Lipstick | Vanity Claire

ClaireMarch 7, 2014

Barry M Ultra Moisturising Lip Paint in Black Cherry (160) | Review

Hi gals,

After a very fashion heavy week (check out yesterday’s River Island Spring/Summer 2014 post, it’s grand), I’m bringing you a little lippy review to keep your beauty heads from exploding. Because I’m pretty positive if you don’t read this review, your head will explode. Definitely.

I picked up this Barry M Ultra Moisturising Lip Paint when I had a Boots haul with Claire a few weeks ago. I’ve been meaning to review it for AGES because it is brilliant, but here it is now and we can all get excited.

The basics of this lipstick is that it’s super super (some might say ultra) moisturising, meaning it won’t dry your lips and flake off like some lippies do. The Ultra Moisturising collection comes in a big range of shades, so whether you’re a fan of shimmering, pastel shades or bright, vibrant shades – there is one for every gal (thank you Queen Lizzy). I’m definitely a vibrant lip fan and frankly think I look a bit dead without a bright colour on my face. With this in mind, I was excited to get the Lip Paint in Black Cherry (or shade 160 for those who like to communicate by numbers). I bought it for £4.49 from Boots and you can buy it yourself online here.

Overall, I really love it. It really is moisturising, while still being vibrant enough to be mega exciting. It also fades well and doesn’t cling to the outlines of your lips (no one wants to look like Pammy Anderson with too much lipliner on).

My only bug bear is the colour on the lipstick stick versus the actual colour of the lipstick. If you wound this down to have a nosey at what colour it is, it looks practically black. Or at the very least a super dark purple. Once you’ve swatched it or put it on your face, it’s actually a much lighter pinky/purple – still pretty, but somewhat unexpected. You’d think that Barry M would be able to get the colour of the lipstick stick and the swatch colour the same by now. Come on guys. Fix up.

Besides that (which isn’t really a complaint at all, I just like to complain), I really love this lipstick and recommend it to all you gals who like slathering purple colours on your face. Triumphant huzzahs all round.

What do you think? Have you tried any of the Barry M Ultra Moisturising Lip Paints?

ClaireFebruary 2, 2014

Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balms | Swatches & Review

Up until now, the chubby lip crayon craze had passed me by. In the past I’ve found lip crayons to be dragging, drying and unforgiving on any but the smoothest lips, and so I wasn’t overly excited when I first heart about Revlon’s newest releases, the ColorBurst Matte Balms.

Then I read a few rave reviews on them and my arm was twisted, so when Lauren and I headed to Boots on payday last week (always a dangerous business) we couldn’t resist swatching a few. Swatching led to buying one each. Buying one each then led to me going back the following day to buy another. I warn you in advance: these crayons are addictive.

The ColorBurst Matte Balms are supposed to be unique in the sense that they provide a pigmented, matte finish but with all of the moisture of a balm due to a triple complex of Shea, Mango and Coconut Butter. Moisture and matte are not two words that usually go side by side, so I was dubious about the claims. But you know what? The hype is fully true.

The crayons go on extremely smoothly, with a light peppermint smell that makes them feel even more balm-like. From the first swipe they’re extremely pigmented, but the smoothness of the formula means that you can also continue to build up for a stronger look.

Once on, they feel really nourishing on the lips, and not at all cakey or dry like other matte products tend to. The finish is, as promised, velvety and matte.

I’m absolutely in love with my first shade, Shameless; it’s a strong purple which is perfect for a dramatic look at this time of year. The second and third shades are both brilliant everyday colours, with Elsuive being a light blue-toned pink and Sultry being a darker – but totally wearable – brownish-red.

I’ve found the wear time of my two shades (Shameless and Elusive) to be a good few hours. Because of the formula, they do transfer onto glasses and whatnot quite easily – but when the colour does fade, it seems to do so evenly, without that dreaded ‘unintentional lipliner’ look you can get from other matte lipsticks.

Overall, I don’t think I can stress enough how much ABSOLUTELY LOVE THESE PRODUCTS. They’ve completely changed my opinion on lip crayons, and I’m now gagging to try out the Lacquer finishes too. At £7.99, they’re unfortunately not the cheapest lip products out there – but the quality is, in my opinion, brilliant and so well worth the price of two less fantastic lipsticks from a cheaper brand.

