The Fab Five - Red Lips

I've been really into lip products for the longest time and there's nothing more classic than a nice red lip. There's that many options available these days that it can get a little over whelming, so I've rounded up a list of my top red-lip-picks for you in the hopes it makes the search a little easier.

1. I would probably say my go-to red lip for an evening out would be the the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in the shade "Dragon Girl". I've loved the Velvet Matte range from Nars for a while now and I've had a few different reds from the line that I've loved but I think Dragon Girl just suits my complexion the best. It's a bright, slightly blue-based red that's almost bordering between a red and pink and it's a powdery matte finish that's super long wearing. The one downside is that, with it being so powdery, it will cling to dry patches on your lips and it's not the most comfortable option.

2. For the vampy lip lovers, I'm mad for "Rock Steady". It's one of the cream finish lipsticks from Urban Decay's VICE Lipstick launch and it's a gorgeous, slightly blue-based, dark red. If you apply this full whack it's very much a statement lip but if you apply it sheerly (maybe mixed in with a little lip balm) it has a lot of purple in it. A stunning multi-tasker and it's super comfortable with the bold, creamy finish. The only thing I would say is it can get a little messy if you aren't careful, the creamy finish can move a little and with the colour being so bold it's very noticeable.

3. A more day-time appropriate option would be M.A.C Lustre Lipstick in the shade "Lady Bug". I've had this one for ages and I always go back to it. It's a lovely, bright, true red but with it being the lustre finish, it's nicely sheer and glossy (which I think makes it a more wearable red). With it being a glossy finish it does require some touching up throughout the wear but it's very comfortable to wear.

4. My affordable option will come as no surprise: the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in the shade "Hot Pepper". It's a matte, bright, orangey red. This one can require a little building up on the lips as it can apply a tad sheer on the first application but once you've got it in place it's not going anywhere. Again, with it being matte it's not very forgiving on dry patches but it's not as powdery as the Nars option.

5. And finally? I absolutely love my Chanel Rouge Allure in "97 0 Incandescente". It's actually very similar in shade to the Bourjoir option, a bright, orangey red but this one is a lovely opaque creamy finish. I think the creamy finish makes it appropriate during the day but it's a lovely option for evening wear too, very comfortable but might require a couple of touch ups.

June Favourites

First of all apologies for the lack of post on Friday - It was a hectic week and I just couldn't find the time or the brain power to crack out a post but I hope I'm forgiven. We're back today with my favourites from June '16 - so lets hop to it.

Let's kick things off with a lip combination that I've reached for most of the month shall we? I've been layering on some Maybelline ColourSensational Shine Gloss in "130 - Fuchsia Flash" over my Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in "05" for an everyday lip this month. I love it because it's a mid-tone pink so it's understated and wearable but it's still bright and looks put together. I've thrown this on for work and play and it's such a lovely low-maintenance lip combination.

We've been pretty skincare heavy here recently so I'm going to try not to harp on about these too long but there's been a couple of skincare products that have absolutely brought my skin back to life (and unfortunately, both cost a pretty penny). I've re-discovered my MV Organic Skincare Rose Plus Booster and I have no idea how this fell to the back of the class. It's essentially good skin in a bottle, no matter how lack-lustre my skin is looking I find that a couple of drops of this massaged into the skin before bed has me looking like I've been drinking my water and sleeping a lot (which lets face it - usually I haven't been).

My Tata Harper cleanser obsession continues but this month I've been mad for the Purifying one. This is a lovely, thinner than most, gel cleanser that I've just been loving for my morning cleanse. The light texture makes it quick and easy to use and whenever I use this I feel like all of the grit and grime just follows it down the plug hole when I rinse. Also - the lovely sharp citrusy scent is great for helping you wake up in the morning and for me it just adds to that "super clean" feeling.

