Rolling Project Ten Pan Roulette - Start Point - Picked at Random - Urban Decay, Sleek, NYX, Makeup Revolution

So I recently decided it was time to start a makeup inventory and log everything I owned on a spreadsheet. This was to make sure everything I had was visible to me and I was getting proper use out of everything, and also with the hope I would start rotating through it. I got as far as eyeshadow palettes with 5+ pans before I realised I had way to many. I have 55 of those palettes with a total of 709 pans of eyeshadow, and after creating this project I did my quads/trios/duos as well. I have 14 of those, with another 46 pans(and will add them in to the mix at update one, I might add in singles and sticks at update two but I'm not finished that part yet). That's 755 pans of eyeshadow, before single pans, sticks and loose powders. I feel like I could cover my whole face in eyeshadow for the next year and I'd still have some left to get me through till January 2019.

It felt like time to get some proper use out of my palettes.  So what I have done to pick pans is run my number of palettes through Googles random number generator 10 times and cross referenced the number with where it falls on the spreadsheet for the palettes I'm including. And then to pick a pan I have run the generator again, using the number of pans in the palette and gone left to right and top to bottom. For example, with the chocolate vice palette I got pan 15, so the top row it 1 - 5, middle row is 6- 11 (yeah this is a messed up palette with different sized pans) and then 12,13, 14 and finally 15 on the bottom row takes us to the dark sparkly red. 

And now that all the technical stuff is covered, lets see if the google gods were kind to me

1. Freedom Makeup Pro Shade & Brighten Stunning Rose Kit - Pan 5 

2. Sleek i-Divine Palette in Enchanted Forest - Pan 12 Lady Tremaine

3. NYX Sex Bomb Palette - Pan 3

4. Revolution London Iconic Pro 2 - Pan 10 Silk

5. Wet n Wild Comfort Zone - Pan 1

6. Urban Decay Nocturnal Shadow Box - Pan 4 Half Baked

7. Sleek i-Divine Palette in Garden of Eden - Pan 10 Evergreen

8. Makeup Obsessed Build Your Own 12 Pan Palette - Pan 6 Taupe (this will be different for everyone as I chose the colours for this.

9. I <3 Makeup Chocolate Vice Palette - Pan 15  

10. Revolution Dio De Los Muertos - Pan 3

And now for some swatches

LTR - Shades 1-5 (4 and 5 are very neutral shimmer tones)

LTR - Shades 6-10

Overall I didn't get a bad mix, things could have been so much worse. I've either used all of them in the past or tried them out since taking the pictures and colour wise the only one I may struggle to use regularly is the pink. Shade 3 is pretty chunky, flaky and glittery and when I tried to use it on the eye I really struggled. 4 and 5 are also very similar so I may focus on one of them and when I hit pan on the first one and cycle it out and start using another one.

I'll be back in a month to update you all on how things are going, and hopefully with some pan. If pan has been hit I will run the random number generator again and get a new pan from my collection to replace it with. There's no end date on this project and it will probably just roll month on month, as nothing needs used up or is beginning to go bad. It also means that if I end up with a new palette (like when I get to Sephora in November) then I can just put this to one side whilst I play with it an then come back to this.

If your doing a similar project please link any posts/youtube videos below. I love following project pans and seeing how everyone is doing. 

Until next time...

xoxo Scruffy

Favourites July 2017 - Pixi, Kat Von D, Kiko Milano, Lime Crime, Collection, The Body Shop, Ozark

I can't believe that in two days time we will be in August. That just seems crazy to me. Where has the year gone? And that applies to the blog too. I went so good with Blogmas last year until the boiler broke and from then on I just feel like I've run out of steam a little. I couldn't believe it when I checked and the last time I actually sat down and typed up my monthly favourites was last November. My blogging notebooks have the lists for previous months in them so I really didn't think it was that long ago, good intentions and all that. 

Anyway, lets get into it, seeing as its been eight months.

Face Products

GOSH X-Ceptional Wear Foundation

I have an oily T-zone, and part of the reason I don't wear liquid foundation most of the time (despite owning several) is that over summer my oily nose can strip off the foundation within a couple of hours regardless of primer or powder. I then need to spend the rest of the day (usually in a warn office) with a big, shiny, makeup free mess in the middle of my face. The other reason is that my skin is somewhere between neutral and cool toned, and I'm pretty darn ghostly.  So finding a foundation that comes close to matching me, is at least medium coverage, and doesn't melt the moment my skin gets a teeny bit oily is a hard task. 

This works really well though. The match is close enough to my skin tone I don't need to mix it, the coverage isn't exactly what I want (I have a lot of redness down my cheeks) but it can be built up without looking cakey and as long as I powder when I arrive in the office and at lunch, it lasts till 4.30pm when I leave, which is probably the thing I found most impressive. That and it's like £8 from Superdrug (and I got it on 3 for 2). Would highly recommend to any other oily, pink toned, caspers looking for a good foundation for under £10.

Collection Primed & Ready Invisible Setting Powder

Why are you including a basic powder in your favourites Scruffy you may ask, and believe me, I've asked myself that too, but I was just really impressed by this. I only bought it for my handbag as I needed a powder and the one I originally purchased from ELF had crazy chunky packaging on it for far less product.

This is also really cheap, its £4 for 15g, which in terms of makeup is a steal. I know its like £1.50 more than the other collection powders (like the one that's been in my project pan) so compared to them its slightly more expensive but this is actually translucent, or at least I don't notice any colour, if you have a deeper skin tone than me then you may notice it. Its also one of their "powered by Witch" products, which means it claims its been enhanced with Witch Hazel and should help keep breakouts away. I don't know if it works but I'll never say no to skin clearing benefits.

