YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick in 12

Happy weekend!

I'm looking forward to catching up with some friends this weekend and getting out for some walks, hopefully the weather will get better too....

Today's review is about the YSL Rouge Volupte Shine lipsticks, I don't think I've ever tried anything from YSL really but definitely not their lipsticks. This was given to me as a birthday gift and I absolutely adore it!

The colour is called '12' which is a little boring in my opinion, a name is always much more fun and more relatable, but that's just me.
Edit: I've looked it up to see the cost and actually it does have a name! Corail Incandescant, which is pretty accurate I would say.

The packaging is pretty special I think, who doesn't love some expensive looking gold casing and I like the fact you can see the lipstick colour without opening it up too. It's also a lot easier to find in your handbag than a MAC or Illamasqua one because the gold reflects off everything!

The Rouge Volupte Shine lipsticks contain 6 essential oils, anti-oxidants, emollients and hyaluronic acid to ensure serious hydration and conditioning whilst wearing the chosen lip colour.

I've found this is so easy to apply and the hydration is amazing, there was no flaking whatsoever. The colour payoff is pretty good and it fades to a sort of stain after a few hours too, I personally just keep reapplying! Reapplication isn't a problem when the lipstick is this hydrating and easy to use, as long as you use a lip pencil to start it should be fine all day.

I really love the colour, it's enough to show that you have a lipstick on but not too much that it's a statement. I've been wearing it literally everywhere from family lunches, festivals, hen weekends and evenings at the pub.

For £26 it is a luxury item, I would never have spent this much on a lipstick but having said that I also think it is worth every penny!
I'll keep my fingers crossed for some money heading my way so I can buy a few more, the colour range is great and I'd love to have a nude, a red and a pink to add to the collection.

What do you think of the Rouge Volupte lipsticks? What's your favourite colour?

L xxx

Neutrogena Deep Clean Daily Scrub

Hi there!

I've long been a skincare junkie and blogging has clearly made that worse; my endless drawers of facial skincare are testament to that addiction. When I was in America in 2012 I picked up many a product and one of those products was the Deep Clean daily scrub from Neutrogena which helps to provide long lasting shine control.

If I remember rightly this comes in at around $5 and it is worth EVERY CENT. It's one of the products I ask my friend over in america to send me whenever we do a product swap only it was such a long time in between the two bottles I was getting serious withdrawals from it!

As you can see from the tube, its a bright blue scrub with bits in and comes in 125ml tubes.

It claims to clear away 85% of built up oil and keep you shine free for hours with the use of rice protein. I was skeptical at first but I'd travelled to america for university for 2 months and didn't take a scrub with me so needed to get a cheapy to keep me going as my skin wasn't enjoying the humidity and heat that North Carolina offers.

I used this once or twice a day after cleansing and it cleared my skin up a treat! I couldn't believe something that was a scrub could be used twice a day and at such a great price could clear my skin completely of any blemishes and redness leaving uniform and (almost) flawless skin....how amazing!

It also kept my skin oil free ALL DAY LONG which considering I was mostly digging in mud for 5 hours a day and it was over 30 degrees I think is pretty impressive.

I realise this isn't a review that means you can go out and buy it straight away as sadly this is still only available in America and however much I wish for it, it is yet to make it to these shores.

You can find it on ebay here, but sadly even though the products are around £5/6 the postage can be £8 itself!
It would be amazing if they brought it to these parts of the world but for now I will have to stick to swapping present packages with my friend over there. if you travel over to the US I would definitely recommend you trying this.

Have you tried the Deep Clean range? Do you have any fave American products that you can't get hold of in the UK?

L xxx

Essie's After School Boy Blazer

Hello there!

I'm quite excited about this post as it's another tick in my checklist to own all of Essie's Winter Collection 2013.
I've previously posted about Vested Interest and Cashmere Bathrobe which I loved and now I'm here to tell you my thoughts on 'After School Boy Blazer'.

As soon as I saw this one I knew I had to pick it up but I just couldnt find it anywhere - everyone clearly had the same idea! I trawled all of Cardiff stores multiple times, the internet and also 4 separate stores in London within a 2 hour walking spree and still couldn't find it.
I'd given up all hope until I went in by chance not even looking for it and there it was! Along with the gorgeous deep red of Twin Sweater Set, but that's another post....

This colour is absolutely beautiful. It's a super dark blue/black. The photos do not do it justice whatsoever and it's hard to describe which means I'm in a bit of a pickle trying to explain this!

