NYX Butter Gloss in Peach Cobbler

I've never been one for lip gloss. It's always reminded me of the cheap, glittery rubbish you'd get in make up sets as a child. Also, up until recently, I preferred the matte finish. I've slowly been wearing glossier products, though, with lip crayons and Revlon Lip Butters becoming firm favourites in my collection. After reading many positive reviews on the NYX Butter Glosses, I decided to try one for myself. I bought the NYX Butter Gloss in Peach Cobbler from eBay because it worked out cheaper than buying it from the UK site (if only they had free P&P!). I'm seriously impressed. First of all, it smells like vanilla cupcakes! The colour is also beautiful. It looks very orange in the tube, but goes on coral. It's also much more pigmented than I thought it'd be. Its pigmentation is similar to my Revlon Lip Butters (bearing in my mind that I don't own the darker, most pigmented shades). It feels balmy on the lips, and even though it's ever so slightly thick, it's thick in a good way. It means it stays on for longer, lasting a few hours. It fades evenly, too, and this is what I'm liking most about glossier, lighter lip products. Even after eating, the colour is consistent across my lips. This will probably be in my next Favourites post, and I already have my eye on the other shades (Apple Strudel in particular!).

Are you a fan of the NYX Butter Glosses? Or lip gloss in general?

Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya

After trying, and loving, Revlon's ColourBurst Lip Butter in Wild Watermelon (review and swatch here), I went out and bought Juicy Papaya not long after. It's love, again. The formula is light and moisturising, and it fades evenly after a couple hours. The peachy shade looks surprisingly natural, and suits my colouring well. It's also one of the few shades that I wear to its full intensity. I'm now looking at the other shades in the range in preparation for my next shopping trip!

Are you a fan of the Revlon Lip Butters? What's your favourite shade?

Barry M Gelly in Sugar Apple

Natural

Flash

Barry M's new Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Sugar Apple arrived in the post this morning, and I couldn't wait to apply it. The formula's not as good as the other polishes in the range; it's thinner, and the first coat was very streaky. A second evened most of it out, and a third made it completely opaque. I've seen a lot of people just use two coats, though. So, even though the formula isn't outstanding, I'm pretty smitten with the shade. It's a pastel, yet vibrant, aqua that can appear mint green in certain lights. I have nothing like it in my collection. It's actually very similar to my bedroom walls, so no wonder I was drawn to it! I only wanted this shade from the new Spring Gelly collection, so ordered from ASOS because of the student discount and free delivery, but if you want more than one, they're currently 2 for £6 in Superdrug (and online, with free delivery on orders over £10). I believe the same deal is happening in Tesco, too, and there's a 3 for 2 deal on in Boots. Like always, I haven't tested, or mentioned, wear time because everyone's hands go through different tasks. Most polishes last around 4/5 days on me before showing signs of wear, whereas they may last for 2 days on another, so it really does depend on the person.

Have you bought, or will you be buying, Sugar Apple, Huckleberry, and/or Rose Hip?

OPI Steady As She Rose and Models Own Utopia Comparison

 OPI Steady As She Rose, Models Own Utopia

 OPI Steady As She Rose, Models Own Utopia

Baby and middle fingernails (1st and 3rd): OPI Steady As She Rose. Ring and index (2nd and 4th): Models Own Utopia

As soon as I laid eyes on OPI's Steady As She Rose, I knew it was similar to Models Own's Utopia; a polish I already owned. I went ahead and bought it anyway, though, because it was only £3.99 from Fragrance Direct, and I've been loving these clean, understated colours. As you can see, both are light, muted lilacs, but Utopia is slightly cooler in tone. It's such a subtle difference, though, that I doubt anyone would notice if just glancing at your nails. In terms of formula, Utopia is slightly more opaque. Steady As She Rose takes 2-3 coats, whereas Utopia takes 2. I love both, and would recommend getting whichever one you can find the cheapest. As I said, Steady As She Rose is only £3.99 on Fragrance Direct at the moment, whereas Utopia is £5 in Boots. However, Boots also has a 3 for 2 offer going on. Utopia can also be found on/in Superdrug for £5, and it's on Chemist Direct for £4.50. It just depends on where you were already planning to shop to save on postage!

Do you own either of these shades? You can find my swatch of Steady As She Rose here, and my swatch of Utopia here.

OPI Steady As She Rose

OPI's Steady As She Rose is my most recent purchase from Fragrance Direct. At £3.99, I couldn't resist! Steady As She Rose is a very light, dusky lilac. I'm still getting used to wearing shades like these, but I like how clean they look. Two coats were needed on most nails to achieve opacity, but a couple needed three due to streaking. This could be an application error on my behalf, though. It's very similar to Models Own Utopia (swatch and review here), and I have comparison photos on my Instagram here. I'll probably be publishing a full comparison post in the next week, though, so look out for that!

Do you have this shade? Or shades similar to this?

Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butter in Wild Watermelon

Let me introduce you to my first ever Lip Butter, and favourite product at the moment; Revlon's ColourBurst Lip Butter in Wild Watermelon. This admiration is unexpected. I've previously said how I prefer matte, staining lip products. I've also steered away from reds because I've never thought I'm beautiful enough to wear them. So, why I love this glossy red balm, I'm not entirely sure. Wild Watermelon looks like an orangey red in the tube, but goes on more pinky red. I think it's the perfect shade to ease you into the colour family. In terms of wear, it lasts a couple hours on me, and fades evenly. Since I've bought this, I've also bought Juicy Papaya. I think I wasn't interested in the Lip Butter range before because none of the shades appealed to me. These, however, are a different story. On a side note, Wild Watermelon notably shifts colour with different lighting and computer screens, so keep this in mind!

What's your favourite Revlon Lip Butter?

