MAC | Dubonnet

Red lipstick is just a staple piece in every make up bag. They come in many a shades and fit women differently. Its like owning those jeans that make your butt look amazing. Yeah, those. I myself own two red lipsticks: MAC Rubywoo & Kat Von D Adora. Both are gorgeous and very classic reds. So, I wanted to spice up my red lipsticks and go for a more brick red, a bit darker than the traditional. 

I chose a MAC lipstick because I feel safe with MAC. I haven't had too many casualties with MAC lipsticks. If you want a good quality lipstick, MAC is almost always the way to go. This time was no exception since I found myself with a new red lipstick called Dubonnet. Never heard of it and didn't research it before hand. This is an Amplified range lipstick, meaning the color will be more vibrant. The finish is between a satin and matte lipstick, which is fine by me. I don't find myself overly checking my teeth in the mirror to see if I have some lippie there, because I feel that once the lipstick sets its unshakeable for a nice amount of hours. That being said, I find that the way it wears is a bit unflattering. I can definitely say I've had other lipstick that wear off in a nice way. This isn't one. Regardless, its a lovely different shade to have for a special occasion or just because. I give this a B+.

Revlon | Fashion's Night Pout

Fashion's Night Pout is one of those nude lipsticks I kept seeing on Youtube/blogs but I could never find it here. I'm a huge nude lipstick fan so I was naturally intrigued by this lipstick. I kid you not, I have wanted this for maybe 2 years. Anyway, I was finally able to find it at some random Kmart and it was the last one and let me tell you, I love it.

The lipstick is a peachy nude, which I adore. The texture is one I find myself liking a lot. Not too creamy that it wont last, but to too matte that I feel my lips will crack. Its a moisturizing texture that feels comfortable on the lips and I don't feel I need to watch what I do or else it'll rub off... or worse, get on my teeth. The lasting time on this is average, nothing spectacular. However, I feel that I love using this lipstick and adding some Clarins cream gloss on top. It looks amazing, the perfect glossy nude lip without being goopy. I truly adore this lipstick, its right up there with my favorite nude MAC's Honeylove.

MAC | Honey Love Alternative

There's seriously nothing better than finding a dupe or alternative to a higher end product. Especially when the alternative is way cheaper. In this case I found an alternative for MAC's Honey Love (my favorite nude lipstick). I say alternative because its a similar color but a bit darker, making it not a dupe. Anyway, I'm talking about Wet n' Wild's Bare It All (902C) matte lipstick. I mean, the similarities are very close, especially when applied. Plus, the price is less than $3 compared to $14.50! Bargaaaaaaain~

The texture of both is matte, although the Bare It All is a bit more drying on the lips than Honey Love. As I said, Bare It All is a bit darker than Honey Love but they both have that pink undertone. These are the types of nude that I find fit my lips and skin tone best. I still prefer Honey Love over Bare It All but its always nice to find a cheaper alternative. For those who like Honey Love but don't which to spend the money, you can check out the Wet n' Wild one. Regardless, you get a very flattering nude.

Wet n Wild on the left | MAC on the right

NARS | Honolulu Honey

I caved and bought my first NARS lipstick and I can safely say, I may not buy more. It's not that I hate it, it's just not worth $24. Anyway, the color is one that I loved so much on Jen from Clothes Encounters called Honolulu Honey. The color is a muted peach/nude. It reminds me of how Lime Crimes Cosmo Pop looks when you blot it. It's a somewhat satin texture that doesn't dry the lips. I love the color, it gives such a lovely nude color to my lips, but the wear I get out of this is not impressive at all. I keep having to re-touch it every hour or two. I don't regret buying it but as much as I love the color I refuse to spend $24 more on it. I can't help but sometime feel NARS is a bit overpriced. 

What do you guys think of their lipsticks?

OCC | Strumpet

OCC is a brand I've been stalking for about (2) years now, no joke. I've heard so many good things about their lip products and concealers and I always wanted to try them out. I'm a visual person, I like to check things out with my own hands before I decide on buying. This means I avoid online shopping unless I truly can't get my hands on it. Upon hearing that Sephora was going to be selling OCC I was beyond excited but knew I'd have to wait a long time before they actually had them in store here. When I went to Sephora a week ago to get a skin care product and spotted only (3) colors of the lip tars in the baskets in line and decided to get Strumpet.

