Sleek Lip VIP Lipstick Review and Swatches

Hi Everyone!
Hope you all are well :)

You may have noticed that I went on a little long blogging break recently and there are a couple of reasons as to why. Firstly, I've been up to my eyeballs planning and filming videos for my channel. Honestly it's unbelievable how much time my YouTube channel takes up especially now that I'm incorporating new content in the form of travel vlogs. The second reason is that honestly I just lost my mojo. I've been putting lots and lots of different products through their paces over the last little while though so I've plenty of reviews due to go live on the blog and I'm starting with something cheap and cheerful, Sleek Makeup's VIP Lipstick range!

Before we go any further I should probably state that this post will be picture heavy. I really missed that part of blogging in particular I absolutely love photographing products for the blog. Anyway, recently I was invited along to a blogger brunch in the Stone Leaf courtesy of Sleek MakeUP and at the event we got a sneak peek at the company's limited edition Autumn/Winter collection. During the event there was an exclusive demo from one of the brands UK makeup artists and afterwards we got a lovely goodie bag to go home with filled with products from their new range. I'm a huge lipstick lover and as a result they were the first products that I gravitated towards so let's have a closer look.

Private Booth 

Backstage

Show Off

Walk of Fame

Attitude

There are 12 shades in the range 5 of which I own but I can tell you now, I'll be adding more colours to my collection. All of the lipsticks glide onto the lips with ease due to their creamy nature. They leave a semi matte finish so great for those out there that have dry lips like myself but still want to wear a highly pigmented lip colour. I quite liked the sheen the lipsticks gave to my lips it made them look a little more plump which was a nice bonus! They are very comfortable to wear which is down to the nourishing ingredients the products are jam packed with, vitamin E, shea butter and coconut oil to name a few. I didn't have a problem with bleeding or smudging which sometimes can be an issue with lipsticks of a creamy nature but thankfully it wasn't the case this time. The only downside I noted was that if you have flaky lips like myself the lighter colours aren't very forgiving. It's not really an issue for me because the lighter colours wouldn't be ones that I would sport often, if at all so it's more so just something to note!

Packaging wise it's simplistic just how I like it. The lipsticks have a clear bottom meaning you can see the shade of the lip colour inside. If you have a drawer full of lipsticks like myself you'll appreciate this feature because it means you can easily locate a specific shade.

Overall I highly rate the VIP lipstick range. Sleek is available from pharmacies nationwide. Boots is the go-to spot for me and these lipsticks will set you back €7.49 a pop there! Steal or what :)

Chat soon,

Eimear x

theBalm Meet Matt(e) Hughes Liquid Lipsticks 'Chivalrous', 'Devoted', and 'Committed' | Swatches and Review

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

It's not often that I get requests for reviews on the blog but recently I was asked by a lovely lady called Sharon if I could review some more of the Meet Matt(e) Hughes Liquid Lipsticks from theBalm. A couple of months ago I reviewed one of the shades that I bought, 'Adoring' and if you want to check out that post you can do so by clicking here. Since then theBalm has sent me out three other shades from the collection to try out so that's what I'm bringing to you today!

In the last review I talked about the packaging, the lasting power, the scent of the product, etc all in depth. When I tested out the three other shades that I was sent out I noticed that the formula was pretty consistent throughout the range. For that reason I won't be going into as much detail in this post because I feel it would be a repeat of my other review. I will be outlining the slight differences I've spotted and other additional information that I may have left out in my original post. 

Chivalrous - Bubble Gum Pink

Devoted - Classic Vibrant Red

Committed - Medium Peachy Brown Toned Nude

One thing I forgot to mention in my review of the shade 'Adoring' was that when you take the applicator out of the tube it doesn't look squeaky clean like in the picture below.

Three out of the four liquid lipsticks applicators looked like this and I didn't think it was a big deal. There was a minor amount of product on the applicator after it was removed from the tube.

However, the shade 'Devoted' had a serious amount of product on the applicator. The stick was filled with product and I had to remove some of the lipstick so that I could apply the product evenly to my lips using the doe foot applicator. With this particular shade it was just extremely messy and I found myself wasting a lot of product each time I wanted to wear this colour. I don't know if it is down to the tube being over filled with product or what the issue is but it slightly put me off picking up this shade, which is a pity because it's a gorgeous colour.

Swatches L-R

(Chivalrous, Devoted, and Committed)

Chivalrous

Devoted

Committed

As I mentioned above the formula is quite consistent throughout the various different shades. As a whole I didn't find these liquid lipsticks to be drying, they were quite comfortable to wear on the lips. The only shade that was slightly drying was the pink shade 'Chivalrous'. Wear time wise each of the shades wore well up until the 4-5 hour mark and it was around then that I felt the need to reapply. The shade 'Devoted' bled a little out of the corners of my lips after a couple of hours, a problem which I didn't have with any other shade so that is worth noting.

