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| Sleek Makeup Matte Me Metallic Lip Creams & Distorted Dreams Highlighter Palette |
We are so excited to share with you the new Sleek Makeup shades for the spring and summer.
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| Sleek Makeup Distorted Dreams Highlighter Palette |
Following the unicorn highlighter trend, the Sleek Makeup Distorted Dreams Highlighter palette is full of duochrome shades for your highlighting needs. There are 3 cream highlighters in this palette: cream with green glitters, cream with blue glitters, and a gold pink duochrome. There are also two powder highlighters: a shimmery gold and a purple with pink-purple glitters (reminiscent of the Becca Prismatic Amethyst Shimmering Skin Perfector highlighter. I think the shades make for good eyelid shades, but as for cheekbone highlighters, it would take a bit of courage to pull these off. They do easily smudge off so use a setting spray and refrain from touching your face when you wear this.
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| Sleek Makeup Matte Me Metallic Lip Creams Roman Copper, Volcanic, Rusted Rose |
Combining the 90's revival metallic lip and the current liquid lipstick trend are Sleek Makeup Matte Me Metallic Lip Creams. The three new shades swatched are Roman Copper (a frosty red-tinged shimmery amber), Volcanic (a frosty muted purple rose), and Rusted Rose (a frosty pink rose). The latter two could be used as lip toppers. They apply like normal liquid lipsticks - dry and long wearing. Make sure to use lip balm underneath for extra comfort.
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| Sleek Makeup Matte Me Metallic Lip Creams Roman Copper, Volcanic, Rusted Rose & Sleek Makeup Distorted Dreams Highlighter Palette Review Swatches |
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| Sleek Makeup Matte Me Metallic Lip Creams Roman Copper, Volcanic, Rusted Rose & Sleek Makeup Distorted Dreams Highlighter Palette |
Overall we are impressed by these new shade additions to the Sleek Makeup range. Definitely try the affordable metallic lip creams if you'd like to dip into the metallic lip trend.
Livia | The Skin and Beauty Blog
*Press sample. All views are my own.
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| Odylique Organic Coconut Candy Scrub |
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| Odylique Organic Coconut Candy Scrub |
Odylique Organic Coconut Candy Scrub* is a moisturising hydrating exfoliating scrub. It was awarded the Best Body Scrub in the Natural Health Awards 2016 -, and rightly so!
This Vegan-friendly scrub is composed of poppy seeds and Fairtrade sugar cane, on a base of moisturising virgin coconut and cocoa bean butter. It smells absolutely delicious and feels like a treat to the skin. I would apply this as moisturising alternative to usual soaps in the shower. Pat dry and apply your moisturiser of choice for super soft skin.
Odylique Organic Coconut Candy Scrub is 100% natural and kind to the environment. It does not contain harmful plastic microbeads therefore avoiding sea and ocean pollution.
Overall I do love Odylique Organic Coconut Candy Scrub (£25). It can be purchased online from Odylique website and from one of my favourites - Feelunique. I would recommend this anyone who loves coconut scented body products. It also works well for those who have dry or sensitive skin who need to exfoliate their skin prior to applying fake tans.
Livia | The Skin and Beauty Blog
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| MAC Next To Nothing Foundation & Powder Review Swatches |
The selfie generation has inspired MAC's latest line of face bases, notably MAC Next To Nothing Powder and Foundation. Aimed at giving you an Instagram-worthy complexion, I eagerly tubed my way to my nearest MAC store at St Pancras Station to find my perfect shade.
As a MAC veteran, I know my usual foundation colours: NC25-30, C3 or Medium Plus. I'm glad I personally went to swatch these as the shades seem to vary quite a bit.
MAC Next to Nothing Face Colour Foundation. This is a sheer runny tint-like formula that gives a dewy shiny look, but with a comfortable non-sticky natural finish. It feels weightless on the skin. You will still need to prep with moisturiser beforehand as unexpectedly, it is not particularly moisturising. I expected to walk away with Medium Plus, but the shades leaned a bit orange so I came away with Medium instead. It doesn't cover much in the way of blemishes and so its probably one to use on good-skin-days. I've swatched it below compared to MAC Pro Longwear NC25, and you can tell its a lot darker, shinier and sheerer.
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| MAC Pro Longwear Foundation NC25 & MAC Next to Nothing Foundation Medium |
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| MAC Next To Nothing Powder Medium Plus Review, Swatches |
MAC Next To Nothing Powder Pressed. This is a sheer to medium coverage powder with a soft light-reflective sheen. If you look closely, you can see fine sparkles reminiscent of the Revlon Photoready Foundation. I would liken this to a skin-toned MAC Beauty Powder. I've picked out the shade in Medium Plus as Medium looked too ashy. It looks great with foundation, but alone you can tell on swatches below compared to MAC NC41 Studio Fix Powder Plus that it can still lean a bit cool-toned. It lasts quite well for a sheer powder, about three hours before I need a top up. It adds a beautiful glow to the skin and I do love it.
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| MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation NC41 & MAC Next To Nothing Powder Medium Plus Review, Swatches |
Overall, I recommend MAC Next To Nothing Powder as it adds something new to my collection. Most of my face powders are quite matte so a face base with a subtle glowy sheen is welcomed. MAC Next To Nothing Foundation on the otherhand is sheer much like a tinted non-moisturiser and its glowy effects are similar to one of my favourite primers, Laura Mercier Tinted moisturiser SPF 20, but without the SPF; so its something that's nice to have but not essential to my personal collection.
