NEW: MUA Velvet Lip Lacquer - ENTIRE COLLECTION SWATCHED

MUA LUXE VELVET LIP LACQUER 

Now, I am a lover of high end make up, and have my fair share of expensive products, from Becca, to Kevyn Aucoin, to Eve Lom, Hourglass. I love luxury, despite my very empty pockets, I seem to be able to find a way to own things I really haven't the funds too. 

However, MUA, like Sleek Make Up, are one of those brands that aren't just budget, they're SUPER budget, and despite this, they keep coming up with FANTASTIC products that I opt for time and time again despite owning much pricier alternatives. The velvet lip lacquers are just one example of this. I own matte liquid lipsticks from Lancome, BITE beauty, Stila, Lime Crime and many more. However, when i'm going on a hardcore, sweaty and long night, I always opt for MUA velvet lip lacquers. They're a million times cheaper, and offer much more it seems. How can we complain!?

You may not have heard, and not even I had heard, and I am a total cosmetics geek, so I should have by now, but they have released a few new shades of lip lacquer for the summer. I found them in my local superdrug, which was a surprise given their lack of stocking ANY products that someone would potentially desire, so I snapped them up quick as a flash, and here I am to share them with you!

These are the original shades released last year....

L-R Atomic, Reckless, Funk and Kooky

L-R Kooky, Reckless, Funk and Atomic

Bottom to top - Atomic, Funk, Reckless and Kooky

And here are the NEW ones for summer! STUNNING as the old! 

L-R Criminal, Aflush, Halcyon and Tranquility

L-R Criminal, Aflush, Halcyon and Tranquility

Bottom to top - Criminal, Aflush, Halcyon and Tranquility

Firstly, please excuse my skanky arm. I have had a major allergic reaction and am covered head to toe in hives due to, what seems to be, my hair bleach that I have used on me. This sucks, because I have a full head of blue hair. I'm not sure what my options are but I am ANNOYED.

Secondly, I cannot praise these formulas enough. Not ONE other liquid lip, except for the Stila one, which is five times the price, will stand up in the same way. If you apply a lipliner that is also long wear, like the Sleek Eau La La Liner (£4.99 from boots and superdrug), then apply this on top, you will be able to get through about six hours smudge and budge free. Quite the performance no!?

So I suggest you pick these up QUICK. They always seem to be sold out, so if you find them, make them yours. They are summer and party nights in a tube!

Available from MUA online, and Superdrug exclusively for the paltry sum of £3.00.

Come, dive in, and swim in the delicious waters of MUA lip lacquer! 

REVIEW: MAC Kelly Osbourne Mineralize Skinfinish - JOLLY GOOD and Powder Blush - Cheeky Bugger

Kelly Osbourne and her face

So let me get one thing straight here. When I first heard there was going to be a Kelly and Sharon Osbourne Mac collection out, I did not whoop for joy. Instead I thrashed about in the same way I did when Kate Moss was given her first Topshop collection. Why the HELL should they get their own collections!! When I buy designer clothes, I feel excited because an expert and creator has designed something that they've studied hard to be proficient at, I mean, if Kanye West can get slated for being a designer of clothing, even though (and I know he's a controversial character here) he's been willing to intern at Fendi, which, I know, it's a dream internship, but at least he went there, did coffee runs, did a version of the same stuff that others who want to learn did. 

When Kate Moss happily says 'what I did, like, for this collection, was I decided to look in my wardrobe at stuff I liked and then said to the designers 'make that thing I like please' and then, like, I sell it to people, and get money etc'. I am paraphrasing obviously, but.....well, I have a big wardrobe, I have LOADS of clothes I like, that, shock horror, were designed by DESIGNERS, why not just ask me to make a collection then? I mean, i'm afraid I wasn't blessed with the genes to make me a beautiful supermodel who has been idolised for having a face and a human body, but I do LOVE clothes so....

And this is basically my issue. Kelly Osbourne, I have met a lot. I'm hoping my anonymity stays with this blog, because I could get my arse whooped, but she was a close friend of a friend, and every single time I met her, she was a twat, and self entitled, and expectant, and she really needed, to quote the youth of today, check her privilege. Nepotism is obviously the key to many talentless people's success, but come on Mac, you really are scraping the barrel here.

But then.....argh, I went and I ruddy bought some....

Kelly Osbourne Mineralize Skinfinish in Jolly Good

Packaging = Pretty

A contouring and highlighting duo

So the point in this, is that you can use it as a subtle bronzer or contour shade, and the other shade as a highlight or subtle blush colour. I have to say, this colour pay off is VERY subtle, but the quality is stunning. The powder is buttery and soft, and is picked up very easily on a kabuki (I didn't buy the Kelly kabuki, because for £36, you can shove it up your arse frankly) and buffed onto the cheeks to create an ombre contour that is quite beautiful. However, this is very much a pale ladies pick up. If you are deeper in tone, you are going to be spending a lot of time trying to get some payoff on you skin. 

I would suggest that this is a lovely bronzer for the summer months, and the lighter hue is fantastic in conjunction, or alone. The packaging is beautiful and it's well worth picking up if you are super pale, like me, as it's a rare type of bronzer that actually looks quite natural on your skin. 