I'm very happy once again with the quality of these products and I will repurchase once these run out. The only colour I probably wouldn't buy is 'Devoted' just because of the issue with the build up of product on the applicator, and then the wastage, the bleeding etc. Other than that though I'm pleased with the colours that I have tried from the range:)

theBalm can be purchased from Debenhams online or in store and their products can also be found on Cloud10Beauty.com.

Until next time,

Eimear x

Stila Stay All Day Vinyl Lip Gloss 'Merlot Vinyl' | Swatches and Review

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

Another day another lip product review..my favourite! Recently I was shopping in TK Maxx (how predictable am I?) and I spotted this stunning lip shade from Stila. I was under the impression this was a liquid lipstick up until I tried it despite the box saying otherwise. I think the excitement just got the better of me. I mean seeing a Stila product in TK Maxx in one of your favourite colours and for only €6 (RRP €24), who wouldn't be excited about that? I snapped the product up as quickly as I could and made a beeline for the checkout.

I will admit I was feeling a little deflated when I realised it was a gloss and not in fact a liquid lipstick. I'm not the biggest fan of lip glosses the texture and lasting power just doesn't really appeal to me, despite this I figured I wouldn't knock it just yet. In a way I'm glad I didn't!

I purchased the lip gloss in the shade 'Merlot Vinyl' which is a lovely berry wine colour. Being that it is a gloss I was surprised to see such a bold colour pay off in just a couple of swipes. The doe foot applicator makes applying the product easy enough to do but I find in general it's not the easiest product to apply evenly to the lips. Perhaps it's because it is one of the darker shades, I'm not sure but I found that I had to take great care when applying so that I didn't end up with a streaky finish to my lips.

Once applied the lips feel sticky and this sensation doesn't really wear off throughout the day. There was always a slight tackiness to the lips even after the majority of the gloss had worn away.

To me this is more of a glossy liquid lipstick than just a regular old lip gloss. The product is so highly pigmented and is unlike any other lip glosses that I have tried before. One thing I really enjoyed about this product was the fact that despite it being a long lasting lip product it wasn't drying at all, I feel that's down to the glossy element! Below I've added a few pictures showing you how the product wears throughout the day but for a lip gloss it wears extremely well. Once that glossy shine wears off the lips are left looking as if just a lip stain was applied. Either way I actually liked how it looked at the beginning of the day as well as how it looked by the end of the day!

Just applied - 12pm

After 4 hours wear

After 6 hours wear 

By around the 4 hour mark all the gloss had worn off the lips and I was left with a berry coloured stain. I actually thought the product looked good after the gloss had worn off after eating and drinking. The only thing I would have done to touch up was blended in those edges so that I didn't have a noticeable line of product around the lips. It looks similar to if I used a lip liner and didn't fill the lips in. I wore no lip liner underneath the gloss the lined appearance around the lips is just due to how the product fades! If I had of blended the edges with a lip brush then I would have been good to go, it would have looked like I was just wearing a lip stain. At the 6 hour mark, again I still thought the lip product looked good. That line around my lips had faded significantly but I would have blended the edges of the top lip so that there was a nice even pop of colour.

Strangely enough I prefer how the product looks after 6 hours of wear compared to when it has been freshly applied. Now I wear this gloss as a stain instead. I just apply the gloss to my lips as normal, I blot away the shine and then I'm ready to go!

I don't think its a bad product it's just not really my cup of tea. I like it for the stain it leaves behind after the gloss has worn away not for the glossy shine it gives to the lips when it's first applied. For that reason I won't be purchasing more from the range, however I will look into picking up some of their liquid lipsticks. I've heard fantastic things :)

Until next time,

Eimear x

Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick 'Ballet' Swatches and Review

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

Ever since I tried out one of theBalm Meet Matte Hughes Liquid Lipsticks I've fallen in love with the idea of liquid lipsticks and I have been itching to try out some from other brands ever since! Recently when I was browsing through the beauty section in TK Maxx (how unlike me) I spotted this Hourglass product. I literally couldn't believe my eyes, I had never seen anything like this in there before. Tk Maxx is my all time favourite place for beauty bargains and this was one I just couldn't resist. €9 I paid for this particular liquid lipstick I kid you not. Even though I wasn't hugely pushed on the colour sure I couldn't leave it there for that price! Any excuse haha!

