Red lipstick Series - Revlon Matte 006 Really Red

Next in my series on red lips is the Revlon Matte in 006 Really Red.

Colour (3/5)

Despite this being called "Really Red" it does have a subtle hint of orange to it. To me it is a very vintage colour and the matte finish lends to that. It is a very easy colour to wear and is far less vampy for the summer months more of a pin up red I would say that would suit most skin tones.

Application (2/5)

It's matte so it is always going to be more of a challenge to apply. It applies quite nicely from the tube though with minimal brush work needed for the edges but it is very draggy and needed a lot of lip smooshing action for it to feel even. It does feel soft on the lips though quite feathery and light and not heavy like you might expect.

Ronseal Factor (2.5/5)

"Revlon Matte Lipstick gives suede -like application and maximum colour with on trend shades, that glide effortlessly accross lips depositing rich, beautiful, matte colour."

Suede-like well yes I will give them that and the colour pay off is quite good although I would say it is more soft that rich, think rose petals. It is not as bad as some matte lipsticks I have tried but it does not "glide effortlessly.

Wear (4/5)

This is a beauty stays put for ages and hardly needs touching up.

Price (3/5)

£7.29 is the RRP which is quite pricey for a drugstore brand even if it is Revlon, I would say it is worth about £6 no more than that.

Packaging (3/5)

Bog standard black tube with a slightly metally feel to the plastic which I do like and I like the little window in the top so you can see the colour is a cute touch. What I would also say about this packaging is that it deflects heat quite well so the lipstick doesn't get squishy after you have carried it around in your pocket for a bit.

How it left the lips. (2/5)

Dry, dry and more dry. I guess it is the matte that robs your lips of all their moisture which I quite sad.

Overall 19.5 out of 35 - I expected this to score higher as I do really love this lipstick and wear it often.

the quest for the perfect foundation (very pic heavy)

In my infinite quest to find the perfect foundation I have bought a lot over the years and because I am hoarder I never throw them away even if they don't work for me. Pretty much every shade I buy is the lightest one of of the range and the difference between companies becomes very apparent. As a result of this comparison test I will be throwing away a fair few of these because as you can see I would have to be mad to wear them and actually can't believe I ever did.

Everything was photographed in natural light on fresh clean skin.

Bourjois

1. 10 Hour Sleep Effect (71 abricote clair)

2. Brush Foundation (31 beige clair)

3. Healthy Mix (51 vanille clair)

4. Mineral Matte (81 tendre ivorie)

Bourjois is possibly my favourite brand of makeup and their foundations are second to none (same company as Chanel don't you know) Colour and texture is always great the only one I am surprised by is the mineral matte(4) as it looks a little dark but actually looks fine on my face. As you can see the healthy mix(3)is the best coverage and colour which is what I expected as it is my favourite liquid foundation.

Rimmel

1. Stay Matte Mousse (100 ivory)

2. Renew & Lift (100 ivory)

3. Lasting Finish (100 ivory)

Rimmel has always been hit and miss for me but as always the price of them makes them very tempting. Interesting that they are all named ivory when the difference is colour is so vast, I wanted to love the stay matte mousse(1) but as you can see from the picture even the lightest one is unbelievably orange and it is more jelly than mousse the texture just doesn't work for me.

Revlon & Max Factor

1. Revlon PhotoReady (002 vanille)

2. Revlon Beyond Natural (210 light pale)

3. Max Factor Colour adapt (70 natural)

4. Max Factor Second Skin (040 creamy ivory)

Wow, Just wow! look at the difference in shades on show here, the PhotoReady (1) is very yellow toned which actually works well for me as it balances out my pink tones. The Beyond Natural(2) is a great tone but is very light on the coverage. Check out the horror of the Max Factor(3) this is meant to be colour adapting, adapting to what? This was the lightest shade they had and it is just not right for me this one will be going in the bin. Second Skin(4) was my previous favourite liquid and the shade is a little dark but not too bad in summer when I have a bit more colour.

