#28kisses and Counting : Day 13: Just One More Kiss

Sorry, sorry, sorry but I have to sneak in the last of the Archie Girl Lipsticks I bought. I know I have bombarded you for the best part of this week with pictures from my MAC Archie Girls Collection Haul but the love I have for Archie is too intense not to round off everything properly plus I'm a little bit of a lipstick fanatic.

MAC Daddy's Little Girl is a dark fuchsia pink, Satin Lipstick (and I do adore my Satins) hailing from the Veronica sub-category of the Archie Girls collection. I actually only own product from the Betty sub-category; which is the Oh, oh, oh lustre lipstick, but I personally think the Veronica category suited dark-skintones better than the Betty category but that's just my opinion.

I only ever choose blue-toned pink lipsticks as a personal lipstick preference, so Daddy's Little Girl fits in perfectly with Chatterbox, Lickable and Speak Louder (aka my other blue-toned MAC lipsticks). I know I will definitely get round to wearing this shade  . . . I can't honestly tell you when but honestly who cares when I wear it! This shade is so pretty!!!!!!

Ok I promise that this is the last lipstick from the MAC Archie Girls collection that I will show you (mainly because I have nothing else to show you) but hope you dont mind my overloading you with my Archie love.

Miss out on MAC Stereo Rose Mineralize Skinfinish?? Well even though it's sold out in all the stores, here is your chance to WIN one!!!! Enter my February give-away!

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#28kisses and Counting | Day 11: Betty Kisses

I really could have chosen another lipstick from my collection to do today's #28kisses post but I'm still way to hyped over my MAC Archie Girl Collection Haul and I get a little bit of a giddy, adrenaline rush from seeing the Archie Girl packaging (despite my hang up over white packaging on makeup products) on my homepage every time I reload my homepage/

Plus I paid £15.50 for this lipstick  so I want to show it off Goshdarnnit!!!

MAC Oh,Oh,Oh Lustre Lipstick is a bronze lipstick with beautiful golden shimmers and the only thing I own from the Betty sub-category for this collection. As I didn't get to swatch this lipstick before I bought it, I was literally praying to the makeup gods that this lipstick stayed true to it's lustre finish and doesn't arrive looking like a makeup throwback to the 90's (Frost lipsticks weren't the one!!!)

When swatched on the lips Oh, Oh, Oh deposits a semi-opaque reddish-plum shade that looks NOTHING like what it does in the tub (which just might be a good thing), personally I love this shade something fierce and have a strong feeling that it will get the most use out of everything I own in this collection.

So tell me my darlings, did the white packaging throw you off (heard a lot of people call it tacky) or are you too much of an Archie fan to care?

Miss out on MAC Stereo Rose Mineralize Skinfinish?? Well even though it's sold out in all the stores, here is your chance to WIN one!!!! Enter my February give-away!

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Are You a Betty or Veronica Kind of Girl? | MAC Archie's Girls 2013 Collection

As my mum has 5 sisters with the youngest being only 11 years older than me, a mirror reflection (except 6ft tall . . . at 5”8 I’m the midget in my family (with a strong Napoleon complex)) and a strong obsession with the Archie comics. I can’t remember a time I haven’t seen Twinnie with an Archie comic and she is the only person I know with an online subscription to the Archie Comic Store WITH the iPad app. Suffice to say I was involuntarily indoctrinated with the antics of Bettie, Veronica, Archie and Jughead before I could even walk.

I see the Archie comics as part of my childhood, so can you comprehend the mass hysteria I felt when I heard that MAC were doing an Archie’s Girls Collation?? Actually I don’t you think you can, but just imagine a lot of mouse-like squeaking and a long distance phone call with more mouse like squeals.

MAC Archie’s Girls Collection is split into two parts with very distinct shades to represent the different personalities of the two girls after Archie’s heart. There are 16 Betty products and 16 Veronica Products with 5 accessories to tie the collection together. With the Betty products (aka the ones with the blonde on them) you get lovely spring and natural colours; pinks, browns, teals and corals, and with Veronica’s (aka the one with the brunette) you get darker, rich shades like fuchsias, plums and purples.

I’ve been hyped up ever since I heard it and if you follow me on twitter then you have probably seen me and Adrienne go on and on about this collection (Can you blame us??). I think what made this collection even more exciting for me is I got sent a few items about 2 weeks ago by the best British Blogger in the world who I’m not going to name; because I’m not sure if I can, but I will happily help her take over the world if she decided she wanted to *That much love and appreciation people*

I was sent Magic Spells Pigment, Feelin’ So Good Lipglass & the Black Swan Pearlglide. All gorgeous shades for both the Betty & Veronica collection but you know I couldn’t just leave things at that. Now hold on to your comic books because this is going to be a HUGE swatch fest!!!