Have any of you tried the ColorBurst Matte Balms yet? What do you think?

ClaireJanuary 23, 2014

MAC Pret-a-Pretty | Review & Swatches

Hey there soul sisters. Today I’ve got absolutely nothing revolutionary to say, and my whole post can be summed up with these words:

Here is a MAC lipstick and it’s effing fabulous.

Which is what all MAC lipstick reviews basically say, isn’t it? Regardless though, I do find these simple lipstick reviews extremely useful when it comes to MAC – I mean, one of these babies will now set you back at least £15 (someone pick Granny off the floor, she’s keeled over in shock) and so you if you’re buying online you definitely want as much info as possible before you part with your precious cash. I was lucky enough to pick this little beaut up from a blog sale recently for the much more reasonable price of £8, but I still checked out a few swatches online.

This lipstick is part of the Sheen Supreme range from MAC, which promises to combine the colour and pigmentation of a lipstick with the moisturising sheen of a gloss. Hybrid products like these are always a win with me, having not quite given up my love of lip glosses despite knowing that lipsticks are the way forward for my older, more mature self.

Pret-a-Pretty is a pinky nude, making it so completely up my street that it’s practically on my doorstep. Despite the fine line that exists between a classic Brigitte Bardot nude lip and a ‘foundation lip’, it will always be my favourite shade for a lipstick. As my beloved MAC Creme D’Nude has officially bit the dust (I was using it right up until the ‘scraping out of the tube’ end, dear readers) I definitely needed a replacement, and Pret-a-Pretty is perfect for the job.

With Flash / Without Flash

As you can see, even without the flash the lipstick still has a beautiful sheen to it. The formula is thick and creamy, making it really moisturising and it smells all vanilla-y and expensive. My one criticism of Pret-a-Pretty, which I assume is probably the same across the Sheen Supreme range due to the formula, is that staying power isn’t brilliant. When left it can stay on the lips for a couple of hours, but it transfers quite easily when eating or drinking. C’est la vie. Le bibliotheque. Jambon. That’s enough French for now.

Overall, Pret-a-Pretty is the perfect everyday shade – though unfortunately not at an everyday price for many of us. My plan is to not use this all the time with gay abandon as I did my Creme D’Nude and thus hopefully it’ll last a bit longer – but check out the usage already shown in the top picture, do we really think I can manage this? It’s like that advert where the kids aren’t supposed to eat the Haribo even though it’s right in front of them (which, FYI, is surely a sort of child abuse).

Do any of you own Pret-a-Pretty by MAC? What’s your favourite MAC lipstick?

ClaireDecember 26, 2013

Seventeen Stay Pout Lipstick | ‘It’s A Kiss Off’ Review & Swatches

Merry Boxing Day boys and girls! Today I’m finally getting around to reviewing a product that has been sitting unopened in my makeup bag for a couple of months now. The lovely ladies at Seventeen were nice enough to send us over a box of goodies a while ago, and one of the delights in the box was this Stay Pout lipstick in the shade ‘It’s A Kiss Off’.

The Stay Pout range only launched a couple of months ago, and contains 15 shades that all promise to be long-lasting lipsticks with a touch of stain for ‘hours of kiss-proof colour’. Ooer.

From the sticker on the packaging, I thought that It’s A Kiss Off was going to be quite a bright pillar box red, which was why I hadn’t got round to opening it because I already have a fair few reds in my collection. But it’s actually a much pinkier red when swatched, making it a much more wearable shade for people who find a full red lip a bit intimidating. It’s also got a slightly frosted finish, which should appeal to people who like a bit of shine in their lipstick as opposed to a matte look.

The lipstick applies really nicely, giving a good slick of colour with one swipe. Once on the lips, it feels smooth and moisturising, without that dreaded flaky feeling you can get with other lipsticks.

As far the ‘kiss proof’ claims of the lipstick, I HAVE NO IDEA OBVIOUSLY (Christmas single bitterness, me? No…) but I found that it does transfer onto glasses and things quite easily (who needs a boyfriend when you have Lambrini?)

