BLOGMAS #4: RED POUT - MY FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS LIPSTICKS (WITH HAND AND LIP SWATCHES)

Hello Christmas !! It's Blogmas part 4 and I really hope you're liking it as much as I do :) Today it's all about the red lip. Red lip is my signature style, I rarely leave the house without it. I prefer mattes, of course, but during Christmas I don't mind a little shine - I think it feels very festive and make your lips appear fuller. Minus the lasting power of course, but what lipstick will ever survive 5000 plus calories per sitting anyway? ;) 

From left: Duel Matte, Cherry Pop, Kiss, Gladiolus, Siren in Scarlet, Kiss Me You Fool, Firestorm, Make Me Crazy

I thought of what shades and brands I'm going to include in my favourites and was totally surprised that I managed to keep it under 10 lol. Then I tried to reduce that to top 5 and failed miserably.  But I have 8 fairly inexpensive favourites for you, so if you'd like to see which shades I'll be wearing this month - please read on :)

Makeup Revolution Iconic Pro in Duel Matte RPR £2.49

True red, slightly warm toned matte. I think it's very wearable for both daytime and evening and it will suit most skin tones. Good pigmentation. Wear time up to 5 hours. It feels comfortable on the lip even after few hours. It may accentuate dry bits so prep your lip before application.

Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primer in Cherry Pop RPR £16.00

Cool toned satin red with a hint of purple. You may skip the primer here as it has one in the formula. It feels very moisturising on the lip and comfortable to wear. Good pigmentation. Wear time 3-4 hours if you don't eat in the meantime.

Lord & Berry Crayon Lipstick in Kiss RPR £10.00

Orange toned red matte finish. Great pigmentation and comfortable to wear. As it's matte you may want to prime your lip as it can feel drying after couple of hours. Wear time is decent, 4 hours plus.

Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick in Gladiolus  RPR £7.99

True red with gloss finish. Great pigmentation. Very creamy so lip liner is a must as it may bleed. Wear time isn't great and it will last 1-2 hours tops. It wears off nicely though so some pigment left afterwards. It looks beautiful when first applied although such creamy formula means application with lip brush is a must.

Maybelline Creamy Mattes in Siren in Scarlet RPR £6.99

Cool toned true red with semi matte finish. Good pigmentation and wears comfortably on the lip for up to 6 hours. Wears off nicely too. I would suggest priming your lip as with any matte finish it may dry your lips slightly. Application with the brush makes it easier to work with.

Rimmel Provocalips in Kiss Me You Fool RPR £6.99

True red with semi matte to satin finish. Neutral toned. Looks glorious when applied. Dual ended. Ok pigmentation, can be builded up. Wear time up to 8 hours including eating and drinking (need to test the kiss me you fool part lol). Easy application from both applicator but I prefer to finish up the contour with a lip brush for that 'perfect' lip effect.

Makeup Revolution Lip Lava in Firestorm RPR £2.99

Intense red with gloss finish. Liquid lipstick that's easy on the pocket but with expensive looking finish. Easy to apply too much with the applicator so I suggest lip brush instead. Gives the effect of the full lip and looks so pretty when dry. Long wearing - up to 5 hours with light snack and drinks.

Freedom Makeup Pro Lipstick Pro Red in Make Me Crazy RPR £1.00

The lightest coral red shade. May not be my favourite red but I'm aware not everyone feel comfortable with true red statement lip. Formula sits comfortably on the lip and satin finish means lips feel moisturised. Wear time up to 2 hours. Pigmentation is ok but needs building up. Best applied straight from the bullet.

