Review: Revlon Matte Lipsticks

Hello ladies! I finally managed to get some time to type up this review on Revlon's Matte Lipsticks. I am back in Hong Kong for winter break and am spending most of my time with my family which means I get very little time to keep this bad boy up to date. Let's get into it...

L-R: 009 Fabulous Fig, 003 Mauve It Over

Top - 009 Fabulous Fig
Bottom - 003 Mauve It Over

Wearing Revlon Matte Lipstick in 003 Mauve It Over

Wearing Revlon Matte Lipstick in 009 Fabulous Fig

Source

*Note that these lipsticks will look completely different on people with different skin tones and undertones. 

I was never into lipsticks as much as I was into eye makeup, but I've recently developed a pretty severe lipstick addiction. I'd heard a lot about the Revlon Matte Lipsticks so thought I would try them out as I am not one for too much shine. 


Consistency:
The consistency is absolutely great. They are very creamy, very pigmented and not at all drying as some matte lipsticks can be. It is VERY important to make sure that your lips are very well exfoliated before you apply matte lipsticks! You don't want your lips peeling off and looking dry because matte lipsticks highlight any kind of dryness that you may have on your lips. 


Lasting power: 
I was really impressed by the lasting power on these lipsticks. They last 3-4 hours, sometimes even more, even through eating and drinking! I always find myself trying to avoid contact between my lips and the glass I'm drinking from or the spoon/ fork I'm eating with to make my lipstick last longer on my lips and have as few reapplications as possible. These lipsticks have defied the need for constant reapplication. 


When using Revlon Matte Lipsticks:

• Because they are matte, be sure to apply lip balm before application as they tend to set into the lines of the lips. 
• These lipsticks don't bleed or feather, so lip liner isn't a must.
• Make sure to test the lipsticks before purchasing them. The color shown on Ebay and a few other websites is quite different to what the color really looks like. I made the mistake of not doing so and regret buying Mauve It Over. 
• They are very versatile. They can be applied as a stain, as a sheer color with a lip brush, with gloss on top for more intensity and simply on its on for a matte finish. 
• Exfoliate!

Would I repurchase? 
I am definitely going to repurchase Fabulous Fig as I find it to be a very wearable red for my skin tone. It has orange undertones which complements my warm yellowish skin tone. Mauve It Over is a beautiful lipstick for cooler skin tones with pink undertones as it has very, very visible blue undertones which does not complement my skin. It brings out the depth of my eyes, the horrible darkness around them and makes me look tired and drained overall. Revlon really knows their matte lipsticks, and these are a great quality alternative to more high-end lipsticks that burn a hole in your pocket. 


Other Revlon Matte Lipsticks that I want to try are Wine Not and Cocoa Craving. 


I purchased these for £3.50 a piece, including postage, from Ebay, here. 


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Mascara Review: Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect VS Rimmel Day 2 Night

I was running out of my Covergirl LashBlast mascara (which I love!) and was in dire need of a great new mascara that would give me longer and more voluminous lashes. I had been hearing a lot of things about the Rimmel Day 2 Night mascara and the Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect mascara, so I did what I always do and caved into the temptation.


First off, this is my eye without any make up so you can see just how well these babies work!

And please excuse my horrible undereye circles, the weather in Hong Kong isn't being very nice to me. Screw you, allergies!

Rimmel Day 2 Night Mascara

Rimmel says: Rimmel introduces Glam’Eyes Day-2-Night, our first mascara that creates two dramatically different lash looks with just one brush. The secret is the magic double cap! During the day, choose the Length Cap for ultra-long, gorgeously defined lashes – perfect for those flirtatious encounters by the photocopier. And for night time, choose the Volume Cap, and plump your lashes to up to 15 times their normal thickness, leaving them voluptuously 

lush-looking and ready to party.

Source: http://www.rimmellondon.com

So as you can see, there are two wands in one bottle; one for length and the other for volume. The Length for daytime and the Volume to spice up the lashes for nighttime. 

This is what the Length wand looks like. The bristles are set further apart which really lifts the lashes as you can see in the picture below. I wouldn't say it is harder to use than a wand where the bristles are closer together, but because the wand is quite long, it takes a little more work precision-wise. 

1 coat of Length only 

The bristles in the Volume wand are thicker and and more tightly packed. This helps achieve the thicker looking lashes. This wand is easier to use as well because it is much shorter than the Length wand. 

Length + Volume, one coat each

What do I think of this mascara overall? I think it's great if you're willing to spend an extra minute to do your lashes every day. The fact that it has two wands is definitely a good thing when it comes down to precision, but when it's about the time it takes to get there you'll need another minute or two. The staying power of this mascara is incredible. It stays on for pretty much the whole day which is 10+ hours without smudging or flaking. If you are not accustomed to wearing mascara, this is one to try. Even with one coat of each wand, it feels weightless. I don't believe it is waterproof so may melt in certain conditions.

I have to say I am very impressed with this mascara and personally don't think there is a downside to it. There is very little clumping, if any. It shows how the wand and bristles make such a huge difference with the same formula. The mascara does what it says on Rimmel's website, which is create the perfect lashes for daytime as well as nighttime. I would definitely repurchase this one again. Lashes bring the whole make up look together after all, don't they? Now everything comes down to this: does it beat Bourjois's Volume Fast & Perfect? 


