Revlon Lip Butters - The Swatch Post

Regular readers/viewers will know how much I was dying to get my hands on the Revlon Lip Butters. I bought the L'Oreal Caresse to put me on (comparison to come) but they are finally here in the UK and although they aren't entirely what i was expecting they did not disappoint.

I picked up 3 shades in America and another when out shopping today - you can't have an uneven number of anything, right? I believe only one from my collection is a US exclusive and that's Red Velvet. I'm pleased (for us brits) to say it's not my favourite though. I've been wearing a lot of pink lately and Strawberry Shortcake and Sweet Tart both appealed as daytime pastels. Lollipop, however will almost certainly be relegated to nights out for me. They all delivered so much more colour pay off than I had anticipated. I expected them to be a sheer wash more like a tinted balm. The buttery name just suggested balm to me... am I the only one? Well they are bone-fide lipsticks my friends so if that's not your thing I suggest you look elsewhere.  There are of course the bolder and more tame within the range but for the most part the pigmentation is strong but the formula feel moisturising and I like it. That's obviously what Revlon were inferring and I missed entirely.

For a full shade list outlining the UK/US availability click here

Although they are not tinted balms longevity wise they act like them so don't hold your breath for kiss proof colour here. You will be reapplying within 2 hours (maximum) and you will need to be checking for smudges with the brighter shades throughout the day. That being said I think I will still get a lot of wear out of these and potentially add to my collection. They feel nourishing and no matter what time of year my lips appreciate some love.

So.. the moment of truth, which is the winner? Why Lollipop of course! It's the first one I tried on and I fell in love instantly.  A beautiful, bright, glossy fuchsia that I just know will be my summer staple.

I know most of you will own at least one of these by now so.. what's your favourite?

Revlon Lip Butters can be purchased from Boots (link) for £7.99

*currently part of the 3 for 2 offer*

Miss BB

Lip Butter - The List

I have had the hardest time pinning down a complete shade list for the Revlon Lip Butters but I believe that what I have below is them all. 21 isn't an even number though so I can't help feeling I've missed something. Those marked in bold will be available in the UK the rest are US only. If you know otherwise please let me know and I'll update the list. I mainly compiled it so as to pick up the US exclusives while I'm over there but I'm assuming they are the less popular colours so I may not be so enamoured upon swatching.

Berry Smoothie 050
Brown Sugar 020
Candy Apple 035
Cherry Tart 070
Cotton Candy 045
Creamsicle 065
Crème Brulee 095
Cupcake 055
Fig Jam 030
Gumdrop 060
Lollipop 075
Peach Parfait 025
Pink Truffle 001
Raspberry Pie 010
Red Velvet 040
Strawberry Shortcake 080
Sugar Frosting 005
Sugar Plum 085
Sweet Tart 090
Tutti Frutti 015 

Macaroon 096

As always we have the raw end of the deal with these retailing at £7.99 rather than the $7.49 they're priced at in North America. Even with the current 2 for £10 deal in Boots (here) they're more expensive in the UK which sucks but let's face it we're still gonna buy them aren't we?

Have you picked up your lip butters yet? They are due to be in stores any day now and are already available online (here). Look out for an epic swatch post coming your way very soon.

Miss BB

Maybelline Color Tattoos are HERE!!!

I'm blogging from my iphone right now 'cause I couldn't contain my excitement. I haven't got all the info yet but Maybelline Color Tattoos have arrived! They weren't priced and the testers were untouched so I have to assume they're brand new. I'm not sure if the 3 shades shown are all that will launch or just a tester display but I thought I would swatch them and let you know they're here. I will of course update with more info once I have it and if you know more please leave a comment! I saw them in my local superdrug but they don't appear to be online as yet.

In other launch news I saw the Revlon Photoready airbrush foundation but I did not see the Lip Butters (sob) ...have any of you seen them in stores yet?

