My Favourite Dark Lipsticks: MAC Viva Glam, Revlon Black Cherry, MAC Media

 L- R: MAC Viva Glam II, Revlon Black Cherry, MAC Media

L-R: MAC Viva Glam II, MAC Media, Revlon Black Cherry

I'm becoming more and more of a fan of dark lipstick for the night time and thought I would share my favourites with you. 

First up, is MAC Viva Glam II, a  dark burgundy red and I actually prefer this shade of red to Ruby Woo or Russian Red, which are both more vibrant pillar box reds. This lipstick is just a touch darker and is very flattering on olive and darker skins. It has a matte but not drying finish and I can vouch for it's staying power. It very rarely needs a touch up and if so, only in the middle.

Next, moving into the darker plums and purples, we have Revlon Black Cherry and MAC Media and yes they are extremely similar. However, there is a subtle difference in colour with Black Cherry being slightly more reddish tone whereas Media is more of a true plum purple. There is also a difference in texture. Black Cherry is slightly more sheer where Media has more of a creamy texture which I prefer. However, if push came to shove, they are very similar and I would recommend Black Cherry as a good dupe for MAC Media.

For all of these lipsticks, I would 100% recommend using a lipliner first to really lock in that colour and to have a nice clean line. Any red lip liner would work for Viva Glam. A darker lip liner might be harder to come across but I know MAC Currant lip liner is a good one and Rimmel has a fairly dark one called Ultimate if you're looking for a cheaper alternative.

What do you think of these colours?

Have you got any dark lip suggestions?

xx

Kylie Jenner Lips- MAC Beurre & MAC Spice Lip Liners

Ever since I spotted the above photo of Kylie Jenner circling round the internet and social media, I'm glad to find that I'm not the only one intrigued by her lips and yes, there are surgery rumours floating around but I absolutely love whatever lipstick she's chosen which seems to be the holy grail of pink nudes. And thus, the search began.

Luckily for me, I live not that far from a MAC store in Granada so went in to have a little experiment and the two that most caught my eye were these two- the MAC Spice lip liner and the MAC Beurre Cremestick liner. I would say that Spice is probably the closest to Kylie's lip colour in the photo and is a lovely matte 'pink cinnamon' colour as described on the MAC website. However I do much prefer the consistency of MAC Beurre. Being a cremestick, means that it's an absolute dream to apply, which doesn't pull at the lip as much as a pencil and I much prefer the wind up option rather than having the sharpen it. Both lip liners can be used on their own to create a nice matte lip or can be used as bases for any nude lipstick. It's certainly inspired me to start wearing a nude lip more often!

I have officially one week left in Granada and I'm currently eyeing up MAC Velvet Teddy

Would you reccommend?

A sneaky duty free purchase maybe?

xx

MAC Modesty

L-R. MAC Chatterbox, Fanfare, Modesty and Rimmel Spotlight Beige

MAC Modesty is a recent acquirement thanks to the duty free MAC stand in Gatwick North. I was looking for a nice new nude, nothing to pale that would drown me out. They didn't have Blankety, so Modesty caught my eye instead. Modesty is a cremesheen finish and described as a muted nude. I've compared it against my other favourite nude, Spotlight Beige by Rimmel. As you can see, Modesty is a bit more pink-y with a purple undertone than Spotlight Beige which is more peach based. I've also included for reference the differences between those two and other MAC lipsticks- Fanfare (another favourite) and Chatterbox, a strong pink. I really like this colour as it's not too pale for my skin tone. I have Hue by MAC and found that it makes me look a bit anaemic as it's too pale for my colouring and I usually have to warm it up a bit by adding some pink in. As Modesty, as it was described, is a muted nude, I think this lipstick would be equally suited to darker and lighter skin tones. It's very wearable for the daytime and looks equally good for a night out with a bit of extra lipgloss on the top a la Kim Kardashian.