Kiko Milano Radiant Brush in 03 Sunset Pomegranate

Kiko Milano blush products are some of the best I have ever tried and I love the four or five I had before I bought this in mid June. I went in store and they had two of the three blushes from this collection on offer (02 Breathtaking Azelea and this one) so I picked one of each up .Even thought I was more drawn to the other shade, I couldn't say no to a bargain. Once I got home and had a play though, I fell in love with this colour and haven't really used shade 02. 

It looks a little scary in the pan, and far brighter and darker than something I would normally like, but when its applied with a fluffy brush it just gives the most wonderful lightly flushed, slightly stained pink glow to the cheeks. I've had it like six or seven weeks maximum and the pan design is already completely gone from the middle, and thats with my fighting the urge to use it each day as there's two blush minis in my project use up I should be using instead. 

This is down to £3.80 on the Kiko website and probably is about the same instore (which is cheaper than I got it for as well), so if you're making an order or doing a shop I would highly recommend picking this up. 

Highlighters (Yes, they're getting their own section)

PIXI & Aspyn Ovard Glow-y Powder in London Lustre

I'm not a huge fan of the standard champagne, frosty, cream kind of highlight, always favouring pink or peach ones, or glowy blush toppers over them. So when I went into M&S for tights and left with this (and tights) I was a little surprised with myself. However this highlight is super pretty and I am in love with it. 

It is a bit sparkly and pretty intense so a light and is required but its just so pretty and lasts all day. I've actually gone back and purchased the other two colours from the Aspyn Ovard collab, ones a sparkly blush and the other is a more peachy golden highlight that might be a little dark for me, but if it is I'll take it on holiday and use it on my body.

Kat Von D Alchemy Palette

Bottom to top: Emerald, Sapphire, Amethyst and Opal

The other highlighter(s) I have been obsessed with. The colours in this are a bit crazy but so so pretty and I have worn all of them, except Emerald, as highlight/blush topper and all four of them on my eyelids. 

It is expensive, but the colours are so vibrant, and as it isn't going to get used crazy fast and its not something you'll need or be able to re-purchase, I'd say its well worth it for a one of splurge.

Eye Products

Lime Crime Venus 2 Grunge Palette

So this palette has been in my collection for a little while but hadn't really gotten into it until this month. I actually think its been a re-action to me trying to pan the I <3 Makeup Naked Chocolate palette for the past few months, which is very nude and creates very work friendly looks, so when it gets to casual Friday or the weekend I've been gravitating towards this. 

I love all the colours in this although I haven't found a way to use either Filter or Boot (the bright blue and sparkly navy shade). Blues aren't really my thing, but all the other shades are right up my alley. Pigeon (top left corner) is this amazing brown shade with a greeny blue shift that is so nice, and the mustard and orange shades have seem some use this month. I guess my only criticism is that I can't create a whole look with it as there's no matte cream or taupe crease colour, but overall I have been loving this for creating fun looks.

Kiko Milano Precision Eyeliner

My two favourite eyeliners are the Illamasqua Precision Ink and the Kat Von D Tattoo liners, but they are both nearly £20 each, which I really hate paying for an eyeliner. I decided whilst I still had some Illamasqua left and a backup Tattoo liner in the drawer, I would try and find a cheaper alternative. After some fails (Sleek, Collection, Eye Co, MUA) one of the girls I work with recommended this one. 

It's really good, and far cheaper than either of my favourites. Its super black, lasts really well without smudging and its really easy to apply. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a great eyeliner that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg.

Wet n Wild Photofocus Eyeshadow Primer & Kiko Milano Shadow Stick in 06 Golden Brown

So these products go hand in hand and combine to make one favourite as I only really use them together. 

I was always kind of meh with the shadow sticks as I felt they didn't last that long and creased up easily but the colours were super pretty. Thats why I added this one to my project pan as its a nice colour but I wasn't getting any use out of it and it wasn't until I wore it over the Wet n Wild primer that I fell in love. Its just the nicest bronze, shimmer brown colour

I don't really love the primer with looks that are all powder shadows as I feel like it is a little messy and can cause my eyelids to look a bit weird and puffy, but it works well with liquid and cream shadows.

This combo though, doesn't move at all, no creasing, no fading, no fallout and it lasts all day.

Other Items

Superdrug Pore Cleansing Pads

My skin has improved a lot in the last five months since I went vegetarian, which was an unexpected side effect, but it's still irritable, spot prone and a bit congested in the pore department.  When I'm having a flare up these pads really help and are probably the main reason my skin isn't an insane mess right now. 

I've been trying to use them once a day, every day, to keep on top of the pimples, rather than having a huge flare up and then having to super intensively treat my skin and have it dry out and hurt like what happened earlier this year. And its working pretty well. I'm going to keep going with them and if anything changes I'll let you know.

The Body Shop Red Musk Eau de Toilette

So this is my favourite perfume ever (I think), I did used to really like the original Ghost in the tall blue bottle and although I'm trying to use up two different perfumes I've found myself reaching for this a lot instead. I've mostly resisted but because I wanted to use it so badly I felt like I should include it in my favourites, although it is more of an all time favourite than a July specific one.

Ozark (New TV show on Netflix, no picture for it)

So I don't think I've ever really talked about TV, film or books here before, and I'm not sure why, maybe because the last thing I really loved was West World and that feels like a long time ago. 