Finally a slightly less beauty-oriented product: I recently stumbled across Next's home fragrance selection and their "White Jasmine" range smells incredible. I got the Decorative Owl Reed Diffuser and it's so cute and smells amazing but I can't find it on the website (maybe it's in store only?) so here's the standard one. I'm awful at describing scents but the packaging says that the top notes are violet leaves and plum, the mid notes are jasmine and white lily and it has a white musk and amber base. It's just a nice clean, fresh, floral scent that's not overpowering or overly girly smelling (I tend to go for more gender neutral boarding on somewhat masculine home scents and this is more on the feminine side for me).

The Lip Product Addict Tag

The Lip Product Addict Tag was something that I saw on YouTube a while back and really enjoyed so I thought I'd bring it back:

Favorite Balm/Treatment - NUXE Reve De Miel Ultra Nourishing Lip Balm. It's the only one I've tried that actually works for in the long term, I find most lip balms just add a layer of moisture on top of the lips but the soothing feeling fades as the product wears off but this actually gets rid of dryness.

Best Eye-Catching Red - Chanel Rouge Allure in "97 Incandescente". I love everything about this lipstick. Firstly the tube is so luxurious with the black gloss finish and the gold detailing, the clicky function with the lid is a nice touch and the weight on this tube is just lovely. The shade is stunning as well, a warm red with a creamy finish - probably not as practical as a matte but it's such a fresh faced look.

Best Luxury & Best Drugstore - Best luxury need to go to the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors, I have shades 1 and 2 and I wear these all the time. They're a creamy texture so they have a decent amount of colour pay-off for a sheer lipgloss and the shine on them is pretty but not over the top. Such a nice low-maintenance lip product. 

For a "drugstore" option I'd say I reach for the Rimmel The Only One Lipstick, specifically in the shade "700 Naughty Nude" the most out of all the lipsticks in my collection. I have a few shades of this lipstick and while I can't honestly say I love them all equally, I think this shade is so flattering on my skin tone and with it being a nude it goes with anything and everything. Love.

Best MAC Lipstick - I just have to give this to the shade "Lady Bug". It's a lustre finish red and it's just lovely. It's light and comfortable on the lips with just enough colour. It's a really good tone of red as well, not too warm but not too cool and it's a slightly deeper take on a sheer red. Definitely something to look into if you're in search for the perfect day-time red.

Most Disappointing - Lip Tattoos. If you want to make your lips feel like they haven't been exfoliated in about 10 years, you'll love these. Waaaaaaaaaaaay too uncomfortable for me.

Liner- Yes or No? Yes. My favourite lip liners are the No7 Precision Lips Pencils. Unless I'm down the sheer-and-shiny route, I pretty much always wear a liner, I just like the definition and they really help with lasting power.

Best Gloss - The Lipstick Queen Big Bang Illusion Lipgloss in "Creation". It's another one of those your-lips-but-better shades that's super low maintenance. I also like how these glosses have a heavy bit of shimmer to them but the glittery particles give great shine but are super fine so it doesn't feel grainy on the lips at all.

Something Extra - Lip Creams. I feel like matte liquid lipsticks are having a moment right now but I still love the good old lip cream formulas like the NXY Soft Matte Lip Creams or the Collection Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Creams. They might not be as long lasting as the matte ones but they're so much more comfortable on the lips. I have the shades "San Paulo" in the NYX and "Cotton Candy" in the Collection and I wear them all the time.

No Money March: The Affordable Brand Overview - LOC Cosmetics

I've spoken a lot about Birchbox lately (although rest assured that I have no sponsorship or affiliations with them, they're just doing some cool things lately) and I've been waiting for this UK launch since I saw Tati's video about her collaboration with them (here). Birchbox recently started up there first in-house brand LOC (Love of Colour) and I managed to get my hands on the whole collection, so lets have a look.

So firstly, when I say "the whole collection" I should be clear that the whole collection currently consists of just 5 products. They have 2 eye shadow sticks and 3 lip crayons available at the moment and if the US line is anything to go by I feel like it won't be long until the range expands a little.