If I had to choose one for daytime I would go either Iconic Pro Duel Matte or Maybelline Creamy Mattes in Siren in Scarlet. Evening outings I'd go for either Rimmel Provocalips or MUR's Lip Lava. I hope you like my Christmas reds selection. Let me know which ones you like best? Is there any others  you would recommend for me to try? Sound off in the comments below :) Enjoy your weekend ladies x x x

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Dorota x

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New in: ZOEVA ENTAUPE PALETTE REVIEW WITH SWATCHES - for the lovers of daytime :)

Hello my beauties :) If you follow me on Instagram you know I ordered new Zoeva enTaupe, when it got released on their site last month. After few extra days as DHL had to redirect my package (GRRRR) I finally got it. I gave it a good run for money, as I read so many mixed reviews. When the reviews come mostly negative, you want to ensure you give the product little more testing to make sure your own review will be as comprehensive as possible. So it took me a little longer than normally to fully test it & I'm happy to present it to you today :) I hope you'll enjoy ! Enough about that, let's sink in ... ;)

Price:

 £15.50/ €17.50 available Beauty Bay and Zoeva.de

Packaging:

Classic Zoeva and their love for sleek and light hardened cardboard packaging. I really love the design as well. Beautiful deep taupe with geometrical lines inter winded as if to form a crown with different triangles coloured in different shades of taupe. Minimalistic and chic. Gorgeous add on to an already impressive collection Zoeva produced. As usual no mirror which I find to be a plus for these palettes. They are so travel friendly as they're super light and sleek. Dream for all the travelling MUA's out there.

Formula:

Formula is what every other blogger seems to be complaining about as if certain shades were lacking in pigmentation. I disagree. I find shades to be pigmented, but be that by the name of the palette itself, taupe - the colours are muted, less harsh... This is the palette of taupes of any kind from mattes through satin, shimmer to duo chrome. From lights to darks these shades are understated, quiet, making them perfect to create any daytime look. All shadows are soft and creamy to touch, yet without unnecessary fall out. In fact I didn't experience any. Blendable and easy to work with, this palette can take on daytime as any other Zoeva ever created. It's also a great add on to a collection providing softer options to nighttime glam.

What's inside:

It's the season of taupes announces Zoeva and boy aren't they spot on. With fashion world still fixating on greys and taupes, your makeup can now join the forces. In my opinion this is the palette of winter. Light snowy days aren't meant for harsh makeup, clashing colours of autumn makeup. Whenever I imagine winter, I picture snow. I see soft glowing skin, highlighted to perfection. No contour, just a healthy looking colour to the cheeks in the name of soft cloud of blush. Eyes light and defined. If sparkle is added  it's to match it with the highlight of the skin. Red lips as a statement and so beautifully clear colour to contract light of eyes and skin. So yes, I am thankful to Zoeva for coming up with my own version of perfection for winter eye makeup. 

Shades:

From left: Stitch by Stitch, Handmade, Gallery, Hour by Hour

From left: Spun Pearl, Sheers and Voiles, Outline, Wrapped in Silk

From left: Old Master, Exquisite

Stitch by Stitch - very light matte beige, good pigmentation. Works great to highlight brow bone, inner corners and to set you primer with.

Handmade - very light pink with rose gold finish shimmer, good pigmentation. Beautiful all over the lid and to highlight the inner corners.

Gallery - light grey taupe matte with purple undertones. good pigmentation. Great as a transition shade, in the crease to build up to 3D effect. 

Hour by Hour - light dirty pink taupe matte, good pigmentation. Good as a transition colour and in the crease. Will work as an all over colour.

Old Master - medium grey matte with purple undertones and rose gold and gold micro glitter. I haven't experience any fallout and worked great to slightly darken the outer corners and on the lower lid.

Spun Pearl - pearly white with shimmer finish, good pigmentation. Works beautifully all over the lid and to highlight inner corners.

Sheers and Voiles - duo chrome warm grey with a light-reflecting pink gold, ok pigmentation. Great as an all over lid colour or for lower lid.

Outline - cool brown with light reflecting gold shimmer, good pigmentation. Beautiful all over the lid for golden brown smokey or to darken your outer corners.

Wrapped in Silk - medium taupe with purple undertones with rose gold shimmer, good pigmentation. Beautiful all over the lid shade.

Exquisite - cool toned, medium purple taupe, ok pigmentation. This one is more chalky and powdery than the rest, it can seem as it disappears when blending but I think that's been planed as the palette should be just a wash of colour as it's taupes.

