My favourite lip products for Spring Summer 2014

So I have been wearing my make up very natural lately if I wear at all. Pregnancy hasn't been a blessing to my skin as my cheeks are alot more red and irritated due to the hormones. Anyway here are my favourite picks for a beautiful spring summer lip.

Nuxe Reve De Miel Lip balm
I do have the other version of this in the little tub which is thicker and all round better but this balm stick also holds a special place in my heart. It is perfect to keep in my handbag for on the go applications. It still feels very moisturising and nourishing on the lips.

Maybelline Colour Whisper - Pin Up Peach
This is by far my favourite lip product of the year and that I find myself reaching for the most. It isn't as intense and as think as a lipstick on the lips but still gives great colour payoff which is also a bit glossy. It leaves my lips feeling nice and there is no drying. The colour doesn't last for a long time when eating or drinking but I don't mind reapplying this beauty. Unfortunately this isn't out in the UK so I had to purchase mine from ebay but this colour is just the perfect shade of a pinky peach, definitely more on the pink side. I now want all colours on this haha.

NYX Butter Lip Balm - Brownie
Another import from the USA I'm afraid but I think the newer version of these are availab now in the UK, they are in different packaging. These are in between a lip balm and a lip stick feeling much lighter on the lips but with some colour pay off. I have 3 shades and Brownie is the perfect nude, my lips but better. It looks more dry in the tube than I thought but still feels nice and buttery on the lips. The colour payoff isn't as good as a Maybelline Colour Whisper as this feels thicker and drier. These are more like a well tinted lip balm. This is nice if I just want a small wash of colour and it smells good enough to eat.

Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish - No. 16
This is the perfect Pink lipstick for summer that I love so much. I am a huge fan of these Kate lipsticks and this is by far my favourite shade. It isn't too scary bright pink but the colour is really pigmented. It smells gorgeous and is great value. The only problem is that it can cling to any dryness on my lips but so do my high end Mac lipsticks so I either need to make sure my lips are in good condition to wear this or to wear a wear a small layer of balm (but the colour payoff won't be as good).

YSL Rouge Volupte Shine - No. 15 Coral Intuitive 
This is just a classic beautiful lip stick that is perfect for any occasion. As it is from the shine range it isn't a thick lipstick, it is a lightweight lipstick with shine. It's probably quite similar to my Maybelline Colour Whisper for texture and application on the lips. This is a beautiful pinky peach shade more on the side of peach for this spring summer. It has good pigmentation but the shine or colour won't last for hours eating or drinking. But with packaging looking this good you will be happy to show it off for all to see for reapplication. It is very pricey but I see this as a investment.

Swatches from left to right: Nyx lip butter, maybelline colour whisper, rimmel Kate and ysl rouge volupte.

Tutorial - Bright Red Lip

I love to rock a bright red lip whenever I can but applying and keeping a Bright lipstick in place can be tricky. Here is how I do it and I hope you find this little tutorial useful.

Step 1 - Exfoliate
You need perfect smooth lips to pull off a bright lip colour as it will show every single line and groove of the lips. So dry flakey lips are a big no no!
I use a lip scrub from Lush in the popcorn flavour this little pot costs about £5-£6 but will last a very long time. You dip your finger in and gentle scrub across the lips and then rinse off with warm water. After this your lips can feel a little abused so onto the next step.

Step 2 - Moisturise
To soften the lips and to keep them looking their best you now need to moisterise them. I use the Nuxe Reve De Miel balm which leaves my lips feeling very hydrated and soft. For the best results leave this to sink in for approximately 10 minutes.

Step 3 - Line
This is such a important step that so many people miss out but if you do your lipstick on the inner parts of your lips will be gone within the hour. This gives the perfect base to apply your lipstick on top of and makes it last a lot longer. It also prevents any unsightly cranks forming in the colour and stops it bleeding out.
Bright lipsticks don't last very long but using a liner at least doubles the wear time so try to find one that is a similar colour to the lipstick that your using. Here I have used a Barry M lip liner in colour number 3.