I'm sorry it's been a while since I blogged. I've started on redecorating my room and so it looks like a bit of a bombsite at the moment and all the repainting has been taking up a lot of my time. But it's a learning curve at least. I learnt all about caulk and different sanders- oh the thrills!... I'm about half way done now and then it's just the finishing touches. It's been good having a good clearout. It's so easy to accumulate years of junk without even realising, especially since I've had to move everything out of my student house!

So that's what I've been up to recently!

Hope you guys are enjoying the nice warm weather!

xx

Outfit Of The Day- Walk In The Park

Blazer- Forever 21

Top- H&M

Trousers- ASOS

Shoes- New Look

Scarf- H&M

Belt- ASOS

Lipstick- Revlon Heartbreaker

At the weekends I always try and get out the house, either by going swimming, gyming or more often than not me and the boy will go for a walk around the common which isn't too far away from our house. Both the top and trousers I'm wearing are recent buys. I normally shy away from stripes- the belief being that they make you look bigger but I thought what the heck and bought it the 20% student discount UniDays were offering at H&M the other day. It's from the LOGG section and is a bit thicker than their basics range which makes it perfect for layering. The trousers are a gorgeous berry colour and I've been waiting for warmer weather to wear them- I think they would look a bit weird with boots, no?- and my feet cannot cope with no socks at the moment. When  we got back from our work, I stuck my feet straight back into slippers and even then, they still took a while for the feeling to come back. Bad circulation....

We went through a graveyard as part of our walk which I find are a weird combination of eerie and intriguing but the boy also pointed out it's where a lot of Titanic victims are buried (the Titanic was built in Southampton) but unfortunately we didn't come across any of them on our walk through. Today, I'll be catching up with work- the whole of the university computer system crashed yesterday so I could do any work even if I wanted to. Shame. But now I have to crack on. I can't believe it's only 2 weeks or so until the Easter Holidays and then not long after that till exams. Time is flying past crazy fast.

Hope you lot are having a cracking weekend :)

xx

Top 12 of 2012

So I thought today of all days would be the perfect time to share with you my Top 12 of 2012. It's a complete mix of things- beauty, clothes, music etc etc but these are really things that I could not have lived without throughout 2012.

In no particular order

L'Oreal Mythic Oil

I've had this for quite a while now actually but it's still something I couldn't live without. I use it religiously every time I wash my hair and it's great for curly hair like mine. It also helps keep it healthy and happy and I'm proud to say my hair is in great condition.

Real Techniques Eye Brushes

A fairly recent purchase and something I never quite got round to photographing for my blog. I love these brushes and they're great quality. Now I've started branching out a bit in regards to eye make up, I feel I can properly follow all those lovely tutorials you see on Youtube

MAC Fanfare Lipstick

I bought this a while ago and haven't stopped wearing  it since. It goes great with my skin tone and isn't too much of a bright pink so it can be worn day or night. A very flattering and versatile lipstick.

ASOS Leather Jacket

This jacket has done me proud. I basically live in it. 

It's warm, well made and a bargain at £100 for real leather

MAC Ricepaper Eyeshadow

My first MAC eyeshadow and the one that set me off on a quest to complete a 15x palette... I'm 2/3 of the way there now. A gorgeous pale gold that works great as a base and lightens up the eye area. 

Great if you're a glasses wearer like me

Body Shop Seaweed Range

Throughout this year, I've been working my way through quite a few new skin care brands and while usually initially impressed with them, so many of them ended up drying out my skin. Enter The Body Shop. A great range and perfect for combination/oily skin. This range has not dried me out, is gentle on the skin and gets stubborn eye makeup off

Converse

Again, quite a recent purchase but again something that I have lived in. Apart from when it's really raining, cuz they're not so great for that... Very comfortable and makes an outfit look instantly a combination of casual and cool

Urban Outfitters Graphic Tee's

I've always loved UO t-shirts. They're great for when I need to chuck something on for uni with a pair of jeans but at their full price, I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. But when they're in the sale and/or there are student discounts going around, I jump at the chance.