This isn’t too much of a problem though, because the stain aspect of the product meant that I was left with a good amount of colour still on my lips despite eating and drinking.

Overall I prefer lip products to be either very matte or very glossy, so the finish of this lipstick isn’t really to my taste. In terms of the quality of the product itself though, I can’t really fault it and I’d be keen to look at other shades in the range to find ones that suit me a bit better.

You can buy the Stay Pout range for £4.49 from Boots, which I think is a really reasonable price for a high street lipstick. It’s also worth looking out for a lot of the great offers there often are on the Seventeen brand – for example, I think right now you get a free brow kit if you buy £8 worth of stuff. Boxing Day bargains galore!

Have any of you tried the Stay Pout range? What do you think?

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ClaireNovember 28, 2013

Currently Watching: eBay Wishlist #3

In the words of Simply Red, ‘if you don’t know that I love eBay by now, you will never never never know me’ (pretty sure that’s how it goes anyway). As always, I’ve been keeping my beady eyes on lots of products, and here are my ultimate favourite things on my watching list at the moment:

1. Tiger Print Vest (£6.38) – tiger prints were popping up all over the show a couple of months ago, with H&M in particular embracing everyone’s favourite striped animal (obviously zebras are a close second). I love the tiger head emblazoned on the disc on this cami, and at less than £7 including postage, the fact that it’s not season appropriate bothers me as much as something that bothers me very little.

2. Finger Tip Rings (£2.58 for 5) – has anyone seen the film Interview with the Vampire where Tom Cruise uses a nifty thumb ring to slice open the veins of his victims? I know that scene wouldn’t usually scream ‘fashionista’ but these finger tip rings really remind me of that, in a good way. I would of course use my rings for good though, not evil.

3. ‘Laundry’ Sign (£5.95) – as you may know, Lauren and I recently moved into a new bachelorette pad. I think this would be great in the kitchen above our washing machine. Not only will it look stylish and chic, but there’s always a chance that we can lure some eligible men in and they’ll be forced to drop their pants (NO UNCLE ROGER, NOT YOU)

4. 3CE Lipsticks (£4.40 each) – a while ago I reviewed some 3CE lip pigments that were, in a word, dope. They seem to be a really good brand that have a strong focus on pigmentation and colour, so I’m intrigued by their range of lipsticks. 108 in particular looks right up my nude-lip-lovin’ street.

5. Decorative Birdcage (18.50) – another decor piece I’m lusting after for the new abode, this birdcage would look amazing with some candles or flowery bits in. Or maybe our golden skull Yorick that currently sits on top of our fireplace – no? Too weird?

What do you all think of these pieces? Anything that you’re loving on eBay at the moment?

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ClaireOctober 14, 2013

The Best Deep Red Lipstick: MUA vs Sleek

IN THE RED CORNER… we have MUA in shade 1 (don’t stretch your creative brains too much MUA, they might explode). AND IN THE, ER, OTHER RED CORNER… we have Sleek in shade ‘Cherry’. These are two different lipsticks from two different brands, but they’re practically identical in shade. So – which is better?

First Impressions

MUA’s shade 1 retails for just £1. This is in itself completely ridiculous. How can a lipstick cost you just a quid? You go into Poundland and pick up a pack of Cadbury’s Chocolate Fingers for a pound and you’re happy to have got those that cheap; never mind a WHOLE lipstick that you can use time and again (unlike the Cadbury’s Fingers, which usually last for approximately one cup of tea). Cherry by Sleek costs the much more sensible price of £4.99, which is still extremely reasonable even for a high street lipstick.

In terms of packaging, MUA has its usual black casing, with the really nifty little pot at the end containing an extra bit of product. Although I know that this is a cool feature, I’m not 100% sure what its actual purpose is. Sleek also has black packaging, though the matte makes it look (correctly) a little more expensive. It’s very small for a lipstick, and actually only has 3.5g of product compared to MUA’s 3.8g. I don’t think that 0.3 of a gram is really going to ruin your life, but it’s worth mentioning – yes, mainly because I’m proud of myself for bothering to look at this detail, and now feel really maths-y like Carol Vorderman. Anyway, moving on…

Swatches

As you can see, the shades looks practically identical both within the packaging and when swatched on the hand. The only difference in the swatches is that Sleek seems to have a slight edge when it comes to pigmentation, though MUA is still extremely vibrant. Ain’t nobody accusing MUA of being wishy washy.