Step 4 - Apply Lipstick
This works best for me with a lip brush as I feel like I have more control and can apply the lipstick with more precision.
Don't overload the lips with product or it will smudge about. Don't be afraid to make any mistakes as they can always be corrected with a makeup remover soaked cotton bud afterwards.

If you do decide to rock a bright lip I suggest carrying a compact mirror with you and the lipstick for any reapplication and to check for smudging. My red lipstick of choice is the YSL Rouge Pur Couture in shade 01 Le Rouge. 

I hope some of you find this useful and if you have any tips for me please leave them in the comments below. 

Jodie x

My top 8 favourite lipsticks

I love all make up but most of all I love lipsticks and then blushers. I love to collect them especially the high end ones which is turning out to be a expensive hobby oops.
Here are my current top 8 favourite lipsticks, it was hard choosing them but here they are from left to right in the swatch picture (opposite way  in the other 2) -

8. Mac Viva La Gaga - Lustre
This is a gorgeous light pink and it is a little more sheer than the creamsheen formula. It again feels comfortable to wear and smells of the usual Mac vanilla

7. Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Matte - 111 Kiss of Life
Seeing as this is a cheap lipstick I was very impressed with this formula as it feels nice on and is quite longlasting. It isn't too matte and it smells really nice too. It isn't YSL standard but it isn't YSL price either. Definitely a winner for Rimmel.

6. YSL Rouge Pur Couture - 01 Le Rouge
This is the perfect bright red lipstick. It smells gorgeous and the formular is nice and creamy and it feels very comfortable on the lip. This is highly pigmented so if you smudge it at all it is going to stain. You definitely need a lip liner with this. I keep this lipstick for special occasions. The only downside is it isn't long wearing. You get about 2-3 hours before needing to re apply.

5. The Body Shop Colour Crush 110
I love this range of lipsticks by The Body Shop and I definitely want more. They feel good quality and are very comfortable on the lips. They also have a great colour payoff and have just the right amount of shine. Also as a nice touch they have a rose scent.

4.YSL Rouge Volupte Shine - 15 Corail Intuitive
This is the perfect daytime lipstick as it only has abit of colour, it is like my natural lip colour but better. The Rouge Volupte Shine Lipsticks are hard to describe as they are pigmented but not as opaque as others so this one is a little sheer. They feel like more of a moisturising balm on the Balm's. These smell the best out of any lipstick that I've had, they smell gorgeous and fruity I think it's peach.

3. Mac Pro Longwear Lipcream - To The Future
This is my perfect nude lip lipstick, it isn't too light light Mac Myth which I also have. This colour is a my lips but better and it is my everyday lipstick for work. Also the fact that it's a pro longwear formula means that it lasts a good 5 hours plus for me which is longer than the usual 3 hours I get from a Mac Creamsheen. If you are looking to get a nude lip colour I can't recommend this one enough. I love how the formula is more creamy as it glides on nice and smooth and feels very comfortable to wear as sometimes with a Creamsheen I can find them a bit dry to apply. I also like how the bullet and packaging is a different shape. It makes it feel a bit more special and as these are slightly pricier than the usual Mac lipsticks it is worth it for this formula.

2. Mac Creamsheen - Ravishing
This is my favourite Mac lipstick that I own and I've mentioned it enough on my blog so I won't repeat myself. It is just a gorgeous orangey pinky peach, it is hard to describe but it is a gorgeous subtle coral colour on the lips. You can get away with wearing this in the day and the formula is nice and creamy and it has the usual gorgeous vanilla mac scent. Every time I went to a Mac counter I found myself instantly reaching for this shade, so from then I knew that it was a must have for me.

1.YSL Rouge Volupte Shine - 14 Corail In Touch
So here it is my number one lipstick and it's no surprise that it's a YSL one. It is a gorgeous bright peachy coral colour that is perfect for any occasion. I cannot rate this range of lipsticks enough I want every colour which is absurd but I think they are discontinuing them now (queue hysterical crying). This shade is my perfect coral and in love everything about the formula. They are nice and glossy when applied but after that fades it leaves a nice stain on the lips underneath. These aren't the most longwearing lipsticks that I own but they are by far the prettiest.

