April favourites

Posted in Beauty, Reviews by denissesamantha

I can’t believe it’s already May and so far the weather has been lovely. I love it when the sun shines, it somehow makes me feel extra happy! My first week of this month has been amazing and I hope you enjoyed your first week too.

I love writing about my monthly favourites and I always feel excited when it’s that time to gather the products that I have been loving. I try my best to use different brands and varieties of products but sometimes I can’t let go of my staples.

Here are my April favourites:

MakeUp Revolution Ultra Professional Cover & Conceal Palette: Concealer is one of the main product in every make up kit. However, finding the right concealer has been such a long and continuos process for me. I have my very few concealers that I love but I always enjoy trying different brands from high end to drugstore. I decided to buy this one as it intrigued me. Make Up Revolution as a brand is very affordable and some of their products are amazing. I must admit when I first tried this palette I did not like it at all. I felt like the consistency was so weird. It feels too greasy and not more of a cream formula. I also found that it creases and sometimes does not give me the coverage that I desire. However, after few weeks I decided to give it another try but this time I made adjustments with the products that I use. I usually put eye cream on top of my moisturiser but with this I don’t. I also found that putting a primer is the best thing to use with it. It made it more blendable and buildable and it doesn’t crease as much. I noticed that it stays longer and covers so much better. Therefore, since finding the right way to use it I have been using it quite a lot last month. I also enjoy the varieties of colours that it offers. It is such a multipurpose paletter and you can always customise the colors by mixing them which is what I do.

MAC Lipstick in ‘Cyber’: I love dark lipstick and I always used to go for my MAC cyber. However, I haven’t been using it for a while as my collection for dark shades grew. I also wanted to try different brands and different hues of plums, browns and anything dark. Last month, I have been using this a lot and I love the vampy vibe it gives.

Face Masks- Snail Cell Illuminating Multi-step Treatment and Purederm Brightening Essence Mask: These masks are from Asia, which I got from my holiday. I love the effects it gives and how moisturising it leaves my face after using them. How I really wish I bought so much more than I did but hopefully I’ll be able to get hold of these soon! I have been using Purederm masks from before but it was my first time to try the two specific ones below and it made me fall in love with the brand even more.

Barry M Natural Glow Shadow and Blush Palette: I love this palette! I usually only use neutral colours for my eyeshadows and this palette is amazing for it. As you can see, it also has a blush which is really good considering how affordable it is.

Accessorize False Eye Lashes: My ultimate falsies fave are still the demi wispies but I don’t mind these ones. I like the effect it gives and it feels lightweight when I have them on. They are not too long but it is thick enough to give you an amazing lashes look.

Batiste Hair Dry Shampoo in fruit and cheeky cherry: This was included in my March favourites and I can’t help but mention it here too. I just adore the smell of it and how it gives me a big voluminous hair.

Max Factor Colour Elixir Lipstick in ‘Mulberry’: I love everything about this lipstick. As you can see, this mulberry shade looks so pretty. It is a very flattering shade and very moisturising on the lips. The packaging looks gorgeous as it looks very sleek and expensive than it actually is.

Benefit Blush and Bronzer in ‘Dallas’: This has been my go to blush/bronzer recently. I use it almost every day apart from weekends, which is when I usually go for a more pigmented one or either when I don’t wear make up at all. I really like how it doesn’t make me look cakey, it is very natural looking but with a very lovely glow. I don’t tend to usually use the brushed that comes with whatever products I by cos they tend to not work as well as the proper individually brushes but this one is an exception. The brush that comes with it is very soft and I feel like it is the perfect shape for this particular product!

What are your favourite products recently? Please comment down below as I would like to explore different products and hopefully I will also end up loving it as much as you do.

Lots of love from,

15Apr2016

MUA Luxe Lip Lacquer in Tranquility and Kooky Review

Posted in Beauty, Reviews by denissesamantha

I have been obsessed with matte finish lipsticks for the longest time. So when I came across these lip lacquers I just had to give it a go. As you can see on the image above, I picked up two shades which are Tranquility (left) and Kooky (right). Tranquility is a brownish nude (lightest in the collection) and Kooky (darkest shade) is a wearable plum colour. The brand MUA stands for MakeUp Academy, which is known for offering low prices innovative make up products.

As for the packaging, it comes in a frosted bottle with a black lid and gold writings. It also came in a separate black box with gold writings on it. I am impressed with how it is packaged because it gives an impression of simplicity yet looking classy. As you can see below, it has a doe-foot applicator which makes it easier to apply on the lips.

Pros

Variety of colour choices (they have reds, pinks, coral, nudes and plum)

Highly pigmented but I usually apply more than one coat as the first application seems to be streaky

Very affordable as it retails for only £3 from Superdrug or MUA Store website

It gives a gorgeous matte finish

Cons

It claimed to have a long-lasting finish but I disagree I think that it has a minimal lasting power. It would definitely not last for the whole day without re-application.

