MUA palette overview

Hi Beauts.

I'm pretty certain that all beauty lovers out there own at least one product from MUA, and if you don't you really should.

MUA are a brand (an amazing one at that) with high quality products ranging from primers to foundations, eyeshadows to lipsticks, the whole she-bang. And the best thing of all is they're super inexpensive.

I have rather a large array of products and after writing up my 'Top picks' post, I thought I'd do a bit of an overview of the palettes that I have.

In no particular order,

Heaven and Earth £4.00:

This is a warmed toned neutral palette, filled with 12 shimmery shadows. It contains 2 great highlight shades, bronzes, light browns and dark browns. This is great for creating day to day looks, and brown smokey eyes for nights out.

Undressed £4.00:

Another neutral palette, but this time this one has 2 matte shadows and 10 shimmery shades. Shade 3 is a great matte transition shade and again this has 2 great highlight shades. The black looks shimmery in the pan, but is more of a matte once applied and blended in. The black and navy/gun mental shade make this palette great for creating day to night looks. This palette is also supposed to be a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked palette.

Undress me too £4.00:

Yet another neutrals palette (can you see a theme here?) However this one is more of a cool tone palette, and again contains 3 matte shades, a highlight, soft brown and a black, and 9 shimmers. The only bad thing I have to say about this is that the black shadow is so hard to get any colour payoff, other than that this is my favourite palette from MUA.

Going for Gold £4.00:

This was a limited edition palette for the Olympics (I'm not sure if its still available?) and contains 4 silver shades, 3 golds, 2 orangey golds and a bronze. All of the shadows are shimmery and I have to say, the 3 golds are some of the best I've tried yet!

The Artiste Palette £6.00:

This is the perfect palette if you travel a lot. It contains 6 eyeshadows, 2 pink blushes, a matte neutral toned bronzer and a pink pearlescent highlighter. So many looks can be created with this, and I think each product can be used in multiple ways

Each of these palettes have amazing quality eyeshadows in them. The pigmentation is great and they blend out really well. Needless to say, I'll be adding a few more to my collection soon!

That's it for the palettes I own, which is your favourite?

Stacey x

Top 10 lipsticks

Hi Beauts.

This is such a difficult post to write because I have so many lipsticks that I love. But after changing my mind about a million times I've managed to narrow my selection down to the following 10

Lets start off with the nudes:

1 - SEVENTEEN Beehive

This is the perfect highstreet nude lipstick. The shade is gorgeous, not too light and not too dark and it's super glossy. These lipsticks are extremely moisturising and nourishing. This is one of my most worn lipsticks!

2 - MAC Innocence beware

This was a limited edition lippy that came out with the venomous villi and collection, and I'm so glad that I picked it up. It was a toss up between this and cremecup but I went with this as its slightly more nude and I do find myself reaching for this a little more.

3- YSL Rouge volupte 01 Nude Beige

This is the most expensive lipstick I own, and I still can't believe I spent so much on a lippy. However I bit the bullet and bought it anyway as it was on my wishlist for the longest time. This is a gorgeous nude shade and the formula is beautiful to apply. It glides on so smoothly and feels so moisturising.

4 - MAC Angel

For me this has to be the perfect pinky nude shade out there, and my most worn MAC lipstick. It's great for an every day shade and it will suit everyone.

5 - Topshop Innocent

This is the only Topshop lipstick I own, and after having this one I really want to try more shades. This is another pinky nude, but is a little darker than Angel. Another great colour for daytime, but also a great lipstick to pair with darker eyes on a night out.

6 - Covergirl 405

I picked this up so long ago on a little make up stall in my local shopping centre. One lip colour that I will always gravitate towards is mauve. I just this it's such a pretty shade to wear. This is the perfect mauve shade in my opinion, and it's pretty long lasting too.

7 - Sally Hansen Soft Ocre

Again another mauve shade, this time a little darker. I really like the Sally Hansen lipsticks, they're sort to apply and don't dry out the lips

8 - E.L.F Classy

The elf lipsticks are one of my favourite products of theirs. They're SO pigmented, long lasting and moisturising. This is my mauve shade of choice on nights out as its darker and once it's applied, it's staying there for a very long time

9 - Revlon lip butter in Berry Smoothie

Now I'm not sure if this is classed as a lipstick, but I'm throwing it in here. I absolutely adore this product, from the application, to the finish to the colour. It's the perfect berry shade, the application is smooth, the colour is buildable and the finish is glossy and moisturising.

