Tag Archives: Revlon

30 Days of Lippy – Week One

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30 Days of Lippy was born out of a desire to break a beauty rut! Lately I’ve been wearing a group of about three or four colours almost religiously, but I decided to shake it up! I was, fortuitously, contacted by the amazingly talented (and ridiculously creative) Kimberley of Pop Couture, who happened to be going through a bit of a beauty rut herself. You can read the beginning of the story about how 30 Days of Lippy came about here (and my story of how I joined in here).

I’ve had a fabulous week shopping my own stash, ignoring my colour prejudices and just generally living it up in the lip department. It’s amazing how freeing it is to give yourself over to a list. Granted, I wrote said list with my amazing partner in crime Kimberley from Pop Couture, (whose own week one recap you can – and should – check out HERE) but we deliberately included colours, finishes and styles of lip products that we have a tendency to steer clear of, or that we’d bought and never worn.

Day One: Your Favourite Lip Colour

This is my favourite lip colour of the moment. It’s a combination: Australis Show Stopper  Gloss Stick in Fairy Floss with Sally Hansen Xtreme Volume in Sheer Pink over the top. I love the pretty pink and the extra shine that the Sally Hansen Gloss adds. However, this is a combo that needs to be applied after one arrives at one’s destination, as it is a little sticky!

Day Two: Bright Orange

Maybelline Colour Sensational Lip Colour in Coral Fever. I always felt a bit weird wearing this orange, as much as I like it. It felt like it didn’t fit with my face properly or always looked a bit out of place. However this time, I paired it with a gorgeous Optimistic Orange M.A.C Creme Blush which just brought the whole look together. This is definitely going back into regular rotation. Read my full review on this lippy here.

Day Three: Nude

Oh! Face of Australia Lip Quench SPF 30 in Lychee Crush. One of my favourite lipsticks ever. It just suits my skintone to a T and I always get compliments when I wear it. It’s the perfect partner to a bold smoky eye (which means it’s always in regular rotation at my house.) Although it was pouring rain the day I shot this, the sun peeked out for a moment just as I was picking up my phone to snap a pic, so I got a beautiful little ray of light streaming in through the window. Read my full review of this lippy here.

Day Four: Red Lips


Sax Cosmetics Rich Colour Lipstick in Classic Red. This lipstick has such a old Hollywood feel to it. It’s not too orange, or too blue, not too dark nor too light and it wears down to a beautiful stained finish on my lips, which I just love, because it means even if I don’t have time to reapply it after drinking my fourth skinny latte of the day, I feel confident in knowing it still looks amazing. In fact, one could theoretically apply it first thing in the morning and then even accidentally leave it at home and still have great red lips throughout the day, with just a little application of lip balm to refresh the colour and plump up the moisture in your lips.

Day Five: Coral


Ahhhh Inglot Slimline Gel Lipstick in #40… the lipstick that resulted from the Trout Pout Adventure. Quite possibly one of my favourite lipsticks ever. And I’m starting to realise I’m saying that a lot. It was hard to choose just one of my many coral lipsticks, but I love the perfect balance of pink and orange in this lippy, it makes your lips feel beautifully moisturised and I’ve been told almost every time I wear it “it just lights up your face!” Something strange happened with the filter on instagram when I was taking this shot and my eyes ended up looking crazy green. They’re not actually this colour! Read my full review of this lippy here. For those who asked, I’m also wearing Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Medium/Deep and a whole lot of bronzer (I use Natio Pressed Powder Bronzer because it’s not too shimmery, not too orange and is great as a contour as well. Besides which, it’s cheap as chips!)

Day Six – Wear a stain

Benefit Benetint is one of my all-time favourite lip products. It works well on me because it’s close to my natural lip colour, but deeper. My lips are naturally quite dark. Partially because my colouring is just dark, but also because I’m a lip biter. This seems to work really well in combination with Benetint, as this stain (on me) is a prettier version of my natural lip colour. I tend to reapply it several times throughtout the day, which is how it keeps that lovely deep rosy colour. I wouldn’t say it’s a moisturising product, but it’s certainly not drying either. To me it feels like wearing nothing at all. Best of all, the bottles are absolutely massive and they’ll last you for ages. Keep your look consistently rosy by using it as a cheek tint as well. I also love how the deep rosy colour of this tint makes my skin look really creamy and seems to bring out the blue/green in my eyes.

