50 Days, 50 Lipsticks - Days 21 - 30 - Makeup Monsters, Bare Minerals, Tarte, Collection, Too Faced, NYX and Revolution

OK, going to be honest and say I wasn't sure I would even make it this far however I am so glad I have. Also, in the spirit of being honest, I'm not entirely sure the order I wore these in. I've made a point of collecting my thoughts and also keeping them together so I know what I wore, but I didn't keep track of when. I do know that the Lip Lingerie was day 26, day 20 was a Saturday and I wore it the following Saturday when I went out (didn't do anything on the Sunday so no lipstick required).

(If you've not been following this, or you want a recap, and explication and Days 1 - 10 here, and Days 11 - 20 here),

Day 21: Tarteist Lip Paint in TBT

I don't like this. I don't care if it suites me, I don't care if I got compliments, I don't care if I bought it in the States. I don't like it.

So I got this in the Sephora in Times Square in New York last year. I got it and Hangry (at least I think that was what it was called) and the other one was actually worse. The formula of this is incredibly mousse-like but it also sticks to itself and not your lips. You swipe and it all ends up in one corner of your mouth, so you swipe again and it all slips to the other. I found I had to kind of dab this on with the doe foot to make it stay. Such a pain. 

It didn't set completely (which I didn't hate) but it started to feeling powdery as the day wore on, which was gross, and then it wore off patchily. Yuck and no. Very disappointed. 

It's going in the bin.

Day 22: Collection Field Day Lipstick in 2 Tulip

I got this lipstick for around 50p online in from a clearance website and hadn't worn it before trying it here, so I really didn't expect much at all from it. However I was actually quite pleasantly surprised. 

The colour isn't really me, its a bright pink, and the only pinks I usually wear are either dusky rose type ones or bright but deep magenta type colours. This was a little more orangey-ish but not a coral kind of colour. I don't hate it, I'm just not sure I'll wear it all that often. Formula wise its matte-ish. It's definitely not a standard creamy sating finish but its also not a true matte. Demi-matte, that's the term I'm looking for. It doesn't feel the best though and it did go slightly chunky.

I'm going to put it in the "test it again" pile. I was going to keep it but the more I look at it, the less likely I think I'm going to get a lot of use out of it.

Day 23: Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Dazzler

So I googled this and I'm not actually sure if its part of their standard line of lipglosses or one they made specifically for Christmas Gift Sets. It is available on Amazon and eBay though they're are images online. 

I've made my feeling about lipgloss very clear on more than one occasion. I do not like it. However when I wore this I just needed something quick to bang onto my lips and get out the door and it seemed like a good idea at the time. 

Did I like it? No. Did I hate it as much as I thought I would? Also no. It isn't completely horrible. It smells really nice and I enjoyed the tingly mint feeling on my lips. It also really wasn't that sticky. It's still a lipgloss so it is still sticky, it's just not the worst. I'm going to add this to the one more chance pile too, as it might not be the worst idea to have one sheer and slightly sparkly lipgloss in my collection, but I don't want to keep it if I won't use it. 

Day 24: Revolution Iconic Pro Lipstick in Liberty (Matte)

This lipstick is like a slightly more blue toned version of the NYX Full Throttle Lipstick I wore on day 16. And that kind of purple suits me even less than the slightly more pinky one.

It wore pretty well for cheap lipstick but the formula sadly wasn't as good as Propaganda's (day 17). I know I'm not going to wear this again so I'm just going to get rid of it.

Day 25: NYX Extra Creamy Lipstick in Snow White

This lipstick lived in my work make-up for so long and it only every got used when I was going out after work and wanted to re-vamp my face. That meant it had never really got a good wear test.

I love the colour. It's a really nice dark vampy red, but a slightly brown red and I don't really own anything else like it. Also these lipsticks are like £4 so they're are the cheapest of the cheap and there's like a squillion colours. NYX lipsticks are a really good, affordable option.

Sadly when I wore this for more than a couple of hours, I just really didn't like the way it felt, but that's just me. The lipstick feels like it dries down and kind of locks in place, Which I guess is maybe what you're looking for in a dark, creamy, bullet lipstick. I will say, we're half this now and my lips are probably like "What are you doing to us you crazy witch??" So, this is going to go in the one more chance pile. I'm thinking once I'm done this I might give it a couple of weeks before I go through that and retry all the ones in that pile, after treating my lips to all the sugar scrubs and a full tube of lipbalm.