Eternal Gold, On and On Bronze, Turquoise


EDIT

These will be £4.99 each and most stores should have them but the displays may not be up yet so if you're desperate phone around or ask in store and you may be lucky enough to get them before they're officially launched!

Maybelline Airfoam Foundation

When I saw the press release for this a couple of months ago I couldn't wait for it's UK launch to get my hands on it. I've been a long time love of Maybelline's Dream foundation range and am yet to find a version I don't like so I had high hopes for this new formula. Although it's a refreshing change of pace mousse/foam foundation isn't a totally new concept. It was popular in 90s, Elizabeth Arden's version has remained in their permanent line ever since and Revlon have recently launched an aerated version of their popular photoready in US so I'm sure we will see lots of brands having a go at something similar this year.

The first thing I'd like to clarify here is that I don't think this is going to be for everyone! Normal to oily skins will be fine but the formula is thin and quick to set so drier skin types might not get on with it. It will cling to dry patches making them appear worse. Extra oily skin might struggle too. The application is nice, it spreads nicely and I got an even matte finish, The coverage is a lot like that of a tinted moisturiser, very light but this is buildable and doesn't look the least bit cakey when layered on. It lasts as well as any other dream formula I've tried.. I would need to reapply for the evening but it will be fine for a days work.

My only real issue with this foundation is how difficult it is to colour match. The foam comes out as quickly as you'd expect - just the same as a hair mousse - so you get way more than you need if you're just swatching which means you can't swatch that many shades in store unless your armed with a packet of babywipes.. and even then it's just so wasteful! The shade I went for ended up way too dark on me and looking online I'm not sure they will have one light enough for my skin tone (NARS Mont Blanc FYI) so that's a big disappointment.

Despite my misgivings if you have normal skin with no more than an oily t-zone I would recommend you give this a go. If the colour match was good I'd have been really happy with this product but it was comically dark and the tester didn't appear that way.. I mean look at the pictures... I'm not crazy.. that's clearly not my shade! If I can find the right one for me it could just be my favourite foundation, it has the potential to build to a true airbrushed finish without all of the tricky machinery usually required to achieve it.

The RRP on this is £8.99

Currently available from Superdrug here for £6.99 so now's a great time to give it a go

Have you tried this already?

Thoughts?

Miss BB

Something Naked This Way Comes

At the start of 2011 I was working for Urban Decay and we were told there was going to be a Naked 2 in the fall. They said it would be in a tin and that was all we were allowed to know so when the 15th anniversary palette was released I thought perhaps they were talking about that. I assumed they were expecting to be as popular as the Naked. I was mightily disappointed that we weren't going to get an actual new Naked.. until this morning. I've never had a more exciting reading list appear in front of me! 

Now I didn't want to go pinching pictures from those lucky few that have the palette in their possession so I will point you in the direction of Charlotte at Lipglossiping who has some fab up-close shots and promises swatches later today (can't wait) here's the link to her review post. I love that it's in the same format as the first Naked but it's in a wipe-clan tin. Much as I thought the chocolate box velvety finish looked great on the first it's not worn well over time. There's also a useful double ended eyeshadow brush included at launch as opposed to the double ended pencil that was so hard to manufacture and made the first palette so tricky to get hold of until they replaced it with a shadow brush. Lastly the mirror is the size of the whole lid so more usable and rather than the mini primer potion that is usually included with UD's sets they've put in a mini Lip Junkie Lipgloss.. I can tell you these smell and taste delicious.. nothing like the disgusting pocket rockets (eugh) So that's a nice to have.

I have no idea the price point or the uk launch date but rest assured as soon as I do, you will!

This is one item I will be rushing to the shops for, how about you?