10 MAC plumful

This was probably one of the first purple toned lipsticks I ever bought. It's definitely a shade that you can sheer out and have a slight colouring or you can build it up and have full on colour. I've worn it both ways and love it, a colour everyone should have in their collection

Well that's it, my top 10 lipsticks.  What are some of your favourites?

Stacey x

Lioele triple the solution BB cream

Hi Beauts.

Today I bring to you a product that I have fallen in love with, and it's just my luck that's it's only available overseas and online. What is the product? The Lioele triple the solution BB cream

This is something I've wanted to try for a while now, after watching some of my favourite YouTubers rave about it. I'd never tried a BB cream before and was a little unsure which to go for as I have oily skin. I wanted something that would work with my skin type, would suit my skin colour and would be medium to full coverage. I searched online and saw that there were sellers on eBay selling sample sachets of the Lioele BB cream, which I thought would be perfect. Buying the sachets meant that I wasn't shelling out money for something I didn't know would work for me.

The girls I watch on YouTube that are fans of this, use it as a BB cream on its own, and as a base when they want fuller coverage. So when mine arrived I tried it both ways, and completely fell in love with the product.

I'm pretty sure this only comes in one shade which is pants if your super pale or super dark. I am really pale but I can get away with a little darker as my arms and chest are tanned so I just blend my lotions and potions down my neck to match. The coverage is definitely medium and can be built up to full which I love. If you're wearing this as a BB cream and have oily skin I'd say you really do need to powder as this has a very dewy finish. I applied a small amount of concealer just in the places I thought I needed a little extra coverage, then applied powder and it looked great. I did feel the need to powder through the day as I was starting to get a little shiny, but overall I was really impressed with it. 

I also tried it out as a base for my foundation, and have to say that this is my preferred method. I love full coverage, I know some people don't but I just think it looks better on me. I applied the BB cream and then my foundation and my skin looked flawless! I added a little concealer under my eyes (I always do just to brighten them up) applied my powder and that was me set. I didn't get all that shiny throughout the day, only once did I have to touch up my powder, and this definitely helped the longevity of my foundation.

In terms of the actually product, it is pretty thick so if you like something lighter then this probably won't be one for you. It's very slightly scented which I don't mind and I found it was best applied with my beauty blender rather than a brush.

Will I be buying the full size? Absolutely!! If you're on the hunt for a new BB cream or you've never tried one before then give this a shot. I promise you'll love it!

Stacey x

Rock a purple lip ladies

Hi Beauts.

I've never been one to follow rules when it comes to make up, especially the 'brights for summer and darks for winter' I'll rock a red lip come rain or shine! Lately I've been pretty fond of sporting purple lipstick and thought I'd share with you all some of the shades I have in my collection. Never be afraid of wearing a pop of colour ladies.

Lets start with the lightest:

*Barry M lip paint in 129 Palest lavender £4.49

Some think this is a bit of a difficult colour to wear as it is, as the name suggests, a pale lavender shade. However I love it! I don't find this to be as drying as other lip paints I've used, and the pigmentation is great. If you don't want it to be as in your face, try adding a touch of pink lipstick to add a little warmth

* Avon lipstick (not sure which range) in Purple haze

Again this is a pale lavender but not as out there as Palest lavender. This is more of a subtle, wearable shade and again is a little glossy and moisturising

* MAC plumful £14.00

This is my favourite plum shade to wear. It's not as pigmented as it looks in the bullet, but it's definitely buildable. 

* Collection lasting colour lipstick in Berry blast £2.99

This is another berry shade but this one is more on the purple side, and this is probably the one I reach or the most. I love the whole range of collection lasting colour lipsticks, they're super pigmented and last all day

* MUA shade 2 £1.00

Who doesn't love MUA lipsticks?! This is another plummy purple shade, and more wearable in my opinion. Again super pigmented and long lasting. I don't find that this bleeds either, so no need for a lip liner

* Nivea volume shine lipstick in Mauve (paruve) £1.00

I actually picked this up in Poundland. This is definitely the boldest of the bunch and I think it's gorgeous! It's moisturising, so pigmented and smells fruity. If you love purple lips, this is more or you!