I feel like this 10 days has been pretty brutal so far, out of the first five there's none that are definitely getting kept.

Why did I decide to swatch this time around?

Day 26: NYX Lip Lingerie Liquid Lipstick in 12 Exotic

Well I know I'm keeping this.

I only own two of these Lip Lingeries, one in Embellishment (which I think is shade 2) and this one. I know it's meant to be a nudier line but I just found the other ten shades in the initial line too nude, too concealer lip-esque, and really boring.  They have just released 12 more shades in the UK and once my local NYX counter gets them I may pick up one of them as there's a darker greige kind of colour that I'm very interested in. The other eleven new ones I'm pretty meh about as well.

It's a shame though because I really like the formula of these. It's really comfortable and applies thick and almost moussey then dries down. If I could get it in a brighter red or like a deep dark magenta I would be all over it. It's probably my favourite NYX Liquid Lip formula. Worth trying if you want something nice for the office but not really fun for the weekend.

Day 27: Too Faced Melted Matte Liquid Lipstick in Lady Balls

So this lipstick is so popular in the beauty communities I'm part of, but then again so are the Tarte Lip Paints, so I don't think that's a good indicator of anything. They got this right though.

I got this in an mini pack at Christmas along with two of the Melted Lipsticks and one of the Melted Chocolate ones, and I'd tried all of them (Chihuahua and Chocolate Honey have been regular work shades for a while now) except this one. I need to be in the right place to want a red before I'll play with them, or at least I did before I started this madness.

This lipstick is so nice though. It lasted really well, not so well it didn't need touched up, but it was just a touch up after food and nothing major. Also I didn't need to wipe red lipstick off my chin. Does that happen to anyone else? Like f you eat something big you have to bite off, like a baguette, you end up with lipstick all over your chin? Let me know about that, for science.

Also, going off on a tangent here, don't ever let packaging fool you, The Lip Lingerie packaging is nearly twice the size, but that thing actually contains 0.4ml less (allegedly, the fl. oz. conversion is wrong and doesn't make a lot of sense). What I'm trying to say is don't be fooled by huge packaging, it could just be huge packaging.

Day 28: NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in 27 Madrid

So I have a real love hate relationship with these creams. Some of them look great and last forever, some of them apply streaky, smudge on everything, look gross and stain your lips.

This was one of the good ones, at least this time. It applied and wore fairly well, and was the most stunning red colour. All of these lip creams seem to dissolve in water so if you drink a lot of tea like I do then it will need reapplied regularly. Overall it's not bad though, and I am going to keep it. For now at least.

Day 29: NYX Intense Butter Gloss in 03 Toasted Marshmallow

I think I bought three of these Glosses because YouTube told me they we we're good and picked the shades based on how much I liked the name. I was promised all kind of things and every time I've worn them I've just felt really let down.

There's a lot of pigment but it wears off fast and leaves me with a weird line of glossy purple round the edge of my lips, can look streaky and is sticky. Also when I was wearing this I checked it in the mirror at the start of lunch (before I ate anything) and was like  "What a mess!". I know its only a gloss but I'm way to busy to have to re-apply every 25 minutes.

I'm only keeping this so I can finally finish the review of these I've been working on, then it's going in the bin. We'll consider it gone now though, as it won't be going back into my makeup collection.

Day 30: Makeup Monsters Liquid Lipstick in Rebound

Makeup Monsters are my favourite indie brand and they make the best magenta lipstick I've every seen (I've not worn it during this challenge yet, I've been saving it in case there was a special occasion or something). This orange is equally as nice, and once I'm done with this I can see me getting a lot of use out of it.

I'm not going to do a dedicated review as I think this colour is discontinued but once the UK supplier gets re-stocked with the new shades (there's a gorgeous dusky rose one I need) I'm going to pick up some more and will include it when I review them.

If you want a wee taster though, the formula is really thin, and takes a minute or two to dry down completely, but once it does, its totally matte. It lasts a really long time, minor touch ups after lunch and dinner, and because the formula is really thin it doesn't seem to go weird and chunky if you have to touch up and accidentally go over some of the product thats still on your face.

