Lipstick Queen Medieval - review and swatches

Lipstick Queen has some lovely lip treatments. For Christmas, I was gifted with Medieval - a cherry red shade. Lipstick Queen describes this lip product as:

"During medieval times, when lipstick was considered a sin, women used the natural acidity of lemons to bring forth a natural blood-red stain on their lips. This flattering look has been recreated by Poppy in this best-selling tint. Medieval is purely Vitamin E and pigment, making it silky to wear and divinely transparent. And best of all it makes your skin look flawless".

Lipstick Queen claims the following:

• The red anyone can wear
• Perfect alternative to lip gloss without being a full-coverage lipstick
• Sheer, sexy hint of flattering red looks great on all skin tones 
• Lips look and feel healthy with super moisturising vitamin E 

I truly love these lip treatments from Lipstick Queen. The product is very moisturising, and delivers some pigment which is great for the one product. I really enjoy using these products during the winter months when my lips are at their driest. This product generally lasts on the lips for 1-2 hours, and stains slightly. It is the kind of product you can apply on the go without a mirror. I always have at least one in my bag, just in case it is a super dry lip day!

This product retails for $35 and can be purchase in store or online from Mecca Maxima. To see my review of other Lipstick Queen lipsticks and my thoughts, please click here.

Thanks for reading,
X

Lipstick Queen Queen Bee - review and swatches

The tinted lip treatments from Lipstick Queen are one of my favourite lip products. Today I'm bringing you a review of Queen Bee, which is a tinted lip treatment with a bronze gold finish. This lipstick can be purchased from Mecca Maxima and retails for $32.

Lipstick Queen describes this product as follows:

"Oozing with nourishing ingredients to soothe, repair and hydrate your pout, Queen Bee is an unctuous lip treatment with a glamorous bronze gold finish. Enriched with Royal Jelly, which ensures lips remain super soft and plump, it also contains chamomile and sunflower extract to help soothe sore, chapped lips".

This product also has a honey fragrance.

As you can see above, this is a bronze gold shade, with shimmer. The shimmer isn't irritating at all and wears off fine - you're not left with glitter allover your lips once the product is gone. This is a flattering shade for a lip treatment, and definitely suited to the warmer months. Because it is relatively sheer as well, it is work appropriate. 

I have previously done a review on Hello Sailor, which is a similar product to this, and the review can be found here. I was also gifted with Medieval for Christmas, so I will have a review up shortly once I've tested it a bit more. 

The only other one of these products I want to add to my collection is Frog Prince, but it is always out of stock in store. These type of products are great for two reasons - the benefit of a lip treatment, and that the shade is really sheer, but also flattering. As it is sheer, it is a product you can apply on the go and without a mirror. Any beauty junkie knows that a bit of lip colour can really transform your face, even if you're going with a natural or no makeup look. And even if your lips are super dry and cracked, you can still wear a bit of colour on them as these products are super moisturising. 

If you're interested in a tinted lip treatment, I would recommend checking out Lipstick Queen. They have a few shades available, so I'm sure you'll find something you'll like!

Thanks for reading,

X

Top 15 of 2015

I feel like 2015 just flew by. It was one of the most challenging years of my life, and I am happy to see it go. So today, I bring you my Top 15 of 2015 - in no particular order.

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette
This palette is absolutely beautiful. When I do makeup on people, this is the palette I reach for 90% of the time. Marzipan is a beautiful allover lid colour, and Creme Brulee is a stunning gold. I have made a significant dent in Milk Chocolate, which I love to use as a transition shade, and the shimmery highlight, Champagne Truffle is a beautiful shimmery shade (and can even be used as a highlight on the face). If I was to travel, this would be the palette I would take with me. It has the right amount of shimmer and mattes, and all the shadows are beautiful. I highly recommend this palette. I will eventually have a comparison post between the Chocolate Bar Palette and the Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette up on the blog.