Ozark just kind of took me by surprise and sucked me in. There was no hype and I pretty much just watched the trailer, then started watching the show, and I did the whole season in three or four days episode after episode. I'm not normally a binge watcher like that, I'll maybe watch an episode or two and then go away for a bit before I want to see what happens and I sit back down and watch some more, but I was just completely sucked in. 

Jason Bateman was fantastic as Martin Byrde, and it was nice to see him in a more serious role, although I have a theory that Martin Byrde is just a few life choices away from Michael Bluthe (Batemans character in Arrested Development). He also directed four or five of the episodes which was cool. I can't remember if I liked them more or less than the others because the whole show was great and it was one continuous story. Laura Linney also deserves serious props for her possum throwing skills.

Anyway that's everything I think.

Let me know what you have been loving.

xoxo Scruffy

Barry M Illuminating Highlighting Palette - Worth Picking Up? Drugstore, Affordable, Cruelty Free, Under £10

Ever just nipped into Boots or Superdrug for one thing, like baby wipes or toothpaste, stuck your finger in a sample on a product display out of sheer curiosity and then felt like you needed that product in your life?.... 

Recently, on a trip to Superdrug for some face wash, I did the above.

Barry M and I have a complicated history. Some of their products I love, some I hate, some I start loving and end hating. Dazzle Dust, Love, Concealer, hate. Primers (tried two or three of them), hate. Eyeliners, love. You get the idea... 

About a year ago, I decided to try their Natural Palette. Its a blusher and eyeshadow palette in some very natural shades. I thought I would like it, but I didn't. The product weas really stiff and hard to blend, and I found the colour payoff really poor (for both blush and eyeshadow). As it was around the same price as the To Be Cool in Copenhagen palette from Gosh I bought at the same time, and totally loved, I was more than a little disappointed and swore off Barry M powder products.

Barry M Natural Palette (image from Superdrug.com)

Fast forward to the face wash trip a few weeks ago, when I broke the just mentioned rule and got suckered in by one of those stand alone displays and some cute packaging. It has rockets on it.. nuff said??

So the thing that really attracted me to this palette was how soft and velvety the highlighters felt when I stuck my grubby paws in them. I mean, they are a pressed product so there's only so soft they can be, but they're definitely not smooshed into the pan with a huge amount of force. Also as a very pale girl, all three shades looked light enough for my peely-wally complexion.

LtR: Frosty Cream, Iced Pink and Gilded Bronze

The packaging is cute but it is cheap. It's card that looks like its been coated in thick black paper but not adhered together properly,  and you can see there is air between them in places. It has a magnetic closure but it's not really strong. The mirror is nice though and the design on the front is cute, however I've only had this a couple of weeks and bronze coating on the design has already started to wear off.

Across the second H and the T in highlighter the bronze coating is wearing off

So the palette costs £6.49 and you get three pans that each contains 4 grams. That's a cost per gram of £0.54, so very very cheap. The ingredients, like the packaging, aren't the highest quality with the main one being talc so definitely avoid it at all costs if you are sensitive to that.

So onto swatches, left to right we have Frosty Cream, Iced Pink and Gilded Bronze. Frosty Cream is a very pale yellow gold, Iced Pink is (as the name suggest) a very icy pink, and Gilded Bronze is a light bright coppery colour, but is definitely not bronze.  What I will say is these colours are all designed for very fair, peely-wally folk like me. I would say if your even a teeny bit tan these may be to frosty on you.

Some more intense finger swatches.

As I've already said these powders are very, very soft and as a result are a kick up quite a lot of product when you stick your brush (or fingers) into them. They apply really nicely to the skin, far nicer than expected and really aren't sparkly, which was always my biggest gripe about cheap highlighters. Is it weird to describe something as a work highlighter, because that's what these are to me.

I don't know how well these blended out swatches will show up.

So in summary...

Positive Points

Amazing value

Cruelty free

Good colour range

Not sparkly

Negative Points

Cheap packaging

Only works on fair skin

 Kicks up a lot of powder when using.

Would I recommend it? Maybe, but only to my really pale friends. 

Any Barry M products I really need to try? Let me know

xoxo Scruffy

E.L.F. Aqua Beauty Molten Liquid Eyeshadow - Are they worth the money? Cruelty Free, Cream Eyeshadow, Affordable

So a wee while ago I finally placed an E.L.F. order from the UK site (and mistakenly thought it was coming from inside the UK) and had to patiently wait for the two brushes and two of these eyeshadows to show up. 

**Side note - I'm not going to do a separate review of the brushes, but I got Pointed Powder and Flawless Face Brushes and they are top notch. I love them both. They are maybe a tiny bit smaller than I expected, they're both maybe comparable to the Real Techniques blush brush, but well worth the £7.50 they each cost **

So E.L.F. or Eyes Lips Face are a U.S. based makeup brand, completely cruelty free, and very affordable.  Right now they are available direct from their website (UK or USA), through Superdrug and through some other bigger online retailers. I'm not sure if they're coming into Superdrug stores or not but I hope they do so I can go and swatch and play with things. They only announced they were coming to Superdrug within the past week or so, so if I'd been patient I could have just ordered from their and gained points too. Once they arrived and I'd had about a week to play with them, I decided I really liked them and when I was placing a LuxPlus order decided to pick up the other two colours they had available.