MissBB

MAC Glitter & Ice Must-Haves

This year hasn't been fantastic for MAC Collections in my opinion so I wasn't excited about the Holiday sets.. in fact I wasn't even aware of them until yesterday when they were already available online. I believe they launched in stores today. What appealed to me with this collection was the packaging first and foremost. Its got the classic clean MAC lines we all know and love but it's WHITE! It's like they've joined forces with apple and then sprinkled it in glitter... beautiful! I'm a sucker for anything festive and with names like Snowglobe I was sold almost immediately. I knew I had to have something in white packaging and I thought it would be tricky to choose but it really wasn't. There were other bits and pieces I wouldn't mind either but these are my top picks...

Mineralize Eye Shadow in Snow Season £16.50

Paint Pot in Morning Frost £14.00

Lipstick in Such Flare £14.00 

Make It Perfect Brush Kit £39.50

Nail Laquer in Unconditionally Fabulous £10.00

Beauty Powder in Snowglobe £20.50

 OK so that's a pricey shopping trip... I think my must haves will be the nail polish, the beauty powder, the lipstick and the paint pot which comes to...£58.50?... eek! Now I remember why I stay away from the MAC counter. Beautiful though!

Will you be picking anything up from the Glitter & Ice collection?

Garnier BB Cream - Review

Garnier's BB Cream is finally here. This hugely hyped product dubbed a "Miracle Skin Perfector" was one new launch I couldn't wait to get my hands on and now I have it I just had to share my first thoughts with you. I have seen surprisingly few reviews and posts about this given the buzz surrounding it so I couldn't get a real idea of how well it worked or what it did. Hopefully for those of you looking for just that.. this will help!

Firstly There are 2 shades available, Light and Medium. It retails at £9.99 and sold out and can be bought at Superdrug and Boots. The original BB cream was created in Germany but the craze really started in Asia where it was said to be the secret to Korean actresses beautiful skin. It soon became popular here to buy online and there was much talk on YouTube about these mystical creams for months before Garnier launched the first drugstore version. BB stands for Blemish Balm, there have been many variations made, some are said to have skin lightening properties, some are anti-wrinkle, some anti-acne. What Garnier are claiming to offer is a sun block and moisturiser that evens skin tone, boosts glow, blurs imperfections and smooths fine lines all in one wonderful tube. Ok so enough of what it's supposed to do... here you can see the balm in action. Please excuse my early morning makeup free face.

This is JUST the balm on my face, no concealer, nothing! I am really impressed with the coverage. I'm not sure it even is coverage. It's almost like it really is blurring imperfections, evening out skintone and boosting glow. It feels weightless and moisturising when on the skin but it doesn't leave me uber shiny like a tinted moisturiser would. I can explain it but I'm excited.

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side note:

Can anyone else see that one of my eyelids is bigger than the other? It's so rare I can capture it on film so everyone thinks I'm bonkers but seriously... it's really obvious here... what's it all about????

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Here's a swatch of the cream alongside some of my other foundations.

L-R

Natural Collection Tinted Moisturiser in Fair, Mac Studio Fix Fluid in NCW25, Garnier BB Cream in Light, Nars Sheer Glow in MontBlanc/Light2

It's a much thicker consistency than any of the compared products as you can see.. you might think that as a result it's more moisturising and spreads further but I didn't find this to be the case. I used this as an all-in-one so applied it to my clean face, no moisturiser/primer. I found it to be quick drying, it spreads like an oil free moisturiser so I needed more than I'd expected to cover my face and blend in to my neck. This being said I liked the coverage that it gave and it is buildable because of it's thicker formula so it's not all bad. I did get shiny in my t-zone/chin area by lunchtime but no more so than with any other product (except revlon colorstay) But I used a little powder to mattify and the coverage lasted me until I wanted to remove my makeup. I was impressed given that I was expecting little more than a tinted moisturiser.

I will do a more in depth follow-up review when I've used this exclusively for a few weeks so that I can really see whether it's made any improvement on my skin condition. I'd love to think that it will and isn't JUST a cosmetic product. Whether I repurchase this will really depend how long this little tube lasts me. £9.99 is more than I'd like to spend for what is quite a small amount of product (It's just 50ml).. but I'll see how it goes, if it offers real benefits to my skin it would be worth the cash for sure.