So they are my favourite lipsticks at the moment i have many more on my wishlist that I hope to buy soon, but these will still get lots of use. Do you share any of my favourites?

Jodie x

My Picks of the Christmas Gift Sets

So it's getting to my favourite time of the year Christmas! I've already started my Christmas shopping and today I've put together my Christmas wish list.
Most of my favourite brands have released their Christmas gifts sets already on Debenhams, Boots and Selfridge's so I've spends a few hours this morning picking and choosing my favourites and here they are:

Origins Morning to Night Set £40
I've never tried Origins skincare and this set looks like a perfect introduction to the Ginzing range which is much raved about in the bloggersphere so I want to try it out.

Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette £42
Urban Decay are like the holy grail of eyeshadow palettes and this one looks like it could be the best yet. It looks so versatile as it has neutral shadows all the way the deep smokey eye colours I wan to this so bad.

Soap & Glory Power Trip £20
How cute and is this? I love something that is compact with lots of different products squeezed in. I've been wanting to try the highlighting powder for a while now so I can test it in this. This could be one of the presents that I end up buying myself early as I can't wait until Christmas day.

YSL Babydoll Mascara Set £24.50
I was hoping YSL would bring out a gift set that included a lipstick or 2 or even a whole bunch of like Illamasqua have but I can keep dreaming besides it would be hundreds of pounds. I just want lots of YSL lipsticks Ok, that's my dream as they are my favourite. Anyway I need a new mascara and this one looks pretty and has good reviews so it's made my list. You also get a make up remover which isn't a bad thing.

Ciate Mini Paint Palette £25
How cute is this set, seriously I love this! I don't own many nail polishes so a set like this would be a quick way to bulk up my collection and to bring some variety into my life.

Clarins All About Lips £18
I think this one is a good price and all the colours are nice and wearable, I think this one is definitely a winner.

So that's it my Christmas list, I hope my husband is reading :-)

Have you started your yet? What do you think of mine, I think everyone will be wanting the Vice 2 palette this year and I have a feeling it will sell out eek fingers crossed that I get one.

Jodie x

My favourite lipsticks

Here is a video featuring my top 8 favourite lipsticks. I count down to my number one favourite, can you guess what it is?

I will do a post very soon showing swatches of each of the lipsticks featured and links as to where to buy them.

Jodie x

So that's it, I've finally cancelled Glossybox and here's why

So I've finally bitten the bullet and cancelled my Glossybox subscription.
I will miss it a little bit but the truth is that I only use 1-2 products out of the 5 each month. I get all excited at first with my box but once that's worn off the reality is that I won't use the products.

I have cancelled so I can spend that money each month towards a new lipstick. I could be tempted with a I Love Beauty box (formally Beautecobox) here and there as I do keep an eye on what is in each box each month. Anyway I currently have 4 lipsticks at the top of my list and I hope to buy one each month until I have all 4.
The lipsticks that I currently want are:

Mac Vegas Volt
Mac Coral Bliss
YSL Rouge Volupte Peach Passion
YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Orange Impertinent

These are in no particular order as I want them all just as much (which is a lot!) so I will have to be patient until I can collect them.

Do you subscribe to a monthly beauty box and do you often think of cancelling to buy other products that you know you'll use?

Jodie x

Shopping my stash

So it's that time of the month again where my wages have run out and payday seems like so far away, the only thing to do right now is to put my wish list's to one side and to shop my stash.

Here are some products that I've owned a while that i may have forgotten about or that I fell out of love with it for some reason. Today I have rooted through my products and rediscovered some gems. Here are my finds:

Burt's Bees Hand Salve
I love this brand of products and I disregarded this hand salve early on as it is abit too greasy for my liking. If you can get over than though it is a great little hand moisturiser and this is a little travel size version which is handy for handbags.

Nuxe Micellar Cleansing Water
I didn't use this when I first got it as I've had the L'Oréal and Bioderma ones on the go but this is so delicate and feminine. This one is made with rose petals and it smells gorgeous. It reminds me of summer. Also it works really well at removing my make up so i can't wait to get more use out of this.