Day Seven – Your Favourite Revlon Lip Butter

I had a bad first experience with Revlon Lip Butters. I bought Sweet Tart and it was unfortunately a bad batch. It was grainy, not smooth and creamy, and it dried my lips out like crazy! But after reading all the positive reviews from my fellow bloggers and hearing my friends rave about them, I decided to give them another try. This time I bought Cotton Candy and Raspberry Pie. Cotton Candy is my favourite so far, probably because it’s closer to my style than Raspberry Pie. I’m still a little gun-shy of wearing super dark lip colours. But this is something I’m hoping to overcome through this challenge. Cotton Candy is deliciously moisturising (which I’m positively delighted about, I didn’t like not liking the lip butters!) a beautiful creamy pink with slight brownish undertones. It’s got a lovely pearl finish which helps to add volume and gloss to your lips. It will most certainly be on high rotation!

One of the most incredible things about doing this challenge is watching OTHER people do this challenge. Seeing everyone’s images, the way they challenge themselves… Kimberley‘s incredible lips and gorgeous face, Tara‘s amazingly creamy skin, which just seems to glow in every photograph, the way Ingrid‘s face lights up the screen, (to name just a few) the clever composition in so many of these photographs and the way that every single one of them is pushing themselves to try something new…  Seriously, go and search #30DaysofLippy on instagram and just drink in the beauty. These ladies inspire me. I hope they’ll do the same for you.

How was your first week of 30 Days of Lippy? Did you make any wonderful discoveries in your own stash? Did you find a new appreciation for something you’d considered “not you”? Or rediscover an old favourite?

Let me know!
Love,
Rosie xox

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5 ways to combat the “blahs”

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I’ve had a rough week. I’ve had a ghastly flu and been burderned with what my doctor referred to as “nuclear strength antibiotics”. You know those days when you just feel blah? Most mornings I walk out of the house feeling confident and amazing, but some days seem dull and drab before they’ve even begun. Luckily, I’ve developed a system for combatting blah, dull and drab. Here are my top 5 ways to pull yourself out of a blah day.

1. Wash and blow-dry (or straighten or curl) your hair. It will look fresh and shiny and smell amazing. Most of the time I am a dry shampoo addict and boy howdy it’s good stuff, but sometimes you just need supermodel hair. Favourite products: Moroccanoil Treatment Light $27.50 / 25ml, KMS California Free Shape Hot Flex Spray $31.95 / 200ml.


2. Fake bake it. There is nothing quite like a tan to make you feel glamorous, slim and sexy. But as we all know, real ones are terribly bad for us and so (hopefully) you’ve discovered the beauty of a faux glow. I’m a dedicated tanner in summer: I do a full scrub and application once a week, and a top-up application after a few days. In winter I’m lazier about it, but a gorgeous golden glow is sure to perk me up any day. Favourite products: Le Tan Fast Tan Mousse in Deep Bronze $12.99, Vani T Liquid Sunshine $28.95 and for those days where you can’t be bothered doing a full scrub and tan… Le Tan Flawless Legs Body Makeup is a lifesaver $17.99.


3. Be illuminating! An illuminator or highlighter is makeup’s answer to flat, dull and blah. It’s kind of like having your own personal lighting specialist follow you around every. single. second. Sweep a little across the high points of your face (that is: the bridge of your nose, tops of your cheekbones near the temple, on your forehead just above your brows and if you really feel super blah, dot a little in the inner corner of each eye – it makes your eyes look brighter -  and in your cupid’s bow, which is the hollow above your top lip.) Sneaky secret? Mix a liquid illuminator into your foundation for an all-over heavenly glow. Favourite products: Face of Australia Mineral Therapy Illuminator in Angel Mist $14.95 and M.A.C Mineralise Skin Finish in Lightscapade $47.00.