The first thing I picked up were the eye shadow sticks. I have both shades but of the two I personally find "Champagne Problems" to be the more wearable shade, it's a nice cool silvery-taupe shade with shimmer and it makes a great lid shade and also works nicely on the lid. The other shade available is "Perfect Cents" which is a warm golden shade with shimmer. Both shades are really pretty, I just find that really warm shades don't sit as nicely on my skin tone.

The formulas on these are amazing. They apply nice and creamily to the lids and you have a decent amount of time to work with them so they blend out really effortlessly. Once you've blended them in they set down on the skin and are pretty much budge-proof. I don't experience any creasing with these at all.

I also really like the matte lip crayons. These are currently available in 3 shades: "Skinny Dip" (a warm nude), "Trouble" (a vibrant slightly warm red) and "Uncorked" (a bright berry). I find the formula on these to be comparable to the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils, they're not quite the same but they have that almost powdery feeling finish on the lips and the staying power on them is really good.

They're super affordable products at £8 each for the eye pencils and £6.50 each for the lip crayons. They're also available in value sets which makes them an even better deal, you can get all 3 lip crayons in a set for £14 or if you want the whole collection thats available for £25 so definitely high street pricing. Being an in-house brand these products are currently only available to purchase via Birchbox's website.

My one gripe with these is the amount of product you get. The shadow sticks contain 1.35g of product and the lip crayons are a mere 0.6g a piece. Now for the shadow sticks it's not too bad as I find the standard amount of product for an eyeshadow pencil to be around 1.6g a piece. The lipsticks however, not so much. I compared these to the Nars pencils before and Nars give you 2.4g of product for £19, so LOC give you a quarter of the amount of product for around a 3rd of the price. I do really like the LOC lip crayons but I can't honestly say I feel they give you value for money.

February Favourites

Another month down and it's been a good one for new discoveries. I have quite a few things to talk about this month so lets get right down to it.

I'll start with one that's possibly a bit obvious: in my post about the new releases to the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani line, I made my feelings towards the Lipsticks in that collection pretty clear (click here if you missed it!). I have gone back and picked up the shade "Rock Steady" (resisting hard on the other shades - surely buying them all is a little extreme?) but it's the shade "Firebird" that really has my heart. It's an awesome deeper bright pink and it's super comfortable and so unique and my other lipsticks have barely had a look in this month. Seriously, love.

With a bold lip I've been going for something a little less in-your-face on the eyes and I've been gravitating to the Love of Colour One and Done Shadow Stick in the shade "Champagne Problems". I got this in my Birchbox this month and LOC is an in-house brand at Birchbox and let me tell you, these shadow sticks aren't messing around. They're £8 each and they're pigmented, long lasting, creamy eyeshadow sticks and you'll be hearing more about this brand in an upcoming post. My only complaint? There's only 2 shades available in the UK right now - LOC, please release more!

Another Birchbox win this month was the Spectrum Collections Tapered Finishing Brush. This brush retails for £7.99 and it's a really lovely brush for contouring the cheek bones. I love that it's so colourful and even though it's only £7.99 full price it feels really sturdy and nicely made. For those of you that want vegan friendly, cruelty free brushes these are also synthetic bristle brushes.

Ive been getting back into using setting sprays. I went off them because the only ones on the market were a bit up there in price and for me they didn't do an awful lot - Ive had the Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray in my collection for years. On a recent trip to Boots I saw that the L'Oreal Infallible Fixing Mist had come over to the UK and it was in my basket before you could say "setting spray". I'm still not sure if it's doing much for the longevity of my makeup but it does make my base apply a little nicer as it gives some slip and I've been using it every day since I got it.

And finally? Hair masks. I've not been into hair for ages but I'd been wearing it up off my face a lot for a few weeks and noticed the ends were feeling a bit brittle and not as soft as they normally are. Depending on how much time I have in the shower I've either been reaching for the Swell Ultimate Volume Masque or the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer in the "Geranium & Neroli" scent. I personally prefer the effect of the Philip K option, it's a bit of a faff having to dampen the hair, put the mask in and then leave for 5-10 minutes before shampooing but the effect is great.

