Maybelline Color Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencils Review

I know what you're thinking, not another lipstick review... But what can I say, I am a self proclaimed lipstick junkie!

Anyway, these little babies were released back at the end of August (I believe), but I've only just recently got my hands on them. And, not to mention all my favourite beauty bloggers have been raving about them since then, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about!

There are ten shades in total, from nudes to reds to plumy colours. I decided to pick up 'Minimalist', 'Nude Perfection' and 'Berry Much' in Boots, as it was 3 for 2. And at £4.99 each they are a right bargain anyway! 

At a later date, I shall be returning to get 'Fab Orange' as I'm really into orangey-red lipsticks at the moment. 

Anyway, I have nothing but great things to say about the Maybelline Velvet Lip Pencils, they are really easy to line the lips with and then of course to fill the lips in full. They have a great selection of colours, the longevity is fabulous, however you do have to re-apply after eating (which I'm sure most of you do anyway) and they are super pigmented.

And, I'm sure you're all thinking that these are an exact copy of the NARS Velvet lippys and you're right, they pretty much are. The Maybelline Velvet Lip Pencils are just as great and a much cheaper dupe of the NARS Velvet Lip Pencils. The NARS lip pencils retail around £18 which is pretty steep and the price is why I can't justify buying one, although that's a bit controversial for me to say considering I am a high-end make-up junkie. 

Although having said that, I swatched the NARS pencils in Canada and they are lovely and they do have some cracking shades. But these Maybelline one's are equally as good and for less than a third of the price, you can't really go wrong can you?

Anyway, above I am wearing 'Nude Perfection' and I'm smiling so it must be good right? Correct! I bloody love this shade and I don't own anything like it! It reminds me of a MAC lipstick that's on my current wish-list, I'm talking about 'Velvet Teddy' by the way. The one that's sold out at the moment which makes me super sad. I'm waffling... back to Nude Perfecto. It's the perfect yellow-toned tan shade, perfect for every-day wear, super pigmented and glides on nicely.

Moving on to 'Berry Much', the perfect autumnal shade. A deep berry colour that doesn't look too vampy, gothic like.

How gorgeous is that colour! And, like-wise to 'Nude Perfection', this one is super pigmented. I think I'm going to get a lot of wear out of this one during Autumn/Winter. 

The only thing I will say is that I should of lined my lips better with this one, but hey-ho. 

And last but not least, I will give a little shout-out to 'Minimalist' (but not in a good way). I was drawn to the name as I'm a bit of a 'minimalistic' lover. But, I decided not to take some snaps of this one as it is my least favourite of the bunch. It's not as pigmented as the other two but I think that must be the point of it being minimal and all that jazz. But yeah, I'm not feeling this one as much. Maybe because, it's more of a barbie pink shade with pecks of glitter in. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of glitter, but not on the lips, it's rather childlike. Unless that's your thing, than that's cool.

My final thoughts: I see what all the fuss is about and again for £4.99, they are an absolutely gem for the price! I wouldn't reach for them every-day as I favour my trusty MAC lipsticks over anything. However, they are a nice change every once in a while. And, they do line the lips perfectly, as long as you keep on sharpening those little babies so they are on point. But, yes, overall I am super happy with them and they are great product!

Have you tried these little gems? If so, what colour is your favourite?

Autumnal Photoshoot

Outfit

Dress - Motel Rocks

Cardigan - Primark

Boots - Schuh

Brooch - Tatty Devine

Bag - Primark Limited Edition

Makeup

Foundation - Estee Lauder Double Wear in the shade 'Cool Bone 1C1'

Blush - NARS in the shade 'Douceur'

Lips - Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in the shade 'Red Velvet'

Eyeliner - Stilla Waterproof Liquid eyeliner

(Here's a little video diary of the day in action.)

The day. During my week off work I went to Cassiobury Park with Joe, and he took some Autumnal shots of me. Everything looks incredibly pretty during this time. The crispy leaves, the oranges and reds, wearing wooly knits, and anything pumpkin related. Perfection.

Anyway, the reason behind the photo shoot was that I wanted to do something a little different on my blog, and I've had something like this in mind for ages so it was nice to finally see it all come together. 

My only critique of the snaps, and I'm sure some of you will agree, is that I should of used a better quality camera. I do have a Canon 30D, which I should of probably used for this, but I am a little out of practice with it these days. I think my little vlogging camera (Canon S110) captured some pretty nice shots anyway. I know they aren't 'perfect' SLR quality' but I'm ok with that.

A Birthday Wishlist

I know I've done a lot of wish-list's lately, but its my birthday on Friday (Halloween), and well, I just enjoy putting these little wish-lists together, mainly as a reminder to myself for things to get in the near future, as well as ideas for Joe and my family.

Topshop Clean Rib V Sweater
I need to stop buying knitwear, but look how pretty this jumper is! It's your every day slouchy, paired with jeans kind of jumper. Very me. As an alternative, I've always been eyeing up this. I guess I'm really into grey things at the moment. Playing it safe.

Topshop Petite Ripped Joni Jeans
I recently split my work jeans so I'm after a new pair. I do like the look of these Joni Jeans from Topshop so I may have to invest in a pair. But I have to say, I find Topshop's jean quality rather disappointing, especially Leigh Jeans. I'd wear them a couple of times and they would stretch a huge amount and get holes in the crotch very easily, so I would end up replacing them every two months or so.