Top to Bottom:  Liquid Gold, Molten Bronze, Rose Gold and Brushed Copper

According to ELF's website "Wash this hydrating liquid eyeshadow over lids for a vibrant, metallic look (and an irresistible cooling effect). The formula is infused with Purified Water and Vitamin E to help hydrate". They retail for £5 each and are available in six shades, I have four of them.

So what do I think about them...

Packaging

They come in these tubes that I keep likening to lip gloss or liquid lipstick, but, in actual fact, are exactly the same as cream concealers. They are plastic but they have a nice amount of weight to them and don't feel cheap at all. I also really like the blue caps, I think they signify the Aqua Beauty range or something.

Application

So these come with a doe-foot wand, exactly the same as cream concealer, and that's what I use to apply them, although I guess you could wipe it on your finger and then apply with your finger tips or a brush. I actually like using the doe-foot, and I didn't think I would. It makes application really quick, which is great as I'm so lazy with makeup in the morning, but its not super precise, especially in the crease area. So if you want to do some super sharp cut crease look, I would recommend dabbing a brush onto the wand and using that instead. 

Top to Bottom:  Liquid Gold, Molten Bronze, Rose Gold and Brushed Copper

How do they wear?

The first time I tried them, not very well. Every time since then they've been amazing though.  

So the first time I wore these I wasn't really sure what I was doing as I hadn't ever used a product like this before, so I wouldn't take my one bad day to mean these are bad. I didn't prime my eyelid, applied a tiny bit of a soft, matte brown coloured powder shadow in my crease, wapped a bit of these on my eyelid and went about my day. That day was really hot and I was incredibly busy, squinting at computer screens and then trying to avoid the sun, and by the end of it my eyelids were a mess. It was creased by about 3pm and I was gutted, luckily I have hooded lids so the bunching up could only really have been seen if I closed my eyes.

Top to Bottom:  Liquid Gold, Molten Bronze, Rose Gold and Brushed Copper

Day two I decided to try again. This time I primed my whole lid with the original Urban Decay primer potion, put in my crease colour and applied the shadow. I then let it set for 10-20 seconds before very gently blending a tiny bit of my crease colour just along the edge of the shadow, to set it fully. 

It did not budge all day. No creasing or fading and it looked amazing. Like I'd put in ten times the effort I had. I've tried this way of applying with the Bronze, Copper and Rose Gold, and it worked really well with all of them. The only reason I've not tried it with the Yellow Gold colour is I'm not sure if I'd like it on me or not. I'm quite cool toned and I'm not sure how it would look. Its also not nearly as opaque as the others and I don't know how many coats it would need to make it really pop.

I also know that Rose Gold and Brushed Copper look sheer in those swatches but they were done with only one coat and they do layer really nicely. Two layers of rose gold on the lid and then some really black winged liner looks amazing. I've tried liners from both ends of the spectrum over them too, Collection and Illamasqua and both applied fine and lasted amazingly, although the Illamasqua Precision Ink liner looked far better over the top (precise liquid verses clunky felt tip though).

Final thoughts

So overall I would give these a 8 out of 10, with there best points being their longevity, how easy they are to apply and the value for money. Probably the worst points are that the lighter colours are a little sheer, and that there's not a great color selection (the four "molten metals", a dark grey and a lilac). I would love to see a dark bottle green and navy blue in the same formulas as the bronze one, that would be so nice.

I would happily recommend these to anyone looking for a gorgeous, easy to apply, eyeshadow that packs a punch.

xoxo Scruffy

50 Days, 50 Lipsticks - Days 11 - 20 - Sleek, Revolution, Kat Von D, NYX, Lime Crime, Kiko Milano

So if you're wondering what this 50 days, 50 Lipsticks thing is all about you can check out my intro and first ten days post here.

Day 11: NYX Butter Lipstick in Pops/Root Beer Float

So if you've read anything I've written about this lipstick, ever, you'll know I love it and it usually lives in my makeup bag. I was reluctant to wear it before the half way point in case I needed it for something work based, but then I remembered I still hadn't worn any of my Too Faced lipsticks yet (Chihuahua, Chocolate Honey and Queen B are usual weekly wears to work) and I still had the NYX Matte lipstick in Eurotrash to wear as well, so it was far from the last nude in my collection.

These lipsticks have a gorgeous buttery (har har) formula, they're comfortable, glossy but not sticky and pretty opaque. Only think is they transfer a lot and don't last the longest time. 

Today was a really, really busy day in the office and I didn't get a chance to reapply this at all. Luckily, as its a nice nude, that didn't matter. If I'd worn anything else I would have looked straight up odd from 11am onwards. 

Day 12: Lime Crimes Velvetine in Teddy Bear

I have this feeling everyone has this one item of makeup in their collection that they always think is a good idea in theory and it never is in practice. They may own other colours from the same line that work fine, they may own other formulas in the same colour that are lovely, but something about that colour and formula mix is a disaster. That is Teddy Bear for me.

Spurred on by the success of revisiting Cashmere, I decided to pull out some other Velvetines from the back of the drawer and have a play. Teddy Bear was a colour I always loved, its described as a Lilac Brown on the official website and its just lovely. Dark enough not to highlight how red I am, light enough not to make me look washed out and brown enough not to highlight that purple looks hideous on me. 

This wore the same as Cashmere, great. But by the time I went to touch up after lunch (and it barely needed a touch up) I remembered why I never wear it. For some reason, I don't know if its bleed or fade, but this one Velvetine seems to separate on my lip line and I get left with this weird bright pink ring around my lips. It looks like I've lined my lips, badly and with the wrong colour, rather than my usual "not used a lipliner at all and improvised with the applicator/edge of the lipstick" look, and at least the latter is actually accurate. 