MAC Velvet Teddy
This has been my go-to colour for the better half of the year. I have purchased a back up of this, as I am nearly out of mine. It is a medium nude, and looks beautiful on my light skin, but would work on many skin tones. It is a pricey lipstick, but the MAC matte lipsticks are my favourite conventional lipstick, and it lasts for hours on the lips. If I'm wearing a nude lipstick, 80% of the time it is this.

Chi Chi Super CC Cream
This is my favourite base product from this year (and probably all time). The shade is great for my skin tone, and you get a lot of product - the tube comes with 50g! I've had it for quite a few months and will need to purchase a back up shortly. It is light-medium coverage, and if you're able to get this in your shade, I would recommend it. It is hydrating as it is a CC cream, and my dry skin looks fabulous with it. Highly recommend this.

OPI You're Such a Budapest  
This OPI nail polish has been on my nails 50% of the year. It is the most perfect periwinkle purple.

Kit Cosmetics Salted Caramel Candle
I don't currently have this candle, but it is one of my absolute favourite candles. This is the only sweet candle I actually enjoy. Usually, sweet candles are too sickly for me, but this candle smells like heaven. Absolutely adore this candle. When I've burnt through 2 more candles, I will repurchase this.

Lipstick Queen Hello Sailor & Queen Bee
I'm going to group these two together because they are a similar product, just a different shade. Essentially, they are a tinted lip stick, that are super moisturising. In the colder months, these are bomb lip products. My boyfriend also gifted me with Medieval for Christmas, so I will have a review up of it soon. For a review of Hello Sailor, see here.

Too Faced Cocoa Powder Foundation 
This powder is absolutely heavenly on my face. It isn't the cheapest face powder, but it doesn't dry my skin out at all. It also smells like chocolate, so who can really complain? I would recommend checking out this powder - oily and dry skin alike!

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara
Where has this mascara been all my life???? I don't have the most fabulous lashes. They are short, okay at holding a curl, but nothing amazing. Enter the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. I love this mascara. If you haven't tried this mascara out, please, do your self a favour and try it. Your mascara game will change completely. The first time I wore this mascara, my friend asked me if I was wearing falsies. Enough said!

LA Girl Pro Conceal in Classic Ivory
MAC Prolongwear Concealer is still one of my all time favourite undereye concealers, but for the last 2 or so months of 2015, I have really enjoyed this concealer. The shade I have is quite pink in tone and thus amazing at covering dark circles.

Chi Chi Brow Pomade 
I have two shades - Taupe and Dark Brown. When my roots were a lot lighter (I have a belayage blonde happening), Taupe was a good shade, but now that my roots are a lot darker, I find Dark Brown the better option. To see my review of Taupe, please click here. A comparison of the two will be up on the blog shortly.

ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip in Trap
In the cooler months, this is the ultimate perfect lip shade. It is a cool toned nude. The formula lasts on your lips for ages, is a little drying, but not too extreme. These products retail for $6US, and they have a heap of shades as well. I have two reviews up of different shades - see review 1 (Trap is mentioned) and review 2.

NARS Steven Klein One Shocking Moment Cheek Palette 
This, of course, is a favourite from the last couple of months of 2015. The highlight shade in this palette is my favourite to put under my eyes. See my review of the palette here. The palette contains a massive Laguna, beautiful blush shades, and a nice contouring and highlighting duo. If you can still pick this up, I would highly recommend it.

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle EDP
This perfume was a gift for my 23rd birthday this year. I've never been too interested in Chanel scents, but this scent is so feminine. I've used a quarter of the bottle in five months, so it definitely has been used a lot this past year.

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion Plus
This moisturiser has been a favourite for years. It is super moisturising, works well in the summer and winter months, and always leaves my skin feeling hydrated.

ColourPop Blaze Super Shock Shadow
This eyeshadow was part of the Kathleenlights Where the Light Is quad, but can now be purchased individually (I have placed an order with ColourPop and one is on it's way to me). See review of quad here. This is the most perfect bronzey, glittery shadow. Because it is a ColourPop eyeshadow, it is super pigmented and one of my favourite go to bronzes (next to Urban Decay Smog, nothing will ever remove that as my number 1 bronze).

