Forevermissvanity - A UK Lifestyle Blogger : lipstick

Illamasqua Haul

I remember walking to my local Illamasqua stand a few months ago for the first time and falling head over heels at the sight of the beautiful array of strikingly bold lipsticks. There was every colour in the rainbow from exotic oranges to bright greens. It was from that point that my love affair with Illamasqua began. I was in Manchester recently for a bloggers event and to kill time I headed over to the Illamasqua counter in Selfridges. On a friends recommendation, I thought I would try Skin Base, Illamasqua's top selling foundation.

Skin Base is a brand new formula that is nothing like you would see at other beauty counters. The foundation blends easily and leaves you with a flawless complexion, which looks like you are wearing no makeup at all. The foundation range is suitable for all skin types and it promises to smooth, soften and condition your skin whilst building coverage. I love Skin Base. Skin Base is the first foundation that has left me with a natural effect instead of a slightly orange glow. Skin Base is £27.00 which I think is reasonable because a little goes a long way and you only need a 50p sized amount on application.

After picking up my Skin Base, my thoughts turned yet again to their lipsticks. I have countless bright pink lip products, however this one caught my eye.This lipstick shade is Glissade and it is from their new Glamore range. For the first time Illamasqua has brought out a few satin finish lipsticks straying away from their trusted matt finishes, the Glissade is one of them. I love this colour as it suits my complexation and makes a great everyday lipstick as it is not too bright. I have had quite a lot of compliments wearing the latest addition to my Illamasqua collection.

Have you shopped at Illamasqua recently?

I'm a girl that cannot resist a bright pink and when I'm anywhere near a city thats sells Illamasqua, you can guarantee that I will have popped in store several times to try on their beautiful colours. My latest Illamasqua purchase is the ESP lipstick from their paranormal range.

Those looking for a bewitching lipstick for this Halloween should look no further than ESP. The colour is the highly pigmented and adds a gothic touch to your makeup draw. Like many of the Illamasqua lipstick this is not for the faint hearted as it's bright, bold and attracts a lot of attention. If you're wanting to look edgy and quirky this winter this is definitely the colour for you.

I'm a massive Illamasqua fan and I love the fact that their lipsticks are long wearing. When working behind the bar, I love to wear a vibrant lipstick and I've noticed that my Illamasqua lipsticks tend to the last the whole duration of my shift without a touch up. My only niggle at the Esp is the fact that it takes a few initial applications to make it look less patchy. This is something I can deal with to say it looks perfect afterwards. I love the vibrancy, the smoothness on my lipsticks and the fact that it's a colour not many people would wear on a regular basis. I like standing out from the crowd.

ESP is available online at http://www.illamasqua.com/ or from any Illasmasqua store for £16.60.

Although I spend a lot of time playing with hair extensions and vibrant coloured lipsticks, natural beauty is something that remains important to me. I believe that having a selection of nude makeup on hand is always important for those days when you want to embrace the natural you. During summer, I'm always wearing natural looking makeup as I think it compliments my tan more and usually requires minimal effort. There's nothing prettier than a girl during summer looking makeup free with tousled hair and beautiful floral dress - this is totally the 'inner hippie' of me coming out in this post.

Today I thought I'd show you a few of my current makeup favourites that I can't stop wearing. These are the new Beauty UK Masquerade posh palette* and the Atelier Paris new lip range.

The new Masquerade palette by Beauty UK is the perfect selection of everyday eyeshadow, in very earthy yet glamorous colours. Each eyeshadow is highly pigmented and works well without a primer. If there's any complaints it would be that they are a little bit too powdery and you need to make sure you shake off the excess, but this is a very minor complaint. I've found the eyeshadows delightful and the touch of sparkle embodied in the palette makes your eyes look beautiful and shimmering. Another aspect I love about this palette is the fact that the colours are very versatile and can be worn all the year long throughout the varying seasons. The lighter colours are great to last you until the end of summer and the darker colours will give you a head start to your autumn makeup collection.

http://www.beautyukcosmetics.com/

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My new lipsticks I cannot stop wearing were kindly sent to me by Atelier Paris* and they're part of the Atelier Paris Waterproof lipstick range that contains 2% jojoba oil to keep your lips moisturised. The two colours in the image are both are the 'Sandy Pink' on the left and 'Gypsy' on the right. The lipgloss in the centre is the 'Beige Dore'.

When I first tried this lipsticks, I was blown away with scent and taste. It feels like something j really fruity and sweet has touched your lips and your mouth starts to water. I love fruity inspired lip glosses and lipsticks so this was an added bonus that I didn't expect from the lipsticks. The actual quality of the lipsticks are better than I expected. I didn't know much about the brand and for £14, it's very similar to the price of MAC. Whilst on my work experience, I wore this lipsticks back to back all week and after trailing the products I realised that they stayed on all day, was unaffected by what I ate and the scent I loved was still with me by the end of the day. This makes these lipsticks definitely worth the £14 price tag. In fact, I've worn higher end lipsticks that have rubbed off easier than these.

http://www.makeupatelierparis.co.uk/

What are your nude beauty favourites?

The weather is ever so slightly picking up and i'm seeing myself grabbing more exotic coloured lipsticks. Orange and apricot shades are my favourite at the moment, because they are subtly bright and not too over the top. This Smooch lipstick in shade Inferno is my latest obsession and I like it that much, that I've bought two of them.