First of all I was actually surprised by how small the product actually was, particularly for the RRP. The packaging is really cute though, the liquid lipstick comes in this gorgeous metallic bronze tube and it's nice and slim so very suitable for popping in your hand bag for top ups when you're on the go. There is a doe foot applicator inside the tube and this one is unlike any other I've used before. It is extremely flimsy therefore it bends when you are applying the product to your lips making it very hard to apply an even layer of the liquid lipstick. I'm not sure if this is just a problem with my particular one or if the applicators are of poor quality in general. To apply the lipstick I need to transfer the product from the applicator onto a lip brush and then apply it that way instead.

The only shade on the shelf was 'Ballet' which is a dusty pink colour. Not a colour I would often wear but it is a nice colour to wear especially the Spring/Summer months.

Freshly swatched it looks like it is a liquid lipstick that has a semi matte finish to it but after about 30 seconds the product sets completely matte.

After applying one coat of the liquid lipstick I noticed it didn't apply too evenly you definitely need two coats to build it up the colour and to give a nice even coverage to the lips. With two coats of the product I was very happy with the opacity and the wear time? Phenomenal. It didn't really transfer onto cups when I was drinking or onto food when I was eating which is usually the way with any lipstick that I apply. I didn't use a lipliner and I had no issues with bleeding thankfully, as that is a big pet peeve of mine. Hourglass claim that this lipstick has a 14 hour wear time, but I'm not sure about that now. I didn't wear the lipstick for 14 hours but I did sport the colour for 8. Around the 8 to 9 hour mark the product started to crumble and flake on the inner parts of my top and bottom lip. That was when I felt I needed to reapply!

The lipstick is very comfortable to wear and I didn't find it dried my lips out more than they already were. When you press your lips together they will feel ever so slightly tacky, not sticky though which I was delighted about.

It is a pretty price to pay for such a small product. I found the Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipsticks on the UK Space NK website for £23 a pop. There are 9 other shades in the collection and in saying that I have already got my eye on another 2 in the range, Empress and Icon. The temptation is strong ladies and gents!

Until next time,

Eimear x

theBalm Meet Matt(e) Hughes Liquid Lipstick 'Adoring' Swatches and Review

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

I'm very new to the world of liquid lipsticks. I tried out one from MUA a couple of years ago for one of my beauty on a budget videos and I haven't tried out anymore since! I wasn't overly fussed with the one I had picked, it didn't suit my very dry lips so I just decided liquid lipsticks weren't for me. I really didn't give them a chance did I haha! Over the last year or so I have seen lots of bloggers posting about liquid lipsticks from theBalm on Instagram. I've liked everything that I have tried out from theBalm thus dar so I decided I would give the whole liquid lipstick thing another go. Being that this one was from theBalm I was hoping I'd be onto another winner!

Just like the rest of theBalms product range the packaging is cute and quirky with that 1950's feel to it, big fan of that. Another thing I like about the outer packaging is that the colour and name of the liquid lipstick is stamped on the lid, making it easy to pick out from a pile.

There are eight shades in the range and the one that I decided to purchase was the colour 'Adoring'. I wear deep shades on my lips constantly so when I spotted this beautiful burgundy number I had to add it to my collection.

This product is quite heavily scented something which took me completely by surprise. I opened the tube, lifted the applicator to my lips and thats when it hit me. Peppermint. Now, I like peppermint but I did find the scent of this a tad overpowering so if you are not a fan of scented products you might want to keep that in mind. Once applied though the smell goes away, thankfully. You don't have to worry about a sickly smell of peppermint loafing around all day. 

When you unscrew the lid you will be greeted by a doe foot style applicator. I apply the lipstick from the applicator to my bottom lip only, for my top lip I need something a little more precise. To accurately apply the product to my top lip I use a lip brush!

This liquid lipstick is creamy in texture which makes the product very easy to apply, it just glides onto the lips. It is quick drying but it doesn't set too quickly, you will still have time to work with the product. I find the best way to apply this liquid lipstick is to apply one coat, wait for it to dry, and then apply another. You definitely need two coats with this particular shade to get a nice even opaque finish.

I found the liquid lipstick very comfortable to wear on the lips, it wasn't really drying at all. In terms of longevity the lipstick lasted about 4-5 hours before I felt I needed to touch up. I didn't need to fully reapply the lip colour but after eating and drinking the colour had flaked and faded in the centre of my bottom lip, once I touched that up I was good to go!

Even though I'm not a huge fan of the scent it doesn't put me off using the product. I'm very impressed with this particular liquid lipstick and can't wait to pick up more colours from the range!

theBalm Meet Matt(e) Hughes Liquid Lipsticks retail for €15.50 and are available from Debenhams in store and online. 

Are you a fan of liquid lipsticks?

Let me know your favourites!

Until next time,

Eimear x