On the lips, again both shades look practically identical. They both apply nicely, have a very smooth finish and appear very vibrant after only one layer. Ignore the pinky tones in these pictures – both actually appear much deeper than this in real life, and I can confirm they’re BOTH that dark red shade that is so perfect in autumn/winter for vamping up a daytime look or for a glamorous finish on nights out (whatever they are). Both feel very hydrating on the lips and not at all cakey. Of course, a lot of things in life that seem great at first can quickly turn awful – certain men, BBC sitcoms, etc – so the proof with a good lipstick is always in the…

Staying Power

I wore the Sleek lipstick out for my birthday ‘meal and drinks’ shindig last weekend and can confirm that it is a BEAST. After several cocktails and a lasagne, I popped to the toilet to re-apply my lipstick and found that I didn’t even have to. It. Had. Not. Budged. Nor had it started to go cakey; it was just as much of a satin dream as it was when I first applied it. I think I only touched up once or twice throughout the rest of the night (memory gets a little hazy, damn fishbowls) and it never felt at all dragging upon re-application as some lipsticks can. A HUGE thumbs up from moi.

Determined to test the MUA lipsticks under the same circumstances, I FORCED myself, in the interest of RESEARCH, to head out on Saturday night for another couple of cocktails. You have to test things in the same conditions; that is just a fact I learned in Science GCSE. Although the colour stayed vibrant and looked okay overall, I did notice that after a couple of drinks the colour had began to come away from the inner part of my lip and needed touching up. Again though, it re-applied very well so wasn’t really a huge drama.

The Conclusion of the Matter

So here we have two insanely similar lipsticks, both extremely good value for money and very good quality. I think Sleek has a slight edge on MUA in this instance, due to being a bit more pigmented and longer lasting. MUA is only one pound and so a complete bargain, but then I also think £5 for a lipstick is really reasonable so can’t fault Sleek for pricing either. This was my first lipstick from both brands, and I’m happy to report that I’ve been left with a great impression of them both and will definitely be stocking up on more of them in the future!

Me wearing MUA 1

What do you all think of MUA and Sleek?

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ClaireAugust 26, 2013

Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butters | Review

As I’ve stated probably more times than is necessary (and definitely more times than is attractive), my lips get dry quite easily and so lipsticks can often drag or look a bit cakey after a few applications. So while I was on the hunt for a new lip product this weekend, I decided to give Revlon’s much-loved Lip Butters a go. These are known for being smooth, hydrating alternatives to traditional lipsticks, so I thought they could be perfect for my flaky needs.

The Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butters usually retail at £7.99 each, which I think is a leeeeeedle bit pricey for a ‘buttery balm’, but seeing them on offer at 2 for £10 meant that I obviously had to get two. I chose shades 040 Red Velvet and 047 Pink Lemonade, which is one of the newer colours.

Red Velvet is a nice deep red, which I thought would be brilliant as we get into Autumn, both for nights out and during the day if I’m feeling a bit dramatic. Pink Lemonade is the sort of colour I’m always naturally drawn towards; a pale peachy-pink that’s perfect for everyday wear.

So, how did they turn out?

040 Red Velvet

The texture of the Lip Butters is lovely – they glide on smoothly, just like a balm. The colour pay off of Red Velvet after one application is pretty good, though you definitely need a couple of layers to get something near the colour in the tube. As you can see from the photo, it’s difficult to get the proper build up of colour that you get with a normal lipstick. It’s much more sheer, so slides around on the lip rather than settling as a lipstick does, making it a bit messier to apply than I would have expected. If you like your reds to have a matte finish then this isn’t really for you, as even with blotting it doesn’t really lose its sheeny finish.

047 Pink Lemonade

One swipe of Pink Lemonade does practically nothing to your lips – it literally just feels like you’ve applied some lip balm. Again, you need a couple of layers to start to see proper pay off from this very sheer lip product. Once you’ve applied it a bit thicker though, the texture and finish of this are lovely. Lips feel hydrated and smooth, with no possibility of dragging and drying out. The finish is perfect; somewhere between a gloss and a lipstick, it actually reminds me of the Cremesheen finish of my beloved MAC Creme d’Nude.