Bourjois Cream Blush 02
Is it me or do these cream blushes not feel like a cream at all? Mine feel more like a powder but anyway I still love them. I have shades 01 and 02 and they are so pretty but I feel like I do need to build them up quite a bit with my stipple brush to get a decent amount of colour.

Benefit Peek a Bright Eye's Kit
This is my go to kit on a lazy day as it gives a nice polished eye look. I really should use this more as the shadows are lovely and pigmented and give a gorgeous overall eye look.

YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick 15 Corail Intuitive
These lipsticks are still my favourite ever but I've been using my 14 Corail in Touch more as it is a deeper coral colour. This one is perfect for everyday wear as it just gives that my lips but better appearance. They smell so fruity and delicious and feel so luxurious on the lips. I really want more shades in these but for now I need to use these more to justify the price that I paid for them.

Bourjois Colour Boost Lipstick Peach on the Beach
I'm not too keen on the smell of this as it seems abit plastic-y and I'm disappointed that all the writing on my Bourjois packaging rubs off after a few months adding to the cheap feel. I do like the colour of this though as it's nice and pink on the lips but it isn't too drastic for day wear. 

Benefit Coralista Lipgloss 

This smells really good and gives a nice subtle colour and shine. It lasts for decent amount of time and most importantly it isn't sticky. There's nothing worse than walking outside for a gust of wind to blow your nicely clean styled hair into your lipgloss leaving it a gloopy sticky mess.

Benefit Bad Gal Waterproof Liner
I'm usually more of a liquid liner gal but if I fancy abit of kohl then I always use this. This has a handy smudger on the end to help smoke it out for a sexy eye look. Unlike most kohl liners this is waterproof so no under eye mess. That is reason I stopped using kohl in the first place as my eyes can be sensitive and water in the wind etc and that would leave me with smudged eyeliner all smudged into my concealer under my eye but with this being waterproof it means I don't look like a panda by dinner time.

Lancome Travel Size Lipstick Nu Rose 06
This is a cute little lipstick that is perfect for Autumn due to its berry like colour. But for us pal gals it doesn't look to dark as dark berry lipsticks scare me a little. This helps you go for the berry trend but in a good way. It also smells gorgeous and is long lasting. Due to it being a popular one you can pick up this travel size version for cheap too to test the waters.

Lipstick swatches from left to right are - YSL Rouge Volupte, Bourjois Colour Boost, Lancome nu Rose and then Benefit Coralista gloss. 

Make up swatches from left to right are - Benefit eyebright, Bourjois blusher, Benefits Peek a Bright Eye's base, pearly pink shadow and then the brown contour shadow. 

So there you go that's my rediscoveries for the time being. Have you been shopping your stash recently and what gems have you found?
Jodie x

My never ending wishlist continues...

Here what I am currently lusting over:

*Nuxe Reve De Miel Baume Levres - This has amazing reviews across lots of blogs and my lips are very dry at the moment so I really want to try this out.

*Nars Happening Palette - I'm a sucker for palettes with multiple items in and this has blush, bronzer and eyeshadows so it is right up my street. I believe this is hard to get hold of now as It was limited edition earlier in the year boo! But I've not given up hope.

*YSL Rouge Volupte Shine lipstick in Corail Incandescent - since I've recently got two other shades of this lipstick and I've fell head over heels for it I now want it in more colours. This shade is next on my list.

*Night Film by Marisha Pessi - I love a good book and this horror/thriller sounds perfect for me, so I'm hoping to pick this up soon.

What do you think of my current picks?

Jodie x

Feel Unique Sale Haul!

My video of my Feel Unique sale haul is now up on my YouTube channel here:

If you don't want to to watch a video I have a written blog post with pictures showing what I got here :-)

Feel Unique is now my favourite place to shop and I have discovered some amazing products that I want more off.
Did you pick anything up in the recent summer sale?