Running total

Days: 30

Lipsticks Worn: 32

Lipsticks being binned: 6 (+ 6 maybes)

Top 3

1. (Joint) Too Faced Melted Matte in Lady Balls/ Makeup Monsters Liquid Lipstick in Rebound

3. (Joint) NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Madrid/NYX Lip Lingerie in Exotic

Bottom 3

1. Tartist Lip Paint in TBT

2. Revelution Iconic Pro Lipstick in Liberty

3. NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Toasted Marshmallow

xoxo Scruffy

NYX Full Throttle Lipstick in Jolt, Locked and Loaded. Review, Swatches and Wear Test - Cruelty Free Cosmetics

A while back a colleague mentioned picking up one of these lipsticks in the colour Night Crawler to me. I hadn't even heard of them, I'd focused everywhere else on the NYX but had someone managed to overlook these. Night Crawler wasn't my colour but I picked up shades 09. Jolt, 10. Locked and 11. Loaded. 

LtR. 11. Loaded, 10. Locked and 09. Jolt.

Their packaging is a bit different to the standard stuff. Its weirdly long and thin. You also don't get a lot of product with these, you get 2.4 grams of product and they cost £5.50. The NYX butter lipsticks are also £5.50  and you get 4.5 grams in them. 

So this is what a brand new one looks like. Its really thin and the top has a lot of weird edges. Kind of reminds of the twist up pencil type lipsticks you get but in bullet format.

I've chosen to swatch these in the order above as I thought it made the most sense and would result in the least weird staining. Now lets get looking at my face.

09 Jolt.

11. Loaded

10. Locked.

These lipsticks claim to be waterproof and according to the NYX website "covers your lips with super-saturated matte colour". From playing with these and wearing all of them I've noticed the formula is inconsistent between shades. Jolt and Locked are softer and creamier than Loaded and apply better, even if you heat it up by swatching on your hand first. It also feels very waxy when applied and is patchy if you don't apply a really heavy coat.

 In between photographing them and writing up this post, I actually dropped all of these and Loaded snapped. When I was trying to fix it, it slid out my hand and got smooshed as well. Unlike the Ripe Berry Butter Lipstick that also snapped, I won't be repurchasing this.

As this lipstick claims to be waterproof I decided to test it out the same way I would a liquid lipstick that made similar claims. I was already wearing Locked and its a pretty distinct colour, so I decided to roll with that. 

The rest of my makeup seems to have given up in this photo...yuck.

So I had this on for about six hours and ate a full plate of dinner and there's very little wear and tear. I'm really impressed that a bullet lipstick lasted this well. You can see that it has worn a little thin on my lower lip but its all still there. One small sweep and it would look immaculate again.

Over time, like most lipsticks these will begin to breakdown and transfer. This one was getting to the stage where it was beginning to powdery and if I touched my lips or drank things I'd get colour transfer. This is pretty typical of Jolt as well, I've worn them both a couple more times since photographing. They're great for work though, as they don't breakdown or smudge throughout the morning and still look good after lunch although they are beginning to break down.

Overall I like these. The last a long time and don't dry my lips out at all. They're definitely some of the better long wearing lipstick from the high street, along with the Sleek Matte Me Lipsticks and are are really affordable, even if you don't get tonnes. Plus I'd estimate that with regular eating and drinking I'd need to top up my lipstick three, maybe four times if I was going all day and then to then going out for food and drinks. I would need to top this up twice total, so that's a saving right there. 

XOXO Scruffy

Other NYX lip product reviews 

NYX Lip Lingerie

NYX Matte Lipsticks

MUA Velvet Lip Lacquer in Zest & Kooky Review, Swatches and Wear Test - Cruelty Free Lipstick

So a while ago (like back in the Summer) I picked up these velvet lacquers from Superdrug. However I never really got round to trying them out. I think I might have had a nude one in the past that I hated and it somehow put me off. They cost £3 each, making them super affordable if you're on a budget. You also get a bigger range of colours than with the Primark ones I reviewed a few months back (full review here).

The packaging itself is OK, its really standard for liquid lipstick, round tube with a screw cap and a doe-foot applicator. It feels far less cheap and nasty than the Primark ones. Also its a standard short doe-foot, not one of the weird long bendy ones, which is good.

So these swatch well and as you can see they dry really bright. One thing I should add right now is they have a really sweet almost candy-esque smell. It's a bit fruity but not overly so, and I find it a little off-putting. Apart from that the formula is OK, both shades needed two coats to stop them being patchy, and they took a little while to dry, however once they were on, they didn't feel drying at all which was a nice surprise. I did watch a review on Youtube where the v-logger said she found them really drying, so it might be a tolerance thing. My jumping on point for matte lipsticks was LA Splash and those are basically industrial grade paint for your face. I don't think I could find anything drying after using them for a couple of months.