4. Wear a bright(er) lipstick. One thing that’s bound to put you in a good mood and put some colour in your face is a great bright lipstick. I’m pretty obsessed with some of the great corals out there at the moment. The great thing about coral is it’s like pink and orange had a baby together, which means it suits both warm and cool skintones! Coral is the perfect pick-me-up for mid-week. But if you’re after something a little more wow for the weekend, go for a deep fiery red or a boom-smash orange. Favourite products: Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipcolour in Coral Fire $16.95, Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in Besotted $39.00 and Shop M.A.C Lipstick in Watch Me Simmer $36.00.

5. Give yourself a statement mani. There’s nothing quite like having fabulous nails. It gives you that extra bit of wow factor, it’s a conversation starter and it’s likely to get you noticed. I always get compliments when I choose a bright or unique nail colour. Plus, there’s something about having hands that look great that’s a real confidence booster. Neon yellow, bright orange, pretty pink with a glitter feature nail (like the one here) or a parade of pastel colours on your fingers (like here). Statement nails are a big blah-buster! Favourite products: Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel in Electric and Pink Lingerie $15.95, OPI Nail Polishes in Pamplona Purple and Jade is the New Black $19.95, Sportsgirl Nail It! in Ginger $7.95, Face of Australia ProNail Enamel in Cool Cotton $6.95 and Barbados Nail Enamel in Another Daquiri Please $4.95.
Do you have a system or a great way to combat the “blahs”? Any parts of your beauty routine that instantly perk you up? Will you be trying any of my tips? Let me know!

Happy Friday!
Love,
Rosie xox

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Note: all images used above are PR shots. Layouts are my own.

Pastel Prettiness NOTD

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Now this is a super-easy, super-fast way to dress up your nails for a special event! Who doesn’t love a high-impact, easy-to-execute nail project? Fashion and beauty (me included) are having a love affair with pastels lately, so I decided to create a pretty little pastel manicure.

You will need:
* Five different pastel nail polishes
* Nail polish remover
* A Q-Tip to tidy with
* Clear top coat to finish

If you don’t have five pastel nail polishes (I didn’t, I only had four) but you’ve got a colour that’s close, add a bit of white nail lacquer to the polish and mix until it’s more pastelly. I mixed mine in the metal container from a tealight candle!

The colours I used were:
* Revlon Top Speed Pink Lingerie
* Revlon Blue Lagoon
* Sportsgirl Lace
* A peachy coloured Miki Mini (9155), and
* Revlon Top Speed Electric (which is a yellow that was far too bright, so I added some Face of Australia Cool Cotton to mix it up into a pretty pastel yellow)

Paint each nail a different colour. If you’ve got two colours that are similar, (for example: I had a pink and a peach) separate them. I put the pink on my pinkie and the peach on my thumbnail. Then tidy any messy over-paint on your fingers or nail bed with a nail polish remover-soaked Q-tip and finish with a clear top coat for long wearing pastel goodness. And voila!

Have you got a great easy-peasy way to dress up your nails? Please share!

Love,
Rosie xox

Find me: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest x

Pretty in Pink NOTD

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I’ve had Shellac on my fingers for about two and a half weeks, and as much as I love it, it’s so nice to finally have it off and to be able to play with all my pretty nail polishes again! Two new ones, which I haven’t had a chance to try yet, are Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel in Pink Lingerie and butter LONDON polish in Rosie Lee. My friend Sarah, of Hip & Haute posted a photo of a gorgeous pink mani with a pink glitter feature nail which inspired me to create this Pretty in Pink Nail of the Day.

Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel is wonderful! Being ridiculously time poor (like absolutely everyone seems to be at the moment) I love the fact that it dries so quickly. Pink Lingerie was a shade I picked up a few weeks ago and then promptly forgot about. When I rediscovered it yesterday I was delighted. The first coat was a little sheer and bumpy (I didn’t use a base coat, because I wanted to see how it fared on its own). But the second coat created a beautiful solid medium baby pink, and levelled out perfectly. It dries to a hard, glossy finish in under 3 minutes.