The photos were taken after 2 coats of polish and one of top coat without flash (above) and with (below). You can see how SUPER shiny the polish shows up and I was given many compliments when wearing it.

It's such a chic alternative to black as you can definitely tell it's not black but it's so dark it could be.



As always with Essie products the application was easy with their awesome brushes, I find that they can fill most of my nails with one swipe which makes life easy and 2 with my thumb nails.

The colour almost looks to me like it's part of a beetle; it's so dark and shiny and almost looks black but has that blue/purple/green tinge that so many of them have, this one obviously being blue.

I don't think I need to waffle on for much longer - this polish is a clear hit with me!

Have you been stocking up on the new Essie Winter Collection? Which is your favourite?

Don't forget to come back and see the next polish from the collection!

L xxx

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder

Hey all!

I've got a review for you today on a staple product in my make up bag....pressed powder.

I can't go a day without it due my oily T-zone and have to apply it every morning to set my foundation and concealer.
I've been through tonnes of these powders, trying every brand you can imagine. I did like the MAC Pressed Powder but at £20 ish a pop it was not something I could justify. Others didn't last as long on my face causing my make up to slip by lunch and I was still looking for the perfect compromise, price and how long lasting it was.

Lots of people had suggested I try Rimmel's Stay Matte Pressed Powder, so snapped it up in an offer in Boots and put it to the test.

Rimmel state this is a long lasting pressed powder. I've been applying this onto my base in the morning using my Real Techniques powder brush.
It lifts really easily from the palette and applies onto the face easily too. It brushes onto the skin and leaves an even coverage, mattifying the shiny bits quickly and barely takes time at all.

I love the impression on the print too, how British!

After applying it in the morning this does last me the majority of the day without reapplication. Days differ and obviously when I go to the gym, all bets are off as normally the sweat runs down my face nowadays but normally when I get there I'm just starting to get a sheen over my T-zone.

Ideally I would reapply at lunch (normally 2pm) which would mean my make up would stay longer but I never have the time and to be honest I either go to the gym or go home and take my make up off anyway! 

The photo below shows how even the coverage is on top of my foundation:

And then with a full face of make up on:

If you like the make up look above then check back next week as I'll be telling you all about my new palette then!

I think the Stay Matte powder is worth every penny. It comes in at a bargainous £3.99, and if you spend £10 on Rimmel in Boots at the moment you'll get a free Scandalous Flex mascara. I always find their mascaras are great value so this is definitely worth picking up, I may even get it myself!

I'm so glad this was recommended to me, it has definitely saved me money from my MAC Pressed Powder without losing the quality and effects!

Have you tried the Stay Matte Pressed Powder? What will you be picking up from Rimmel to get your free mascara?

L xxx

Review: Smashbox Powder

Happy Saturday!!

Hope you're all enjoying your weekend so far!

I'm a big fan of powder, I use it in the morning to set my make up and throughout the day to stop my face looking too shiny.
This normally means I use quite a lot of it and so it's good to have one to carry around in my hand bag as well as at home.

Cue this little beauty from Smashbox.

This is their Photo Set Pressed Powder compact, which I picked up in Light.

I got mine from Cosmetics Company Outlet (I swear it steals all my money) so it was a little discounted but I believe it retails for £19. It comes in 5 colours with Light being the 2nd lightest, there is actually a Fair which is lighter which is definitely good news.
Light is a great colour for me but I can imagine over winter I might possibly need Fair when my skin hasn't been in the sun.

I love the neat black packaging, it's perfect for throwing in my bag and its small enough but strong enough too. The only downside is the black colour meaning it would get lost in my bag but I'm used to that already!
I'd prefer it to look good, which this one does. 

Inside the palette is the powder on the left, a large mirror and a sponge.

The sponge might be my favourite part, it's actually leather backed and is beautiful!
After I've finished the compact I fully plan on keeping the sponge as it's great quality and will hopefully last a while.

The powder feels silky soft on your skin and although I apply it with a massive powder brush (Real Techniques) in the morning for speed and even coverage, the sponge applicator is great for on the go moments and applying to troublesome spots where more coverage is necessary.

This lasts pretty well on the face and if you have dry skin would definitely last you the day. I do need to repowder my tzone around lunch time but that's because I'm picky and don't like my face to keep progressing over the afternoon to look like an oil slick at tea time, but each to their own!

You can see in the photos below that my face (awkward photos, always find them complicated!) doesn't look shiny at all and in the close up below it doesn't look cakey at all but has been mattified by the powder.

Having never used a Smashbox powder before I can say I am a firm fan, I'd buy this again and will be looking after the sponge ;)

L xxx

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