Mishmash 1

1. L'Oreal True Match Roll On (R2 vanille rose)

2. E.L.F Tinted Moisturiser (ivory)

3. 17 Skin Perfecting Balancing Foundation (fair)

4. Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid (010 ivory)

This is the foundation that makes me the most sad is the L'Oreal roll on foundation(1) just look at the application it is easy and even, light and soft. It is also orange and also the lightest colour it comes it, it is supposed to be "true match" but it just doesn't to it for me. Great product just not my shade. The E.L.F(2) is a lovely shade and a tinted moisturiser so not much coverage, it sits in my pores and makes me a little greasy so I need to find a way to work with this one. Another destined for the circular file is the Boots 17(3) great coverage and really does stop me getting shiny but just way to dark for my skin. The only foundation I have tried from Maybelline(4) and it is actually really nice lives up to the product claims if the shade was a touch lighter this would be perfect.

Mishmash 2 (sorry 3 and 4 are the wrong way round in the product shot)

1. MAC Select Founation (NW15)

2. No7 Essential Moisture Foundation (10 new ivory)

3. Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick (0 porcelain)

4. Avene Couvrance (01 porcelain)

This is the product that I was most surprised at when I swatched, I wore the MAC foundation(1) for my wedding and it works well with my combination skin I am just a bit shocked at how pink it has come out. I guess it works with my pink tones rather that fighting against them. The shade of the No7(2) is glorious but I have to be a little careful with the finish on my combination skin, lovely product though very impressed. What can I say about the Bobbi Brown(3) I love this foundation the colour is perfect and the coverage is perfect it also had great staying power which is what you would expect from a pan stick. Which leads us on to the only problem with this foundation is that it is a pan stick it leaves me greasy and I need to powder a lot to stop it slipping around, having said that though I have nearly used the whole thing and when it is finished I will be investigating their liquid foundations as the shade is so good. The Avene(4) one I got from work and whilst nice and kind to the skin is way too yellow.

So to sum up

top 3

1. Bourjois healthy Mix

2. Bobbi Brown pan stick

3. No7 essential Moisture

going in the bin

Avene, 17 and Max Factor colour adapt

hoping to find new homes for

the Rimmel Mousse and the L'Oreal

Some recent nails (pic heavy)

Working backwards from what I have on my fingertips right now these are what I have been rocking in the past week.

This is Revlon's One Perfect Coral (990) and unfortunately the photo doesn't do justice to quite how bright this colour is. As the name says it is a perfect coral, not pink, not, red, not orange it falls right in the middle of all three and is quite neon. It applies really well and has a 50/50 jelly to creme formula which makes it a little more runny than I am used to and it is also quite sheer so you need a few coats before you get rid of your natural nail line. As with most Revlon nail enamels it lasts really well (only exception I have found was the Midnight Affair episode which disappointed).

Moving on to Sensuality from Mavala, application - great, wear - great and colour - meh! The hubby decreed he did not like this colour and I am still undecided.

I had my first little foray in to GOSH recently and I picked up a couple of their polishes. This is their legendary silver holo 549 after a tricky application (dumbo here used a base coat doh!) I topped it with Seche vite and it was rock solid in seconds. The effect is mesmerising and I had to take it off to stop me crashing into things because I was looking at my nails instead of watching where I was going. I was also getting a little disconcerted at random strangers grabbing my hands for a closer look.

My last look is again GOSH and its their flakie called Rainbow and this is over a Nails Inc Belgrave Place. I am looking forward to trying this out over lots of different colours to see the different effects.

Couple of make up looks and a review of Revlon Photoready

So this is a look I did back on the 2nd of January, It's using the Guerlain Bird of Paradise Quad except this time I left out the liquid eyeliner and added the orange to the crease and the brown on the lower lash line. It's a fairly 80's look but I love it as it makes me feel like spring is here. The eyebrows as always are Clarins eyebrow kit and the blush is n07 in soft apricot, I had to contour a lot with the Benefit 10 kit. Mascara - I am still loving the Bourjois 1001 in Black Quartz.

