30 Lips in 30 Days - NYC Liquid Lipstain

Day 4 and back to budget with the NYC Smooch Proof Liquid Lip Stain. The packaging on this is nice for a budget product, a classic black lid doe-foot applicator with a colour-co-ordinated lipgloss tube type of set up. The one bug bare I have with it is that the writing smudges off on your hand as you hold the product and leaves you with black ink-y hands which isn't great.

I'm pretty sure the shade I have is "100 - Faithful Coral" but the shade names don't seem to be on the packaging which can be annoying if you need to repurchase. It's a soft orangey neutral shade that shows up quite sheer on the lips but can be built up to a decent colour pay off and the lasting power is decent. It's very water-y upon application but does dry down to a matte finish which becomes more drying the longer you wear it so not a good option for those with dry lips.

My Nail Polish Collection

Whilst I've been updating my beauty storage (comment if you'd like to hear more about that?) I've been doing a lot of decluttering and I figured since I had all my nail polishes out, I might as well do a post giving you a round up of what I have.

So Firstly, Blues. I love the colour of Tanya Burr Cosmetics Nail Polish in the shade "Duvet Day" but it's just a nightmare to apply. For me it's thick but somehow still quite sheer and I haven't managed to apply this and make it look nice on the nails.

The next three are all shades that I mainly wear on my toes, KIKO Nail Lacquer "336", Misa Nail Lacquer "On The Edge" and Inglot Nail Enamel "942" are all lovely mid-tone bright blues and I love a bright blue on the toes, however I rarely wear any of these on the fingers.

Tanya Burr Cosmetics Nail Polish "New York Night" is a nice vampy purple that I'll be cracking out now that autumn is on it's way, her darker shades seem to be a much nicer texture than the lighter shades and this one looks almost black on the nails. I also think that No7's Speed Dry Nail Colour "Violetta 44" would be a nice autumn nail pick, it's slightly lighter and brighter than "New York Night", but it's still quite autumnal.

I like Topshop Nails in "Parma Violet" and this pink O.P.I Nail Lacquer which unfortunately doesn't have a shade name and was limited edition for spring. They're both nice pastels and while they take a bit of work to apply, you can get a nice finish from both.

My Favourite nail polish of all time for my fingers is the Maxfactor Nailfinity in "Disco Pink", I've very nearly finished this bottle and I'm currently on the hunt for a new bottle as it's just an amazing bright shade for summer that I just love. KIKO Nil Lacquer in "361" is also  nice bright pink but for me it doesn't compare to the Maxfactor, I think it would work for a beach-y holiday worn on both fingers and toes but so far it's not been a shade I've reached for a whole lot.

I come back to the Essie Nail Lacquer in "Bahama Mama" every year once it starts cooling down. It's a great burgundy and just can probably get away with just one coat if you were in a rush, I'd always go for two just to make sure though. A very similar shade is No7's Speed Dry Nail Colour in the shade "Queenie 60". It's that same tone of burgundy as "Bahama Mama", but instead of a creamy gloss finish, the No7 has a hint of golden shimmer running through it which gives it a more metallic finish on the nails.

I don't wear an awful lot of red on my nails (so naturally I have 3). I bought Tanya Burr Cosmetics Nail Polish in "Riding Hood" online and was expecting it be a bit darker than it actually turned out to be, It's actually quite similar to the Procco Nail Apparel in "7294 V.I.P Creme" which is my go to polish if I'm doing red. I also have a mini O.P.I Nail Lacquer which again was from a limited collection but it's not my favourite anyway.

I have three orangey/coral shades and I don't like any of them. Ted Baker Orange, LOLA Barcelona Nail Polish in "Rambla" and Wah London Nails in "384" are all amazing colour but I'm starting to think there's just something about orange-y shades that makes them horrible to apply. I'm holding onto them incase I discover a way to make them work because the colours are really something.

I love warm grey nil polish for autumn/winter and I have two. Maxfactor Nailfinity in "Boji" which was a limited edition one that I wear every now and again but my favourite is Essie Nail Lacquer in "Chinchilly". I think Essie polishes are generally a nice formula and "Chinchilly" is a great goes-with-everything shade.