Kelly Osbourne Blusher - Cheeky Bugger

Cheeky Bugger - Swatched

So this is a satin finish blush, which I would SWEAR is a sheertone because, well, LOOK HOW SHEER IT IS. I would also not call it a satin finish, as it seems to be an aggressively matte base, shot through with a bit of sparkle, which is a whole different game from satin, which I generally find looks a bit dated. I did my best to get a good swatch for you lot but alas, I tried and this is as built up as I could get it. HOWEVER. When I use it on my NW13 skin, it is one of those shades that I adore. Seriously, it makes you look and feel like a spring lamb. It's fresh and pretty. Sadly it's longevity is pretty woeful, and it is only visible for a total of two hours. I love the colour so much, i'm willing to top it up throughout the day. 

I would again, not recommend this for a darker skintone. It's just not going to give the payoff unless you go to work on it, and even if you do, it will wear thin pretty quick. 

I won't end on a negative note though. I love the packaging, I am appreciative of the products and despite the 'icon' not really being much of an 'icon', I can get over that to own a product I actually like, and the visuals and styling for her are absolutely stunning. If only I could get on Strictly Come Dancing, and be given jobs because I have some parents who did stuff. 

BITTER!

Anyway, you can pick this up online direct from Mac, the Mineralize Duo is £24 and the Blush is £23, and frankly, if I could make a collection with my mum i'd not turn it down, so I really should stop moaning. 

REVIEW: YSL Baby Doll Kiss & Blush - No 7 - Coral Affranchi + No 10 - Nude Insolent

Hiya now!

So, i've been absent for a while. Been a bit of a rubbish human being i'm afraid. I've been dj'ing, and trying to be less of a chubber (note to self: eating less might be the first step) and it's been hot as FIRE in the UK (hello viewers from across the globe!) so if sweating and complaining about sweating is considered an activity, then i've been busy as buggery. 

So to start this review off nicely, here's a picture of Cara Delevigne being rude with another lady for a camera (it's okay though, she is actually in a relationship with a lady right now so can't be accused of going gay for pay....

Fit.

Anyway, I have a local Debenhams which I go in FAR too much, and everyone knows me, I mean, I get high fives from the staff when I walk in i'm that familiar to them. Such is the rewards of being a beauty addict with blue hair. It's like Cheers (the sitcom) sometimes you wanna go where EVERYBODY knows your name.....and your favourite foundation shade. 

But I digress. I bought some YSL kiss and blushes and here's what's up. I LOVE THEM. 

Kiss and Blush No 7 and No 10 

Kiss and Blush No 7 Coral Affranchi

Kiss and Blush No 10 Nude Insolent 

I went the first day they were released and wanted to buy them all, but firstly, I am poor, and secondly some of them looked ruddy awful on me, so I settled on these two. Now, one big problem was the girl serving me, lovely as she was, had the worst make up ever. She had massively thick too dark foundation, dry cracked lipstick drawn far too far over her lipline and the classic contouring that is so over applied it looks like a grey dirty pile of dirt. It put me off, but I somehow managed to get through the consultation and purchase.

Somehow.

Coral Affranchi - Nude Insolent

YSL SAY THIS. GO!!!!

• KISS YOUR CHEEKS, BLUSH YOUR LIPS Yves Saint Laurent introduces a double play of colour for lips and cheeks. A hybrid between a lip colour and a blush, this innovative air-whipped formula allows for an instant application on both lips and cheeks. With a luminous matte finish, colour is easily buildable from a soft and natural look to a more intense sophisticated look. The patented "hidden pearl" applicator is customised to glide perfectly on the lips and to allow the optimal amount of formula to be dotted on the cheeks. A range of 12 playful shades to complement each cheeky side of the YSL Baby Doll woman.
• APPLICATION TIPS: Use one shade and dot the formula on the lips and cheeks with the applicator. Blend with your fingertips for a softer makeup result. For a more intense finish, apply a second layer by using the pearl applicator to fully spread the formula on the lips. To be more playful and daring, mix and match two shades on lips and cheeks and vice versa.

These items are basically my dream product. On the lips they sit somewhere between a matte lipstick and a stain. You need to be aware that as a lip product, they aren't THAT long lasting. If you're just going about your day, they'll see you through about five hours, but if you will be eating, drinking and kissing, they're going to wear off, although leaving you with a subtle slight 'my lips but better' stain. As or cheeks, this is where this product WINS and WINS HARD. I put just a couple of dot below each cheek bone and blend with a duo fibre brush from Real Techniques, and the colour distributes beautifully without leaving those telltale 'i've been using a benetint type thingy' dots stained into your cheeks. The colour deposited is matte in essence, but also luminous, and soft. I really can't say enough good about these, except for the price. I do think that £27 is a little much for a product that you are going to want to purchase multiple shades of. 

Despite that, I highly recommend you pick up a couple of shades. They're a summer staple and great for weekends away, and dare I say, festivals (I am vehemently ANTI the whole festival make up bullshit, given that in my day, we felt equipped with wet wipes and tampons). 

If you want to pick these up, you can do so online at YSL, John Lewis, or good old Debbers for £27 of your hard earned pounds.