I'm not sure if I maybe have a bad one. I don't think I've even owned this 6 months and it still smells completely fine but I asked in a beauty group I'm a member of and no one else had the same issue with it. 

I'll give it one more go after I'm done this challenge, and I'll line my lips with something before I apply it to see if that makes a difference and report back. I don't own another colour quite like it and its really pretty when its not making me look like a crazy person so I want to salvage it if I can.

Day 13: Sleek Matte Me Lip Cream in Shabby-Chic

So a while ago I did a review of three colours from this range (here) and Shabby-Chic was my overall favourite, so when I say it sitting in my lipstick drawer, I was like "Yassssssss". I really wanted a good lipstick day seeing as I'd spent the second half of yesterday looking like I got ready in the dark.

Sadly, this did a reverse Cashmere and felt worse this time around. I used to love this as well. So after lunch I re-applied it and it just started to feel cakey, chunky and weird. I don't know why as that hasn't happened before. I ended up having to rub the MUA Sweet Sheen Lipbalm in Dusky Rose (which they've either renamed or no longer make) over it. This is usually what I do when I want to take a liquid lipstick off (lipbalm, rub lips together and then wipe, far more effective and less harsh than scrubbing) but when I rubbed my lips together it didn't look awful and was a bit more comfortable.

I'm not sure what's happened with this, maybe I'm just getting more picky with that I'll wear and won't wear. I don't think its gone bad, the tube says it lasts for 36 months (which is a scary long time for a liquid product). Like Teddy Bear I'll give it one more but it might be an item I de-clutter.

Day 14: NYX High Voltage Lipstick in 12 Dirty Talk

So I mentioned two of these lipsticks in the Days 1-10. One I love, one I did not. This one I was OK. I really, really love the colour. My other half actually commented he'd never seen me in such a dark lipstick. It's too dark for work but for a Saturday night meal and a couple of drinks.

It was a bit tricky to apply as it's just a small round stick with a slanted top and no point or angle but once I've worn it a couple of times I'll shape it into something I can use.

It lasted fairly well for a dark colour. These lipsticks don't really seem to come off when you drink, I noticed that with Flutter Kiss, and it survived two pinks intact. I did need to re-apply after my (veggie) burger and chips as its had worn down a lot, but it wasn't completely gone.

Definitely keeping this.

Day 15: NYX Matte Lipstick in 19 Eurotrash

Dam I own a lot of NYX lipsticks, some of them are great, some of them are not, some of them like Pops and this were specifically bought for work.

This is pretty much the exact same colour as Pops but in a Matte formula. and if you change glossy to matte in the above review of Pops, you have my review of this.

Day 16: NYX Full Throttle Lipstick in 10 Locked

So this lipstick is nice if you only wear it for a couple of hours, but after wearing it for nearly 12 hours, I've now decided I'm getting rid.

It's a nice dark pinky purple colour, that I want to love, I'm just not sure it suits me that much. I wore it fairly intensely for several hours and had to touch up a couple of times and it went chalky and powdery on my lips. I also got the line of doom on the inner rim of my mouth and it was like it wore away on the inner edges of the bigger creases in my lips and looked really odd.

I must have looked crazy on the bus home.

Day 17: Revolution Iconic Pro Lipstick in Propaganda (Matte)

So I bought this in my June 2016 haul from Revolution and I honestly don't think I'd ever worn it until now, many months later (see this is why I need this project). Why hadn't I worn this until now? Oh yeah because I own like a bijillion matte red liquid lipsticks and I always thought it would be crap. Could you be more wrong about something Kirstie?

This lipstick really surprised me, it was comfortable, it lasted really well, there was no bleeding or fading. It was amazing to wear all day. This is being upgraded from an "eh, maybe" lipstick at the back of the lipstick drawer of doom (its a dark scary place and I don't know whats in there) to living in my everyday lipstick bundle once this project is over.

Two comments/minor criticisms. The packaging feels really cheap, it cost me £2 so its not an issue, it just a fact. Cheap lipsticks tend to have cheap packaging. And as touched on in the haul post it has a slightly weird almost edible smell. Its almost like vanilla sponge, but with something not quite right about it. Or like sweet play-dough. Its not bad and I didn't notice once it was on my face, but its maybe something to watch out for.

Day 18: Kiko Milano Unlimited Stylo Lipstick in 17 Tulip Red

Riding high on the success of yesterdays red lip look, I thought I'd crack this guy out and give him a go.

So everything that Propaganda lacks in awesome packaging this guy makes up for. Although we've already establishes I love Kikos' packaging (currently lusting after but managing to resist there Spring/Summer ones for this year, I know they have the magnetic closure though and its so difficult).  Its cold, hard metal, with a clasp closure and just feels so nice and solid, it can't be stood on its end though so that's slightly annoying.

I don't like the colour as much as the one I wore the previous day though, it's a slightly lighter and far brighter red and although its still blue toned, it does look slightly more orange on my skin. Also it is another one of these lipsticks with a flat, round top and unlike the High Voltage ones from NYX, the actual stick of lipstick is full width, making it so difficult to apply precisely.

Did I like it? Yeah. Did I get paid a compliment by a co-worked that is well aware of this project? Yeah. Do I need this and Propaganda (and also Duel, which I bought in the same Revolution Haul)? Probably not. I'll cross that bridge when I get to Duel though. For the time being, it stays.