So Zest is a super bright red-orange colour.

And this is Kooky. I thought it would be redder than it is.

 As with the Primark review and Sleek review, I decided to leave it on for a couple of hours over dinner and see what happened. 

So I only had it on for about three hours and in this time I had two cups of tea and a wrap with chicken and peppers. My dinner was about the least oily thing I've eaten in a long time so I'm really disappointed that half the bottom lip wore off. When I tested Velvet Slippers from Sleek I ate a whole plate of pasta and cheese sauce and it wore off less. 

So scoring time, colour choice, intensity, packaging and price wise they get full marks, however they smell weird, don't seem to wear well and don't stain making very obvious when they wear off. I'm going to go with 5/10 overall. If you want the bright colours then go for it, if not I would recommend the ones from Sleek that last far far longer.

Had a similar experience with these? Or did you find other colours lasted better? Let me know.

XOXO Scruffy 

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June 2016 Favourites

Well what a month June was. A lot of work, a lot of makeup and a new blog. A couple of meetups with friends and a lot of quiet nights in. 

This is just a rundown of some of my favourite things from the month. If you follow me on instagram or found this through instagram them you've probably already seen some of these but I'm going to go into some more depth here and explain why I love what I love.

Shearer Candles Tin Candle in Cranachan

OK, I've been in love and working on this candle for a while. I have it in the bathroom and light it when I'm having a proper pamper night. I was going to descibe the smell but Cranachan itself is a Scottish dessert of raspberries, cream, whisky, honey and oats and it smells like if you imagine that being a candle. Love it

 

 

Orange Lipstick

Up until the middle of last year (when I started getting into liquid to matte lipsticks) I only owned 3 lipsticks. There were two nudey pink kind of shades and a red one. I had a couple of lipglosses as well I would sometimes wear, but I really hate lipgloss so those were more if I needed something to finish my face with. Orange is not a colour you would have ever caught me in, and if you askes me if I thought it would look good on me, I would have told you hell no. Now, as much as I wear mostly a nude or a rose pink to work most days, I have a total love for a tangerine lip. And it looks surprisingly good seeing as my hair is an weak reddy brown colour and my face is usually the same colour as a tomato.

The one in the pic is the MUA Luxe velvet laquere in the colour Zest. 

 Superdrug Gentle Creamy Cleanser and Nip+Fab Glycolic Instant Fix Mask

(Please ignore the pore strips, I'm typing this late at night and didn't have the lighting for new pics)

The cleanser is as described. Its gentle, its creamy, it cleanses, it doesn't irrated or sting my skin in any way. Win. My only critisism is that it has "moisturising beads" in it, you know those little ball things that burst when you work them into your skin. I've never been a fan of these, even in my teeange years when I first started using cleansers I didnt see the appeal. I just dont understand why you couldn't just mix some extra moisturiser (or whatever) into the wash itself

The mask was something new to me. Up until earlier this year almost every mask I used was designed to calm down breakouts or unclog pores. Its only since I hit my quarter century I even began to consider maybe my skin needed something else. My focus changed from OMG my pores are blocked to OMG my pores are huge and I realised how dull and dehydrated my skin could look.

Its a little weird to use as its a clear gel, and it doesn't reallydry or set on the skin, so I have to guess when it needs washed off. I've used it three times since I got it and definetely leaves my skin feeling smoother and brighter and my pores looking more refined and reduced. I cant really speak for its wrinke reducing properties as thats not a concern for me...yet.

I'll definetly be looking into more Nip+Fab stuff once I've got my bathroom decluttereds. Look out for a post about that project in the next couple of days.

NYX Butter Lipstick in POPS (BL17)

So this took me way too long to get. It was a whole thing we wont get into right now. All you need to know is I think it took five trips to NYX counter in the St Enoch centre to get one that hadn't been ripped open already by someone else (boke). However it was worth the wait. I've used this almost every day since I got it. Its just a really nice nudey pink colour. Its not drying but I do feel like the formula dries down a little on my lips. It also doesnt seen to transfer nearly as easily as some of the other shades I have in this like Ripe Berry and Fizzies.

And lastly... My New Bedspread

Yeah soak in that tackiness. 

Thats all for now duckies.

xo Scruffy