I really love this collection and I hope you to. I bought a bit more than I needed with this collection because I want to send some over to Twinnie by international post just because I know it will make her day . . . and to say sorry for ripping up her Archie comic and hiding it when I was younger

Miss out on MAC Stereo Rose Mineralize Skinfinish?? Well even though it's sold out in all the stores, here is your chance to WIN one!!!! Enter my February give-away!

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New In:- MAC Marilyn Monroe Collection Love Goddess & Beet

I, ooohhmmed and aarrrhheed and then had to ask A.J from the Sunday Girl for advice before I could make my choice from the newly released Marilyn Monroe collection from MAC because:-

1. Nothing really won me over except the lipsticks. The eyeshadows, blushes, lipgloss and powders were way too light and cool toned to be used on my dark skin and as much as I would love to experiment there really is no way in Looney tunes-hell that I was going to be able to make a cool, baby blue eyeshadow work for me. I’m not being rude . . .I’m being practical! I’m not into throwing away my makeup budget like that.
2. Out of all the 5 lipsticks released, too many of the shades seemed too similar to shades I already owned by MAC and Sleek and honestly expensive dupes of are not needed . . .even if they are limited edition.

So after a lot of staring at swatches online (Big thank you to Erica from the Glamorous Gleam for having the entire MAC Marilyn Monroe Collection swatched on dark skin), I decided to go for the Beet lipliner (£12.50) and the Love Goddess lipstick (£15.50), with a mental promise to buy more lipstick when they have launched the collection in my local MAC store and I’ve swatched it to my hearts content.

Love Goddess is a satin, ‘mid-toned pink, red’ lipstick which is super pigmented and I feel looks amazing on a variety of skin tones. It applies opaque on the lips and so far I’ve gotten about 4-5 hours wear on this; which isn’t bad lipstick-wise, and like all MAC lipsticks, it has the infamous vanilla scent. I am soo happy that I didn’t spend too long deciding on whether to get this shade or not because the next day, it was SOLD OUT! Obviously I picked the firm favourite so I am pleased about that *pats self on back*. 

The Beet Lip-liner is a ‘vivid reddish-pink’ shade that I KNEW would fit in well with the berry-red and plum lipsticks I already own so I thought if I was sure of anything I would pick up from this MAC Collection. It would be Beet. I originally thought about getting Cherry but I have a feeling that Cherry is part of the permanent collection because I swear I’ve swatched it is instore before.

Like I said I might pick up ‘Charmed, I’m Sure’ and ‘Deeply Adored’ in store but I haven't made up my mind because I HATE MAC's matte lipstick formulas but keep your eyes peeled on the blog for any updates. 

If you love how 'Love Goddess' looks, I'm giving you the chance to win your very own Limited Edition lipstick . . . Click here to be "transported" to the giveaway post

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Review:- Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous 040

Its hard to believe that before this year I never even thought of wearing orange lipsticks or lip-glosses, I just assumed that that orange didn’t look good on dark skin but 2012 has been the year of makeup discovery and now I love me some orange.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains are lip balms that stain your lips so essentially it’s a stain carefully squished into a moisturizing balm, so you get the sheer, moisturizing coverage of a lip balm but the lasting colour of a stain . . .Nice work Revlon.

I picked up the Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous 040 at the Beauty Mart Concession at Harvey Nichols for £6, which was a bit of a bargain seeing as they have a RRP of £7.99. Rendezvous is a tangerine orange shade that obviously shows up a bit darker on my lips but I suspect it would show up more orange on lighter tones

What surprised me the most about this balm was it’s fragrance. I know this might sound a bit silly but I genuinely assumed that this would have either have a light-to-no fragrance or even smell of oranges, so you can understand why I was a bit confused after smearing this all over my lips and smelling . . .peppermint. 

I was just confused!!!

I love how convenient this lip balm is. Its retractable, chubby-pencil shaped applicator makes it very easy to apply and as long as I don’t have to pop out and buy a chubby pencil sharpener, I’m a happy puppy.

I know this has been making the blog circles for a while and I’m a bit late but I quite like this shade. Have you tried any of the Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stains? Which one would you recommend I get for my next purchase?

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BB Cream Wars: Gosh Cosmetics vs. Sleek

It seems like forever that I have waited for a bb cream to be available in the UK in a colour that I can actually wear without looking like a pasty ghost.

 Cosmetics Companies, would it kill you to release all the shades at the same time???

After waiting for what seems like forever, two BB creams are finally on the market for the darker ladies and surprisingly they are BOTH drugstore and exclusive to Superdrugs.

Up for the BB cream wars today, fighting for your love and money are the Gosh BB Creams and the Sleek Makeup BB Cream so lets dive into the arena (yes I am in a Hunger Games mode, and yes I am having fun writing the review this way)

Standing at 30ml, in a glossy, black packaging with a RRP of £9.99, we have Gosh Cosmetics’ BB cream.

