#28kisses and counting | Day 2 : Forbidden Kisses

Sorry for the late update with day2 of the #28kisses tag but losing your laptop charge can do that to a blogger. Quick recap in case you missed out on my intro to the challenge on Friday, the #28kisses challenge has been set up by Nykki for the 28 days of February and you show a different lipstick every day.

Today's kiss is brought to you by YSL/ Saint Laurent and it's a lipstick butter wrapped up in an iconic gold metal packaging. YSL Rouge Volupte in 12 "Forbidden Burgundy" is a beautiful wine, purple lipstick; very similar in shade to MAC Rebel, but a lot more moisturising and creamy on the lips.

I've had this shade for a while now but it really doesn't get as much love when compared to my other nude Rouge Volupte shades and as its a bold shade I want it to stay on my lips a bit longer than the 3 hour wear time I get with the Rouge Voluptes.

Have you tried any of the bold colours in the YSL/Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte line? How do you get on with it?? 

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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Review: YSL Rouge Voluptè Lipstick in Vibrant Brown 21

It seems that I am in a big violation of the unspoken (but tweeted) blogger rule of ”never use a product before you've taken pictures of it”. In the case of my YSL Rouge Voluptè lipstick in Vibrant Brown 21, not only have a used it without taking pictures of it . . I've actually been using it regularly for the last couple of months thinking that I've already done a blog post on it when it turns out I really didn't.

So all in all, I’m starting this post with a bit of an apology but seeing as it is one of my favourite and most reached for lippie shades, I thought it was worth doing a blog post review on.

YSL Rouge Voluptè lipsticks are the original and luxury version of the Revlon Lip Butter Lipsticks. They are extremely moisturizing, smooth and creamy, are very pigmented and come in a luxurious shiny, gold packaging topped with a small mirror at the top. As great as YSL rouge voluptè lipsticks are , they really are not longwearing so please take note of that before you shell your money on this.

Vibrant Brown 21 is a warm brown-pink shade that I always seem to go for when choosing nudes are they are the closest to my natural lip colour. As this as a very creamy formula it comes off very pigmented on the lips when swatched but can be easily blended into you lips or lip pencils (depending on how use choose to wear your lipstick).

I love this shade something fierce because it is one of the few lipsticks that I can get away with applying straight onto my lips without a lip pencil or precision. It’s a slap – bang job.

Have you ever tried out any of the YSL lipsticks? I’m thinking of getting the beautiful grape shade in the range to go with this seasons trend.

Don’t forget, I’m holding a giveaway right now so if you want to get your hands on Love Goddess from the Limited Edition MAC Marilyn Monroe Collection , then best get clicking!!!!

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Review: Benefit’s They’re Real Mascara

Benefit’s They’re Real! Mascara is the UK’s No1 Best Selling Mascara right now, so please believe that I might just be the last person in the UK beauty blogging community to try out this mascara, but better late than never, right??

With claims of lengthening, curling, volumising, lifting and separating your lashes, all without smudging or drying out . . . I think it’s time for me to but a little spin on things.

Ok, I’m going to be completely honest here and just say what I think. When I read that this mascara lengthens and curls your lashes . . . at the same time . . . I thought isn’t that a contradiction? Wouldn’t curlier lashes makes lashes look shorter as opposed to longer? *shrugs*

While I wouldn’t go as far as labeling this as a lash effect mascara (as I practically live in lashes so I know the difference), I believe this is a very good volumising/lengthening mascara. I didn’t really see that much curling, as my lashes as already pretty curly, They’re real mascara did look longer and more voluminous. The mascara wand easily coated each lash.

True to its word, this Benefit mascara does not smudge or dry out. I can testify that it is very long lasting (as it took me freaking hours to get this off). Overall I think this is a great formula and it does most of what it claims to do, however I do not think it’s the best mascara on the market for £18.50.

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Review: Man's Ruin . . . The Siren of Lipsticks

I have said this before, and I will say it again. There really is no such thing as a red lipstick that doesn't suit you. Red lipstick suit EVERYONE!!! You just have to know what undertones work best with your skin tone and then go on a discovery mission to collect every lipstick tube with that undertone.