Jodie x

My YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Lipsticks - Corail in Touch & Corail Intuitive

I have been dreaming of owning a YSL lipstick for quite a while now. They just look so gorgeous and glamorous! So when I found out that they where included in the Feel Unique sale I couldn't resist and I bought 2.
I got number 14. Corail in Touch and number 15. Corail Intuitive. Number 14 is darker than number 15.
The Corail Intuitive is perfect for everyday as it's quite a nude pink coral colour where as the Corail in Touch is a brighter coral which can be worn day or night.

I am absolutely in love with both of these lipsticks and I now want more! I got them for £20.40 each in the sale down from £24 each.

They have a nice subtle shine and they are not as opaque as they look in the bullet but they are both stunning.

Please watch my video to see swatches and my review.

Do you own any of these lipsticks? And what do you think of it?

Jodie x

Feel Unique Sale Haul!

So when I saw Feel Unique had a summer sale on I couldn't resist as so many of the things that I bought had been on my wishlist for a ages! and they where all reduced.

Here is what I picked up:
-The Balm Nude Tude Palette
- YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick 15 Corail Intuitive
- YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick 14 Corail in Touch
- The Balm Instain blusher in Swiss Dot
- Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

I love everything that I got but especially the YSL lipsticks, these are the first that I've ever owned and they definitely live up to the blogger hype and more. They smell gorgeous, they look gorgeous they feel gorgeous they are just amazing. The bad thing is that I now want more shades.

The Balm products feel great quality and they are very pigmented I will go into more depth with swatches in a future post.

The Real Techniques brush is my first of the famous brand and I am impressed I would now like the whole collection oh dear I see a theme here. Overall the Feel Unique sale is one you can't miss so I would recommend purchasing any items before it goes off soon.

All the products here will have there own dedicated post soon so if you want to see the gorgeous lipsticks in action don't worry I'm working on it :-)

Did you pick up any bargains in this sale?

Jodie x

My picks from the current Feel Unique sale

So in case you might have been living under a rock for the last few days Feel Unique have got a summer sale on which is amazing. They have free delivery as well which is one of the reasons I love this site.

Here is a round up of my favourite sale items.

The Balm Nude Tude Palette £20.80
This palette looks amazing and I've loved it since I saw it on my favourite blog - Beauty Broadcast. This is getting a lot of blogger attention so I can see it selling out pretty quick.

The Balm Instain Blusher - Swiss Dot £14.40
Some websites are selling this for £22 so this is a great price. I love love love this blusher. I want it in the Lace pink shade but it's sold out but the peachy Swiss Dot colour is gorgeous too.

YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick - Corail Intuitive £20.40
Omg this is my favourite item in the sale so far I've had sleepless nights wanting this haha. The Corail in Touch colour has just sold out but they are both gorgeous! These are £24 still in the YSL website so this is a good saving. I am so excited about this one.

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush £10.79
This seems to be the brush to get. I don't yet own a Real Techniques brush but the starter sets are on my Christmas list. This seems to be a great all rounder brush.

Nuxe Travel Set £7.92
I have raved about this set in a previous post. This is seriously a must have product. Everything in it is amazing. They also have my favourite hand cream on sale for £8 the Nuxe Reve De Miel.

Have you bought anything In the Feel Unique sale and what do you think of my picks?

Jodie x

July Wishlist - Lip Edition

July's Wishlist: Lip Edition

So for some reason this month I am obsessed with new products for my lips. I've never really yet found 'the one' product that is my go to item for gorgeous lips so I am still searching.

All of these I am currently crushing over and they all look gorgeous! I will hopefully chip away at my wishlist one by one soon. It may be hard to get the Lancome one as that was limited but I haven't given up hope on the beauties.

* Clinique Chubby Stick - Woppin Watermelon
* Mac Lipstick - Ravishing
* YSL Rouge Pur Couture - 52 Rosy Coral
* Lancome Baume in Love - Rose or Coral
* Lush None of Your Beeswax
* Burts Bees Balm

What are your lip must haves? Do any of you lucky ladies own any of these items and what so you think of it?

Jodie x