Makeup Tips for Glasses Wearers

I've always been a big fan of eye makeup, so when I got to the point in life where my eyesight had gotten bad enough to have to wear glasses all the time, I opted for contact lenses initially. After a few years of them not really working for me (I'd tried dailies, monthlies, only wearing them for a few days a week - my eyes just don't really like them) I resigned to actually wearing my glasses and have found ways to still make makeup work for me, so here's some quick tips for those of us who don't get on with contacts.

Choose your frames carefully. When I picked up my glasses I've gone for a shape that's really flattering on my face, they're oversized with thin pieces of metal surrounding the lenses in a burgundy colour ( I found black frames to be a bit too harsh for my features) and the actual shape of the frames is slightly cat-eye shaped. They're just like a larger version of the shape I normally wear my eyeshadow in. The frames I've got give me a lot of lid space for eyeshadow without having to blend outside of the frames - which brings me to my next tip:

Try to keep the colour within the frames. Eyeshadow on glasses wearers can start to look a little messy if it's blended outside of the frames. When you're doing your eye makeup, the easiest way to make it look polished is to treat the frames of your glasses as the frames for your eyes.

Keep things balanced. Like I said, my frames are quite oversized so they cover up a bit of my eyebrows, I always make sure that I fill my brows in as it offers some balance to the face. I also think a toned down eye and a really bold lip looks great with glasses, your frames are already giving your eyes definition so mascara and a bold lip always seems to work nicely.

And finally - beware of false eye lashes. I personally don't bother with falsies if I'm wearing glasses as they just end up brushing up against the lenses and going a bit wonky. If you are going for false lashes, I'd recommend going for shorter ones and using a really good glue to make sure they're 100% secure.

Some Bits From The Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Collection

So when I heard that Gwen Stefani was collaborating with Urban Decay to bring out a whole collection of products, I got a little giddy. I have a whole review on the Eyeshadow Palette from the collection here and while I wasn’t sure how much I’d like it just looking at the shades, it’s landed straight in my favourites list. So here’s my thought on the rest of the bits I picked up from the collection.

The Gwen Stefani Lipsticks were just one of those things that I had to have. There wasn’t a singe shade in the lineup that I wasn’t interested in so narrowing it down to a non-outrageous number was difficult and after trying the two I picked up I’m pretty sure I’ll be going back for more. In the end I picked up shades “714” (the Mega-Matte red) and “Firebird” (the vibrant blue toned pink). I love both of the shades and they’re colours I’ll get a lot of wear out of.

Out of the two I’d say the “Firebird” is my favourite, the texture is really comfortable with it being a creamy finish and the micro-shimmer is really pretty without being OTT or at all garish. I love the shade of “714” and the mega-matte finish is lovely and long-lasting but the comfort factor lets it down a little bit. I really like both though and I think I need to go back for “Rock Steady” and “Wonderland” in particular. The other stand-out quality to these is the packaging. While it can feel a little bit flimsy as it’s just plastic, the black and gold graphic print is really lovely.

When I picked up my first pieces from the collection I didn’t think I needed the Gwen Stefani 24.7 Glide On Lip Pencils and that I’d have stuff in my collection that would work. For some of the shades in the collection that’s definitely the case but there some do seem to be a bit more unique. I have MAC’s Lip Pencil in “Redd” and that’s a near dead-on match for “714” but “Firebird” is a bit more unique and I'm considering picking up the matching lip liner. The packaging is beautiful. You can really tell that Gwen had an input into every aspect of these products.