What I adore about red lipsticks is just how versatile the colour is. You really just never know how workable a red lippie is . . . until you fall head over heels in love with a shade and for me, my red lipstick crush of choice is Rockalily's Man's Ruin

I first came across Man's Ruin at the ZOMG Bloggers Bash event last month and I swear this shade just hypnotised me. Unfortunately for me, it was out of stock the day after the event *rotten timing on my part*  so being the rational and responsible blogger that I am, I stalked the Rockalily website, their twitter page and also their creator's Reereerockette's twitter page until I found out that they had a few more tubes of Man's Ruin in stock.

On the website's stock pictures and when compared to other vibrant red lipsticks, Man's Ruin does tend to come off looking very purple toned and it would be forgiveable to assume that it was a purple lipstick shade rather than a purple-berry red. When I wear it however, I do not see any purple at all!!! This shows up as a dark wine red that is absolutely spot on with my skin shade and as an added bonus, I think it even makes my teeth looks whiter than normal.

I don't think anyone really understands just how much I adore this lipstick. Apart from it's gorgeous and rich colour, the lipstick formula feels soo nice. My lips feel nourished and soft under the lipstick. The Rockalily lipsticks are enriched with vitamin E so are not drying in any way, shape or form, and as an added bonus the lasting time is phenomenal

 I really love this red lipstick and thought it would be perfect to share with you as part of my Colour themed Makeup Series that I am currently running. What do you think? Have I tempted you into give Man's Ruin a go??

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It might be cold outside but in here, I'm on a Beach

With the snow outside making London a slushy and icy death trap, (not to mention the cold) I thought I should start off the week with something a bit warm, summery, and red in honour of Valentines Day next week.

When Becca Cosmetics contacted me asking if I would like to review their beach tint, water resistant stain in strawberry. I thought YES!!!! Becca Cosmetics is a brand that I've heard sooo many great things about. Apart from being the first cosmetic company to provide a colour matching service, they stock an amazing 34 shades of concealer and 30 shades of stick foundation and if that wasn't enough, at their IMATS talk yesterday Pixiwoo named one of Becca's products in their 5 items to take if they were ever stuck on a desert island *which is SUPER impressive*

What They Say

"Becca Beach Tint is a beautifully, blendable, presevative and paraben-free 2-in-1 creme stain for cheeks and lips that suits all skin types. Deliciously scented, it is Kiss-proof and water-resistant and dries to a perfect, streak free, oil free, and non greasy finish.

What I Say

It always surprises me when tints or blushes come in really small packages. I honestly expected BECCA's beach tint to be a lot bigger than it is . . . but at 7ml it's so dinky!!!! But you know what they say *or maybe I say* the best things come in small packages and this definitely applies here.  Now I've had this product for about 1/2 weeks so I've had lots of time to play around with it . . .so let the honest review begin!!!!

When I first opened my packaged to swatch it I actually didn't realise that it was scented but I love the smell of strawberries, so it was a pleasant surprise for me. The colour of this tint comes off an orangey red rather than a pink-toned or a blue-toned red, which I normally would prefer. The consistency of this formula is great, I like how easy it is to blend into my skin. However what I don't necessary love about this product is the slightly dry finish it leaves on my skin when it has dried completely but I can definitely overlook this as it is not a cream blush . . it is a stain and it's just acting like a stain should.

I don't actually love the colour as a lip stain *I really just can't deal with orange toned lip products* but as a cheek stain (which I've mostly been using it as) it lasts for yonks and an hour, and I've gotten a few compliments when wearing this . . . I mean even my dad liked how it looked (and he's a bit antsy over my makeup) so TOP MARKS BECCA!!!! I will definetly be posting two looks later this week either valentines related or red themed showing off how I wear this product.

Becca's Cosmetics beach tint normally costs £20 on their website but thanks to a valentines day offer that they are offering to you guys out there, you can get a 20% discount on the Becca Beach Tint in Strawberry to try out for yourselves! The promo code is BBE20 and the code is valid from the 6th of Feb to the 16th of Feb and is only valid on the Beach Tint in Strawberry

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