I've already mentioned Butter London's 3 Free Nail Lacquer in "Knackered" on here and it's really something. It takes about 3/4 coats to get it to a nice opacity but it's worth the little bit of effort. It's a really unique colour, a green/pink dual chrome colour that give's that almost oil slick finish to the nails and it looks great with an all black outfit and my Whistles Small Clutch in "Oil Slick".

I'm a sucker for a good glitter topcoat and I have three. The NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in "105 Starry Silver Glitter" was the first one I picked up and it's like a slightly multi-coloured version of Topshop Nails in "Ice Crush" which is my favourite glitter top coat. I also have the O.P.I Nail Lacquer in "Silver Shatter" which is one of those crackle-finish nail polishes but this is a metallic shimmery silver one.

A couple of metallic nail polishes that I like are the No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in "Night Silver 92" and Topshop Nails "Crystal Clouds" and I like both of these year long. The No7 is a little bit more autumn/winter but I love it and the Topshop is a polish I'd happily wear year round.

And finally, a topcoat and a nail care product. I rarely use a topcoat but when I do I use the O.P.I Rapidry Top Coat, it's nice and shiny and helps your polish last longer. Normally I just go in with the Orly Colour Care Nail Strong which is a shiny clear nail polish that can be used alone or under/over other polishes and helps strengthen your nails. I have problems with flaking on my nails and I find that this helps a lot.

A Thing For Eyeshadow Sticks

I've loved eyeshadow sticks since the days of MAC Shade Sticks and while my original cream shadow stick is long gone it's nice to see that the format is coming back and other brands are releasing their own take on this convenient, multi-purpose product. In this post I'm going to have a look at some of the highs and lows of what's on the market at the moment.

So lets just get the most disappointing pick out of the way shall we? I'd heard lots of great things about New Look's recent beauty launch and some of the face products I've tried have been lovely, but their Pure Colour Eyeshadow Sticks didn't hit the mark for me. The colour is so sheer that I can't imagine anyone would be satisfied with the colour pay-off enough to leave it as it is and i just needs to be topped with a powder shadow. With that in mind it's been really ard to test the actual lasting power of the product, because really it doesn't manage to last through the blending process, never mind the day.

I had a very similar issue with the NYC City Proof 24hr Waterproof Eyeshadow. I couldn't really test the lasting power or the waterproof claims of this products because it's so sheer that for me it's an eyeshadow base rather than an actual eyeshadow. This product also has the disadvantage of having the worst packaging for an eyeshadow stick, the lid isn't secure at all and will 100% fall off if you tried to travel with it.

The No7 Stay Perfect Shade And Define eyeshadow sticks are a little better. A decent colour selection and the colours show up nicely on the eye but these one's struggle with wear time. If you're out for a couple of hours this might be an option for you but it does crease even when set with a powder shadow after a relatively short amount of time.

Things are starting to look up with the Bourjois ColourBand Eyeshadow & Liner. These are actualy really nice, creamy to apply, nice pigmentation and wears well on the lids. The only problem I have with these is the shade selection is quite small. They do have classic black, brown and champagne colours as well as a few wearable brights but the colours are generally a bit shimmery and they could do with expanding the range a bit more to include some more unique colours.

A comparable product to the Bourjois is the Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleons. These are great eyeshadow sticks that are pigmented, easy to apply and last well on the eyes. The thing that sets the Colour Chameleons apart for me is the shades, I have the shade "Golden Quarts for Hazel Eyes Day" and it's so unusual. I'd pitch the shade as a rusty gold with green-ish undertones and it has flecks of golden glitter and it was just love at first swatch. They also have an amazing green and a gorgeous smokey purple that I may have to pick up in the future. At £19 each they're a treat but hey aren't too crazy for what they are.