Finally we have the Gwen Stefani Blush Palette. XSparkage’s review on this piece sparked my interest in this (no pun intended - honest). The rest of collection came out in America before it hit the UK so when she said it was perfect for pale skin tones I figured I needed to at least give it a go and it IS pretty. After having actually used it, I’m not sure it’s exactly what I wanted it to be. The matte-bronzer shade is really warm so it’s no good for contouring, you’d need a separate contouring product. Then there's a shimmery bronze-y shade that’s really pretty to add a sun-lit glow. The highlight shade is really lovely too, a very intense highlight that’s great for pale-ys, and the 3 blush shades are really great but you need to be so carful with them because they’re really pigmented. Really I just wanted to see something that would work as a contour in here, that’s the thing that really lets it down because for me it’s not an “all you need for cheeks” palette without one. That being said, if you’re pale and not fussed with contouring, I can imagine you’d think this was pretty perfect.

My Top 5 Festive Lip Picks

So as Christmas day gets closer and closer (one week to go!) I figured I'd go over my festive season lip product picks. The Christmas Day lipstick choice is my ultimate first-world problem because I'm the girl that wants it all with a lip product but even if you're on a chilled out Christmas day this year, I think I have a suggestion for you.

So for the girl who wants it all, I have two suggestions. We're obviously going red here and if you want that bright red lip on Christmas day I'd go for the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in "Hot Pepper". It's a matte finish liquid lipstick that's comfortable but wont end up all over your face when you tuck into your Christmas dinner, and the bright red shade is super festive. If that's a little in-your-face for you, the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in (you guessed it) "Cruella" is a sligtly deeper red but is still comfortable and budge proof.

If you want to go red but staying power isn't a concern (maybe you're having Christmas dinner at home then going to visit friends/family later?) then MAC's Lustre Lipstick in "Lady Bug" is a beaut. A slightly sheer, true red that's nice and glossy and almost balm-like on the lips, t;s the perfect balance between pretty and comfortable.

If red isn't your thing I think the Rimmel The Only One Lipstick in "700 Naughty Nude" would be a nice pick. It's comfortable and wears away evenly so, again, no need to worry about it going everywhere but it's a nice polished nude. If a gloss is more your thing the NYX Butter Gloss in "Tiramisu" is practically the same shade in gloss form, but that would be a sneaky 6th suggestion.

My final pick is for the lazy Christmas day. If your Christmas involves onsies, presents, food and general not-leaving-the-house, may I suggest the NUXE Rêve De Miel Lip Balm. If you're going makeup free this Christmas, the cold weather might still mean that your lips could do with some TLC and this is my favourite lip balm. AND it tastes pretty much like lemon drizzle cake.

30 Lips in 30 Days - Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick

So this is it, day 30 of the 30 lips challenge. Today we've got a super affordable option of the Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick. I have heard a few good things about the line so I wanted to see if these were any good because, at £1.99 a piece, these could be a really nice addition to your collection. The shade selection is wide but there's nothing too out there in the collection, lots of neutral shades along with some berries and reds, I have shade "Raspberry" and it's a your-lips-but-better type medium pink.

The packaging seems to be where they've saved money because I must admit it's really cheap looking and a bit flimsy. That being said, the formula on these is actually really nice, they're opaque without being too thick and very very creamy so they're very comfortable on the lips. The one thing about the formula is that, because it's so creamy, the lasting time isn't great and these will need to be maintained through the day.

30 Lips in 30 Days - Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick

I feel like the Revlon super Lustrous Lipstick in "Cherries In The Snow" has become almost a classic shade. I remember EssieButton talking about it way back in the day of beauty vloggers and when I saw it on the shelves of my local Boots the other day I couldn't help but pick it up. The packaging is pretty old school with the classic glossy black tube and the gold detailing, the top of the lid is also clear so you can see the colour through the top so you can see which colour it is if you have a few from the line.

As for the formula, it's really rich and creamy so it's super comfortable on the lips and the colour payoff is great. It's thin in texture so it doesn't feel like it's weighing your lips down throughout the wear time but the colour is still nice and intense on the lips. The one thing I would say is that due to the high moisture content, this lipstick doesn't set on the lips and will move around if you aren't careful, it will leave a mark on cups and if you catch your lips with anything you can easily drag the colour out of your lip line.

