My most-worn lipsticks

Happy Sunday! In this post, I'm going to be telling you about my most-worn lipsticks. Now, I'm a complete lip product nut - and especially so with lipsticks. I love them, and they're by far my favorite beauty product. I just think there's something so classic and old-school glam about taking out that little tube from your bag and touching up your lips. Since I work in an office 5 days a week, I can't wear anything too dramatic, but I do try and have my fun. :)

So my most-worn lipsticks (in no particular order) are:

L-R: 

Bourjois Sweet Kiss Lipstick in Rose séduisant, Max Factor Colour Elixir Lipstick in Rosewood, Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Spotlight Beige, Elle 18 Color Burst Lipstick in Roasty Red, Bourjois Lovely Brille Lipstick in Vanille du Soleil

Swatches follow in the same order below:

Now just a few little things about each one!

Bourjois Sweet Kiss Lipstick in Rose Séduisant

This is a gorgeous fuschia lipstick. The swatch really doesn't do enough justice to it. It's bold, saturated and is a such a statement colour - I love it! It's also surprinsingly lost-lasting and even when it does fade, it leaves a nice stain on your lips. Since it's such a bright colour, I wear it more like a stain where I apply a small amount and then blend it in. It retails are £7.99 at Boots, and you can check it out here.

Max Factor Colour Elixir Lipstick in Rosewood

First off, how beautiful is the packaging? It just looks so luxurious and expensive - very classy. The colour is exactly what the name says it is - a muted kind of rose, with a certain understated warmth. It's great for a wide range of looks. And the staying power is AMAZING. Seriously. This lipstick lasts all day - even through meals and glasses of water. Beyond impressive. This one also retails for £7.99 at Boots - take a look here.

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Spotlight Beige
Sadly, this is a discontinued item. I got it off of eBay and I know I'm going to be on the hunt for it again  once this starts to shorten significantly. It is my perfect nude shade. The swatch makes it look a lot more peachy than it actually comes off on the lips. It doesn't leave me looking washed out or anything, and somehow makes the whole face glow. Love it!

Elle 18 Color Burst Lipstick in Roasty Red
Elle 18 is an inexpensive Indian cosmetics brand. I picked this up last year when I visited India and it cost less than Rs. 100 at the time, which is just a little over a pound. Bargain! This lipstick has a lip balm core with the coloured bit making up the rest. Because of this, it has a very moisturising feel on the lips. This colour is a very wearable red, and very buildable if you want some added drama. It's a lot more pigmented than the swatch indicates, as well. I got it from the Urban Touch website - which doesn't deliver internationally, I'm afraid. This colour also seems to be out of stock, which is a shame because I wanted to pick up another one when I go back to India next week! Oh, well.

Bourjois Lovely Brille lipstick in Vanille du Soleil
Apologies for putting another discontinued lipstick on here, but it really is one of my favorites! I got this off of eBay as well, and it is such a lovely berry colour. It's perfect for work because it has just enough colour to brighten up your look, but isn't over the top in the slightest. It also has a nifty mirror at the top of the lipstick cap! Not the most long-lasting of lipsticks, but then again, it never claimed to be long-wearing.

So there you have it - my top 5 most-worn lipsticks! Sorry for having 2 discontinued items on there and one that isn't the easiest to get, but I only wanted to include the ones I reach for most often and these are the ones! I might do a most-worn or favorite lip glosses post sometime in the future, so watch out for that!

Hope you all have a fantastic week. :) 

Review: Clean and Clear face wash and moisturiser

Hi everybody! In case you hadn't noticed, I've changed the name of my blog! I'm still going to be posting a lot of beauty-related things, but also want to post on fashion, lifestyle and food-related topics. So I thought I would make the title a lot more open-ended. :) The blog design still leaves a lot to be desired, but that will have to wait, because I have a lot going on at the moment and hardly any time!

Today's products are from the Clean & Clear range, and they are the Clean & Clear exfoliating daily wash and the Clean & Clear dual action moisturiser. They are something that I have been using every day for almost one year now.

Now, before I go into the review, just a little bit of information about my skin - because skin care is different for everyone, and if you have skin different from mine, this might not have the same results for you. I have combination skin - my cheeks are dry, and my forehead gets oily by the middle of the day. It's not sensitive skin in the sense that it gets red or irritated easily, but it does react to heavy products and I have to be careful about what I put on my face (even the dry areas) because I will get breakouts.

Onto the review!