If you're looking to really treat yourself and are looking for an eyeshadow stick, you don't have to look any further than the By Terry Ombre Blackstars. They've been mentioned on the blog before and whilst they are unbelievably pricey for an eyeshadow pencil, they are also really nice. The shade selection for these is so on point, there doesn't seem to be a single colour that doesn't look pretty and they're so unique that I can just about justify spending the money on them.

However my top eyeshadow pencil pick is the KIKO Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadows. They're pigmented, long-lasting, easy to apply AND they're £6.90 a piece. So you can pick up 4 of these for the same price as just one of the By Terry and they're so comparable. Last month in my "Highstreet VS Highend" post (clicky link here) I mentioned KIKO's "05" being a pretty perfect dupe for By Terry's "Misty Rock" and with 31 shades in the collection, I can imagine they'll be something for everyone.

The Skint-tember Finale - Highstreet VS Highend (Drugstore Dupes/Alternatives)

We couldn't end Skint-tember without looking for some high-street alternatives to higher end products and I've had a good rummage through my collection over the last few days to pick out some that I think are great.

I'll get this one out of the way because I have already mentioned it this month but I thought I'd touch back on it in case you missed my original post: if you still have took the plunge and picked up the Urban Decay Naked Palette and the price is putting you off, you might want to give the Revolution Redemption Iconic 1 Palette a go. The original post include side-by-side swatches so you can see how close they come and it's a steal at just £4 compared to the Urban Decay's £36.

My First ever MAC Lipstick was their "Lady Danger" which is a great matte orangey red. The dupe I've found for it is the Maybelline Colour Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil in the shade "Fab Orange". While I would say that the Maybelline is a teeny bit darker and slightly less orange-y toned than Lady Danger, on the lips you wouldn't be able to tell that it's two different lipsticks. Additionally, I find the pencil application method of the Mabelline makes it easier to get a smooth lip line without having to use a lip line.

I love Estée Lauder Colour Envy Lipsticks and the shade "Tumultuous Pink" is a particularly nice, bright pink shade. In the picture I'm wearing "Tumultuous Pink" on the bottom lip and on the top lip I'm wearing NYC Expert Last Lip Colour in "404 - Air Kiss" and, again, they're practically identical. If we're being picky the Estée Lauder is a tiny bit more blue in undertone and obviously has a better wear time but the NYC is much more of an affordable option at a mere £1.99.

I've been a fan of the Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliners for years and last year I picked up the Christmas set that included the shade "Faint", it's a lovely light brown that offers a subtle definition that I really like on the lower lash line especially. Side by side against the Rimmel Scandleyes Eyeliner in "004 Taupe", you can hardly tell a difference. "Faint" is a tiny bit warmer than the Rimmel option but the lasting power is very comparable and the Rimmel is just as creamy to apply.

When I was building my first ever MAC quad, I made the mistake of picking up a shade without swatching it first and got suckered in by how lovely it looked in the pan. MAC's "Gleam" is an amazing glittery peachy-pink shade but it's a nightmare to apply, it's bitty in texture, the glitter falls down constantly, and by the end of a day wearing it you have no eyeshadow left on and glitter all over your face no matter what you're using for a base. So while It does actually cost a tiny bit more to pick up the L'Oreal La Palette Nude Blush, you're getting more colours for your money and the 5th shade from the left is a dead-on match for "Gleam" but it's nice and creamy to apply and doesn't fall down at all.

And finally, the dupe that I'm most excited by. When I first heard about the By Terry Ombré Blackstar in "Misty Rock" I had to have it, it was so unique and the formula was nice too, but the £28 price tag made my eyes water a little bit. I justified it because the colour was so unique and I've used it a tonne, but then I picked up the KIKO Long Lasting Stick in the shade "05" and it's identical in colour and the formula is creamy and long-lasting. I will continue to use and love "Misty Rock" but when it's time to repurchase, I think I'll be picking up another from KIKO.