30 Lips in 30 Days - Mirenesse Mattfinity Lip Rouge

Mirenesse isn't a brand I've heard an awful lot about but I've seen them on Birchbox recently and their Mattfinity Lip Rouges looked interesting so I decided I'd try one out. This is only a mini but the packaging is sturdy and looks nice as well. The main part of the packaging is clear plastic so you can see the colour of the product and then the lid is black with the shade name in big silver letters.

The shade I picked up was "Sydney" and it's a bright fuchsia pink. In the picture above I'd only just applied the product and you can see they are quite glossy when you first apply them, but within a few minutes they dry down to a velvet matte finish which isn't as drying as some other formulas I've tried. The product also has a sweet scent which I find pleasant.

30 Lips in 30 Days - KIKO Intensely Lavish Lipstick

I'll say this from the off - if you're looking for an absolute bargain of a lip product, you need look no further than the KIKO Intensely Lavish Lipstick range. These are unbelievable, especially for the price (£6-£7). These lipsticks are packaged in a weighty, rose gold effect lipstick tube with a magnetic close and they look and feel like a high-end product.

I have the shade "05" which is a mid-tone pink-y berry shade and if I did have one complaint about this lipstick is would be that the colours are just numbered rather than named but it's a small detail. The formula is a creamy satin finish that's comfortable and the product stays for a long time and doesn't leave you with any weird lip-liner looks. All round a great product and I'm already looking into getting more shades from the range.

30 Lips in 30 Days - Rimmel The Only One Lipstick

So today marks the day of this challenge where we revisit a formula we've seen earlier on. When I did my post about the Rimmel The Only One Lipstick in "700 - Naughty Nude", I couldn't help but feel that the formula was too creamy for the darker shades to work well and I just had to have a look into it - that and the fact that some of those darker shades were so unusual and amazing that I simply couldn't help myself.

The shade I'm wearing in today's picture is "810 - One of a Kind" and it's a deep burgundy/browny-red type shade that's great for autumn. Personally I'm looking for a corresponding lip liner to go with this shade because it does move around a little on the lips if you're not careful and with a shade this dark things can end up looking like a hot mess pretty quickly.

30 Lips in 30 Days - Maybelline Matte Lipstick

Oh I do love a red lipstick. A bold red lip and a nice rosy cheek coupled with the (obviously fake) red hair is my go-to holiday-season look, that and some glitter, there's always room for glitter at Christmas time. So today I have a new pick from Maybelline and I just knew it would have to be a red. This is one of their Colour Sensational Matte Lipsticks in "965 - Siren in Scarlet" and its a bright, true red. The formula is a comfortable matte that won't drag on the lips during application and it's lightly scented with a sweet almost nutty(?) scent that wont linger on the lips.

The packaging isn't my favourite, the base is a bit short which can make it a tiny bit fiddle-y to open and the frosted black plastic lid does nothing for me aesthetically and is a bit flimsy. The lid on mine has actually already split and so it's probably not the best for throwing in your handbag/travel bag.

30 Lips in 30 Days - Revlon Colourstay Ultimate Suede

Yet another red lip pick today ('tis the season and all) and we're looking at the Revlon Colourstay Ultimate Suede Lipsticks today. The packaging on these is interesting, we all know by now that I like it when the packaging reflects the colour of the product but the obvious plastic look isn't for me. It is really sturdy though so I can't see the lid falling off in your bag or the packaging in any way breaking on you, just not the most aesthetically pleasing offering.

The formula is quite strange as well, even though it's a lipstick not a gloss there is a great deal of tackiness left on the lips after application and your lips will almost adhere to each other if you press them together which is odd. The shade I have is "095 - Finale" and it's a little more sheer than I was expecting but the finish is exactly what I'd expect from a "suede" lipstick - neither matte nor shiny, it's almost a satin but maybe a touch more sheeny. It's not my favourite lip product by any means but it's not the worst one I've tried so far.