To sum up. I really enjoy using Zoeva enTaupe. Would I change it? Perhaps getting the last purple shade just a tad more pigmented? I understand the concept behind this choice, as this is the palette to create the light & soft meadows of an eye makeup, something dreamy and ethereal so there's really no place to add any harsh colours; I applaud Zoeva for coming out with a brand new concept for a daytime palette. With these shades even the beginner can create amazing and well blended looks for daytime makeup.

I hope you enjoyed today's ramblings of a mad woman ;) If so, don't forget to subscribe to my social media and the blog itself. All the links below :)

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Dorota x

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NEW IN: MAYBELLINE COLOR SENSATIONAL THE CREAMY MATTES UNDER THE RADAR WITH LIP SWATCHES

Good morning my beauties. Today I'd like to talk to you about my slight lipstick obsession of the last month or so. Maybellibe Sensational Creamy Matte Lipstick recently premiered in UK with 6 shades. Shades are really stunning, even though full selection isn't available. There are quite a few more shades available in US but we have to be happy with what we have here :)

Packaging

I don't mind the packaging as I normally do with drugstore lipsticks, it's a well made matte, plastic. It doesn't wow me either as no magnetic lock makes me think twice before just throwing it in my handbag. As for it's price it isn't bad though, it won't break easily which is a plus.

Formula

As promised by a producent, formula is very creamy and goes on nicely on the lip. It's very similar to the formula of MAC matte but without the dryness of retro matte finish. It goes on smoothly but due to the bullet shape you may want to have a lip brush on hand to correct the application. I find them less drying than Bourjois Velvet Mattes or retro mattes by MAC. They sit comfortably on the lip for up to 5 hours. Standard wear time will be between 3-5 hours depending on how much you plan to eat in the meantime. It wears off nicely too, leaving pigment behind so you only need to top it off once during a 8 hour at the office.

Shades:

Nude Embrace is a warm, light brown nude. Looks very natural on the lips, perfect colour to choose for that smokey eye or a daytime look.

Rose Rush is a light Barbie pink. I am not the biggest fan of this colour on it's own but mixed with Nude Embrace it creates a lovely pinkish nude. Great for daytime.

Magnetic Magenta is the most vibrant colour of the bunch. Very pigmented fuchsia, perfect daytime and evening statement lip. Cool toned so it whitens your teeth just a little bit.

Craving Coral is the coral red with orange undertones. Again very pigmented and will work best on someone little tanned. Another daytime staple for those warm daytime smokey eye.

Siren in Scarlet is a vibrant red. Beautiful shade for every day red lip. I really love how vibrant it is and how well it works with any eye makeup. 

Divine Wine is a deep burgundy. Perfect autumn shade and very pigmented. Great for a daytime statement lip.

If I were to choose my favourites, Magnetic Magenta, Siren in Scarlet and Divine Wine have stolen my heart. I prefer a statement lip to the nudes and I really enjoy wearing these shades. I also like the formula as they are comfortable on my dry lips. Wear time is also great and for £6.99 they are smashing drugstore matte lipstick game :)

What do you think about Creamy Mattes? Any of them stolen your heart? Sound off in the comments below.

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Dorota x

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YOUR EVENING MAKEUP SORTED: URBAN DECAY SMOKY REVIEW WITH SWATCHES :)

Happy Saturday people :) Hello weekend !! <enter unicorn emoji here> I'm coming to you with a palette, I was not supposed to buy as I foolishly thought, the colour scheme won't suit me !! Enter ladies from UD counter in Selfridges Birmingham... I honestly can't go there without walking out with something. If you follow me on Instagram(if not what are you doing??? check me out here lol), you've seen that in the end I ordered it from Feel Unique as it was out of stock at my local counter :) I gave it a good test and I come to you with my thoughts on Urban Decay Smoky.

One of the most exciting launches for Urban Decay this year. We have waited a long time since Naked 3 !! As with any UD palette, colour scheme is a lot different from the last. Naked 3 brought us pinks and purples and now Smoky gives us a perfect smoky eye goodness. When I saw pictures or seen the swatches I wasn't that interested. I wasn't sure if I want to spend £38.00 on a palette, I just couldn't see myself using. I was wrong (thank god lol).