First attempt

The next look is using Urban Decay from their book of shadows Volume 2, Sphinx is on the inner of the lid, Ecstasy on the outer of the lid and AC/DC in the crease. I used the Rockstar liner on the lower lashline and blended it out with the shadows. Dior liquid liner to wing out the eyes and the rest of the make up is as before.

Second attempt

Ok so onto the review of the Revlon. It is taking a lot at the moment to tear me away from my Bourjois Healthy Mix but I have heard so much about this (good and bad) that I just had to try it. It was already on sale at Boots and the lovely Jo from Music and Make Up, My Obsessions! gave me a voucher that got me another £2 off.

They finally had my shade which is 02 Vanilla, I had swatched it a couple of weeks back as advised on a lot of blog and wandered around with it on my hand to check it in different lights. Now don't get me wrong this is very sparkly for a foundation but not so much that it put me off.

My first attempt at applying this I was a bit dubious about the shimmer so I decided to try and temper it a little with mac prep + prime powder which set it quite well but left me looking very very pale. I applied it over my Nivea Co Q10 which was way too greasy for this dewy foundation. I was scared of spoiling the twinkly effect so I made sure to conceal my imperfections before I applied the foundation. The coverage is very sheer and it did not last well over the Nivea.

My second attempt after learning from the mistakes of the first time I applied this over La Roche-Posay Hydraphase Light which is an oil free fluid that hydrates normal to combination skin. This time the foundation stuck fast and the coverage was a little better, I went for foundation first as normal and then concealed afterwards. I also took the plunge and gave into the sparkle so I set it using the Guerlain Meteorites Illuminating Power and to my surprise rather than adding to the effect it actually seemed to even it out a bit.

Coverage - quite sheer up close but far away and in photos it does really even you out.

Staying power - if you are at all oily you are going to need to be careful with this one but it does last over the right base.

Twilight Effect - it is definitely there as you can see in the photos I am quite pale and it does flatten out the contours of your face so make sure you are defining with blush or bronze.

Overall - Actually like it more the more I use it as I am the pale and interesting type anyway it does suit my look and you can't deny it photographs well.

FOTD - actually this was tuesday

Sorry it is taking me so long to catch up on my makeup looks this week, but as the title says this was tuesday, still playing with my Sunday haul I decided to give the Bourjois mini pots a try

The shadow is nice and blends well, it varies from shade to shade how pigmented they are but the do last really well over a good primer and there was no creasing. I will look out exactly what shade I used at some point and update this post.

Base

Nivea co q10

Garnier eye roll on in fair

Bourjois healthy mix foundation in 51

Bourjois healthy mix concealer in 51

Bourjois mineral powder in 02

I contoured me cheeks today starting with

No7 blush in soft apricot

then I blended with the benefit 10 powder highlighter on top and the bronze underneath the cheek bones.

Eyes

Clarins eyebrow kit

Bourjois mini pot colours

Bourjois 1001 lashes in black quartz

Lips

Revlon lipgloss in Firecracker

FOTD - actually this was Monday

The hubby is away so playing a lot with makeup this week and I have had a different look everyday. People comment a lot on my makeup at work and how it is always changing, I guess I just like to keep it fresh and match my look to how I am feeling on the day.

Keeping it quite light today with lilac and a colour theme.

Base

Nivea Co Q10 cream

Garnier Eye roll on in Fair

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in no 51 vanille clair

Bourjois Healthy Mix concealer in 51 eclat clair

Bourjois Mineral Radiance Pressed Powder in 02 vanille

Bourjois mini pot blush in No 7

Eyes

Clarins eye brow powder

Revlon wild orchid Creme shadow

Dior Style Liner Intense Liquid liner

Bourjois 1001 lashes mascara in Black Quartz

Lips

Revlon lipgloss in Lilac Pastelle

Lonely haul

Ok so I really shouldn't be left on my own, the hubby is away on business and I hate it when he is gone so to ease the pain I popped into boots/superdrug for a little retail therapy to take my mind off things. I haven't bought in ages due to trying to do the 10 pan project ( I am actually getting on really well with some of the products ) but I just couldn't help myself.

