ELF -- Lipsticks, Eyeliner, Lip Balm

First off!



Kinda erked me. I almost wish they had forgotten the U as well, so I could say DEFINES YO EYES.

ANYWAY!

I got the Cream Eyeliner in Black, the Conditioning Lip Balm with SPF 15 in Blissful Berry and two lipsticks, Seductive and Fantasy.



Look how huge that lip balm is! It's so big. Especially next to the cream eyeliner. I don't know how I feel about that; I definitely won't lose it in my bag though~


Again, look how huge it is!

Both of these were £3.50 (studio line), so maybe that's why I got a huge lip balm. Meh. I would've preferred it if the sizes were switched, so the eyeliner was the bigger pot, but then, I probably wouldn't use it all and it'd dry up. The pots are very easy to cross thread, so you do have to be careful when you put them back on.


This brush comes with the eyeliner, and I must say, it does the job really well!


Lipsticks in Seductive and Fantasy.



These lipsticks are from their regular line, so they cost £1.50 each, which isn't bad. I like the packaging, it's nice and simple, and I don't have any other lipsticks that look like this in the tube. They're about the same size as all the other lipsticks I have (which admittedly isn't many), and they feel a lot lighter than the others though.


Yep, I know I got the name wrong for the lip balm :( It's Blissful Berry, not Blissfully

Quick run through of the products, one by one.

Lip Balm in Blissful Berry: This lipbalm is thicker than most lip balms; I'm used to using things like the Nivea lipbalms which feel a lot thinner and slide on easier. This balm is almost more of a solid lipgloss.
It smells like a standard vanilla lip balm, which luckily for me is my favourite! It also has a slightly sugary taste if you're to lick your lips. The colour is perfect for me. I have quite pigmented lips, and this berry colour is my perfect My Lips But Better colour. You do have to make sure your lips are perfectly exfoilated before you put the balm on, otherwise the flakes get caught in the thick balm and feel weird as hell on your lips. Glad I paid the £3.50 for this though, because it means I have a conditioning lip gloss with SPF 15 :P

Cream Eyeliner in Black: This eyeliner is one of the better cheap cream eyeliners I've tried. It's not what I'd describe as creamy though. It's a thinner than that, but it works amazingly. The little brush you get with it works really well too; and I was surprised by that because usually they're pretty dire. I was able to get a nice steady, solid line, and it was definitely black not grey! It doesn't budge, I've wiped over the swatch a few times after it dried, and I don't think it's going anywhere.

Lipstick in Fantasy: This looks soooo different than the picture on the website. It's still a really nice colour, a medium warm toned brown, with a creamy feel to it. These lipsticks are very buildable, and to be honest this one needs to be. One swipe, and it's a little patchy, but I use a lip brush anyway. There's no shimmer to the product at all, and I find that it smells like a soap from The Body Shop. Like one of the clear fruit soap bars. Hmm.

Lipstick in Seductive: Again, slightly different colour than on the website, but I think I like this colour more than what I was expecting. It's a warm pink, that goes on quite sheer, so it's easy to build it up to be more opaque, if that's what you want. It looks really nice and natural on me, so I'm a big fan. It again has The Body Shop smell! It reminds me of being a kid when I used to steal my aunt's soap. It definitely has a smell though so don't be fooled by the n/a; it has under scent. I find it pleasant, but some people might not.



Products can be purchased from Eyes Lips Face.

Maybelline -- Cool Watermelon and Peach Colada

Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipsticks.

bought these from Cosmetic Kingdom a couple of weeks ago, and so are the pictures.




L-R: Cool Watermelon, Peach Colada.


Cool Watermelon is a very bright watermelon pink, in the tube it almost looks neon. But when applied, it's a very nice cool pink/red. The swatch is with about four strokes going over, so it's definitely a buildable colour. It is very smooth going on the lips but because of that, I feel that you lose some wear time. This might just be because once I have lip product on, I feel the need to rub my lips together to either make sure it's even, or make sure it's there. Also, this colour seems to stain, out of the two.

Peach Colada is my favourite out of the two. Initally it's a very sheer golden coral, and you can build it up to the opacity as depicted above; but it is sheer. I think it's supposed to be sheer. It's gorgeous with just one or two swipes; it makes your lips look fuller because of the shimmer in the lipstick.