30 Lips in 30 Days - Rimmel Lasting Finish By Kate Moss

Day 12 of the 30 lips challenge and I have a confession to make. I'm going to be cheating on this challenge slightly. As you're reading this I'm packing my bag for a birthday trip to Amsterdam and so I've taken a few photos a pre-written a few posts as I don't know what the internet will be like in Amsterdam and I didn't want to miss any posts.

But anyway, Today we have a beauty blogger favourite product: The Rimmel Lasting Finish By Kate Moss Lipstick in "107". It's a beautiful deep red that's super festive but it's maybe a bit more wearable than one of the true reds that become very popular during this time of year. It's a matte finish so it lasts really well and it's comfortable too. A must have in most collections I'd say.

30 Lips in 30 Days - Maxfactor Lipfinity

Day 11 of the 30 lips challenge brings us the MaxFactor Lipfinity Lipstick. The packaging on this might not be quite what you'd expect, the gold lipstick tube looks lovely and weighty but is actually really light and the clear plastic lid makes it looks a bit cheap and at £8.99, while it might not be breaking the bank, it certainly doesn't measure up to other products I've mentioned this month like the No7 Moisture Drench which for on £1 more feels almost high end or even the L'Oreal Infallible Mega Gloss which for £1 less is much nicer.

Packaging aside, the formula is actually really nice, the product has a lovely sweet scent which I enjoy and the formula is light on the lips whilst still being full colour. There's a good moisuture content in the product and it manages not to be too sheer or too shiny which I like and the colour range is nice. I picked up the shade "60 Evermore Lush" which is a nice deep neutral/berry shade which is perfect for autumn.

30 Lips in 30 Days - L’Oreal Infallible Mega Gloss

A 3rd of the way through now, day 10 and still going strong. Today we have the L'Oreal Infallible Mega Gloss. The packaging for this is simple but sleek and for £6.99 they won't break the bank, this product also comes in other formulas but the shade we're looking at today is one of the matte finish glosses.

The name here needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, I would simply call this a liquid lipstick, but it is a little different in the way that it doesn't 100% dry down. It applies to the lips nice and creamy and doesn't settle into any dryness you might have going on and has a nice sweet scent which I think is pleasant but not over-whelming. I also love the shade on this one "The Bigger The Better" is a lovely, bright mid-tone pink.

30 Lips in 30 Days - Rimmel The Only One Lipstick

Day 9 of the 30 lips challenge and I'm super excited about this one. I'd heard a lot about the Rimmel The Only One Lipsticks and they intrigued me and I had to pick one up. The packaging is a nice thick black plastic that's sturdy and interesting and I love the fact that they have a band round the bottom that reflects the shade inside so if you have multiple shades it's easy to find the one you want. The lid on these is quite long and the base is quite short which can make the lipstick a tiny bit difficult to open but that's my only issue with it so far. For £6.99 they're not bad.

It applies nice and creamy and has a good amount of moisture to it so when you first apply it, it does have a good have a bit of sheen to it on the lips. As you wear it, it does start to dry down and the sheen wears off and it does become less comfortable and I would just top it up as it becomes more uncomfortable. The scent isn't my favourite - I find that Rimmel lipsticks are very hit and miss with the scents, this one is very sweet but almost perfume-y but it doesn't linger too long. I also really love this particular shade "700 Naughty Nude", it's a slightly deeper nude and it really seems to just lift the face.

30 Lips in 30 Days - Too Faced Créme Lipstick

Day 7 of the 30 lips challenge and today we have something from Too Faced. Their La Créme Colour Drenched Lipsticks are £18 a piece for the full size although I just have a mini here and the packaging is a perfect replica of the full size, a luxurious gold metallic tube that still feels weighty despite it's miniature size.

I wasn't sure I'd get on with the shade "Naked Dolly" as it looked like one of those "barely there" concealer-lips type shades but I was pleasantly surprised, the moisture content in the formula sheers out the shade just enough for it to be a super wearable nude without making the colour pay off disappointing, I'd love to see how the deeper shades come out. The formula is comfortable on the lips but will require maintenance and I love the shade with both neutral looks and paired with a more dramatic eye look.