Overall, I do like both of these products. The Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butters are the sort of hybrid products that have been gaining a lot of popularity over the last year or so; along with Apocalips and Babylips, they’re aiming to give us the best qualities of lipsticks, glosses and balms in one product. From a personal point of view, I think the Lip Butter texture definitely works better in the paler shades, where the sheerness is less of an issue.

Have you tried Revlon’s Lip Butters? What did you think?

ClaireJune 9, 2013

My Wild Sunday Face of the Day

This week has been a bit manic for Claire and I. From an epic Ikea shop (is it appropriate to do an Ikea haul post??) to having lots of big jobs to do at work, I’ve not had a huge amount of time to do my face properly. Claire did an Everyday Makeup post (it’s really fascinating I’ve heard) a few weeks ago and that pretty much sums up my makeup during the week too. A quick bit of foundation, powder, blusher and mascara and I’m done. We get up at 6am during the week and leave the house at 7, so it doesn’t leave a huge amount of time to be faffing with foundation brushes, contouring and any sort of blending hoo-hah.

ANYWAY I DIGRESS. I woke up ridiculously early this morning (tried to get up at 4 and got a stern “If you get up now I will punch you in the tit” in return. Bit rude) so decided to get up at 7ish, fix up my face and spend AGES doing it. Yes. Hello stippling brush, it’s been a while. Missed you.

Most people who know me will agree that I’m a big fan of shoving a huge amount of makeup on my face. I don’t feel like this is a problem and I definitely don’t follow the general rule of “if you’ve got lots of eye makeup on, then go for a nude lip.” With this in mind, my Sunday face of the day might be a bit much for you lucky gals who can pop a bit of tinted moisturiser on and look all fresh faced and lovely (DARN YOU ALL TO HELL). But ya know, it’s Sunday and I have tomorrow off work, so I figured it was the best time to be a bit jazzy and have a great face.

The general process goes as follows:

Moisturise. I’m using a cheap moisturiser from Tesco’s new range of skincare. It’s not the best thing I’ve used and is a bit heavy for my oily/combination skin. I’ve nearly finished using it now so will be on the hunt for a better one soon. My standard used to be Olay and I do love their moisturisers, so there is a good chance I will just go back to that!

Stipple on my foundation. My favourite foundation for the past few years has been Rimmel’s 25 Hour Lasting Finish foundation. It’s a heavy coverage, oil based liquid foundation and not for everyone, but I love it. It goes on smoothly and has been one of the best heavy coverage liquid foundations I’ve used (I think it’s quite a good replacement for Mac’s Studio Sculpt). The shade I used is 303 in True Nude, which is quite orange but I’m also usually quite orange so it works.

Stippled on concealer. I use concealer under my eyes (where did these dark circles come from) and on whatever blemishes I have. I’m using a TERRIBLE stick concealer from Collection 2000 and I don’t recommend it at all, but it’s better than nothing. My usual fave is their Illuminating Touch liquid concealer, it’s amazing. I stipple using the Real Techniques stippling brush.

Puff on powder. I’ve used a big range of powders in my wise and fulfilled years of makeup wear and I will keep coming back to the £2.99 Collection compressed powder. It does what it says on the tin, smells nice and goes on really well. What more could you want really? I’m using it in the shade Tender Touch 02 at the moment.

Contour. For nights out, I’ll go the whole hog and contour everything on my face, although I tend to prefer doing this by using two different colours of foundation. I’ll then do a very light bit of shading on my nose, forehead, cheekbones and chin. For daywear, I just do a bit of shading on my cheekbones. I have a bit of a strange process, but I mix face powder with a dark brown eyeshadow – it’s the perfect colour for those of us who have orange faces (…when bronzer doesn’t show up, sob). I used a Look Statement Eyes shadow and my trusty Collection powder.

Blush. I tend to use whatever blusher I find knocking around in my makeup bag. I usually buy the exact same shades of warm pink so I’m pretty non-adventurous in this respect. Today I used a Seventeen blusher pot.

Eyebrows. Read my eyebrow post here, but I use the Sleek Brow Kit in dark.