Here's where the review gets serious and honest. OCC lip tars on not for everyone, in my opinion. You need patience, care and precision to be able to wield these babies. Patience because the lip tars will tend to bleed a bit at first giving you a mustache like the ones we get from drinking Kool Aid or grape juice. This means you're applying too much product even though you only used less than a pea size of the product. You literally need almost no product to cover the whole lips. This is where care and precision come in. You apply this with a lip brush and you have to be very careful because once this sets it sets. There will be no coming back unless you use make up remover with a q-tip or something like that. This is a product I do not recommend retouching during the day because: a. you really don't need to retouch it since it lasts a long time and b. because its messy to retouch it and you may stain something besides your lips. 

This is a product for the more experienced in make up or people who are willing to take the time to practice and play with it. That being said, the product itself is amazing. The stupidly small amount you need to cover the whole lip and the duration of the lip tar is amazing. I have eaten and gone out without even having to retouch my lips. You really need to double check and clean up anything because it will get on your teeth... trust me. My goal now is to get every damn lip tar ever made just because they are that good and will last me a long time. 

Let me know if you wish to see a video on how to apply the lip tar.

Urban Decay | Apocalypse

My last part of the mini haul I got from an Urban Decay sale was this lipstick. I was pretty excited with this since it was only $3 and I'm quite happy with it. The lipstick looks daunting for those who shy away from dark lips, but these lipsticks are actually sheer. It's build able but never loses that sheer factor, so if pigment is what you're looking for this is not it. The durability is average and it's very smooth on the lips. It's not a lipstick I'm constantly reaching for but I really do like it, not a fan of the packaging though. All in all is a good lipstick that I got on sale, but wouldn't have picked up at regular price.

Revlon | Precious

This is a brief review on the Revlon Just Bitten lip stain in Precious. I wont go into detail since I already wrote my review on it here, I'll just mainly talk about the color pay off and my thoughts. Anyway, i had my eye on this nude lip stain for some time now but I always put off buying it since I think the prices are a bit effy. However, they had a special when I got this and I was hoping for a bit more color pay off. Thinking back now I think a better choice for my lips would be Honey which is a bit more mauve. I was hoping for a much lighter version of my MAC's Honey Love lipstick but this lip balm mainly gives me a shine and just a slight color. I'm not too fond of the shine, I think I can pull it off with a matte face or otherwise I look greasy. I don't regret buying it I just think it may look better with someone who has lighter colored lips naturally.

L'oreal | Pink Tone Lipsticks

My lovely mother, she's adorable, got me these (2) lippies almost two weeks ago since there was a sale going on. I had been looking at these guys but found them a bit expensive for drugstore lipsticks, so getting them on a deal was great. These are both great summer colors, giving a very good amount of pigment without going full on. More of a kissable look. However, something really irked me about the Sweet Angora packing (gold package; on the left) and it was that it had such a grand package and then you open it and the tube is so small and slim. Why make such a big package for that? It really annoyed me.

As I mentioned, the color payoff is really nice and pigmented without being overbearing. I do find them a bit too creamy for my taste and they tend to fade a bit faster (Sweet Angora (left) faster than Summer Rose (right). I tend to not lean on pink lips since I feel I look too made up, but these give a nice flush of color. It's something I slap on when I feel the need to have a bit of color without wanting a full on lipstick. The pink in both lipsticks is very flattering on all skin tones and would look superb on darker skin tones. Again, these are perfect for what's left of the summer and to wear them during the day. Very good shades of pink without going Barbie pink, which I dislike. Do I recommend them? Only if they aren't full price. I could certainly do without them and don't find them to be anything special. I like them but I don't find myself reaching for them as much to find myself actually buying them at full price. But they're worth checking out.

Summer Rose &  Sweet Angora

NYX Mini Haul

 Hey, guys! Mini haul here for you. I recently got some NYX goodies (who can blame me? they're cheap and good) and I wanted to share them with you. All of the products here already have reviews here and here, so check that out for a more in depth review. All of these products have amazing pigment and color payoff and they last a long time. Beware, if you don't like dry or matte lipsticks or creams then these may not be for you although you can always work around it with a lip balm if you chose to. I'm in love with these products and both are definitely worth a check out since they have a good color selection. So, if you're on a budget and wish to still have nice lip colors go check out some NYX products. Oh! And no, this isn't an advertisement I just really like these products and will get more, more, more!

matte cream in milan | matte cream in monte carlo | matte lipstick in strawberry daiquiri

Arbonne

 Hey, guys! Recently I was sent some testers from Arbonne to try them out and write a review. Now, I barely knew about Arbonne and was really excited to try the products out. Arbonne is an anti-aging, skin and body care, cosmetics company based on botanical principles. They have a vast range of products that suit both adults and young adults and they promote a healthy body all around. I was sent (6) products in total and after a few weeks of using each one here is my reviews:

Purifying Cleanser + Toner- I really enjoyed this cleanser although I disliked the smell of it. It did not dry my skin -I'm combo to oily- and I didn't get that dry/stretchy feeling in my face when I used it. I felt confident using it on a daily basis and it did get rid of the make-up left on my face after using wipes.