Available in brown and black.


Retails for £7.99 at Superdrug, on sale for £5.99 at the moment 

Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect

Bourjois says: Innovative new mascara : The new auto rotating brush instantly and evenly wraps around each lash for a false lash volume effect in 30 seconds flat!

The brush rotates 360° and coats lashes from root to tip with no overloading guaranteed.

The rotating motion continuously deposits all mascara from the brush onto the lashes and evenly spreads just the right amount of formula onto the lash fringe effortlessly and in record time.

The Volume Fast & Perfect mascara does the work of a professional make-up artist for you achieving volume and definition in just 1 step!

No need to dip the brush into the mascara tube twice. In only one stroke, lashes are evenly wrapped for maximum volume and a perfect false lash effect.

Source: www.bourjois.co.uk

I was really excited to try this mascara because of the rotating wand!

2 coats of Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect

The bristle part of this wand is quite long, probably much longer than the average mascara. It's great because you can get to a lot more lashes while rotating the wand. As for the rotating aspect of this mascara, I love it. It helped me get right to the bottom/ root of my top lashes and coat the entire length of each hair with the product. It separates the lashes, but when repeatedly applied, it starts to clump a little. I personally liked this clumpiness as it made my lashes look more voluminous. The staying power of this is extremely good! It stays on for over 10 hours and does not flake or smudge. It is not a waterproof mascara, so be careful about where you are wearing it if you sweat a lot! Point to remember: it volumizes more than lengthens.


The wand rotates in two different directions so minimal effort is required when you apply it. The dual rotation makes it easy to apply mascara to both eyes (I find it harder to do the left eye as I am right-handed). One really great thing about the formula of this mascara is the fact that it contains jojoba oil (which is great for hair), vitamin E and natural waxes. These are all said to be good for the growth of the lashes! Come on, who doesn't want that?


The only downside of this mascara is the fact that it can dry out much faster than the average 3 month life of a mascara. Another downside if you are not accustomed to wearing mascara; it does not feel weightless. 


Does it do what it claims to do? Not entirely.


Available in black.


Retails for £11.99 at Superdrug.

Who wins?

Rimmel Day 2 Night

Pros:

• 2 different looks
• Really lengthens and volumizes lashes
• Separates lashes well
• Not clumpy
• Stays on long
• Doesn't smudge or flake
• Easy to remove 
• Feels weightless

Cons: 

• None

Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect

Pros:

• Contains complex of ingredients for growth of lashes
• Volumizes
• Rotative wand 
• Doesn't smudge or flake
• Stays on long

Cons:

• Can feel the weight of the mascara
• If you don't like clumpiness, this is not one for you
• Dries out fast

As much as I love the innovative edge that the Bourjois mascara has, I don't think I will be replacing my old-fashioned 'manual' mascara anytime soon. The Rimmel mascara has given me a better finish and has a lot more pros and I fell in love with it the first time I used it. Don't let this stop you from trying out the Bourjois mascara though! It is good, just not as good. Plus it's good to try new things and get a feel of everything right? If you are willing to spend £11.99 on a mascara, try it. It's something creative and new you might actually love! 

Do you have any recommendations for a good mascara? Let me know!

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Review: ELF Studio line - Stippling brush

A quick little post for a brush I have been loving for a while now! After putting off buying this for so long as I already had a foundation brush, I finally caved in and bought it from ELF. I have to say, it is one of the best purchases I have made recently. The bristles are soft and just dense enough to give foundation application a flawless finish. I find that regular foundation brushes are okay too, but they lack that 'blending' that the stippling brush is able to do. The only downside to this brush is that it isn't as dense as say the MAC 187 brush, but then again that one is so much more pricey. This brush is well worth the price!


If you are not familiar with the super popular stippling brush, it has layered bristles that give a flawless finish when used to apply cream and liquid products. 

         

ELF says: This new antibacterial, synthetic haired Taklon brush is softer and more ansorbent and can be used with wet or dry products. Be a professional makeup artist and create a flawless look with this e.l.f. Studio brush!

The layered bristles create a soft airbrushed look that's perfect for applying foundation or adding colour definition to cheekbones or highlighting with soft layers. Use this brush with any liquid or powder face product such as foundation, blush or bronzer to build your coverage from sheer to heavy.
(Source: http://www.eyeslipsface.co.uk/)

I would personally not use this with powder products as the bristles are not stiff enough to get a flawless finish without a lot of work. It is really effective however to apply foundation, cream blush and cream/ liquid highlighter. A necessary step when you're using this brush is to make sure you've blended out whatever you have applied properly. The bristles can cause streaks which is not a good look! However, to each their own, so no harm in trying it with powder products. You might be surprised! It picks up a decent amount of product and is a good size for a face brush.


Overall, I would rate this brush a 4/5. It helped me achieve an airbrushed look with my liquid foundation. As I said earlier, the only drawback to it was the density of the bristles. In spite of that, this brush does a great job. At £3.50 a piece, this baby is a great brush to add to your make up collection.




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