YSL Rouge Pur Couture The Mats - 203

Slowly and steadily I'm accumulating all of the lipsticks from this collection. A whole set of matte red lipsticks? You can bet your bum I'm going to get them all. Unfortunately though, £26 on a lipstick is rarely justified even to an a complete addict like me so when this went on sale over Christmas I was a very happy bunny (and it took all every ounce of will power not to buy the other 6 I don't have - yet).

Unlike 204 this a very bright, clean cherry red with warm undertones. The texture is creamy and it's comfortable to wear pretty much all day. The finish is demi matte, super opaque and beautiful. It's very similar in terms of quality to 204 which is always a good thing. A lot of people say that YSL lip products can be very hit and miss but so far so good when it comes to these lipsticks, well they have been for me at least.

Without a doubt these are still my most treasured lipsticks. I have a huge amount of love for Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks and Nars especially, but there's something about these that make them my absolute favourites. They feel luxurious, the packaging is stunning, the formula is incredible and every shade is so spot on. They're classic, timeless lipsticks that suit everyone and if you haven't already (and you have the $$$), I would highly recommend investing in one of these. Unless you don't like red lipsticks in which case - WHAT?!

Read my review of 204 - here


What's your all time favourite lipstick?

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Revlon Matte Balms

Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balms £7.99 - link

L-R: 270 Fiery Flamboyante (Red) & 225 Sultry Sulfureuse (Pink)


I can't believe it's taken me so long to try these out. Every time I go to Boots all of the shades I want are sold out but not this time! The shades I picked up are Fiery which is a burgundy red with strong warm undertones and Sultry which is a deep pink and very Kylie Jenner-esque.

The finish of these is more satin than a velvet matte. The pink shade has a really soft shine to it but the red is has much more of an intense sheen and feels and looks more like a balm. Both are very comfortable to wear, really moisturising and the pencil format makes application a breeze although, I can see that backfiring as you use up the product and end up with a stump of lipstick. They last around 3 hours without any liner or blotting and don't dry out throughout wear but stay lovely and comfortable.

All in all I'm impressed with these. Because I am a little insane when a lipstick claims to be matte and isn't, I am a teeny tiny bit disappointed with Fiery being so shiny but for the sake of a moisturising matte lipstick, I'll let it off. I think these are a wonderful way to wear a bold lip for those of the faint of heart as the balm aspect of these lipsticks take the edge off or, if you just can't bear how uncomfortable most matte lipsticks are then these are going to be your new favourite thing. I can't wait to try more shades as, of course, I must own every red shade of lipstick that exists in the world so Striking is next on my list.


Have you tried these? Do you know of any other drugstore matte lipsticks?

P.S - sorry I haven't been posting as often - I'm prepping for an exciting christmas thing you'll see soon!

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Urban Decay De-Slick Mattifying Powder

Urban Decay De-Slick Mattifying Powder £19.50 - link

I've been through a lot of powders trying to find the "one" and every time they were almost perfect, but just not good enough - until now (cue heavenly music).

This is the only powder I've ever used where I haven't needed to reapply all day. ALL DAY. It's practically a miracle. As you probably know (because I say it in every post) I have oily skin and trying to control it is a huge pain in the butt, so naturally, matte powders have become my best friend and daily companion. I truly can't leave the house without one. I bought this around a month ago with low expectations only to be completely blown away.

I apply this after my primer and then again to set my foundation and that's it. It stays on my skin for at least 12 hours, gloriously absorbing everything. It's a super fine milled white but translucent powder so I can imagine flash back could potentially be an issue but as a pro at dodging pictures it has never been a problem for me. It sits wonderfully on the skin and doesn't accentuate anything I don't want it to or settle into any fine lines. I honestly couldn't tell you a thing I don't like about it.

I'd highly recommend you oily skin gals giving it a go and everyone else too for that matter. Good job Urban Decay, 5 stars from me.


Have you used this before? Do you have a holy grail powder?

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Oily Skin Saviours

Over the years my skin type has transformed from dry to oily so to accommodate it I've bought and tried a whole bunch of products to try and control it. These are 3 of my absolute favourites that I use everyday without fail to help keep the oil at bay.

Mattifying Setting Powders

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural (Light Plus) £23 - link

This is the newest edition to this trio and on the road to being my favourite powder of all time. I did a whole in depth review of this here but it's basically just a mattifying setting powder which is essential for me if I want my make up to last more than a couple of hours. For a long time the Rimmel Stay Matte powder was my holy grail and if you're on a budget it's a wonderful alternative but the reason I love this so much is because it looks much more natural, as you probably could have guessed from the title. It doesn't look cakey no matter how many layers of this you pile on and it's just a beautiful finish. It's safe to say I'm in love. 

Exfoliators

Urban Veda Radiance Exfoliating Facial Polish £9.99 - link

I'm not sure if exfoliating really is beneficial for oily skin but for me personally it's a vital part of my skin care routine. I've tried a couple of mattifying exfoliators but I just found that they dried my skin out and left it patchy and dehydrated. I tried a sample of this one in a Birchbox early last year and I've been using it ever since. It makes my skin feel clean and refreshed and removes any oil I have on my face before I apply my make up which I don't always a feel cleansers do. I'm really interested in trying some chemical exfoliators in replacement of this so I'll let you know how that goes when I get round to it. If you do have oily skin I'd really recommend trying an exfoliator to help combat it and this one in particular, It's lovely and pretty budget friendly at £9.99.