Clean and Clear exfoliating daily wash
Before I started using this face wash, I was using the Boots witch hazel foaming cleaner. I would not recommend that one at all. In just a couple of weeks, my skin had dry patches - in the middle of summer! So when I found the Clean & Clear one, I figured I'd give it a shot because it seemed to be formulated for skin similar to mine but was still gentle enough for daily use. And having used it for a year now, I can safely say that  it has become my favorite. It not only does a great job of cleansing the skin, but it leaves skin feeling soft and fresh. It doesn't dry out my cheeks at all - despite using it twice a day. The little beads in it are not abrasive in the least, and it's nice to know that I'm exfoliating my skin just a little bit with every wash. Plus you only need a tiny amount, so the 150ml lasts forever! I just bought my second tube the other day, and I still have a little left in my first one.
My verdict: Definitely buy this is you have skin similar to mine. It's inexpensive, lasts a very long time, and most importantly, does everything that it promises.
Available for £3.20 at Boots

Clean and Clear dual action moisturiser
This is my all-time favorite moisturiser. Seriously. If they ever discontinue it, I will personally go down to the Johnson&Johnson offices and picket. I've had such a problem finding good moisturisers in the past. Either they've been too light, or too greasy. I've had so many break me out, and others didn't make any difference to my skin. This one, though, is everything I would want in a moisturiser.
It is an oil-free moisturiser with a light consistency, but it still moisturises the skin really, really well. It gets absorbed into the skin so fast, and it doesn't leave any sort of greasy shine or residue. It also has salicylic acid in it, which is meant to treat breakouts, so I have no problem putting it over them. 
It's one of the few products that I feel I can put a liberal amount on without fear of it looking like too much or causing any problems. I do have to do that in winter, because my skin like everyone else's gets drier then and needs more moisture. So this would not be the best moisturiser for dry skin, but for my kind of skin, it's fantastic. The only thing is that it leaves a 'tingly' sort of feeling when you first put it on. Personally, I find this to be quite refreshing and cooling, but it might catch you by surprise. It doesn't last though, so it really isn't a big deal.
In terms of quantity, you get 100ml of product in one tube! That is a lot, especially when you consider the fact that most moisturisers come in 50ml-80ml tubes or bottles.
My verdict: If you're looking for an oil-free moisturiser that has been formulated to work with acne-prone skin, look no further.
Available for £2.99 at Boots

I hope this was useful! I know I've been really gushy in this post, but I really do love these products. And when I find something that works well for me, I have to share it, because I know how frustrating it is to find a perfect fot for skin! Have a great weekend, everyone. :)

Review: Rimmel Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Definer

Hi everyone!

Today's post is a review of the Rimmel Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Definer (anyone else think make-up product names are getting too long these days?) I picked this up about 3 months ago, and have been using it about 3-4 times a week, so I've had a fair amount of time to test it out.

As you can tell from the pictures, it's an automatic black eyeliner pencil. One end is a twist-up pencil, and the other is a little smudge stick. Now I don't tend to my smudge my black eyeliner, so I've never used the smudge stick, and can't comment on that.

As for the actual eyeliner - it's a rich, creamy black. I tend to wear it on my waterline, and it lasts remarkably well through the day. Just to give you an idea - that's from 7:00am when I put it on to 5:30pm when I get home. On the occasions that I have worn it on my upper lash line, it doesn't budge much. It might fade a bit as the day wears on, but nothing too noticeable. 

Take a look at the pictures below for an idea about its staying power:

See how pigmented that is? I didn't even apply a lot of pressure while drawing that on.

This is when I rubbed that line vigorously. I got a slight bit of it transferred on my finger, but as you can see, it barely made a difference.

Bottom line is, I really like this eyeliner and will definitely be repurchasing. I think it's tricky buying an eyeliner for regular or daily use, because you want something with staying power, but at the same time, it should be something that's safe enough and doesn't irritate your eyes or anything of the sort. It should also not be too expensive, because you're going to be repurchasing it. This one ticks all the boxes for me. 

You can find it for £3.99 at Boots. It also comes in a whole bunch of pretty colours, so if you want a waterproof eyeliner in something besides black, you can still take a look. I know I will. :)

Cleansers and toners: Nivea and Garnier

I know it's been a while, but a lot has happened since November! I've moved cities for a new job - well I'm 6 months in so it isn't really 'new' anymore, but you know what I mean! I am keen on starting up Beauty Bunting again, though, so this me doing just that!

In this post, I'm going to be talking about my all-time favorite make-up removal products - Nivea Daily Essentials Cleansing Lotion and Garnier Fresh Essentials Refreshing Toner.

I've lost count of the number of times I've purchased these, so you're going to be getting a comprehensive review here!

Let's start off with Nivea Daily Essentials Refreshing Cleansing Lotion.

This is a cream cleanser that I use with cotton pads like the ones in the above picture. It's not too thick or too runny, which makes it perfect for removing face make-up. I also use it to remove eye make-up, which is does extremely well. I've used more 'water-like' specialist eye make-up removers in the past, and I have to say, I prefer this one to all of them. The creamy consistency doesn't feel harsh on the skin (nothing worse than tugging and pulling at the eye area!) and you don't need a whole lot of product to do the job. As far as fragrance goes - it's nothing fruity or floral, but pleasant enough. It smells more like a lotion than a cleanser, which I think is a good thing.