Heres what I got

The new Bourjois 1001 lashes in black quartz (nearly finished my doll eyes)

Revlon 3 for 2 at boots Creme illuminance eyeshadow in 01 wild orchid, super lustrous lipgloss in lilac pastelle and firecracker.

From super drug some of their mini eyeshadow powders.

1001 Lashes

naked eye - my lashes aren't too bad on their own

With 1001 lashes, I love this the brush really grabs the lashes and coats them individually. It isn't very thickening but it does lengthen nicely and I love the natural looking finish.

Mini bourjois swatches

really hard to capture with the camera as they are quite sparkly. Top to bottom it's 15, 11 and 12.

Revlon lip glosses

Lilac Pastelle

Firecracker

catching up - recent nails

OPI - DC Cherry Blossom, one of my all time favs. Goes on great and the colour is really intense this was only 2 coats.

Revlon - Midnight Affair, really nice and sparkly but a bit dark. It also chipped really quickly this photo was the morning after I had applied it and it was already chipping. Also did not play nicely with OPI rapid dry top coat and I got lots of bubbles.

OPI - Absolutely Alice - what can I say! just gorgeous goes on like a dream so very sparkly and very very blue. It does eat top coat though and boy when this chips it chips, it had it on for 4 days and I went to peel a price label from a box at work and pretty much the whole thumbnail came off at once lol.

I got all 4 of the Alice polishes so look out for more coming soon.

Nails Inc - Albert and Victoria, got this one free on the front of a magazine and I had totally forgotten how much I like Nails Inc polish this lasted really well this photo was taken after 5 days and as you can see it's only showing a smidge of tip wear.

Classic face project - Revlon

I did this revlon look last week just never got around to posting it. Revlon is edging towards the top end of the budget beauty ranges but their products are still fairly good value so here is what I used.

Beyond Natural Foundation (shade 210 light/pale) £9.99

Age Defying Concealer (shade 02 light) £7.99

Colourstay Pressed Powder (shade 820 light) £10.49

Matte Powder Blush (shade 001 rose rapture) £7.49

Colorstay Liquid Eyeliner (shade blackest black) £7.99

Double Twist Mascara (black) £8.99

Colourstay Ultimate Lipcolour (shade nude) £8.99

Total Look £61.93

Ok so what can I say about this little lot, the foundation is fairly neat it comes out white and then colours when you blend it. This means that the shade is fantastic but as you can see from my nose the coverage is not. The concealer is just horrible, thick and powdery it is meant to be "age defying" but it just settled into all my fine lines and made my undereyes look really dry. The lipstick is a little dark to be nude on me but the texture is lovely and it lasts ages just like the liner it's a bit of a pain to get a fine line but this stuff just doesn't budge. Blush is beautiful a really delicate colour but the real big let down is their new double twist mascara. Now I only got this as part of a 3 for 2 when I was buying cherries in the snow but god it is an abomination. Clumpy, flakey and gross like mascara used to be a million years ago, I dunno if it is the brush or the formula but it just does not work!

new nails

Colour picked today by the Hubby, its Revlon cherries in the snow. Goes on great and dries really fast even before the OPI rapid dry top coat. The title says it all it's a really cherry red in some lights quit pin in others it looks quite dark red. Love it!

Monday makeup and update

again normal base today but I used steam cream underneath it all as I am trying to repair my skin at the moment central heating/aircon and London are not being kind to me at the moment. My lips are a mess too.

I used the Bourjois stick under my eyes as I was being very lazy this morning and the under eye liner is revlon colorstay. You ca also see my cute hairband in this pic I am going to post in the week about my hairband obsession (which is huge if you hadn't noticed already) and I will try and take pictures of them all.

Also a quick update on the "for Audrey" finally got round to adding the sparkles, it aint Tiffany without sparkles ;)

Some collections

Here are some of my fav polishes you can get an idea of my colour tastes I like purples, neutrals, and sparkle the most with a few brights thrown in when I am in the mood.

Bourjois

Mavala

Barry M

Revlon