Day 19: Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Bow 'n' Arrow

So I really, really wanted to wear Stone Fox from NYX today, and I I had it on my face and chickened out at the last minute. Might have been good thing though as I'm not sure how the people I work with would have reacted to that.

As for Bow 'n' Arrow, its a Kat Von D lipstick and I've already talked about these loads. I like them, they wear well, I'm keeping it.

Day 20: NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in 01 Stone Fox

Yeah that's right. I actually wore this. On a Saturday, outside the house, and people saw me. I felt so brave.

Stone Fox actually really really surprised me. It was nothing like Tea and Cookies from my previous post, and although it didn't dry down completely, it did dry down far more. It also transferred far less, like I had three or four pints and it didn't get on the glass for any of them, right till the end. I actually really liked it. Would recommend 100% for anyone else that likes weird. grey lipsticks.  It actually makes me wonder if my Tea and Cookies maybe came from a bad batch, but not enough to spend my money on another one to check.

Running total

Days: 20

Lipsticks Worn: 12

Lipsticks being binned: 3 (+ three maybes)

Top 3

1. NYX Liquid Suede Lip Creme in Stone Fox

2. Revolution Iconic Pro Lipstick in Propaganda (Matte)

3. NYX High Voltage Lipstick in 12 Dirty Talk

Bottom 3

1. Lime Crimes Velvetine in Teddy Bear

2. Sleek Matte Me Lip Cream in Shabby-Chic

3. NYX Full Throttle Lipstick in 10 Locked

xoxo Scruffy 

50 Days, 50 Lipsticks - Days 1 to 10 - Kat Von D, Lime Crime, NYX, Milani, Kiko Milano

I own to much lipstick. I own waaayyy to much lipstick. And I hate some of it.

So this idea came to me a couple of weeks ago, the day before (or maybe two days before) day one. And its simple, for the next fifty makeup days I will wear a different lipstick, report on my findings and hopefully chuck some at the end of it. I don't wear makeup ever single day and I'm not putting on makeup for the sake of it, because that's craziness, so this will take more than 50 calendar days. I'll post updates every ten lipstick days (which I'm guessing will be roughly 12-14 days) and if anyone wants to join in, please feel free and tag me in a link so I can read about what you're loving and loathing.

This makeup bag... Sometimes I love the H&M sale

Day 1: Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Mother

Since I moved Kat Von D is one of the few brands of liquid lipstick I've been wearing a lot, mostly in Lolita and Double Dare though. I found Mother when I was shopping my stash and decided I had to get some more use out of it. 

It's a gorgeous, dusky pink kind of colour and the thin, long wearing Kat Von D formula is one of my favourites. so I was hoping for a good lipstick day.

Overall it wore well. Have I done a review of all the Kat Von D lipsticks? I might need to do that. It did need touched up after lunch and again on the bus home but I am incredibly hard on my lipstick. I talk a lot at work (for work, as in part of my job is talking) and drink about a billion mugs of tea, so my lips are constantly getting wet and then moving. 

Its nice. I like it. I'm almost sad I wore it first though as now I can't wear it again for at least fifty days.

Day 2: Kiko Milano Matte Heart Shaped Lipstick in 01

Kiko Milanos limited edition lipstick packaging (OK, limited edition lipstick packaging and blush products) make me happy. They always look so classy and the lipsticks always have some component that just speaks to me. The other lipsticks I have are magnetic and ping and stay beautifully. This has a solid, brushed metal kind of look with a spiral of writing up it, the cap unscrews rather than pops and the actual lipstick is heart shaped. 

It looks so cute, but its a pain in the butt to apply. The top of the lipstick is slanted to make application easier, however the top part of the heart (two rounded bits) are the highest point meaning there's not a straight edge or point like on a standard lipstick for precise application. This makes trying to get any kind of shape nearly impossible. I'm hoping once I wear it down a bit this will become more usable.

Formula wise, this lipstick isn't bad. I really like the pinky, mauvey colour and the matte formula it fairly good for a bullet lipstick. It does chunk up a little in the inner rim of my mouth but nothing I can't handle. I look forward to playing with this more in the future.

Day 3: Lime Crime Velvetine in Cashmere

It had been a long time since I last wore a Velvetine and in my head I'd somehow turned them into this horrendous, flakey, dry mess, so I was a little skeptical about using one for work. I was, however, really surprised and enjoyed this a lot. Cashmere was always one of my favourite shades and by the end of the day I was annoyed at myself for not wearing it more often. Yeah it was a little dry, but not much more than the Kat Von D formula, and it certainly didn't flake anywhere. Touching up was fine and it didn't get to chunky or bunch up on the inner rim of my mouth. It also coped far better with the oily sun-dried tomatoes in my lunch that the Kiko Milano lipstick from the day before.

Overall, it wore well and looked good but you get very little lipstick for your money and the coconut type smell reminded me of the gorse bushes that used to grow along the road next to my house. (Large spikey weeds with vibrant, yellow, coconut scented flower. The reason the highlands of Scotland smell of coconuts, because everyone comes to my blog for the geographical education).

Day 4.1 NYX High Voltage Lipstick in 15 Tan-gerine.

Way too light and not even remotely Tangerine coloured. Looked hideous, like I'd mixed stick concealer with Vaseline and rubbed it on my lips, on so it's in the bin and didn't even make it out the house on my face.

