My Current Default Look

Pink has been my default shade for lips and cheeks this season, I think because I feel as though it really brightens up my pale face. I’ve also had great success finding some bright pink products with amazing lasting power (Chanel Pink Explosion blush being the first to jump to mind) which must have a lot to do with it. I swatched and reviewed the Maybelline Vivid range here, and the lipstick that has been getting the most love this month has been Vivid Rose, which is funnily enough a rose toned bright pink lipstick that fades evenly, and lasts nicely on my lips.

 I’ve been pairing it with my BYS Blush Trio palette in On the Brightside (full swatches and review here) particularly the centre shade, which is of course the brightest of the whole collection. Brave, you say? With a stippling brush this sheers out perfectly, but I keep it strong enough so that the pink lip and cheek work in tandem to make me look awake. I’m really sleeping with my eyes open, shh. Eyes have been less creative than usual, and the MAC Bare my Soul quad (from the Temperature Rising collection) has been copping a hiding! I’ve been throwing all 4 shades into some looks, but the staple would have to be Romantico all over the lid (paler brown shade, VP formula) with Friendly (deep chocolate VP) heavy through the crease.

Do you have a default look you turn to on cold mornings?

Can you suggest a new eye look for me to try out?

 

Maybelline Vivids // Photos, Swatches, Review // Pink Pop, Vivid Rose, Hot Plum, Vibrant Mandarin + Neon Red

 

When the rumours spread that Maybelline were launching a new line full of super bright lipsticks, I was on high alert! I can be quite brave when it comes to lip colours, and so I ended up picking up a few tubes from the line to try. Now that I’ve had some time to wear them and figure out which are my favourites, I thought it time to share some swatches with you!

 

 

I dabbled in each section of the colour spectrum with my choices (all of which I bought from Priceline, some on sale and others full price)

Pink Pop:  a pale blue based pink, not the easiest shade to wear but one I definitely like having in my collection.

Vivid Rose: a dark pink with rose undertones, this is one of my favourite from the line and leaves a great stain when it wears off which is why I like to wear it to work.

Hot Plum: another favourite, this is bright magenta pink is unique in my stash, and I love how it manages to be super bright but still really wearable.

Vibrant Mandarin: I tend to wear orange shades like this when the weather heats up, so I haven’t shown this too much love yet. I love adding orange lip colours to my collection, as whenever I try to find ‘the one’ for a day out I struggle – the more the merrier for the orange lip drawer!

Neon Red: this is an orange toned red that I haven’t shown much love to (I tend to prefer dark berry tones for winter) but it applies really nicely.

 

 

I think this range is definitely worth a swatch, especially when Maybelline are on special at Priceline as they so often are. If I could only keep two from the collection Hot Plum + Vivid Rose would have to stay, as they wear really nicely and leave a nice even stain behind which make them nice and long wearing. I haven’t found any of these shades to bleed at all and they are creamy and comfortable to wear and never dry out my lips. I will note that because they are quite creamy they do leave marks on coffee cups and wear away if you are eating, but the stain saves the situation and they are easy enough to reapply. I have always loved the Maybelline Colour Sensational range but wasn't excited by the overly brown toned range, so this was a welcome addition to the Maybelline family for me, and something I think the brand really needed to revitalise their traditional lipstick image!

Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipsticks retail for $16.95 AUD.

Have you a penchant for bright lips?

Which of these would you buy?

*I purchased all of these. Honesty, always.

February Collective Haul

Celebrating a ‘last hurrah’ of sorts, sharing some of the products I indulged in during February. March saw me begin my post graduate diploma at university, and subsequently the bulk of my spending money has been put to textbooks and a stack of new stationary to keep me on track.

Though I’ve heard negative reviews of Strawberrynet and their policies, the lure of finally getting my hands on a Jouer item was too tempting. A ‘saved search’ within my ebay account, it was Ingrid from Miss Glamorazzi that had me hooked on getting their powder blush in ‘Blossom’.  I have previously bought a YSL Crème de blush from SNet before and so when I saw #6 Rouge Passion was available, in the cart it went. The formula of theses is literally the best I’ve ever used. The CK shadow was a GWP and I chose a light neutral, as you can never have too many of those.

I am big fan of the Girlz Only dry shampoo which is available at Target for $2 per can, and when I spotted one for deep brown hair I knew that I needed to try it out. I am still using the original formula, but when I get around to trying this I will let you know how it goes. When Big W had their cosmetics sale, I popped a couple of the Maybelline City Rescue Total Clean Eye & Lip Makeup Removers to try out, and one to give to my bestie to try. Quite happy with how it is performing thus far!

There isn’t much better than receiving samples from high end beauty counters, so when my local YSL lady showed me the new Rouge Volupte Shine sample blister packs, I was over the moon. I have my eye on the shade Nude in Private but have held of purchasing until the weather cools down and I can bring out my lipsticks again. The beautiful Ulta3 set was a wonderful pharmacy find, and I’m excited to bust out the bright shades soon.

My love for Chanel Joues Contraste blushes seems to be growing, and I added the limited edition 76 Frivole to my collection at the beginning of February. A beautiful light apricot shade, this contrasts heavily with the bright Pink Explosion which was my first Chanel blush shade. I have only used this a handful of times, but am very glad to have it in my blush drawer.

Despite earlier mentioning holding off on lipstick purchases until the weather becomes bearable again, here I present my Maybelline Vivid collection (along with a cheeky Sportsgirl sale lipstick) I chose Neon Red, Vivid Mandarin and Hot Plum as they were shades I think I will get the most use from during the cold and grey winter months (which is when I like to wear bright lips most!)

Clockwise from bottom left: MAC Gentle, Chanel Frivole, YSL Rouge Passion, Jouer Blossom, MAC Poised

Just to further highlight my blush madness, I threw the new cheek shades of mine into a single shot, purely for swooning purposes. The bottom MAC shades were from this MAC haul, which I shared with you last week.

So there you have it, the stack of beauties I added to my cosmetic collection during February. Have you bought anything nice lately?