My nude = J.Lo's nude.

I don't normally wear nude lipstick. If I'm wearing lipstick, I go by the mantra: go bold or go home. However, L'Oreal have recently released the Collection Privee 'The Perfect Nudes,' with a nude coloured lipstick that corresponds to a particular celebrity. And while this whole idea seems quite gimmicky, I was intrigued to see which celebrity's nude I would match up to.

When these finally arrived on the Priceline shelves, I spent ages swatching them and comparing them to my skin tone in the mirror. I eventually decided on J.Lo's nude. This shade is the exact shade of my lips, so it's perfect to even out the colour on my lips, and add a bit of shine and sheen to the lips.

In the bullet this shade looks quite brown, but on the lips it is the perfect 'your lips but better' pink. It helps even out the colour, and give a bit of glow.

The packaging of these is quite luxurious, with matte black outer packaging and gold detailing.

The only problem I have is with the smell. These lipsticks are quite heavily fragranced, so if you don't like that, these might not be up your street.

And the more exciting news, is that there is a collection of reds coming out in the same line! I will definitely be picking up some of those!

Who is your nude?

Beth. x

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipsticks.

Hi, I'm Beth, and I am a lipstick addict. I have way more than is humanly necessary... Many of these lipsticks are the Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipsticks by Kate Moss.

And let me just say, I love them. I love everything about them.
The formula of these is lovely. They're creamy, pigmented, they smell nice, and there's a great shade range, (even though I stick mainly to reds).  The ones in the red packaging dry matte, and last and last. I used to wear these with lip liner and lip cote (see my post here), but I realised, for these ones you don't need to bother faffing around, they just last. The ones in the black are slightly more glossy, and don't tend to last quite as long.

As a poor university student, these also aren't too bad on the bank balance! They retail for about $12, but are often on offer, which makes it far too easy to pick up multiple shades at once.

L-R: 103, 107, 111, 10, 09.

I currently own (in the red packaging) 103, 107, 111, (in the black packaging) 09 and 10.
103 is a muted pink, with a hint if brown, that is great to throw on for everyday wear. 107 is a dark wine/red colour, that you'll often see Zoella sporting, (and not going to lie, that is where my love for these started). 111 is a bright red, but it doesn't have an orange tone to it. 09 is very, very similar to 107 and 10 is very similar to 111, but you've got to have one in each formula!

Have you tried any of these? What other shades do I need?

Beth. x

Clinique Chubby Stick Intense Review

I'd heard a lot of buzz surrounding the Clinique Chubby Stick Intense Moisturising Lip Colour Balms, and as an avid lip product lover I thought I'd give them a go.

First of all, price-wise, these are not exactly cheap at $35 each, (but that didn't stop me picking up two... I have an addiction).  And if it weren't for the price, I think I'd be a lot happier with the product.

Don't get me wrong, I like these a lot.  And yes, the packaging does look relatively expensive. They're  also in crayon/stick form, so they apply really easily and are perfect for on the go. The colours themselves are really pigmented, and there's a good range of colours (that seems to be expanding quite regularly).   And as an added bonus, they're actually quite moisturising, which is nice to find. (I normally wear matte, so it was nice to have some moisture).

However, I've noticed that they do tend to bleed a bit. They also wear off around the middle of the mouth relatively easily, which I could understand if you're eating or drinking a lot, but they wear off with just general wear, which irks me a bit, because I'm lazy when it comes to reapplying. This may not be the case with the lighter colours in the range though, as I only picked up 03- Mightiest Maraschino and 08-Grandest Grape.

Top: Mightiest Maraschino, Bottom: Grandest Grape.

(On a sidenote, 06-Plum Russian in the Bourjois Colourboost lip crayon range is a very good dupe for Grandest Grape! It's not quite as pigmented, but otherwise it's almost the same).

I quite like the colours I picked up, (although there was many more that I wanted to choose!) Mightiest Maraschino is a bright red, that when it wears off, looks slightly on the pink side. Grandest Grape, as the name suggests, is a more purple/wine coloured red.

Overall, I think if these were less expensive, I would be much happier with them.  They are a lovely product, and have some great colours, but I probably won't be picking up any more at this point.

What do you guys think? Have you tried any of these, or do you have any lip product recommendations?

Beth. x

The Lazy Girl's Guide to... Wearing red lipstick.

I am a lover of wearing bright red lipstick, and I have far too many shades red for one person.  I am not a lover of worn off lipstick though… You know the look, just an outline of red around the edges and no colour left in the centre… Definitely not ideal.

To combat this, I’ve compiled a lit of techniques, that just might save you from the awkward half on/half off bright lip.

• Prime your lips. – Get rid of all those dead skin cells by using a lib scrub like the Lush Popcorn scrub. It’ll help make your lips smooth and ready to adhere to your lipstick.

• Line your lips. – Using a lip liner helps keep your favourite shade on for hours and hours.  I use  Rimmel 1000 Kisses Stay On Lip Liner in 063 Black Tulip for a more berry red and a Mac LipPencil in Cherry for a brighter red, but if you want an all rounder, invisible lip liners such as the Innoxa Invisible Lip Shaper and the Lipstick Queen Invisible Lip Liner are quite popular.

• Apply, blot, apply, blot. – I’ve found the best way to elongate your favourite red’s staying power is to apply it (over your liner), blot it with a tissue, apply it again, and blot it again.  This helps get rid of excess, which will easily transfer when eating etc.

• Seal. – Not the animal… A product like Lipcote, when applied (and let to dry) will seal your lipstick, which helps it stay on.  (Lipcote is apparently “kiss-proof” … I wouldn’t go as far to say that, but it definitely lasts through eating and drinking.)

• Drink using a straw. – This makes me feel like a complete twat when I’m drinking a bottle of water through a straw, but it works!  Why waste you Mac red on a bottle of water?

Top to bottom: Nars Velvet Matte lip pencil in Cruella, in Damned, Mac matte lipstick in Ruby Woo.

• Matte all the way! – Matte lipsticks, I’ve found, last longer just in themselves. Because they’re not as glossy and shiny, they’re more likely to adhere to your lips. (My favourites are the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils – available from Mecca Cosmetica is Australia, and Mac in Ruby Woo).

So these are some of the tricks I’ve come across along the way.  I hope they’re in some way helpful.

Let me know if you have any more! I’d do anything to not have to reapply.

Beth. x