Packaging

I love UD palettes packaging but this one may be my favourite. Made from high quality plastic in grey tones, it suits the colour scheme perfectly. It is the most gorgeous looking palette I own to date. I really like the magnetic lid !! I love the floating smoke like lid, I think it's perfectly marketed with its design. 

Brush

For the first time, we are introduced to the new double ended blending brush. It's smaller on one end making it a pretty good lower lid blending brush, and larger and fluffier on the other side. For the first time I am not hating on the brush, as I found previous design and quality of the brush lacking to say the least. It's not Zoeva or Sigma, but it does the job pretty well.

Formula

Eyeshadows are soft to touch, almost creamy. Pigmentation is excellent on all shadows except for one. High isn't as pigmented as the others and I experienced a lot of fall out. Little fallout is unfortunately experienced with few shades but the pigmentation wins it for me! I mean just look at the swatches <in love>. The staying power is pretty good, 6 hours without the primer or up to 16 hours with properly primed lid. I think I prefer the formula to previous Naked palettes. Shadows are mostly very easy to blend and they're a real pleasure to work with. 

Colour scheme

As the name suggest, UD Smoky is a perfect choice for both daytime and evening smoky eyes. Most shadows are cool toned but there are few more neutral gems. I am personally in love with Combust, which makes a perfect crease transition shade for someone as pale as me with pink undertones. Shall we compare the shades now? Oh go on... :)

High is a champagne/rose gold shimmer with micro-glitter

Dirtysweet is a copper bronze

Radar is a metallic taupe with micro-glitter

Armor is a metallic silver with sparkle

Slanted is a light metallic grey

Dagger is a medium charcoal with micro-shimmer

Black Market is a jet-black satin

Smolder is a deep plum-taupe

Password a cool taupe matte

Whiskey a rich brown matte 

Combust is a soft pink matte

Thirteen is a light beige satin

I have tested this palette for nearly 2 weeks now and if I wasn't testing other new palettes as well, I would be using it every day. Watch out for an evening smoky eye look soon :) I didn't expect to love this palette as much as I do. I was never too much into the whole cool toned smoky eye, mainly opting for warm brown shades. It surprised me to love it so much and I'm glad I have it in my collection. 

What are your thoughts on Urban Decay Naked Smoky? Have you taken the plunge and treated yourself or maybe it's on your Christmas wish list? Sound off in the comments below :)

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Dorota x

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GLOW ON THE GO: BECCA SHIMMERING SKIN PERFECTOR IN OPAL

Happy Sunday everyone :) Weather is treating us worse for wear this weekend but I love to give myself a little something to keep me going and what's better to brighten up your day than a bit of strong strobing game going on :) 

From left: Pressed Opal, Spotlights Opal (natural light, no flash)

I recently made a little order from Cult Beauty (check them out here) and what grabbed my attention is a little holiday mini set from BECCA :) Glow on the go is a duo of cream and pressed highlighters. I chose mine in Opal :) Opal is one of the most coveted highlighters from BECCA and as I heard so much goodness about it, I just couldn't say no.

Set came packaged in a small box, which I had a problem opening (yes, me and boxes do not play together too well lol). Inside you will find  mini Spotlight (cream) and Pressed highlighters. I really enjoy mini versions of makeup products, as I rarely use up all the standard size and they go out of date :). Set costs £20 so you save yourself a £10 from a full size pressed Opal and you get to try both cream and powder version. It's a win for me :)

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Spotlights Opal is a gorgeous golden champagne highlight. Cream is intense and super easy to blend leaving you with glowing complexion. I love cream highlighters as I either add them to my base primer or underneath my foundation to the high points of the face. I tried it on top of foundation as well and it looks beautiful. I rarely powder down my face these days as I like the wet skin look so I opt for cream products more and this one is a hit for me. It reminds me a little of Benefit High Beam in formula, not the colour. Applicator is a standard something you will find in most of concealers so easy to use. I recommend blending out with fingers by gently tapping over your foundation, or with a brush if you use it underneath. You get 5g of the product in the set.