Oil-Absorbing Day Lotion with SPF 20- First thing I noticed right away with all the products was the smells, which I didn't enjoy much. I used this lotion with and without my foundation for weeks to see how it felt. You don't need much to cover the whole face and make-up does last. This does not feel heavy on my skin and the SPF 20 is very much appreciated. However,  nothing in this product stood out to me. It was all around a good lotion but not great.

Energy Fizz Sticks- I was a little apprehensive about testing out these energy sticks since I tend to shy away from energy drinks overall. They both tasted really bad and were fairly hard to drink. However, I can't deny that they did provide some needed energy for my morning classes and they didn't leave me all hyper and twitchy. 

Lip Polishes- These glosses were a disappointment to me. They reminded me why I dislike lip glosses in whole. They had a really goopy texture that made it hard to wear them. The coral didn't have much pigment when applied and I noticed it wore off really quickly. As for the nude, it was really pigmented and lasted a very long time on my lips. After a few hours of wear the texture becomes bearable and you get to enjoy the color it gives off. It did leave me with some flaky residue but I have dry lips and that tends to happen even with my MAC lipsticks so I was actually expecting that.

 Overall, I found the products were okay and more suited for an older audience. My interest was peaked and I'd love to actually try out some cheek and face products in the future. I like the fact that the company is centered around skin care which is a huge must for me. I was really grateful to have been sent these products and I hope to have given a good review since I paid very close attention to every detail.

NUXE | Reve de Miel

 As some of you may know I have lips that are constantly cracking and let me tell you, it hurts. I've tried many lip care products and either they don't work from the start or they work for a week and then do nothing. I've been getting a bit desperate since my lips hurt when I smile sometimes, so when I heard about NUXE I decided to invest in it and try it. Boy am I happy I did. Even though at first you think "damn, $20 for so little?" it is sooooo worth it. First off, you don't need a lot of product to cover the entire lip so I do see this lasting me a good amount of time. Second, I only use this in the morning and at night before I go to sleep. My lips have improved and hurt less. They are softer and less flaky, which my lipsticks love. This is a product to definitely try if you have chapped lips like I do and are at your breaking point. Yes, it's a bit expensive but it'll be worth it when they help your lips. I'm not a fan of the smell but for the wonders it does I shall tolerate it. Conclusion, this is something I will definitely repurchase and will use F-O-R-E-V-E-R! Too much? Nah!

NYX | Soft Matte Lip Cream in London

 Hey, guys! Super quick review of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams in London. I've seen these in generally youtube videos and was intrigued by them but I could never get my hands on them. Whilst in Walmart I saw a couple and the beau got me this nude one in London. The finish is obviously matte and reminds me a lot of how MAC matte lipsticks feel. Drying but nothing I can't handle but I generally apply a balm around 15min before applying any type of lip product. The color pay off is really nice and it's something I reach for on a day I want to have a more natural and fresh looking face. It lasts a long time, but considering it's matte it's to be expected. I'm dying to get my hands on more colors and for $3 you can't go wrong. I definitely recommend these guys and I'm very happy with mine.

Revlon | Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains

 Hey, guys! I come today with a little review on the highly popular Revlon balm stains going around. These babies have been all the rage in the blogging/youtube world lately and are kind of difficult to get since they're always sold out. After looking at swatches I decided on getting Rendevous and Charm. So without any more interruption here is my review.

 These balms have been compared to the Tarte chubby sticks, but even though I don't own the Tarte ones I have swatched them and they're nothing alike. Where the Tarte sticks are more pigmented, the Revlon balm stains are just that...stains. Each balm goes on like a tinted lip balm. As the shades grow deeper so will the pigmentation you'll see when applied. That being said, Rendevous (being more orange) goes on more pigmented than Charm (being more peach). They both have a satin-y finish. They are fairly moisturizing and smell minty. The smell I'm not so fond of, it's a weird mint smell. Leave these guys on for a couple of hours and you'll see the 'Just Bitten' effect. You really look like you were munching on a lollipop. So both of these are perfect for those days you don't want to wear a full on lipstick but wish to have color on your lips.

Rendevous is a muted version of Revlon's Siren. Giving a lovely orange touch for those who fear to go for an all out orange.

Charm is a lovely peach-y nude for those who don't think they can pull off a nude lipstick maybe this would be a color to try.