Acting as a 3 in 1 solution (Foundation, Primer and Moisturiser) with an SPF 15. The Gosh BB Cream in 05 Espresso is spot on shade wise for my skin (MAC reference NW45) and with added mineral pigments to the formulation. It promises to adapt to your skin tone.

 Personally I don’t actually LOVE this BB cream, which is a real shame for me as it is the only bb cream I’ve found in my exact shade. I used this for the best part of two weeks; ditching my everyday Illamasqua Skin Base, and honestly I don’t find that this moisturized my skin at all. I feel that it dried it out and also made my pores on my face a lot more pronounce and broke me out.

Now I do believe that it adapted to my skintone, so on other girls who happen to be a similar skintone to me, this is a great choice but I am starting to think that I don’t have a positive reaction to Gosh skincare products in general, so if it wasn’t for the slight reaction I would be preaching the benefits of this product

And in this Corner, in an sleek (pun intended). black, glossy packaging, we have have Sleek’s

The Sleek Makeup Blemish Balms come in 4 shades and unfortunately for me I seem to be situated in between the medium shade and the darkest shade and while I have a peeve of mixing foundations (I mean REALLY? Who has that kind of time?), I can’t lie that I was tempted to get both, but I went for the medium instead.

The medium is a shade lighter that what I normally go for, so straight off the bat it didn’t look great on me. I looked a bit pale and chalky but I find that it blended well and had a firmer consistency than the Gosh foundation.

Infused with Vitamin C and promising to reduce skin discolouration as well as gradually repair damaged skin. I do feel that this was the most moisturizing of the two and although I didn’t dare leave my house with it on (didn’t want to scare the kiddies), I am considering getting the Dark Shade so I can mix the two foundations together so I can get my moneys worth out of it.

At  50ml, it is 20 ml more than the Gosh foundation and also a £1 cheaper but I found I probably used more of the Sleek BB Cream trying to blend it into my skin than the Gosh one.

 Anyway this is my jumble review of the Drugstore BB Creams. Since there is no real clear-cut winner for me, let’s just assume that they both managed to knock each other unconscious at the same time.

Which BB Cream works for you? Would love to know how it worked because my skin just seems to be having an off month lately

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Review:- Illamasqua Besotted Intense Lipgloss

I’m getting into the habit of digging deep into my makeup hoard and showing cosmetics that I own that have never really bad a blog appearance (so don’t slate me for posting nearly finished products. I love it so I share it!!)

My new Muji storage 5 drawers systems has actually brought to my attention how much makeup I have that I have NEVER reviewed so best get comfy as I’m going to do just that (but obviously not in one post, so breathe a sigh of relief).

 Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in Besotted is a scarlett, red lip-gloss that is, well, intense. To me, it’s so opaque and intense that it comes off  more like a liquid lipstick packaged in a squeezy tube than a conventional lip-gloss. Honestly I love the scarlett red shade of this lip-gloss as I have been looking for a lipstick alternative for MONTHS and still haven’t found a great shade so Besotted does get a lot of playtime.

 I bought this along with a few other lip products  during their January Online Sales (can’t believe I’ve had this that long) and honestly while I love the shade and the liquid lipstickness of it (look at me making up words), I’m not a fan of how it initially feels on my lips as it can feel a bit heavy. I also find that the applicator on this makes it very difficult to apply this but apart from that I love the scent, how hydrating it is and shade.

How do you like your lip-glosses? As Opaque, liquid lipsticks or more sheer?

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Review: MAC Paint in Sublime Nature

Thought I should share with you a product that has been on the blogging back burners for a while. I bought this on the recommendation of Gulnit (my favourite Mac Artist) a few months back and I never got round to making a post on it  . . . so better late than never!!!

 MAC paint in Sublime Nature is a cool beige brown that has a slight shimmer to it. I have slightly oily eyelids but wear contacts I don’t find the consistency too dry as it doesn’t really bother my eyes; which is great. 

As opposed to some cream eye shadows which dry the minute you apply it, not really leaving much room for you to blend and work with it (*cough cough* Makeup Forever), plus I really love the fact that it comes in a squeezy toothpaste like tube which I feel is a bit more hygienic that cream bases in pots

For some strange reason, MAC have discontinued the majority of the MAC paint range so you can only get 7 shades in their MAC Paints, with Sublime Nature being one of those 7 options.

Honestly I was in the market for something a lot darker and closer to my skin tone (that wasn’t groundwork) as I currently use Illamasqua’s cream eye shadow in Linger as a base and these two shades are very close together (which might be why I haven’t really used Sublime Nature as much as I should have by now) but if you are looking for a light brown base/eyeshadow primer in a tube then you should probably give Sublime Nature a try

  

Is it just me or do you seem to buy the same colours but in different textures or variations?? 

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