The first thing I need to comment on is the cute packaging. It has a vintage vibe and I love the adorable chantilly lace design. The casing has a soft, easy grip texture, which makes the lipstick easy to apply. It doesn't slip out of your hands and it helps create a surdy application. The packaging feels rather expensive for the £7.50 price tag, which makes this lipstick a great bargain.

I love the colour of the lipstick as it compliments my skin tone and hair colour, however I admit it's a colour that not everyone could probably pull off. I think the product is definitely more suited to darker hair colours as it makes the lipstick look dramatic, but yet toned down.

As I've mentioned before, I love this lipstick and adding fact that I've already bought another when I haven't even finished the first one, I can definitely see this as a product that I will be wearing for quite sometime.

http://www.smoochcosmeticsuk.com/

Have you tried any Smooch Cosmetics before?

Valentines day is just around the corner and at the moment, there's nothing I'm enjoying more than experimenting with my lipsticks and trying to find a perfect shade for the special night. Me and my partner will be going to our favourite restaurant as per usual and I want to look my best. There's nothing that screams lust more than red lipstick and I'm no stranger to the pretty colour. Today I thought I'd show you two other red beauties that are currently on the market and see which one tickles your fancy.

Cajun Pepper currently on offer at £2 from Front Cover Cosmetics

www.frontcovercosmetics.com

The Cajun Pepper mini lipstick is one of the newest releases from the Front Cover range and it's great for those wanting a deeper colour. Unlike Pillar Box Red or the Bloody Mary lipgloss I'm about to show you, this colour is a little bit more subtle and oozes ounces of sex appeal. The colour lasts a relatively long time, not quite 24 hours, but long enough to have kissable lips all night through.

Cajun Pepper Demo

The lipstick is a miniature size which is perfect for your handbag or discreetly slipping into your pocket for a night out and with a price as small as £4 (currently on sale at £2), it's great to be able to trial lots of different colours.

A.K.A Lipgloss £7 from A.KA cosmetics

http://www.akacosmetics.com/

If you love the colour of Cajun Pepper, but you would prefer a bit more vibrancy or a 'gloss lipped' look, this lipgloss from A.K.A cosmetics is fabulous. I'm not usually a lipgloss girl. I either forget to apply it or stick to my usual lipsticks. However, I really like how this tinted lipgloss makes my pout stand out. 'Bloody Mary' lipgloss is great for those looking for a subtle red gloss or for those wanting to enhance their already red lips. I prefer using this on top of a different colour, but either way it works really well. I love that the product isn't really sticky like a lot lipgloss brands and it makes my lips look effortlessly fabulous.

Bloody Mary Lipgloss Demo

Whatever you're doing this valentines day - whether you're going to the cinema, for a meal, an extravagant night out or just simply staying in with a box of chocolates to yourself, remember there's nothing that feels better than a sexy red lip.

Have you tried any of these colours?

Also, remember to enter my Giveaway!

Yesterday I attended the Beauty Power List event at Selfridges in association with Glamour magazine.Me and my friends shopped for beauty products, enjoyed having free pampering sessions and managed to get a one to one meeting with the legendary Jo Elvin, the editor of Glamour magazine. Unfortunately my camera had died and I managed to get no photographs, but the advice she gave me will stick by me throughout my career. Like all good editors, she didn't walk straight into her job. She worked hard as a waitress, then a publicist and finally landed in the world of Glamour. She told me to work hard, get as much experience as possible and remember that the fashion industry isn't as glamorous as people may think. There's so much admin to do and never enough time.

During the event, I decided to buy a MAC eyebrow pencil and an Illamasqua lipstick. Our ticket price of £10 was redeemable against any product. The eyebrow pencil was a much needed purchase, as I never feel truly comfortable with my eyebrows. They tend to be unruly and somewhat of a nightmare, even when they get waxed regularly. The Illamasqua lipstick was a much deserved treat and who can resist something so pink?

When I saw this colour out of the corner of my eye resting on the Illamasqua stand, I knew I had to try it. Bright pinks and reds have always been my weakness and this lipstick is so highly pigmented, it looks like nothing I've seen before.

The lipstick colour is Eurydice and having worn it most of last night, I'm happy to report that it lasts for several hours. In fact, I woke up with a pink tint on my lips this morning. The colour very much reminds me of Barbie.

Secondly here's the eye pencil I bought. It's by MAC, incredibly thin and rather easy to use. If you struggle with drawing your eyebrows on, this pencil is definitely the one for you.

The pencil blends really easy and creates a natural looking effect. My eyebrows look to have more shape when they are filled in and it takes the attention away from straggly hairs in-between waxes or plucking.

So here's the finished look. I'm not naked, just wearing a maxidress and forgot about camera angling.

I'm going to London Fashion Week tomorrow and i'm really excited. It will be my first fashion week and I'm looking forward to seeing Maria Grachvogel's latest line and seeing what the London Graduates have had to offer. I'm only going down for the day, but i'll definitely be making the most of it. Below are some of my current outfit choices. I'm thinking the dress on the right hand side will probably be the one I pick.

It will be an early start for me tomorrow, up at 3.30am to catch the megabus!

What are your plans throughout fashion week? Have you tried any of these products?

♥♥♥

Illamasqua Haul

Illamasqua ESP

Nude Beauty Favourites

Gimme a Smooch!

Kissable Valentines Lips

MAC and Illamasqua goodies from The Beauty Power List event.