From the MUA store website they described the application as it will glide ‘effortlessly’ but I think that it does not blend so well as it gets streaky

It feels drying on the lips especially the lighter shade

It can feel sticky and it can take a while for it to dry

This is how the shade ‘kooky’ looks when applied on my lips:

The shade ‘tranquility’ is not my go to shade of nude but this is how it looks with my skin tone:

Verdict

Out of both shades I own, I would definitely recommend the shade kooky. For some strange reason kooky glides on so much smoother on the lips than tranquility. The colour is more opaque and I feel that the plum shade comes out beautiful on the lips. I think that the shade tranquility does not match my skin tone as much as other nude shades that are available in the market.

I give MUA Luxe Lip Lacquer in Tranquility and Kooky the ratings of 3/5. I took out two points due to its claim of turning matte after few minutes of application. However, it seriously took a long time for it to be completely dry (roughly around three minutes as I had to apply more than one coat). While drying, I could not pout my lips together as it felt sticky and very tacky. When it was completely dry I found that there were some visible patchy areas, therefore a second coat was needed. It is very easy to remove the lacquers on the lips and it does not leave any stains after use. The staying power is minimal which is very disappointing. I think that I had high hopes for this product because I got used to my Lime Crime Velvetines which are by far a better product than this one.

On the other hand, MUA lip lacquers are very affordable as it retails for only £3. The opacity is pretty decent, so this would be perfect if you are looking for a lip product that looks nice in pictures. This can also be a good purchase if you are a newbie with lip lacquers and just simply want to try them. Overall, I would recommend it if you are looking for a low priced matte finish lip lacquer. It is very pigmented and the collection has nine different shade of choices. It dries matte on the lips and it looks very appealing in pictures. However, if you are not willing to re-apply throughout the day and particularly looking for a good quality lip lacquer then this is not the product for you.

Have you tried MUA Lip Lacquers and what are your thoughts on them?

If not, what are your favourite lip products at the moment?

Lots of love from,

30Mar2016

March favourites

Posted in Beauty by denissesamantha

Time is definitely going way too quick, I can’t believe that it’s already March and the month is just about to end. It means that spring is here then obviously summer is coming. Both spring and summer are my favourite seasons throughout the year. It feels like life gets better and people get so much happier when the sun is out! Here are most of my March beauty/skincare favourites:

Batiste Dry Shampoo: I absolutely love this stuff, I have been using this product for a few years now. I have also tried other scents such as blush, sweetie and floral essences.

These four products are all re-purchased. They are my most used combination of products as I use them for my everyday make up look. This is the reason why they ran out so fast especially the concealer! With the blushers I tend to not use the cream formula but I hit pan on the two powder forms. Left to right: Sleek Blush by 3 in pink lemonade, Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer and Makeup Revolution Ultra Cover and Conceal Palette.

Left to right: Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Liner in midnight plum and sweet pink, Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Gel Liner in black, Maybelline Eye Studio Master Precise Liner in black and Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Liner in nude.

Molton Brown Soothing Hand Lotion SPF15: This is super nourishing and lightweight when blended on the skin. I find it so moisturising that I don’t just use it on my hands but sometimes also on my arms and legs too.

NYX Baked Blush + Illuminator + Bronzer: This was given to me by a lovely friend of mine and I’m so thankful for it. I love how pigmented this blush is and it’s not overly shimmery. The good thing about it is that the product is buildable, so if you think that the first swipe is too sheer you could always top it up without it looking cakey. Also, the packaging is so cute especially the bow bit on the side.

Quick FX Eyelift Cream and Pimple Eraser: Unfortunately they do not sell this in the UK and I got it when I was on holiday. At first I was skeptical about it because of its claims but it was so cheap that I thought I should just give it a go. I have been using them for few moths now and they’re okay. However, I can’t speak whether their claims are true as I use these products alternatively with other creams.

Clean&Clear Oil Control Film: I love this one! I own quite a few of this product as I’m scared to run out of it. I have tried other ones that are more expensive (MAC blot film and Shiseido Pureness Oil Control Blotting Paper) but I would still choose this. It is inexpensive and does the job, so I can’t ask for more!

Left to right: ELF Moisturizing Lipstick in ravishing rose, ELF Mineral Infused Mascara and Eyebrow Kit in both shade medium and dark. I can’t even remember how many ELF eyebrow kits I have purchased throughout the years (lost count already, way too many).

Revlon Colorbust Lipstick in blush: I obviously have loads of different nude lipsticks in my collection (which girl doesn’t?) but for some reason I have been using this one quite a lot this month! It goes on creamy, it is very moisturising and I love how this particular shade matches my skin well unlike my other nude lipstick that washes me out in pictures.

Seventeen False Lashes in electronica: I initially only bought this from my local Boots store because it was on 70% off but I ended up loving it. I was so happy that I picked up a few but if I knew earlier that these lashes are so pretty I definitely would have picked up some more! Also, it was such a bargain, they’re just like demi wispies but more crisscrossed.