These lipsticks upon swatching look juicy. That's really what this photo is lacking. The colour is pretty true to life but you can't see the juiciness that the colour has to it.

I find that unless you actively go out trying to identify a scent, these lipsticks aren't too bad. I had to get them out and sniff at them hardcore to find a smell! If I was asked, I'd say that there is a hint of a melon smell to them, but it's not bothersome at all.

I like these lipsticks, and for 99p(?) I don't think they're bad at all!

Cosmetic Kingdom

I'm suffering from Fresher's Flu at the moment (which as a second year is pretty depressing), so instead of sitting through Empirical Psychology today and infecting everyone, I decided to do a blog post. So without further ado...

Haul time!

I was browsing around the internet trying to find some cheap make up, because of course, as a struggling student, I need to find a way to find it discounted, and Cosmetic Kingdom seemed like a great place to start.

It looks like they stock mainly discontinued drugstore brands as well as a few higher end brands here and there. I spent £10.08 all together, and my order arrived within two days, so super happy :)




First is this Prestige Lip Balm in Strawberries and Cream for 99p



I can't tell you the smell, unfortunately, but it tastes slightly sugary when it's on your lips, and feels like a thicker version of the Little Red Tin from Superdrug



Second is a 17 Trio in Plum Dressing, which cost £1.49



Now, the lightest colour is a delicate but frosty cream/pink, the plum is a satin plum colour, almost verging on matte texture, and the grey is a gorgeous cool toned brown/grey; it reminds me of Copperplate by MAC



Maybelline quad in Sunlit Bronze, costs £1.99



The colours in this quad are all shimmers/frosts, which are ok, but I would've preferred the Outer Corner colour to be satin/matte to balance things out. Also, the texture of the eye shadows are... Almost gritty when you swatch it with your fingers. I tried swatching with the sponge tipped applicator it came with and results were much better. Must be used with a base!



Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipsticks in Peach Colada and Cool Watermelon, costs 95p each



Taken with flash, the shimmerfest in the Peach Colada (on the left) is near impossible for me to photograph, but it's reminiscent in nail polishes that have the micro shimmer to create gorgeous metallic tones (Astro Gold by BYS). Cool Watermelon is a creamy coral pink which reminds me of Brighton Rocks by Topshop. There's no shimmer in it at all.



This picture shows a little of the shimmer in the Peach Colada



Maybelline Expertwear Eyeshadow in Silken Taupe. This colour errs more on the grey side of taupe, and is also quite sheer. It has more of a creamy texture than the quad above. Again, must be used with a base underneath for you to catch the best of this product. Costs 49p



17 Solo Eyeshadow in Mardi Gras. Now, I remember this colour in Boots as having more of a sheen to it, but it's not bad at all, in fact, it has a sheen, just not as much as I remember. It's similar to the grey in Plum Dressing, but more on the brown side of grey/taupe. Costs 99p



Collection 2000 Hot Looks Nail Polish in BMX Bandit. Pale blue heavy lavender. Shown with the Maybelline shadow to give an idea of sides. Opaque in 2 coats, costs 99p



Now for my last purchase. This is a Miss Kiss Lipgloss Glitz Ball. I got this because I wanted my order to be over £10 so I could get free shipping and this cost 75p



As you can see, the ball twists apart to show two sides of lipgloss, a blue side and a yellow. This product is pretty to look at, and will look nice on my dresser, but I can't say I'm fond of it at all. It's really sticky, and initially, I thought it'd be sheer, without a hint of the blue/yellow. This isn't the case. I've swatched it on my hand, and on my lips, and I just don't like the feel of it. It is funky looking, so I don't mind too much



The yellow side has glitter in it, but the glitter doesn't really translate when you swatch it.




All in all, I'm extremely happy with this haul, it was cheap, the customer service was good, and shipping was fast. Even the Miss Kiss lipgloss isn't that bad, just not to my taste. There are lots of obscure brands that I've never heard of, but they definitely interested me, so I think my next purchase will be of some of those, as well as the classic Rimmel/Maybelline.

Definitely ordering again!


Products were purchased from Cosmetic Kingdom with my own money.