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Opal is a cute little powder highlight. It goes on slightly darker than cream version, just by a tone though. It has the most gorgeous golden sheen to it and it blends beautifully on the skin. I set the cream highlight with it for the extra wow strobing effect. Use it to highlight your inner corners as well. Absolutely stunning formula glides on easily to a highly polished look. Packaging is so compact, which makes it a perfect travelling companion. You get 2.4g of the product.

To sum up, I can't fault this duo. I find the packaging to be of a good quality and expensive looking. They are a perfect addition to your makeup bag. Off to work/school or for a weekend away? Finally a mini product that takes less space. I can't leave a house without my highlight. I find it makes me look radiant and healthy. Colour itself changes slightly depending on the lighting and gives you the luminosity, that's hard to beat. I am forever in love with The Balm's Mary-Lou Manizer but this one just stolen my heart as well. I think I need to try the Jaclyn Hill shade now so I'm off to hunt the internet world for it as it's not available in UK :(. The set gets 5* from me !! 

What do you think ladies? Are you as obsessed with highlighters as I am? Has this mini duo stolen your hearts as well? You can buy it from Cult Beauty here :) Let me know your thoughts and I will see you here on Tuesday :) 

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Dorota x

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NEW IN: MAC SCULPT AND SHAPE POWDER REVIEW

Hello ladies :) Happy weekend to you all :) I'm staying in this weekend as I have pretty hectic week ahead and I'm recharging batteries :) I am really looking forward to catching up on some tv series and Youtube. It's been a while since I slept in so I'm excited for that too. 

I'm really excited to show you the new addition to my ever growing contouring collection. As you know, as I moaned about it many times before, I'm super pale so finding a product that isn't orange on me is pretty damn impossible. I'm forever on a lookout and this one just dared me to try it. MAC Sculpt and Shape Powder in Bone Beige & Emphasise is a mini contouring palette. It comes in black plastic packaging with a transparent lid and a MAC logo. I have to admit packaging itself doesn't wow me. I would prefer the all black lid. I find it a little cheaper looking than most of my MAC products, even though plastic itself is good quality. 

Inside you will find two shades. Emphasise is a highlighter of a semi matte finish which is great, especially if you don't necessarily like the shimmer highlight. It's great for setting your under eye concealer or to highlight high points of your face. Because it's matte it will work great for oily skin as well. Bone Beige is a matte bronzer of a slight warm tone. It's nowhere close to red or orange and makes a pretty good contour shade. It's fairly light which makes it great for pale faced :) Pigmentation is only ok in my opinion, so if you have a pretty heavy hand, this one is perfect for you.

Both powders are very finely milled and soft to touch, almost creamy in formula. I made a mistake of using a slightly wet brush on a highlighter and it went hard. I had to scrape of the layer for it to be usable again. It's a little annoying and I find that in every powder MAC formula I used so far. It's a huge inconvenience and yes, I know, I probably should learn my lesson by now, but buying MAC I expect pro products and sometimes they disappoint. I actually quite like the effect the bronzer on me as it's really light and does a contouring job well. It's really easy to blend and using a good brush, you'll have yourself new cheekbones in a minute. 

Would I purchase again? Probably not. It's a little too costly for what it is, in my opinion. Hunt for that perfect contour isn't finished yet. So far I'm more impressed with Makeup Revolution Ultra Contour and Smashbox Shapematters palette contour shade (click on links for reviews and swatches). Don't get me wrong, I don't regret buying Sculpt and Powder as it's a handbag friendly option and quality of powders is good. I just don't find myself wowed with it. My first impressions were great but having the powder that hardens so quickly left me less than impressed.

I wonder, what do you think of MAC Sculpt and Shape Powder? Have you been tempted to buy it? Maybe you did and have formed an opinion that's different to mine? Sound off in the comments below :)

Thank You For Reading,

Love

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