It’s a great shade for anyone, it’s not too bright, not too pale. I’d call it the perfect pink. I’m hoping that Revlon will continue to expand their Top Speed colour range, because I absolutely adore them. butter LONDON Rosie Lee was a polish I picked up about a month ago from HoneyHoney (after my love affair with Trout Pout convinced me I needed more butter LONDON in my life.) I saw a gorgeous pink glitter mani on Pinterest and when I found Rosie Lee the same day, it seemed serendipitous.

The fact that it’s (partly) named after me sated my Leonine self-absorption in a rather heady way as well. Rosie Lee is a gorgeous rose coloured glitter polish in a clear base. It reflects several different colours in daylight, including pale pink, sparkly gold and a deliciously deep rosie pink, despite (on closer inspection) being made up of only one colour glitter. On an unpolished nail, the glitter looks quite sparse and requires at least two coats to get a decent sparkle ratio going. On top of another polish, however, one coat will get you gorgeous glitter goodness and two will get you what looks like solid glitter coverage. It also dries fairly quickly. On top of my Revlon polish, it was solid in under five minutes.

 I am loving this mani! And I must say a big thank you to Sarah for the inspiration. I haven’t sealed it with a top coat yet, because I’m interested to see how long both polishes last. I usually go for simple one colour manicures, mainly because I’m not terribly coordinated, but the easy-peasy feature nail is a great way to add some interest to an otherwise simple colour. I can’t help flashing my hands and I feel wonderfully girly! I took a few shots in different lights so you can appreciate the prettiness of both lacquers.

So, are you a nail art ninja? Or do you stick to simple manicures? What’s on your nails right now? Let me know!
Rose xox

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Disney Princess FOTD – Beauty + The Beast

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Last night I was chatting with some friends on twitter and suddenly, for some reason we were discussing Disney Princesses. I adore the Disney Princesses, so flawless and good and generally sparkly with happiness. It was decided that the Disney Princess I most closely resembled was Belle, from Beauty & The Beast. What a wonderful compliment! I always loved that movie and Belle is incredibly beautiful. Here’s what she looks like in cartoon form.

Image courtesy 1st-cartoon.blogspot.com

The basics of Disney Princess makeup are these:
1. flawless skin
2. fluttery lashes that look natural
3. arched but natural, full eyebrows
4. flushed cheeks
5. pretty pink lips

Here’s my interpretation of Belle as a human.


It’s essential to start with a beautifully flawless base, so I chose a few products that always give me glowing, perfect skin.

Key Products
Face
Estée Lauder Double Wear Maximum Cover Foundation in 07/Medium-Deep
(warmed & applied with fingers)
Revlon PhotoReady Compact Powder in  030/Medium-Deep
(dusted over the top to set and help to matte down the foundation)
M.A.C StudioSculpt Concealer in NW25 (for illuminating under-eye circles)

Eyes
M.A.C All Races Matte Eyeshadow
(on the lid and swept up into the crease with a small blending brush)
M.A.C TenderSmoke Metallic Eyeshadow
(pressed into the crease and then allowed to collect in the outer corner of each eye to give the eyes depth) 
Napoleon Perdis China Doll Gel Liner in Equinox
(applied with a very fine angle brush right along the top lash line, and flicked out slightly beyond the lashes for an almond eyed shape)
Lash Curler (gently walked up the lashes for a wide-eyed look)
Australis Cosmetics Killer Curves Mascara in Black Brown
(Brown-black because it’s a bit softer than full-on black. Apply two coats, then comb through the lashes and apply a final coat just to the tips of the lashes)

Brows
Run a q-tip dipped in makeup remover over them to remove any traces of foundation, which would stick the hairs to your face. Then brush upwards in the direction of the growth.
Benefit BrowZings in Medium
(use the pigmented gel to define and help to keep them in place, then wet the powder brush with a little water and use the powder to fill in your brows)
Designer Brands Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown
(very softly and gently use the pencil to outline and define any bits still looking sparse or uneven. Then comb through again to disperse the products evenly.)

