Liquid Lipsticks

The beauty blogging world has gone mad for liquid lipsticks lately, myself included.  I am definitely not one for keeping up with lipstick maintenance - I will leave that bright red shade wear of until I'm left with an unsightly ring around my lips before I remember to reapply, so these matte long lasting shades are right up my street.  I don't have a huge collection, but I have quite a few liquid lipsticks now and I can't stop reaching for them.

Perfect Brush and Beauty Matches

I've build up a bit of a collection of make-up brushes, and there are a few brush-and-beauty-product partners which are truly a match made in heaven.  After reading a similar post on From Roses, I was inspired to write my own post all about my favourite brush and beauty product pairings.

Every Day Eye Makeup

Lately every time I have more that two minutes to put my makeup on, I find myself going for the same eye products.  I  am loving a soft brown smokey liner with layers of lashes.

Marbella Sephora Haul

While Rob and I were on holiday to Marbella, how could I not pop into the local Sephora and pick up a few beauty bits and pieces?!  I stuck mainly to Sephora own brand, because it's so much harder to get hold of in the UK, unless you don't mind a hefty shipping charge, but I got some make up that I haven't stopped using since!

Summer Nail Polish Shades

Admittedly, I never really stop wearing summery nail varnish shades.  I add in the odd deep red shade during the winter and a bit of sparkle around Christmas but that's about it - I love bright nails with the odd pastel shade thrown in for good measure.  These are my top picks for the summer this year.

All About That Base

Over the last year or so I have fallen for base make up.  For years I stuck to the same foundation, concealer and powder regardless of what I was doing, where I was going or how I was feeling, but lately that's all changed.

Favourite Lipsticks

Over the last few years I have gathered quite a few lipsticks in my stash.  They range all shades, brands, finishes and prices but I can't help having a few favourites that I just can't get enough of!

Sunday Post: Matte Lips

I'm definitely a matte lip girl.  I love a long-lasting finish which is matte but not chalky or dry.  Over the last few years I've picked up a few tips and tricks for comfortably wearing a matte lipstick and found a few favourites.

When you're wearing matte lips:

• exfoliate your lips - I usually go for a lip scrub from Lush
• choose a matte lip balm to smooth over your lips - I love Nuxe Reve de Miel
• if your eating/drinking, keep your lipstick in your handbag for top ups because they have a tendency to wear off in the middle and leave a ring of colour around the edge of your lips
• if your going for a bold shade, pair it with a lip-liner for a smooth line and use the finger-in-your-mouth trick to make sure you don't have any lipstick on your teeth

My favourites for matte lips are pretty predictable.  I'm not fussy with the format - I love standard bullets, pencils and liquids.  MAC matte lipsticks are a popular favourite - although they can be drying, it's nothing that can't be solved with a dab of lip balm; I'm a sucker for Ruby Woo.  Revlon are a pretty impressive high-street brand for matte lips - their matte lipsticks in bullet form are just as comfortable as MAC's offerings although they don't wear quite as well, they're definitely worth a try!  Revlon's Matte Balm crayons are pretty new to the market, but I love them! My favourite shade is Audacious - a bright orange shade which looks perfect with a tan, I wore this loads on holiday.

When it comes to matte liquid lipsticks, Bourjois are killing it at the moment; the Rouge Edition Velvets are doing the rounds on the blogosphere and I've seen nothing but praise for them.  They've got a range of gorgeous colours, they're comfortable to wear and they're long lasting, all for under a tenner! These next ones are a little harder to get hold of, but Sephora Lip Cremes are a seriously comfortable way of wearing a bold matte lip.  I have shade 01 (the perfect red), but I'm fancying shade 03 too.  They're  a little less comfortable to wear than the Bourjois liquid lipsticks but they last longer - you win some, you lose some!

Are you a matte lip girl? What are your favourite matte lipsticks?

Mini Sephora Haul

You may have seen in this post that at the end of June I spent a week holidaying in the South of France.  We managed to spend an evening in St Tropez where I popped into Sephora.  I've never been in the beauty mothership before, and although it was quite small I was pretty impressed (read as: I looked like a human heart-eyed emoji).  I didn't get too much, but I couldn't resist a couple of treats.