MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer

L-R Tranquillity, Halcyon, Aflush, Criminal, Funk, Kooky

I was planing on swatching the new OCC Lip Tars this week but, of course, a coldsore got the memo and came to say hello.  I still wanted to do a lip-central post so in true Blue Peter style, here's one I made earlier.

Matte lips are really in at the moment so MUA hit the nail on the head with their Luxe range of Velvet Lip Lacquers.  They come in 9 shades, from nude to deep purple.  I have 6 of them to show you.

High Impact Makeup in a Hurry

Sometimes life gets a bit hectic and I have less time than usual to do my makeup.  That doesn't mean that I want to do the usual 5 or 10 minute face though.  If I'm not in work then I definitely want to do something colourful and fun.  In these instances I tend to turn to either eye liner or eyebrows to make the impact.  I don't have time for lots of shading or getting the perfect outline with a bold lip colour.  This was particularly true of last week when I was away sleeping in a field and didn't have a whole lot of brushes with me.

The following looks don't use many products and are all quick, especially if you're a dab hand at liquid eye liner.

UD Darkside, Deep End and Stage Dive

Pop of Chartruese

I thought I would share a look I've really been enjoying lately.  It's a simple, light grey/taupe eye with a pop of colour on the inner corner; in this case chartreuse.

Orange Lipsticks

L-R: Infrared, Bang, Bang! Bang!

Generally I'm not one to change my clothes or my face with the seasons very much (dark smokey eyes in August? Yes!) but summer really is the perfect time to be wearing an orange lip colour.  Orange has been quite 'in' over the last year or so and I feel like there are definitely more oranges on the market.

Whole Face Challenge with Illamasqua

Like with the last challenge, here, choosing Illamasqua was never going to be very difficult for me as they are one of my favourites and I have a lot by them. I knew what I wanted to do a bit more this time so didn't sit down completely aimless.  I knew I wanted to be uber pale, have red eye shadow and use some of my newer products.

Making Rubanesque Work

MAC Rubanesque Pro Longwear Paint Pot

I have been in love with MAC's  Rubanesque Paint Pot for years, swatching it on my hand almost every time I went in store and no doubt annoying all of the employees.  It is a beautiful shimmery peachy gold which changes with the light.  I knew I would love it but I just put off buying it every time...until April.  I got it home, so excited to try it for the first time but boy was I disappointed.  While the pigmentation was okay and it was definitely still pretty it was quite lack-lustre.  It did not look how it does in the jar.
And so began the mission to make it look amazing!

Illamasqua's Glamore Lipsticks

Glamore lipsticks

A few months ago Illamasqua launched a new lipstick formula with the Glamore campaign.  There were 3 shades in the initial launch but the formula was so popular; opaque and creamy; that everyone called out for more choice.  Illamasqua listened and earlier this month launched 4 more shades, and then another 7 nude shades this week.  The Nude shades are split up depending on skin tone, with 2 cool-toned, 2 neutral and 3 warm-toned.