Have any of you tried this yet?

What are your thoughts?

Benefit - They're Real Mascara

Now I consider myself to be over the "Benefit Craze" and haven't felt the urge to go out and buy any of their new products in quite some time but when I first heard of this mascara I'll admit.. I was excited. I'm not a huge mascara freak (though you'd think so from the size of my collection) I don't have fantastic eyelashes and no matter how high end the product I don't seem to have ever achieved amazing results. It's the one beauty item that I don't lust after because I just don't really believe it will do anything for me. I have a large collection because I'm always open to trying new things but I am rarely willing to part with more than drugstore prices. Benefit's "They're Real" was offering something totally new. Volume, Length, Curl and Long-lasting results all in one tube. At £18.50 it's definitely on the pricey side for me but with all the hype I just knew I was going to have to try it.

Let me tell you a little bit about the brush.. it's a new-style rubber wand as opposed to the traditional brush. It's different to any other wand I've tried. Many have likened it to the phenomen'eyes from Givenchy and I can see why. It has definitely taken inspiration from that design with the end of the wand utilized to get every little lash covered and the "spiked" style bristles to separate and prevent clumps when applying more than one coat. It was tricky to get used to but I think over time it will work better for me with practice.

Now as I said, my lashes are nothing special to begin with. Here's my before and after shots...

After these pictures, while I was filming my review I lifted my lashes by pushing them with my fingers and the difference was huge. My intention the next time I apply this is to curl my lashes AFTER. I think that could really work for me. I will of course take photos and share if it works well. The formula is good. It does lift, lengthen and create volume and as I write this post 9 hours after applying my makeup I can tell you I have no flaking and the lift is still going strong so I would say that it is indeed a long-lasting mascara.

Bottom line, I am impressed with this product, It does what it claims but it's not QUITE as wow as I'd hoped. Perhaps that's my expectations that were too high and I should really have known better but I truly believed this was going to be the mascara to end all other mascara's for me.. I thought I'd finally found "the one" that was going to make me fall in love with Benefit all over again... but.. I'm not sure I have.

Granted I have used this so you never know, with practice I might change my mind but right now I don't think I'd part with the money again. It's twice what I'd usually spend on mascara and I have to ask myself.. is it really TWICE as good?

Mascara is a really personal thing. You're ultimately only going to get the best results with the best natural lashes so there will be some of you that will find everything this product that I wanted to. Don't let my uncertain opinion put you off trying what might be the best mascara you've ever owned but for me.. it's just not quite hitting the spot.

*They're Real launches nationwide today*

You can check out my video review below...

MAC Cham -Pale

Something terrible happened today. 

MAC unexpectedly launched their new collection in stores and I spent money I shouldn't have on frivolous items...oohps. In my defence this collection is my favourite so far! I loved V/V but the colours weren't so wearable.. this is much more my style and each piece adds to whatever you already have in your makeup bag. You don't necassarilly need everything from cham-pale and you probably  wouldn't do a full face of shimmer and sheen (well... not every day) but you can mix and match with other stuff and give your existing looks a chic new edge! So as usually I took a couple of photos for your viewing pleasure and to look a little crazy..

Lipstick swatches Top-Bottom: Quiet Please, Tanarama, Flustered, Gel

And here are the things I picked up..

Special Reserve Highlight Powder in Rose Ole

Lipstick in Gel (permanent)

Paintpot in Chilled On Ice

This was difficult to swatch so I got a kind of blurry fingertip picture and an on-cheek shot.

Nail Laquer in Soiree

I'm totally in love with Cham-Pale .. I want it all but what I have has satisfied me.

I've heard really mixed opinions prior to its launch so I'm really interested to know what you guys think.

What are you planning to buy or have you already picked up?

This collection is not for everyone but as a neutral/metallics lover I can't think of a better collection to ring in the New Year.

xoxo

miss bb