Note to self, do not buy lipstick online again. It will disappoint you. Do not trust the swatch photos. They can be highly inaccurate. Oh and remember your lips are about 3x more pink than most people's so 80% of lipsticks look hideous on you. Sincerely, the me that

Day 4.2  Kiko Milano Temptress Lipstick in 01

So I have no idea why this lipstick range was called temptress as this colour and formula would be far more suited to a name like "boring office worker lipstick" or "I wanted something that wouldn't look like shite if I couldn't be arsed lining my lips, lipstick".

I got this in the Kiko sale after Christmas and today was the first time I wore it. It's another pale nude, similar to Tan-gerine but darker, less concealer and vaseline-sequel, and it washed me out way less and looked far better on my pale but also very red face. It also had a really comfortable satin finish and overall it lasted pretty well for a sale bin lipstick.

Is it my favourite lipstick ever? No. Will I wear it out at the weekend? Probably not. Once I get to the end of this will it take up residence as in my makeup bag as my "I was running late so I did my makeup on the bus" lipstick? Yup. So work people's, if you see me wearing this, it's a safe bet I slept in, dry shampooed my hair, washed with three baby wipes and am wearing the first three items of clothing that came to hand. Sorry if I look a bit manic, or have my dress on back to front.

Lipstick scatter...

Day 5.1 Milani Amore Matte Lip Crème in 16 Sweetheart

I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie wooooooorld......

Just not today please.

Another online purchase, formula feels great, the colour isn't as expected but for a bright pink looks surprising alright on. I'll play around with it more once this I've tried most of my stash.

In other news I changed as I had bright blue eyeliner on and when I added this I started to look like a suspiciously old extra from Saved by the Bell.

Day 5.2 Milani Amore Matte Lip Crème in 10 Adorable

Decided to stay on brand today, so I swapped Sweetheart out with Adorable. What colour is Adorable I hear you ask? "Exactly the same as Bow and Arrow from Kat Von D" colour I reply, and under half the price.

I had worn some of these before but not this colour and wasn't sure if I loved the formula or not. Its alright. Well actually its good for the price. And they smell so nice. I did have to watch for wear and tear as it was a far lighter colour than I normally like but its still pretty, and wasn't too much hassle over all.

Day 6: Milani Colour Statement Lipstick in 27 Dulce Caramelo

And the award for "lipstick I spent more than £5 on but stills smells, feels and looks like something from Miss Sporty" goes to... Any of the shimmery lipsticks in this line (I have this one and Cinnamon Spice).

I actually don't mean to hate on this lipstick or come across as harsh as that may have, it's actually not bad and wears pretty well. It just has that fake sour watermelon smell to it much cheaper lipsticks do, which I'm not a huge fan of. It's a shame as Milani's liquid lipsticks smell exactly like a bag of flumps (sweet, sugary marshmallows) and I love that, though it does make me want flumps... *Drools and ruins make-up*.

It's a bit dated and plain Jane but not had. I'd be interested in trying more of these lipsticks (in the plain, non sparkly formula) but clearly buying online isn't my strong point so I might have to do some research on them first.

Day 7: NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in 09 Tea & Cookies

Harsh honesty for a second here, I've been putting off reviewing this line for a while now (I have seven of them) because I'd worn this one a few times and hated the formula. 18 Foul Mouth, one of the newer shades, on the other hand has one of the best formulas ever for a semi-matte lipstick. We'll see if my opinion has changed any by the end of today.

So the first hour or wearing this lipstick was horrible, it doesn't dry down, it smudges on everything and if you live somewhere windy (like the whole of Scotland) and your hair gets blown into your face, it's pretty much guaranteed to feel the same way as when you're hair gets in your lipgloss. It got all over my mug during my first cuppa at work and at this point I felt like giving up on it, but when I went to the loo there was still a surprising amount of it on my lips, and by this point enough had smudged off that it didn't feel sticky or weird any more. I'd say between the hours of 10am and 1pm were the golden hours for this lipstick.

Over lunch it became patchy and when I reapplied the cream it became chunky and odd. Drinking another cup of tea made that worse and by 4.30pm it looked really really bad.

I'm going to hold on to this long enough to do the swatch post and full review with all the other shades I own, then it's going in the bin. It's a shame as the dusky pink colour is really pretty, it's just a shame the formula is less "Tea and Biscuits" and more "Cold Bovril and Soggy Mini Cheddars"

Day 8: NYX Full Throttle Lipstick in 09 Jolt

This is one of my favourite orange lipsticks of all time (see full review here). Bright, comfortable and log wearing, this little guy is a hidden gem in my makeup collection.

Must. Wear. This. More.

Day 9: NYX High Voltage Lipstick in 05 Flutter Kiss

I know further up I had a bit of a disaster with a High Voltage lipstick but I couldn't feel more different about this one. Firstly I need to say a huge thanks to Siena from Tantrums and Tea who sent me this. It's lovely,

Colour wise this is a gorgeous dark nude colour on me, pinky but not overly so. Its an ideal "work to pub" shade. It has a really creamy, soft, lipbalm but thicker formula that doesn't feel drying or uncomfortable. It had a classic, satin finish that I really enjoyed. Everything up until now has been matte or very frosty so change is good. It lasted pretty well and didn't seem to smudge off to much when I was drinking tea. I have a couple more of these lipsticks coming from LuxPlus so I might need to review all the ones I end up with (including the one above that shall not be spoken of).

Day 10: Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Double Dare

I think I've said everything I want to say about this in the Day 1 slot with mother. I was hoping not to double up on products (so no two Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks or Liquid Suedes etc in any ten days) but with some brands (like Too Faced) I mostly own smart, work lipsticks and I'm trying not to exhaust them in the first few days in case I end up running out. 