Cheeks
Australis Cosmetics Paparazzi Perfect HD Blush in Screen Siren
(applied generously to the apples of the cheeks)

Lips
Face of Australia Lip Quench SPF 30+ Moisturising Lipstick in Lychee Crush
(applied directly to the lips from the tube, blotted with a tissue and then applied again for a strong colour and super shiny finish.)

Some close-ups…

The eyes and the brows

The cheeks

The Lips

I hope you enjoyed my Disney Princess-inspired Face of the Day! I feel very happy, sunshine-y and sparkly! I could burst into song at any moment. In fact…. *wanders off looking for backing orchestra*

So my lovelies, do you have a favourite Disney Princess? Which one would you be? Would you ever try Disney Princess-inspired makeup? Let me know. Leave a comment, stop by Facebook or tweet me!

Easy-Peasy Eyes with Revlon CustomEyes

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I’m a major eye makeup addict. I love eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara. In fact, I’m rarely seen without it. I know how to use eyeshadow fairly well, but some of the super complex looks and multiple colour combinations stump me. Don’t get me wrong, I know how to do an acceptable smoky eye. But it usually consists of two colours, three max. So when I discovered Revlon CustomEyes (RRP $25.95) palettes this week, I had a bit of an excitement attack. Five colours, with a diagram to show you exactly how to get the look.

I chose the “Sweet Innocence” palette, mainly because it contained both peaches and purples – two colours that are recommended to bring out the green in your eyes.

The shadows are a beautiful soft, fine powder, packed with pigment. They stay-true once they hit your skin and if you use a decent eyeshadow primer they won’t crease or budge. I love Australis Eye Shadow Primer RRP $12.95.

The palette comes with an applicator that’s really handy. It’s fat and round on one end, and long and skinny on the other, which means you can use it to both apply, blend and to do those fine fiddly bits like smudging a colour close to your lash-line.

I documented how quick and easy it was for me to create quite a complex (for me) eye look, just using the Revlon diagram and five colour compact.

Step One: No eye makeup. Primer applied.

Step Two: Use the fine applicator to apply peachy shadow in the inner corner of your eye.

Step Three: Use the fat applicator to apply pale pink shadow to the main part of the lid.

Step Four: Use the fine applicator to apply the medium purple to the crease and outer corner.

Step Five: Use the fine applicator to apply the deep purple/brown along your lash-line.

Step Six: Use the fat applicator to apply the cream shadow up under your brows and along the brow-bone.

Step Seven: Use the fine applicator to brush the deep purple/brown along the bottom lash-line.

Now, steps two through seven are all Revlon‘s. If it weren’t for the back of that palette and the diagram, I wouldn’t have a clue. I could probably guess and maybe come up with a simpler version. But nothing quite this cool. The final two steps are mine.

Step Eight: I used Maybelline's new Eye Studio Masterliner 24 Hour Cream Pencil (RRP $12.50) to create a strong, defined line along my top lashes.

Step Nine: apply a liberal coat of Revlon's Fabulash Mascara (RRP $21.95) in Blackest Black to both top and bottom lashes.

And you’re done! Easy peasy right? I certainly think so! And lovelies, I am hooked. I bought another palette the next day.  There’s a whole bunch of them to suit any occasion. From Party Pops to Naturally Glamorous to Metallic Chic. And some of the colour combinations are pretty darn groovy. Ones I definitely wouldn’t have thought of myself.

My only criticism? I’d like a little more advice on blending. But then, there’s only so much you can fit on the back of a teeny tiny little eyeshadow palette.

So lovelies, have you made any awesome makeup discoveries lately? Anything you’d like to share? Do you have a fail-safe technique for makeup that always gives you confidence? Leave your comments or tweet me!