Do you like to rock a purple lip? What's your favourite shade?

Stacey x

Bit of a haul....again

Hi Beauts.

I *may* have been shopping the past few days......because y'know, I don't own enough make up!! 

Poundland bargains

Milani Glimmer stripes in '05 Honey Glimmer' and Sunset duo '01 Sunset City'

MAC 

Eyeshadow in Malt £12.00

Brush cleaner £9.50

Lipstick in Syrup £15.00

The Bodyshop

Mango hand sanitiser £2.50

Vitamin E face mist £8.00

Rimmel

Lasting finish foundation

Stay matte foundation

2 for £10.00 in Boots

I think my MAC addiction may have returned, I've got my beady little eye on a few more products :P Have you been shopping lately? Any exciting finds? 

Stacey x

Argan oil review

Hi Beauts.

I've never been one for hair products if I'm honest, so when the Argan oil craze kicked off I gave it a miss. However everyone seemed to rave about using Argan oil and say that it made their hair super smooth and soft and they noticed a huge difference in the condition of their hair. 

There's a whole bunch of oils that range in price and one that always seemed to get good reviews was the one from Primark. I had planned to pick one up but I have the memory of a goldfish and forgot to get one. But whilst in HomeBargains I noticed this one for 99p

I figured that if it didn't work I hadn't exactly bankrupted myself.

This oil claims to protect hair, add shine and control frizz. I've used it for about a month (twice a week) and whilst I'm not jumping for joy about it, it has definitely left my hair feeling softer and shinier.

The directions say to apply 3 drops to shorter  towel dried hair, and 4 to 5 drops to longer hair. Now the first thing I'll point out is that this is an open cap bottle so it's very hard to determine how much product will come out. Secondly I have quite long hair and I noticed that when I applied 4 or 5 drops I literally looked like I'd stuck my head in a chip pan. And thirdly (last negative comment I promise) this didn't control frizz at all, in fact it made my hair slightly frizzy. I only ever applied this to the ends of my hair and noticed that when I wore a ponytail there was definitely some frizz occurring.

Now on to the more positive points. First up, the smell. If I'm honest I had no idea what to expect this to smell like but I was pleasantly surprised when I opened it and got a whiff of lemons. Next positive is how it left my hair in the long run. The frizz settled after a day and my hair was left really really soft and smooth and looked super shiny, which for me outweighs the frizz because I can just add a little serum and it keeps it under control.

Pheew that was a long post. Now would I repurchase? I'm still on the fence to be honest and I think there are so many others out there to try that I'd probably give this one a miss. I will use it up though, I hate wasting products.

Have you tried any hair oils that you love?

Stacey x

NYC lip stains

Hi Beauts.

I'm a complete lip product junkie, which I'm sure you all know by now. One thing about a lip product that I always look out for is staying power, it's a bit of a pain having to always reapply. Whilst in Superdrug a few weeks back I spotted the NYC smooch proof 16hr lip stains, so I picked one up in 497 Rock on Ruby.

I didn't really know what to expect from this because I've never tried a felt tip lip stain before. The only stains I've tried are the Benefit posetint and Benetint, and the MUA and Revlon balm stains. 

I actually found this really easy to apply because its a felt tip. I used the pointed tip to line my lips, then lay it flat to fill in the rest. This stain is so pigmented, I only needed one application and I had hot red lips. Another thing that I love is once this baby's dry it is smudge and transfer proof, perfect for a night out or even going out for a meal - no need to reapply afterwards. This wasn't drying at all, which if I'm honest I did expect it to be just because a) it's a stain and b) because it's a pen. I got around 2 and a half hours wear out of this, after eating and drinking the colour faded to a lighter but still pretty shade of red. The colour faded out equally so I wasn't left with red patches all over my lips.

The Nitty Gritty

Price - £3.99

Product - 3ml

Opaque

Easy to apply

Very pigmented

Smudge and transfer proof

Not drying

Lasted 2 hours 30 mins

Have you tried these out? What did you think?

Stacey x