Revlon Lip Butters - Are They Worth The Hype?♥

If you've been around in the blogging, beauty or YouTube world for a while now, you may remember these, the Revlon Lip Butters. The beauty community went crazy over these, and I mean crazy! There were hundreds upon hundreds of blog posts as well as YouTube videos. Of course, they were new and received a ton of hype, and I gave into the hype and bought two. But the real question - are they worth the hype they received?

I'll admit it - another reason I bought this besides the hype was for the packaging. The packaging matches the shade itself so it's handy when choosing which lip colour to wear. I think it looks so girly and cute, but also, it's sleek, and the cap doesn't come off in your bag (Worst thing ever! Especially if it ends up on your bag..)

I bought cotton candy when it was first released in Superdrug at it's introductory price of £5.99. Clearly, judging by the mess it's in, I wore it a lot! It's a light pink, and as the name suggests, it's a cotton candy pink colour. Looking back now, I can't understand why on Earth I chose that colour because I don't even wear light pinks as I don't think I suit them. Then, there was a 2 for £10 on Revlon lip products deal on in Boots, I couldn't resist the temptation and picked up lollipop. It's definitely one of my go-to Winter lip colours. It's a gorgeous, deep berry-pink colour, with a shine to it when applied on the lips. 

The lip butters themselves are pretty pigmented. They glide on your lips so smoothly and live up to their names when referred to a butter. Basically, they're a lipstick and lip butter in one, so ideal for Winter months if you suffer from dry lips yet still want some colour.

So, are they worth the hype?

I would say they are! If you buy a shade you like, suit and will wear, they're worth investing in. At £7.99 each, they aren't within everyone's budget, but if you grab them on a 2 for £10 or 3 for 2 deal, you'll be doing alright! The range is huge, and there's a number of different shades to choose from, I'm sure there's one for everyone! You can grab them here.

Do you own one of the lip butters? Do you believe they lived up to the hype?

A Must-Have Eyeshadow Palette♥

theBalm cosmetics are a brand that I just kept hearing more and more of. I had seen their NUDE'dude and NUDE'tude palettes all over YouTube, and being an eyeshadow lover that I am, had made up my mind that I wanted to try one of the palettes. Whilst I was on holidays, obviously doing some shopping, I spied theBalm's palettes. I picked up the nude dude and left the shop after buying it. Course, I was delighted with my purchase and couldn't wait to try it out!

I felt I'd get more wear out of this palette rather than the nude tude, but honestly, I think I'd use both! Although it isn't all that clear from the photo, the packaging both looks and feels sleek. When I was holding it in the store, I knew it felt sturdy and wouldn't get damaged travelling home (luckily, it never!) I just could tell it was going to be a new love, as well as look fantastic sitting with my other palettes.

I, personally, find the packaging to be quirky and unique. None of my other palettes have designs behind the shadows like this one. I was pleased to see that it came with an actual brush, and none of those sponge applicators (Literally despise those!) which was an added bonus. In actual fact, I use the brush quite often as it's pretty good! Another great thing about the packaging is that there's a huge mirror! It comes in very handy, and is large too!

There's 12 eyeshadows in total, with a mixture of mattes and shimmers. Every single colour is HIGHLY pigmented, and I cannot express that enough! A range of different eye looks can be created, from natural, soft looks to dark, smoky looks. Lately, I've been loving golds, and have been reaching for this palette a lot. In all honesty, I don't think I could say I have a favourite shade, simply because there's such a wide variety to choose from.

I don't own any Urban Decay eyeshadow palettes (they retail at £38 each) and I do have the dupes, yet I've been reaching for this much more. It retails at £30 however, I only paid €19,95 from Primor for it! I'd say this is a palette every eyeshadow lover should own, as you can either wear minimal looks or go all out for it, with this one palette!

Do you own this palette? And what's your thoughts on it?

The £2 Mascara That Surprised Me♥

Before I went on holidays, when I was shopping one day, I decided to pop into Superdrug to pick up a cheap mascara for going away, so it didn't dry up. I went to the Makeup Revolution stand as I'd been wanting to try the brand for a while. When I saw the Amazing Curl (think it's changed name since I bought it) for a bargain price of only £2, I picked it up and couldn't wait to try it out, and somehow managed to wait until I went on holidays before I used it!

The packaging is basic yet looks sleek, and as if it costs more than £2. Personally, I wasn't drawn in by the packaging, which is unusual, but by the name of the product. I had been hoping it would give a natural curl, without the use of an eyelash curler. Of course, I just got it in the usual black.

I was glad to see that it actually had a curved wand. Most of my mascara wands are straight, or really big, so it was nice to see this has a curve. I hadn't ever heard of this mascara, so I was unsure of how it would turn out.