Livia | The Skin and Beauty Blog
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| NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream (Stockholm), MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour (Back In Vogue), Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolor (Seduction), Sleek Makeup Matte Me Lip Gloss (Birthday Suit), Colourpop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick (Beeper), Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick (Dusty Rose), Sephora Cream Lip Stain (#13 Marvellous Mauve), NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick (Soft Spoken), Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick (Lolita) |
Over the last year liquid lipsticks have taken the beauty world by storm and transformed matte lipsticks altogether. In the search for the perfect wearable nude lip (not the concealer lips variety), I've picked up a few from different brands and I wanted to share my thoughts with you on the different formulas. My lips are naturally a pink toned so you would find some of these 'nude' shades are pink-toned too. Note though that there is quality variability between colours of a certain make but these reviews are my thoughts on these particular lippies.
NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream (Stockholm). If you want a smooth comfortable matte lip cream on a drugstore budget and don't mind reapplying every so often - this one is for you. This brand started the matte lip cream trend, years before it actually took off. They come in several shades and are easily available worldwide. NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams have a comfortable soft mousse-like texture and smell of sweet vanilla cake. The formula takes a few minutes to dry, rubs off quite easily, and doesn't last long. Stockholm itself is a pale peachy pink that looks good on my NC30 skin.
MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour (Back In Vogue). If you are a MAC-aholic and love to 'collect them all' and are patient enough to exfoliate and moisturise your lips beforehand - this one is for you. This range dries fast and lasts long on the lips. They stay put! However they are quite drying and give that pruney shrink-wrap look and feel to the lips. I make sure to exfoliate and apply a generous layer of lip balm before applying this. The darker shades are generally wonderful and are more forgiving to imperfections than paler ones. Back In Vogue itself is a bright light coral that leans more to the unforgiving side.
Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolor (Seduction). If you are usually into balms and lip glosses and are new to the matte lip - you will probably like this one (its not matte and feels very comfortable). This liquid lipstick is a misnomer as it does not dry down to a matte at all, rather it remains smooth and creamy, almost gloss-like. It smells like caramel and it is very comfortable to wear. This is something I like to wear in the summer. It rubs off easily and doesn't last long. The darker shades apply more streaky but Seduction is just perfect. It is a nude with a hint of peach.
Sleek Makeup Matte Me Lip Cream (Birthday Suit)*. If you want a matte liquid lipstick with a drugstore budget - this one is for you! I think this is one of the best drugstore liquid lipstick lines out there. It dries fast to a matte texture and feels almost weightless! It lasts long on the lips and stays put. Like most liquid lipsticks however, you need to exfoliate and moisturise. Birthday Suit looks peachy in the tube but dries to a nude pink that's my perfect MLBB shade. I would apply a thin layer to avoid it feeling like cement when it dries on the lips.
Colourpop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick (Beeper). If you are an expert at liquid lipsticks and want your lipstick to last through the whole day - this one is for you. This liquid lipstick takes the longest to dry of all of them, but once it sets it stays put and hardly smudges (it even stains). It applies with a thin runny texture. I find it could be the least comfortable of them as it is quite drying, settles in lip lines and can make the lips flake, even with exfoliating and a standard layer of lip balm. Beeper looks like a peachy nude in the tube but it dries to a much darker brown with a hint of pink. I prefer applying lip balm over this too to make the lips feel more comfortable. It's definitely not my favourite of the bunch.
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| NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream (Stockholm), MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour (Back In Vogue), Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolor (Seduction), Sleek Makeup Matte Me Lip Cream (Birthday Suit), Colourpop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick (Beeper), Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick (Dusty Rose), Sephora Cream Lip Stain (#13 Marvellous Mauve), NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick (Soft Spoken), Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick (Lolita) Swatches |
Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick (Dusty Rose). If you love ABH and are looking for a moderately comfortable-to-wear liquid lipstick - this one is for you. This formula generally applies evenly and smoothly. It takes a few minutes to dry. Once dried down, it doesn't stick as long as Colourpop's and may transfer if rubbed. The colour is almost true to its shade in the tube. It is a medium toned mauve with a smidgen of brown. I love this colour.
Sephora Cream Lip Stain (#13 Marvelous Mauve). If you love the comfortable NYX Matte Lip Creams but want something that actually dries matte and gives you a cushiony feel - this one is for you. This formula feels a little like the NYX Matte Lip Creams with a soft mousse formula, but after a few minutes it dries to an opaque matte finish. It does transfer a little bit if rubbed, but the comfort makes up for it. Marvelous Mauve is a beautiful mauve pink that brings me compliments (even from strangers). That's saying something!
NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick (Soft Spoken). If you like the NYX Matte Lip Creams but are looking for other shades of a similar formula - this one is for you. This formula feels velvety on the lips and does not dry down completely - similar to the NYX Matte Lip Creams above. It smudges off fairly easily. It's very comfortable on the lips and it is something I can use at work. Soft spoken is a red-toned nude.
Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick (Lolita). If you like the ABH liquid lipsticks but want a formula that lasts a bit longer - this one is for you. This formula dries pretty fast, lasts long on the lips and hardly smudges. This is what you would expect from a "matte liquid lipstick". It can accentuate dry patches and lip lines. It dries out the lips so make sure to use lip balm beforehand. Lolita is a deep mauve with pink tones on my skin.
So which is the best?
It's hard to pick out favourites as there is a lipstick formula for every person and occasion, but I suppose the ones I reach out the most for are Sleek Makeup's Matte Me Lip Cream (for everyday work-safe wear), Sephora Cream Lip Stain (for days when I want a little pick me up) and Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick (for casual weekends).
Livia | The Skin and Beauty Blog
*Press sample. All views are my own.
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