The Perfect Palette Tag

Best Packaging - Urban Decay Vice 2

When I think "best packaging" I'm really thinking "prettiest packaging" and the Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette is definitely the palette in my collection that comes to mind for this category. It has the mixed purple plastic and the gem stone UD logo in the middle which is beautiful. However It's also quite practical. I'd never need 20 shadows when I'm traveling so it doesn't need to be thin in my opinion, but it has a lovely big mirror that you could do your whole face in and a button-press closure so it won't open randomly. I also love how spaced out the shadows in this palette are, it really helps to limit pigment-transfer. Unfortunately, it was also limited edition (sorry, my bad!).

Best Colour Payoff - Urban Decay

In general, the majority of my eyeshadow collection is Urban Decay just because their formula is lovely and their products are reasonably priced for a higher-end brand. Urban Decay offer lots of eyeshadow palettes with 10-20 shades for £30-£40 and their single shadows are around £14 which is cheaper than many other brands and their shadows are consistently pigmented and easy to blend.

Most Versatile - Urban Decay Smoked

I'll admit, I don't use this palette as much as I should, but it's a real gem. Two rows with five shadows a piece, a row of neutrals, a row of smokey colours. What more could you want? You can use the lighter neutral shades to create a day look, the black and the liner to create a cat-eye or smudge-y liner look, or add in some of the colours to really mix things up. Also, this palette contains the shade Mushroom, my favourite ever eyeshadow shade!

Best for Travel - The Balm, Balm Jovi

If there is a palette better suited to travel than the Balm Jovi Palette from The Balm, I need to hear about it, because I don't think it exists. This palette contains 12 shadows, a powder blush, a powder highlight and two creamy lip-and-cheek products and is insanely compact. The palette contains a mirror in which you could do your whole face and aside from foundation, concealer, mascara and brows, it has all the bases covered. The mix of eyeshadows is perfect, theres 4 matte fairly neutral shades, and 8 wearable colour options that range from shimmers to metallics to satins. This is the only palette I took with me for my month-long trip around Europe last year and it saw me through the whole trip for eyes and cheeks (although I did cheat a little and bring along 2 lipsticks).

Biggest Regret - MAC Quad - Brule, Gleam, Shale and Sketch

This was a really had question for me, because even things in my collection that I don't use often now have had their days of being my most reached for make-up product. The only one I can say I felt even mildly disappointed with was my build-it-yourself MAC quad, and that's mainly because I could see the sales assistant was getting annoyed at my indecisiveness and didn't give myself enough time to think it through. While the shades I picked are nice, Gleam is a neutral shimmery shade with straight-up glitter in that falls down as soon as you apply it, and Shale is so sheer and hard to work with that it looks like I use it all the time despite me having used it very little in the year that I've owned it. Sketch and Brule are nice shades and are pigmented and easy to work with, but I barely reach for the quad as I'm always having to bring in shades from other palettes to complete a look as the other two just don't work for me.

Best Colour Names - The Balm, Balm Jovi (again)

This is the only palette I have that has themed names that seem thought about to me, so I had to double up a palette and award Best Colour Names to the Balm Jovi Palette. Most of the shades in the palette are named after things that are music related, and as a Music BA Hons graduate I really love the theme for this palette.

Least Used - Urban Decay Book of Shadows NYC

Where do I even begin to explain why I don't use this palette anymore? Firstly, this was the first big eyeshadow palette I ever bought, so this is the old Urban Decay eyeshadow formula, which is no where near the formula they're putting out recently. The palette contains four shades that (Like Gleam from my MAC palette) have big chunks of glitter in that fall down your face either on application or throughout the day, leaving you looking like a glitter bomb exploded on your face by the end of the day. Additionally, the packaging on this palette is so huge that I can't store it with the bulk of my makeup, and so even the shades that are nice barely get touched as I don't think to reach into the depths of my drawers looking for it.

Most Used - Soap & Glory Lid Stuff

This is the palette that goes in my daily (work) make-up bag along with a single of Urban Decay's Mushroom eyeshadow single (my aforementioned favourite) and a few coloured eyeliners and serves as my daily eyeshadow pick. It's small and compact and has all the shades I reach for on a regular basis, three mattes and one shimmery shade, it's all I need to go from the office to the bar and can deliver no matter what eye look I'm feeling. Love.