear.

I actually wore this lipstick as soon as I bought it - applying it during my lunch break! It's a lovely shade to accentuate a natural look and enhance what you've already got!

I essentially got these 3 Barry M Lip Paints for £9 which I think is a bargain and I would definitely recommend them. Even individually priced at £4.49 you can't go far wrong!

xx