Eyeshadow. I like neutral colours for eyeshadows so use a combination of tans and light browns with a highlighter on my browbone. I used a well-used and nearly finished Rimmel palette today.

Eyeliner. I use liquid and pencil. Pencil on my water line and then a winged liquid eyeliner on my lid.

Mascara. I’m not too fussy when it comes to mascara because my eyelashes are blonde. Anything that goes on black and makes me look less like a baldy is fine by me. Claire is more of the mascara expert, so read her post about her quest for the perfect mascara here! I used a Collection 2000 one in black/brown today!

Lips. I popped on one of my new MUA lipsticks, which I reviewed over here. I used the light pink shade in an attempt to look less like a prostitute.

And there you have it. My Sunday FOTD. Now I just need something to do today and ignore the fact it’s 9am and I have a full face of makeup. Hmm.

P.s. You might have seen on Twitter that me and Claire are in the process of kitting out our front room as a work space/blogging area (which is marginally better than the Gym Disco room we had initially planned..). This is our new desk area, which I LOVE. What do you all think??

ClaireJune 6, 2013

What to Wear: My Night Out Wishlist.

I’m currently having a terrible panic that my entire wardrobe is terrible and that if I don’t invest in some new clothes quickly my whole life will become meaningless. Some might say this is slightly over-reactive but to them I say, NAY YOU SIMPLY DON’T UNDERSTAND.

Backing up ever so slightly, I haven’t bought many new clothes of late because I was saving up for my big move from Cheshire to Coventry. Now that I have my lovely new job, a wonderful (if a bit broken and untidy) house with Claire and have finally got my life together, I have a bit of extra cash to play with. I say a bit, I don’t really have any but I feel like a baller and what is a baller without a good wardrobe?

Next week, we are having some of our university pals to stay. The story is quite tragic, mostly because my old housemate is having to move back to Dubai and we may never see her again, sob. So we’re having a bit of a hoorah at our house to say farewell and also to catch up after the long and upsetting months we have been apart. As you can tell, it is an important occasion that will definitely be fuelled by wine, tequila and a lot of cry hugging. Partly because my wardrobe is in such a pathetic state and also because it’s an excuse to buy something new, I’ve been all organised and decided to plan a few options of what to wear. I’m loving the UK fashion trends at the moment, so it’s going to be an excellent time to invest in a few key staples.

I’ve been inspired by a lot of fashion and beauty blogs that have been featuring neon pieces recently, so I think this is the main trend I’m going for when I eventually go shopping. Unfortunately, I’m having to coordinate with Claire who’s going for a neon crop top and denim skater skirt so I’m a bit limited (she’s a selfish one, isn’t she). As you might know (if you’d read my fashion tragedy post), I bought these New Look platform sandals last week and managed to break them within an hour of wearing. I’m hoping to replace them this weekend so they are my shoes of choice while I’m looking for outfits!

Floral Midi Skirt: Missguided. White Cropped Tshirt: Topshop. Gold Chain: Topshop. Yellow Nail Varnish: Barry M. Platform Sandals: New Look.

Printed Shorts: Boohoo. Gold Earrings: Topshop. Pink Lipstick: Topshop. Shoulder Cutout Body: Missguided. Platform Sandals: New Look.

Monochrome Skater Dress: Missguided. Neon Satchel: H&M. Geometric Earrings: Topshop. Platform Sandals: New Look. Black Lipstick: Barry M.

So, what do you all think? Any favourites? I’ve officially got a week before the girls come over so it’s definitely time to start planning and buying!

ClaireMay 22, 2013

MUA Lipsticks: Review

I love a bargain. In fact it gets a bit embarrassing; particularly when I say “Hahaha I am so cheap” and no one contradicts me (a nice “no you’re not, don’t be silly” wouldn’t go amiss, guys). So, I got a bit excited when I was doing my weekly Superdrug/Boots browse a few weeks ago and spotted a 3 for 2 on all MUA makeup. I’ve never actually bought anything from MUA (which ambiguously stands for makeup academy…right), mostly because I tend to stick to mid-range stuff. I’m not a big makeup snob, but I do think you can tell the difference between cheaper stuff and makeup you’ve spent a bit more money on. View Full Post