Ben Howard

2012 was the year I discovered and fell in love with Ben Howard and his music. I first came across him when he did an eerily good rendition of Call Me Maybe. Since then, I've hunted down as much of his music as I can but my favourite would still have to be Keep Your Head Up

Vera Wang Princess Night Perfume

My boyfriend bought me this perfume after months of hinting on his way back from a holiday in the summer. It's a very sweet fragrance- perhaps not to everyone's liking- but I love it and recommend everyone to go give it a whiff if they have the chance

Swimming

Bit off an odd one but 2012 was the year I started to swim. I've never been a particularly good swimmer having nearly drowned when I was very young. I started going with my sister in the summer and have kept it up since. It's great exercise, has really helped my asthma and my confidence in the water. I've also taught myself how to do the strokes properly and I plan to keep improving

Origins Night-a-Mins

Jusssst sneaking in to 2012, is this moisturiser. I know I've only had it a week but it's left such an impression on me, I had to include it. It's helped reduce the appearance of blemishes as they fade and has left my skin feeling much healthier and softer in the mornings

And those are my top 12 of 2012!

Let me know if you have anything similar on your blogs- I love seeing what products people have really enjoyed this year. 2012 has been a great year for my blogs- it's grown so much (thank you Twitter...) and I'd like to take the chance to say hello to all my new followers this year and thank you for joining my blog!

I hope you all have a great NYE and I'll see you all in 2013

Onwards and upwards!

xx

My Best Red Lipsticks

Right to Left- MAC Viva Glam, MAC Ruby Woo, Natural Collection Cherry, Topshop Rio Rio

I thought I would share with you my favourite red lipsticks and my thought on them. I'm a big lover of the red lip so finding the perfect shade and staying power is crucial.

The first one is the darkest burgundy shade I have and suits olive skin tones very well. It's also perfect for the dark reds that we see around in autumn/winter. It is a very matte finish and has great staying power.

The second is the infamous Ruby Woo- if you haven't heard of it, where have you been?! This is my go to pillar box red. Best used with a lip pencil to line to get the perfect red pout. This is also a very matte finish and can be a bit drying to make sure you have beautifully smooth and nourished lips first!

Third is Cherry by Natural Collection which is probably my second most worn. The shape of the lipstick is different to the conventional shape so it make applying it much easier. It's also really smooth and doesn't dry out your lips which is one of the reasons I love it so much. However it does have a tendency to travel/ bleed especially after a few hours so use a liner to keep it in check.

Last but not least in Topshop Rio Rio, one of the first Topshop lipsticks that I bought. I'm a massive fan of Topshop lipsticks in general- they all have a gorgeous creamy formula and I'd really recommend them. Rio Rio is quite orange toned and probably the one I wear least. I consider it to be much more of a summer red rather than a warm autumn red. Does that make any sense aha?!

Anyway, I hope you guys are having a nice weekend.
I'm sitting here with a nice big cuppa trying to keep warm. The glories of student life, aye?

Follow me on Instagram- LeaDee9 and Twitter- LeanneDoutre

xx

Lipstick Of The Moment- MAC Fanfare Lipstick

I have absolutely been loving this lipstick ever since I got it and have been wearing it ever since. When I first saw it, I thought it would be similar to Chatterbox but as you can see compared, Chatterbox is much more blue toned and more vibrant (it is a Amplified finish whereas Fanfare is Cremesheen) It's much more muted and is perfect for everyday wear- a you lips but better kinda of shade!

Anyway, I just wanted to share my love for this lipstick at the moment.

I've been working through my lipstick collection, getting rid of shades I don't like anymore... So I can make space for some new ones... :P

xx

Updated Lipstick Swatches

From left to right:

1. Rimmel Black Cherry (477), 2. MAC Viva Glam I A70, 3. Natural Collection Cherry Red, 4. Rimmel Heartbreaker (016), 5. Topshop Rio Rio, 6. Sleek Candycane, 7. Topshop Brighton Rock, 8. Topshop Pillow Talk, 9. Revlon Kiss Me Coral (750), 10. MAC Vegas Volt, 11. MAC Costa Chic, 12. Rimmel Spotlight Beige (910), 13. Sleek Barely There, 14. Topshop Rumour Has It, 15. Topshop Desert