That being said, this lipstick is what I would call a "work red". Its somewhere between red and brown and just muted enough it doesn't look out of place in the office. The formula is really nice and needed babysat less that Mother, this might have been because it was closer to my lip colour so was less obvious when it wore off. Will definitely be buying a full sized one of these once I'm done with this sample.

Running total

Days: 10

Lipsticks Worn: 12

Lipsticks being binned: 2

Top 3

1. NYX High Voltage Lipstick in 05 Flutter Kiss

2. Lime Crime Velvetine in Cashmere

3. Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Double Dare

Bottom 3

1. NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in 09 Tea & Cookies

2. NYX High Voltage Lipstick in 15 Tan-Gerine

3. I don't actually have a third choice because I liked everything except these two a fair amount

What's being binned

Catch you next time

XOXO Scruffy

Whats in my Makeup Bag? - Lip product swap out with swatches - Cruelty Free Lipstick and Lipbalm

During this past week I lost an earring in my handbag. As I had some issues with my piercings recently, I knew I needed to find it, clean it and get it back into my ear as soon as possible. Unfortunately my oversized makeup bag was open and I couldn't rule out the earring falling in there so I had to go through that too.  I was a bit embarrassed when I tipped it out at my desk, 4 perfumes, 3 nail files, 3 black eyeliners, 3 other eyeliners and 12 lip products, along with about a squllion hair bobbles, kirby grips and other miscellaneous bits. It was a mess.

So over this weekend I decided to go through it, sort it out and workout what I need day to day. I was hoping to maybe swap for a smaller makeup bag to, but none of my wee ones are as cute as the angry clouds one so I guess that's not happening.

Lip Balms & Tints

So I tried to tile these next to each other but I couldn't keep them this size and have them side by side. 

So I had the Kiko Milano Kiss Balm in Raspberry, the MUA Sweet Sheen Lipbalm in Dusky Rose, Burts Bees Lip Shimmer in Rhubarb and an original Burts Bees Lip Balm (the minty one).  I swatched the first three below as they do have some colour to them. 

Ltr: Kiko Milano, MUA and the Burts Bees.

Out of the four I've put the two Burts Bees and the MUA on back in my bag and the Kiko Milano one has gone back into my stash. Its far newer than the other three and I don't ever reach for it. I use the two Burts Bees ones all the time and the MUA one saved my skin recently when I tried a horrible liquid lipstick (which I will review soon) and had to try and take it off in the middle of Silverburn. Its also getting a bit old and I want to try and use it up.

Lipstick & Liquid Lipstick

Too Faced Melted Lipstick in Chihuahua, Melted Matte Lipstick in Queen B and Melted Chocolate Lipstick in Chocolate Honey. 

As you can see these are all really nice, neutral, nude shades that are perfect for work. I would say since Christmas I've worn at least two of these a week, every week. They're comfortable to wear and easy to apply on the bus. I've decided to keep the two minis (Chihuahua and Chocolate Honey) in my handbag and put Queen B back in my stash. I know it wont stay there for long but I might actually remember to use a couple of other colours before I go back to it again.

Since the house move (not sure what I'm talking about, check my latest life update here) most of my makeup has been stored in one big deep drawer. Not ideal for finding things. I tend to store products by brand and once of the few lots I could find was my Kat Von D lipsticks. These were the three I had been using the most even though I own five or six. Left to right there's the limited edition Project Chimps one I picked up in the States, Lolita and a mini of Double Dare (which I will buy a full size of once its done).

For the time being all three of these will go back into my stash. Double Dare will no doubt emerge again very soon as I'm trying to use up most of my smaller products in 2017. 

Makeup Monsters liquid lipstick in Hook, Line and Sinker and Sleek Matte Lipstick in Russian Roulette. 

If you follow me on Instagram then you'll already know Hook, Line and Sinker is maybe my favourite lipstick of all time. It has a very thin formula, is long wearing and very comfortable. However it's not really an everyday colour so back in my stash it goes. As for Russian Roulette, I don't think I've ever actually worn this. I like to keep a good dark red in my makeup bag. I feel like red lipstick can take work makeup to going out makeup and if I've managed to stain my lips with any number of bright and weird products it hides it all. This one isn't that opaque though and feels, looks and smells like a Makeup Revolution lipstick, and I'm not sure how it got switched out with Snow White by NYX, but back in the stash it goes.

What I'm adding to the bag

NYX Butter Lipstick in Root Beer Float aka Pops (NYX website calls it Root Beer Float, the packaging calls it Pops, its the same colour) and NYX Extra Creamy lipstick in Snow White.

Pops is an old favourite of mine, it was what I used to obsess over for work before I got the Too Faced minis. Its lovely, really comfortable on the lips and I haven't worn it in a really long time so it'll be nice to get some more use out of it. Snow White is going back in as I'm not even sure how it got swapped out in the first place. Unlike Russian Roulette it isn't matte, and you can see from the swatches its darker and more opaque, I also know from experience its really easy to work with (which is what I need after work). 

All in all, not a bad job I'd say. Started with twelve lip products, removed seven and added two. How long before my handbag is over-run again remains to be seen.

Whats the one item that seems to multiply in your handbag? 

xoxo Scruffy

More posts about lipstick and lip products

NYX Full Throttle Lipstick Review

Makeup Revolution Unicorns Unite Collection Review

MUA Velvet Lip Lacquer Review (Zest and Kooky)

M&S Limited Collection Lipstick and Lip Lacquer Review