This cleanser really does take off everything; foundation, concealer, mascara, lipstick - you name it! The only flipside to it is that this isn't one of those cleansers you can use on its own. You need to wash it off afterwards, otherwise it might cause breakouts. I have fairly sensitive, combination skin, and found that if I didn't wash my face after using this, my skin felt kind of greasy. Maybe if you have dry skin, it'll be different for you - but I think on general principle, you need to wash your face at the end of the day anyway!

All in all, I think this is a fantastic, great value product. You get 200ml for less than £4.00. I wanted to link to it on the Boots website, but it isn't listed there for some reason! It should be available in the bigger Boots stores in the cleansers section though - I've never had a problem getting hold of it.

Now,  moving on to Step 2 - Garnier Fresh Essentials Refreshing Toner.

I use this toner after I have cleansed and washed my face. It's a wonderfully cooling toner, that leaves my skin feeling clean and fresh. It also catches any last traces of make-up that might still be lingering (eyeliner, I'm looking at you!)

According to the bottle, it's supposed to have grapefruit and Pro-Vitamin B5. I think it's the grapefruit that gives it its fresh scent which I really enjoy. I like to soak cotton pads with it and place them on my closed eyes. It doesn't irritate them at all, but actually makes for a very relaxing experience!

I was also impressed with the fact that this toner doesn't dry out my skin. Although I have combination skin, my cheeks can get pretty dry here in the UK, and I was apprehensive when I used this for the first time, but I've had no issues so far. I really recommend this product.

You can get it online on Feelunique for £4.03 but it's about 80p or so cheaper if you pop into your local Boots.

Hope this was useful, have a nice day!

Review: Elf essential lipsticks and studio lip balm

Hello! It has been a long time since my first update, because my laptop has been on the fritz. But it's back now, and so are the posts! This one is going to be a review of Elf's lipsticks and lipbalm. I have two of the lipsticks (one more on the way!), and one of the Studio Conditioning lipbalm. So let's get started!

L-R: Posh, Voodoo and Romantic Rouge

 L-R: Posh, Voodoo and Romantic Rouge

Lipstick

The lipsticks that I'm going to be talking about are from the Elf Essential range (as it is known in the US). Here in the UK, it's the cheapest line, and you can buy them online at http://www.eyeslipsface.co.uk/ for £1.50 each. The shades that I have are Posh (described on the site as a deep, cool berry shade) and Voodoo (described as a spicy, warm red). They are both creme lipsticks, and I find them to be very pigmented. 

The packing is minimal, but not cheap or flimsy looking. In the pictures on the website, it appears to have little stars on it, but on the actual product (as you can see from the picture), it's a plain silver-grey colour. I'm not too bothered about this. You get a decent 3.5g of product in it, so that's great value for a £1.50 lipstick. 

In terms of texture - they're not the creamiest lipsticks in the world, so I usually apply a moisturizing lip balm before I put these on. Then they go on like a dream. The staying power is all right - they're not long-lasting, but you don't need to constantly reapply them, either. And like I mentioned before, the pigmentation is very good, so I tend to use a lip brush to prevent from getting too much product on there. 

The colours that I have are both lovely berry shades.

Posh is a bright and beautiful colour. It is a lot more pigmented on your lips than it appears to be in the packaging, so just watch out for that. And it's extremely build-able as well, if you're feeling a little bold!  

Voodoo is a deeper coloured red, with a slight pinkish-brown undertone. It doesn't come off as strongly as Posh does, though. In the swatch posted above, I think it looks a lot more brown than it actually is. My lips are naturally quite pigmented, so it shows up as more pink-berry on them.

Overall, I think that these lipsticks are worth trying out. For £1.50 each, you can play around with different colours, and see what suits you. I'm definitely going to be trying out more of them.

Studio Conditioning Lip Balm

This lip balm is from the Elf Studio line, which is priced slightly higher, with almost all items being £3.50 each. The shade that I own is Romantic Rouge, a lovely, bright red. 

In addition to having SPF 15 in them, these lip balms are very, very hydrating. They're rich and creamy, and feel great on your lips. They also have a sweet, coconut-y sort of scent to them, and they taste sweet as well! 

The pigmentation on these lip balms is AMAZING. Honestly, I can't stress this enough. You can see how glossy and shiny it is in the picture of the swatch, but even when it is on your lips, it does not look like a lip balm! Every time I have worn it, people have asked me which lipstick I'm wearing, and honestly - I don't even wear that much of it! I have tried quite a few tinted lip balms in the past, and few have such incredible colour payoff. I highly recommend this one.

So there you have it! I have been using these products for a while now, and have grown to love them. I hope that this review helped you, and do check back in soon!