Michael Kors Jet Set Tote Bag
Moving on to the gorgeous Michael Kors tote bag. I know I will never probably own this bag as it is ridiculously expensive, but I shall keep on wishing.

Canon 600D
I would really REALLY like to treat myself to the 600D so I can film 'proper' videos for my Youtube channel, and possibly even use for my blog photographs as I'm currently using my vlog camera, the S110. It's not perfect but does the job for now.

Schuh Black Raunch Boots
And last but not least some shoes! I really like the style of these ones and think they would be my every-day A/W booties. Alternatively I've always wanted a pair of Red or Dead's Exam Boots. They don't look great in the pictures on Schuh's website, but they look beautiful on the feet.

Damian & Tracey's Wedding

Last weekend Joe's dad, Damian got married to Tracey, and I made a little video diary of their special day. 

I throughly enjoyed myself, danced like a chicken and drank far too much wine... I suffered with a two day hangover... But hey ho, you only live once, as the cool kids say.

If you have a Youtube account, like and subscribe to my channel and I'll love you forever!

An A/W ZARA Wish list

ZARA always have the most beautiful knitwear. This A/W I would like these four cute knits to come home to me and join my ridiculously large wooly stash. From top left to right, then bottom left to right:

Elephant Printed Shirt

I don't actually own any shirts but I really like this one. It has elephants on it which remind me of my travels to Thailand a few years ago. And, it's reasonably priced at 25.99!

Oversized Jacket With Pockets

How gorgeous is this cardigan! It's cream or 'light mink' as stated on the website, fancy. It also comes in a chocolate colour but I prefer the lighter one. It retails at 35.99 which is pretty reasonable to, especially for ZARA.

Twist Neck Turtleneck Sweater

I'm really into turtleneck's this A/W, I recently bought one in H&M a couple of weeks back and I love it! It's so cosy and warm. I'd like to get this 'light mink' coloured one as the other one is more on the dark side. This is also 35.99.

Knit Cardigan With Pockets
And last but not least, this beautiful grey knit! This is a great staple for any A/W outfit. I would pair this with a slouchy top, ripped jeans and some nice boots! It is rather expensive though, it retails at 59.99 which breaks my heart and would definitely break my bank balance. But a girl can dream, right!

Corby Steaks & Tuesday Vlog

I'm up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning, well it's now 9:54am to be precise. 

Anyway, I decided to vlog on Tuesday as I had the day off work, so you can see what an average 'blogger/illustrator's day' looks like. I also included a snippet of Sunday where me, Joe, Joe's mum and sister went out for dinner. Any who, I hope you enjoy this little Vlog I've put together. Really starting to get the hang of this 'vlogging thing'!

And, my Sunday Vlog will be up tomorrow as per usual. I filmed Joe's dad's wedding, so if you're interested, check back tomorrow around 5pm.

Also I've got the week off work, would you guys like to see more daily vlogs with things I get up to this week? Or I could vlog my birthday? Let me know if that's something you'd like to see! I'm probably going to do it anyway...

Review on L'oreal's Pure Reds Lipstick Collection

I've been meaning to do beauty reviews for quite some time now, but haven't had the chance to until now, so here's my very first review on the new L'oreal's limited edition Pure Red Lipstick Collection.

I saw an advert on TV showing off the exclusive collection that L'oreal has created, which includes four red lipsticks to suit every skin tone. So I dashed to the shops to try and nab a few. Sadly I had no luck, so I resorted to getting them online but they had all sold out (the dramas!). Then a couple days later, I popped back into my local boots and there they were, with halo's around them, telling me it was fate and I knew I just had to get them.

I picked up Blake's, Julianne's and Eva's shades. I couldn't get my hands on Liya's, but I was unsure about that shade as it's for dark skin and I'm super pale.

And, before I get stuck into my review of each shade, I have to say that I've always been a bit daunted by red lipsticks as I find most clash with my hair, well they certainly did when I had more of a red tone to my hair. It's currently looking more on the gingery side, so they should look ok.

Anyway, let's get straight into it, starting off with Julianne's Pure Red. This is the one that is designed to suit my skin tone and my hair (faux ginger nut). It's a matte pinky-berry-red, not usually what I'd go for as I don't particularly like 'pink lips' but I have to say, it does look rather nice with my complexion and hair. Also I wore it to a wedding at the weekend and it did not budge one bit, and I'm going to be completely honest, it made me feel really 'sexy', if you know what I'm saying ladies.

So, big thank you to L'oreal for creating the perfect red for me and the other pale ginger girls out there.

Second up is Blake's Red which is a pure ruby red colour designed to suit warm skin tones. Now I do like this shade, it looks similar to Julianne's, but looks more pinky on the lips, weirdly. However I don't think it suits me at all. Personally I feel that it clashes with my hair... Ginger problems.

And then we have Eva's Pure Red which is a pure brick red designed to suit warm skin tones. I know this isn't recommended for my skin tone, but I really like it. It reminds me of a MAC lipstick I've been eyeing up recently - Chilli, a gorgeous deep red colour, which is very similar to this one.

Overall I'm really impressed with the formula of these lipsticks, they aren't as good as a trusty MAC lipstick, but for a drugstore brand, they are really impressive. Long-wearing from A.M to P.M, a matte-velvet formula yet very moisturising on the lips and looks lovely as a day-time or evening lippy. Hats off to you L'oreal.

And to finish off on a totally unrelated note, here are some photographs of me being snap happy and silly in the bathroom.