Make up Setting Sprays
Urban Decay De Slick Setting Spray £21 - link

I love all of the Urban Decay setting sprays and find that all of them work great for me and help my make up stay on for pretty much double the amount of time that it usually would. This one in particular is obviously aimed at oily skin so is best when used on that skin type. I haven't tried any of these from other brands as after reading reviews and having a look around it just seems like none of them compare to the ones from Urban Decay, but if you do have any recommendation feel free to leave a comment. After my I've applied my make up, and sometimes before if I really don't want it to go anywhere, I spray this all over my face and I'm good to go. I still have to use a powder if I want a completely matte look but to get the dewy, natural look most of my foundations are meant to give I'll use this by itself. Having oily skin makes it difficult to get a dewy look without looking shiny so this is a great thing to have if that's the look you want and find it hard to achieve when using a powder.

And that's all of them! Any product that says it's oil free or oil control is going to be your best friend or at least something to try but if you don't always want to stick to those types of products the one's I've just talked about will allow you to use whatever you want and still control the oil and prevent that dreaded shiny look. 

Have you tried any of these products?
Do you have any recommendations of products for oily skin?

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MAC Lipstick - Mehr

MAC Matte Lipstick in Mehr £15.50 - link

Described as a dirty blue pink this lipstick is a great dark nude colour. It isn't quite a 'your lips but better' shade for me but works well as a nude type shade nonetheless. I really like that it's more pink toned than brown as a lot of nudes are. I find it much more flattering on my skin tone especially because it's that little bit deeper of a colour.

For a MAC matte formula it's surprisingly creamy to apply and wear. It sets as almost completely matte but because it is slightly creamier it isn't a true matte finish. It lasts 5 hours without fading but does dry throughout the day to become a little uncomfortable as I'm sure most of you are familiar with when it comes to MAC matte lipsticks.

I'm trying my best to branch out of my red lip addiction so please give me any recommendations you have for other nude shades or any Spring/Summer shades!


What do you think of this lipstick? Do you have a favourite nude shade?

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Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil - Mysterious Red

Nars Limited Edition Velvet Matte Lip Pencil In Mysterious Red £18 - link

This is the first lip product I've tried from Nars and I love it. So much.
I haven't actually tried any lipstick/lip pencil hybrids but I'm so glad this was my first. I do have my eye on the Revlon matte ones though so if you've tried them I'd love to know your opinion or what colour from the range is your favourite!

Usually with all lipsticks no matter if they're in a bullet or pencil form I always always choose matte formulas. I can't think of anything worse than having sticky lips so to stay on the safe side, if the word matte is in the title it's a winner for me. This is a velvet matte finish which is where I draw the line. What I do like about velvet/semi-matte finishes though, and this lipstick in particular, is that they are usually completely opaque and not shiny like a matte finish, but have the creamy texture and nourishing qualities of a cremesheen for example. Basically, it's the best of both worlds.

The colour of this is described as a crimson red which I think is exactly right. It's a bright, bold deep red with slight warm undertones and it's beautiful. It applies like a dream and doesn't drag on the lips at all and like I said before has a creamy texture that dries to a semi-matte (or velvet) finish - it definitely isn't a true matte finish although the title does give that away. It's completely opaque and stays that way for at least 4 hours. After that it does start to fade and becomes a little drying, no where near as bad as some matte formulas, but drying none the less.
Like most red lipsticks, this doesn't agree much with eating or drinking of any kind and will fade pretty quickly during a meal. I always do this when testing a red lipstick just for the hopes that one day after I've eaten something, I'll look in the mirror to see that my lipstick looks the same as when I applied it and hasn't faded into nothingness. What a wonderful thing that would be.

Overall I am over the moon with this lipstick. The colour is beautiful and I think it would look great on anyone, the texture and finish are lovely as is everything else about it.

I'm looking forward to comparing it to the Revlon Matte Balms as £18 is not something that I want to part with for a lipstick very regularly (I've only just come to terms with MAC bumping up their prices to £15.50). I haven't seen anyone compare the two or say they are dupes for each other but I'm still hoping they are similar none the less.


Have you tried any lip products from Nars? Do you have a favourite?

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MAC Damn Glamorous

MAC Damn Glamorous Matte Lipstick £15.50 - Limited Edition

Debenhams had a sale during early November and I straight away shopped through all the MAC collection and found that they had released a series of limited edition matte lipsticks. Being a huge fan of red lips I immediately added all the red shades to my basket except one which was sold out - I'm slightly devastated truth be told but in the wise words of Celine Dion, the heart will go on.

This shade is a bright pink red with a slightly blue undertone. It's definitely more red than pink but in comparison to the much loved Russian Red for example, it does look like a deep fuchsia colour.
It's completely opaque just as all MAC matte lipsticks are but fortunately it isn't as drying. It's much easier to apply and blend if you wanted to.
I wore this for New Years Eve and it faired well against countless drinks and kisses at midnight. I'd say you could go for at least 5 hours without reapplying or touching up at all. It does also stain the lips which I'm not a huge fan of but apparently is a true test of a good matte lipstick.

I also picked up the shade La Vie En Rouge which is more coral toned red but I made the biggest blogging mistake of using it before I photographed it, would you still be interested in a review?

What's your favourite MAC lipstick shade and formula?