 I avoided sitting my makeup bag in direct light so that my makeup wouldn't melt (I ended up putting my lipsticks in the fridge as I left them out one time!) nor dry up. On my first night of my holidays, I didn't curl my eyelashes (I know, terrible..) as I wanted to see how my lashes would turn out. I was surprised to see that there wasn't much excess mascara on the wand, nor any clumps. It applied well, and actual gave my lashes a little lift, making them look longer. The wand is amazing for applying to the lower lashes.

I used it every night on holidays, and used it quite a lot since I've came back. Overall, I'd say this is a mascara worth investing in. I wasn't expecting much from a £2 mascara - I had visions of it making my lashes thick and clumpy - but it did the complete opposite! If you're looking for an inexpensive yet brilliant mascara or a new one, I'd highly recommend this one! I would honestly buy this again just to use on my lower lashes, as it does look fantastic.

As I said above, I got mine in black, however, it is available in brown as well, so you can either have dramatic, noticeable lashes or subtle, natural lashes.

Have you tried this mascara? Will you be checking it out?

The Makeup Brushes I Should've Bought Sooner♥

Real Techniques. Sound like a familiar brand? Well, for ages, I had been looking at them, wanting to get them. When I went shopping a few weeks ago and saw there was money off the Core Collection, I just HAD to get them. I had heard about them EVERYWHERE, no joke, everyone raved about them so I had really high expectations for them.

The brushes come in a handy case which is efficient for travelling. It can either be folded over, or made into a sit-up case (they look good sitting in the case on display!) Personally, I keep it folded over because I don't have enough room at my makeup space to sit them out.

The appearance of the brushes look very professional and expensive. They have the usual Real Techniques black handle, with the rest of the brush gold. The actual brushes themselves are extremely soft. Even though they're soft, they're sturdy and work really well.

I've used mine, so obviously they're not the cleanest (I didn't do the typical blogger thing where I take photos of the items before I use them, I was too eager to try them!) Even just looking at the brushes, you can tell that they're good quality.

In the set, there's a buffing brush, contour brush, pointed foundation brush and detailer brush. Each of them have Real Techniques printed on one side of them, then the type of brush on the other side so you don't forget the type of brush!

The Buffing Brush - This is the most amazing brush ever for foundation, I've been using it regularly because it gives such a flawless finish. I haven't used any other brush for foundation since, I guess you could say I'm obsessed with it..

Contour Brush - This is a multi-use brush as I use it for both contouring and highlighting. It fits the hollows of your cheekbones perfectly, and the side of the brush is ideal for highlighting the cheekbones. It picks up the product fantastically, and distributes it well also.

Pointed foundation brush - I use this for either applying foundation to my face, or blending out concealer, as I find it too small for foundation, plus, I prefer the finish of the foundation when using the buffing brush. I use it to blend out concealer under my eye as that's a delicate area of skin that shouldn't be tugged at, and this brush is gentle.

Detailer Brush - this is the smallest of them all and could be used for many different reasons. If you're cleaning up your eyeliner or making your lipstick look sharper, this would be perfect as it's small enough to use. I use it to blend concealer out on my spots, as I only need a small brush to blend out a small amount of concealer.

So, it's fair to say, not only am I late to jump on the bandwagon with these brushes, but I'm pretty smitten with them! I don't understand why it's taken me so long to buy them. I'm definitely 100% glad I finally bought these as they're totally worth it! I now only have my eye on the other sets...

Do you own these? What do you think of them?

The Perfect Red Lip♥

We have all been there, attempted to be brave and rock a red lip, wishing it turns out as amazing as Taylor Swift's. Sometimes you can get it on your first attempt, or other times it fails miserably, each time. I've been trying lately to get the "perfect" red lip, and have found some products that have helped.

Since red is quite a bold colour, I suggest using a lipliner to make sure the lipstick doesn't "bleed" over the line, in other words, so it doesn't smudge down your face. The one I use is the MUA Lip Liner in Red Drama. It's creamy, pigmented and glides on your lips very smoothly.

I would say that choosing the right lipstick is the most important steep, because, some red lipstick smudge extremely easily and can actually stain your face (sounds worse than it really is), meaning they're very messy. I have three which I highly recommend.

Firstly, I recommend the Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Suede Lipstick in Trendsetter. Not only is this a gorgeous red, but it is super long lasting, as the name would suggest. It is a lipstick, with the staying power of a lipstain. What's not to love?

This lipstick definitely wins the award for the prettiest print on the lipstick bullet for sure! The Avon Colortrend lipstick in Kissable is probably the most affordable of the bunch. It has been one of my favourite lipsticks for ages now, and it is so creamy, meaning it applies brilliantly. The lipliner is almost an EXACT match for this lipstick, bonus point!

My final recommendation, and the most luxurious lipstick is the Burberry Kisses in Military Red. Firstly, it has gorgeous packaging, which has the Burberry logo on it, though it isn't very clear to see in the photo. This is most definitely the most pigmented lipstick of the three - a dot in the centre of the lip and blend it out, and it looks great!

Those are my secret products that help create a "perfect" red lip. What about you? Any products that help make getting the red lip easier?