Throwback Thursday - Sister Edition

Aww, look at the cuteness! In case you're new to my blog, I'm the older, ginger one in the photos. My sister, Nikki, is 2 years younger than me :)

MUA Power Pouts

MUA Power Pouts in Justify, Broken Hearted, Irreplaceable and Crazy In Love

Bare lips

Top row: Justify and Broken Hearted

Bottom row: Irreplaceable and Crazy In Love

Here are the lip swatches of the MUA Power Pouts I have! How beautiful are they? I'm especially loving Justify because it's the one that surprised me the most. I was expecting this almost garish orange (I bought it to warm up the other shades if I wanted to), but it's a subtle coral, and suits me quite well. These lip crayons are just £3 each, pigmented, moisturising, and leave a stain (I read that they didn't stain, so was pleasantly surprised because I love long lasting products). If you don't like how glossy they are, you can dab your lips with a tissue so you're just left with the stain.

So far, these get a big thumbs up from me!

MUA Haul, Swatches and First Impressions - Power Pouts and Undress Your Skin Range

Power Pouts in Justify, Broken Hearted, Irreplaceable and Crazy In Love, Undress Your Skin Skin Primer, Foundation in Porcelain and Highlighter

Power Pouts in Justify, Broken Hearted, Irreplaceable and Crazy In Love, Undress Your Skin Foundation in Porcelain and Highlighter

When MUA announced that they were releasing lip crayons last week, I knew I had to buy some. I love my Revlon ones, so these excited me! I also added some other products from the Undress Your Skin range to my basket.

So far, I'm liking the Power Pouts (£3 each). They're a lot more pigmented than I thought they'd be, and they also leave a slight stain. I don't wear orange lip products, so wasn't going to buy Justify, but thought I could layer it and warm up some of my pink shades. It's much more beautiful than the online images, so I'm happy. The other three shades are also beautiful. The only shades I didn't pick up were the nude and red ones, but I may have to! I'll be posting some lip swatches of these in the next few days, so stay tuned!

I really like the primer's (£3, normally £5) packaging! I was pleasantly surprised to see it comes in a glass bottle. I was also surprised that it's only 15ml because the other primers I've tried are 30-50ml. I suppose you don't need much of it, though. I've only tried this on the back of my hand so far - It was so soft, it felt oily, but it wasn't oily at all, and it absorbed into my skin incredibly quick.

I don't wear foundation, but I use a generous amount of concealer, especially on the bottom of my cheeks where I have red patches. I bought the Undress Your Skin Foundation in Porcelain (£3, normally £5) to use in these areas. Underneath my arm, where I've swatched the products, is one of the lightest parts of my body, so although it looks slightly too dark for me in the photo, it's not.

The highlighter (£2, normally £3) looks really pretty. I was surprised how hard it feels to touch, but that doesn't hinder the pigmentation. It's shimmery, like most highlighters. There's not much more to say. It was one of the products I added to my basket just for the sake of it!

MUA are really on the ball at the moment. They've also just released some Merged Baked Eyeshadow Trios, which look really pretty.

Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balms

Bare lips

 

Pink Blossom

Hibiscus

Rose

Top: Bare lips, Pink Blossom

Bottom: Hibiscus, Rose

I've had the Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Pink Blossom for months, but when I heard Super Smoocher was having a closing down sale the other day, I decided to try some other shades. The Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balms are normally £5.99, but I bought Hibiscus and Rose for £3 each. I'm gutted that Super Smoocher is closing down; it was the place where I bought all of my natural lip balms from. Unfortunately, when I had a look at the sale, all of the Crazy Rumours lip balms were sold out. I wanted to stock up on the amazing flavours! Anyway, even though these lip balms are more expensive than others, they're 100% natural, the packaging is great (if a little excessive), they give a nice tint, and are moisturising. They're very sheer, but because my lips are quite pale, they show up nicely. I was expecting Hibiscus and Rose to be more pink, but Hibiscus is more of a nude, and Rose is orange toned. When I first wore Pink Blossom, I didn't like how glossy it was - My usual Vaseline Rosy Lips stick lip balm has more of a satin finish, which I love. However, I'm used to it now, and I know a lot of people love glossy lips.

Overall, I really like these lip balms. There's not much more to say, really!

Easter Nail Fail

The nails above took me hours to do, I wasn't happy with them, and they weren't drying, so I've just removed them. Thankfully, I managed to take a rubbish photo on my phone before doing so. I wasn't going to show you them, but they took ages, so I may as well get something out of it! In case you're wondering, the blue nail polish is Look Beauty's Vintage, the yellow is Sally Hansen's Yellow Kitty, the light pink is Barry M's Strawberry Ice Cream, the lilac is Barry M's Berry Ice Cream, the white is Models Own Nail Art Pen in White (mine was clogged up, which didn't help matters!), the black is Models Own Nail Art Pen in Black, the orange is Barry M's Gelly Papaya, and the medium pink is Barry M's Gelly Dragon Fruit.

I think this will be the last time I try nail art for a while! I become obsessive and stressed, which is never fun.

Swatch of the Day: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush

Flash: Bare lips, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush

Flash: Stain after wearing Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush for half an hour and wiping it off

In natural light, Crush is darker and slightly more purple, but I couldn't capture it, so had to use flash! I don't normally wear it as intensely as the photo above; I usually dab it on to create a light stain, which looks really pretty. Applying it this way also means it doesn't sink into the lines of my lips like it has above.

Do you own this product? Or any of the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains?

Shorts Haul

If I'm not wearing jeans, I'm wearing shorts with black tights. A few weeks ago, I felt like I needed a few more pairs! The top left pair are from ASOS and are originally £22 without any codes. They're called 'belted shorts with turn up', and they also come in navy and berry red (which I really want!). They feel like great quality. I'd never purchased bottoms from ASOS before, so didn't know if their sizes were true to fit, but they are. Then, I headed to eBay and bought the other three pairs - All new. The top right pair are from New Look and I paid around £5, including P&P, for them. They're very similar to the ASOS ones! They're also quite see through, but I'll be wearing them with black tights, so it doesn't matter. I already own the bottom left pair, and wear them all the time, so wanted some back ups. They're also from New Look, and cost me just £3.70, including P&P. The last pair are from River Island, and I paid around £9 for them, including P&P. They don't go with black tights as well as the others, so don't think I'll be wearing them as often, but I still really like them. All of the shorts above are fairly high-waisted, and the last pair definitely are, so my legs look extra long!

Have you found any gems on eBay recently?