New Revlon Balm Stains.

{Smitten (left) + Rendezvous (right)}

What Revlon says: 
"It’s a pampering balm fused with a lightweight lipstain in an adorable chubby crayon. Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain gives softer, smoother lips with a perfect flush of color that lasts hour after hour. The gel formula comes in 12 vibrant shades that match any look or mood."

What I say:
I've never tried out anything quite like a glossy stain, but I'm really impressed with the quality. There is a decent range of colors, from a dark red to a pale nude to a lilac pastel.  I love how it smells minty and fresh but doesn't tingle your lips.  I don't find it to be moisturizing nor drying.  That being said, those with dry lips may want to steer clear overall or exfoliate+moisturize their lips prior to using the balm stain.  I find the opacity can range from sheer to semi-opaque on the lips.  These last for a few hours on my lips, depending on the application.

As I have mentioned before, a glossy finish isn't my favorite but I obviously knew what I was getting myself into since "balm" is part of the name.  In order to get rid of the finish I just apply a minimal amount of product onto my lips, then rub both together and repeat until I achieve the amount of color I would like. 

I've heard these are comparable to the Clinique Chubby Sticks because of the aesthetics, as in the almost identical packaging, not the actual product.

Pros:

• inexpensive (I found mine for $8 @Walmart)
• readily available
• choose from 12 diverse colors
• stain lips for a decent amount of time (a few hours)
• easy to work with the "crayon" tip
• nice twist up packaging
• unique product (certainly for drugstore/high street makeup)

Cons:

• only 2.7 grams (Revlon Lip Butters are 2.55g & Revlon Lipsticks are 4.2g)

maybelline color show nail lacquers

{Porcelain Party, Audacious Asphalt, Keep Up the Flame,
Impeccable Greys, Twilight Rays}

Once I heard (..err...rather, read) about this nail polish line on UK blogs, I knew it would be of my interest. Much to my dismay, the collection had not arrived to the US quite yet (nothing new here!) so I waited patiently, as I usually do.

  There are a wide array of colors to choose from throughout this range, Maybelline truly knew what they were doing.  Of course there could be a few different shades to choose from, but I'm sure they will release a new collection sometime soon.

While these are some of the cheapest nail lacquers on the market, they only contain 0.23 fl. oz. or 7 mL of product.  This may seem like a disappointment to some, however I find it extremely tedious to actually finish an entire bottle of nail polish; in fact, I don't believe I ever have, unless you count shattering an entire bottle of glitter nail polish in your bathroom! 

I bought the colors porcelain party 380, audacious asphalt 390, keep up the flame 250, impeccable greys 410, and twilight rays 240. 

Pros:

• Great color selection
• Inexpensive ($3 @ Walmart)
• Easily accessible at drugstores
• Only 2 coats needed for most of the nail polishes
• No top-coat needed, unless you like to prolong the wear of your nail polish.  Other than that, they dry pretty quick.
• Smaller amount of product, which means you can get through a bottle faster without the product becoming too thick to use

Cons:

• As the consumer, one may not appreciate the small amount of product. Like I've mentioned in the "pros", I actually prefer it!

Swatches:

Porcelain Party

Audacious Asphalt

Keep Up the Flame

Impeccable Greys

Twilight Rays

As usual, thanks for reading! xx isabella.

rimmel london lasting finish by kate lipsticks.

My initial attraction to this range of lipsticks derived from Kate Moss' input toward them.  I simply adore Kate, and her collaboration with Rimmel could not have been any better.  Personally, I am drawn to this range, not only because of Kate, but also the selection of colors; ultimately I would be buying them, and do not intend to let my money go to waste just because Kate, or any other celebrity for that matter, happens to be a contributor. It is quite rare to find a great color selection of lipsticks, let alone from high street brands, so as you may already tell, I love these lipsticks!

8, 12, 6, 9.

Originally I bought number 12, which is a true orange color, I loved it so much that I wanted to pick up a few more: numbers 8, 6, and 9.  I'd say number 8 would be absolutely stunning paired with a subtle smokey eye during the fall, same with 9, a berry red color.  Number 6 reminds me of the lipsticks from Iris Apfel for MAC collection which were all incredibly bright-right up my alley, so I immediately knew I had to buy number 6; I would describe it as a poppy coral.

Just a few  side notes:

• I am not a fan whatsoever of shiny lipstick finishes, and unfortunately these lipsticks have a glossy look to them...BUT I have found that they can be easily maneuvered to a matte finish, as most lipsticks can. 
• They faintly smell of some sort of plastic fruit, not necessarily unpleasant, just different

Now with the pros and cons.
Pros:

• Readily available at most drugstores (I found mine at CVS)
• Inexpensive, around $5
• Pigmented
• Sleek packaging
• Average amount of product (4 grams)

Cons:

• They don't really last too long, but that really doesn't bother me.

Overall, these arent the most amazing lipsticks ever, but they are really nice especially for the cost.