And those are my favourites of 2015!

Happy New Year!

Lipstick Queen Hello Sailor Lipstick - review and swatches

My boyfriend purchased this lipstick for me because he is a sailor. I'd not really heard much about Lipstick Queen before I was gifted this lipstick, but now I own three of their lipsticks and adore them. See my review of the Lipstick Queen Velvet Rope in Brat Pack here. This lipstick is housed in a navy blue tube, and is blue in colour.

Lipstick Queen describes this one as follows:

"Turn the blackberry lip trend on its head with this ultra-modern, navy blue sheer lipstick. In a nod to the nautical, Hello Sailor tints lips in a cool, berry tone with a hint of sapphire. The sheer blue pigment is suspended in a protective Vitamin E treatment that can be worn alone as a nourishing lip tint or teamed with its Berry sisters in Saint or Sinner, to add a topaz glint to your berry lips"

The lipstick turns a sheer plum/purple/blackberry on the lips, and it is super moisturising (contains pure Vitamin E). And because the lipstick is blue toned, your teeth appear whiter. 

This lipstick currently retails for $37 from Mecca Maxima. For a sheer every day colour, this is a great choice. On my lips, it is a sheer plum, and definitely work appropriate. It adds a nice tint to your lips but isn't confronting at all (for those that are scared of purple lips). Essentially, this product is a tinted moisturising lip treatment. I also have the Lipstick Queen Queen Bee, which is a similar product to this. Both these lipsticks are super moisturising, and I believe this product is a great choice for the cooler months - not only is it super moisturising, but the shade is a great shade for the cooler months. 

If you are able to head into Mecca to swatch this, I would recommend it. It is an interesting product, and it might surprise you. It has just enough amount of pigment to transform your lips into a lovely blackberry tone.

Thanks for reading,

X

Lipstick Queen Velvet Rope in Brat Pack - review and swatches

Lipstick Queen Velvet Rope in Brat Pack was a present from my boyfriend for my 23rd birthday. I'd not really heard of this brand, but after one day of wearing this lipstick, I was hooked. This is probably the most expensive lipstick I own, and I'm pretty sure it was a bit cheaper when my boyfriend purchased it, but currently it retails for $69 from Mecca and can be purchased here. Lipstick Queen has quite a few collections of lipsticks, but I believe the Velvet Rope are the most luxurious that they offer (when you see the packaging, you will agree). There are five shades in this type of lipstick, and they are described as "pure glamour and luxury for your lips! A pigment-rich yet feather-light lipstick that delivers the drama and intensity of a matte without compromising on comfort". The shade I have, Brat Pack, is described as a true red.

Just look at that beautiful lipstick! Poppy King, Lipstick Queen Founder, describes as following: 

"I was inspired by the golden years of Hollywood when glamour was in every detail. This is the lipstick of the red carpet, the people, the places and the personalities that glide past the Velvet Rope and into the night"

The beautiful gold packaging features a magnetic closure, which is a great feature. The description of this product is no word of a lie either - this lipstick is feather light. It is super smooth and soft to apply to the lips, and does dry down to a matte. However, this is the most comfortable matte lipstick I have ever worn. I have worn this all day without any feathering and without the end result being dry lips.

This isn't a cheap product whatsover, and I'm not encouraging anyone to spend ridiculous amounts on lipstick, but this lipstick is very luxurious and I love having it in my collection. The only other one from this collection I would consider purchasing is Star System, which is the nude from the collection, but I want to swatch it in store before purchasing and unfortunately have not had any luck finding it on the shelf as yet. 

If all matte formulas were like this one, many more people would like matte lipsticks. This is one of my favourite reds, and it is quite similar to MAC Ruby Woo, just without the excessive dryness. 

Thanks for reading,

X