L'Oreal Colour Riche Nail Polish in 506 Exotic Grenade

I bought this shade from Fragrance Direct a few months ago, and have only just got round to wearing it! I wasn't expecting to be as impressed as I am by this little bottle. First of all, the brush is perfect. It's wide, rounded, and makes applying the polish a dream. I wasn't expecting this from the look of the tall, thin bottle. Secondly, the formula is great. It's smooth, streak free, and opaque in two coats. A lot of polishes I've tried are streaky on the first coat, but this wasn't, and I think this is mostly down to the shape of the brush. Drying time was also good, and greatly appreciated after the last polish I wore (It just didn't dry, and I woke up the following day sporting the duvet pattern). Lastly, the colour is beautiful. I love berry shades like this.

You can buy Exotic Grenade, as well as other shades, for £1.30 from here. Have you tried any L'Oreal Colour Riche Nail Polishes?

My Lip Crayon Collection

MUA Power Pout in Runway, Revlon Matte Balm in Audacious, MUA Power Pout in Justify, Bourjois Colour Boost in Peach on the Beach, Tony Moly Petite Bunny Gloss Bar in Juicy Peach, MUA Power Pout in Rendezvous, Revlon Balm Stain in Honey, Revlon Matte Balm in Elusive, MUA Power Pout in Broken Hearted, Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Fuchsia-ristic, Tony Moly Petite Bunny Gloss Bar in Juicy Apple, Revlon Balm Stain in Sweetheart, MUA Power Pout in Irreplaceable, MUA Power Pout in Crazy in Love, Revlon Balm Stain in Crush, and No7 High Shine Lip Crayon in Berry.

iPhone photo, natural lighting

Flash

I love lip crayons. I think it's because it was a lip crayon that got me into wearing colour on my lips (outside the house!). That lip crayon was Revlon's Balm Stain in Honey, which is one of my all time favourites. You can see that Honey and Bourjois' Colour Boost in Peach on the Beach are my most worn shades because the swatches are wider, and this is where I've completely worn down the points! I also love how balmy lip crayons are. Even the new Revlon Matte Balms feel comfortable on the lips, and I'm enjoying using them. I have yet to lip swatch these because of a pesky blemish, but will be doing so in the next week or so! You can find reviews and lip swatches of the others here:

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

MUA Power Pout in Runway

MUA Power Pout in Rendezvous

Revlon Balm Stain in Crush

Revlon Balm Stain in Honey

Tony Moly Petite Bunny Gloss Bars in Juicy Apple and Juicy Peach

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Fuchsia-ristic

Bourjois Colour Boost in Peach on the Beach

Let me just say, the camera really highlights freckles and hair! I didn't even know my lips had freckles on them until I started blogging. I also started waxing my upper lip after some of these swatches, so, uh, excuse the moustache ;) Oh, and on a side note, the MUA Power Pout lids are rubbish, so I wouldn't go trusting them in your bag! Also, the swatches above show just one swipe of each lip crayon, so you can see how pigmented they are.

Illamasqua Cream Blushers in Seduce and Dixie

Seduce, Dixie

Natural lighting, flash

I've only ever tried a nail polish from Illamasqua, and that was because I had an ASOS voucher. The products are more expensive than the amount I'm willing to pay for cosmetics. However, Illamasqua recently had a sale, and I couldn't refuse! I've heard plenty of good things about their cream blushes, so decided to buy Seduce and Dixie (after hours of looking at swatches and reviews!). They're normally £18, but were in the sale for £7.50. There was also a 10% off code floating around, so I ended up paying just £6.75 for each blush. Delivery is free, and I also got 56p cash back on each one - Result! I was intrigued by these because the formula looked similar to my beloved NYX ones; creamy and pigmented. Every other cream blush I've tried has been quite hard to touch, and requires warming up with your fingers before use. This means they're difficult to use with a stippling brush. Thankfully, these are like my NYX ones. They're not quite as creamy, however, but still impressive. On Illamasqua's website, Seduce is described as a warm, rose pink, and Dixie is described as a warm, coral pink. 'Raspberry' and 'coral' would be my descriptions. In the swatches above, I've swiped them with my finger, and then stippled them on so you can see how subtle and natural they can be.

Did you buy anything from the Illamasqua sale? Roll on the next, I say!

2True Nail Polish in Shade 17

This is my 800th post!

I spotted this beautiful, peachy pink shade in Superdrug a few months ago, and thought I'd give it a go for £1.99. The formula leaves a lot to be desired, though. It's sheer, so you need 3-4 coats, and rather streaky. It's also not fast drying, as it claims to be (UPDATE: I painted my nails around 2pm, went to bed around 11pm, and woke up with dents and smudges in my nails. Definitely not fast drying!). Still, I love the colour, and was instantly drawn to it!

Have you tried any 2True nail polishes?

Barry M Matte Crush

No flash, flash

After trying Barry M's Matte Vanilla Nail Paint last month (see here), I was surprised at how much I liked the effect, so wanted to get my hands on Crush, this deep, wine red. For some reason, though, I didn't, but then Christmas day rolled around, and I found a bottle in my stocking from my sister! After not painting my nails in over a month, I thought it was about time I did. I don't feel like Crush is a true matte, but rather a satin, because it still has some shine to it. I'm wearing two coats here, and it didn't brutally highlight any imperfections I have on my nails, so the formula gets a thumbs up from me. I'm not going to test, or comment, on wear time because everyone is different and does different things throughout their days. For me, personally, most polishes last around a week before any major chipping occurs. I found Vanilla to last 4-5 days, if I remember correctly, which isn't too bad. I'm still tempted to apply a topcoat to this to prolong the application, though. I think it'd look great with a high shine.

What do you think of matte nails, and this shade?

Sinful Colours Easy Going

I'd been wanting to get my hands on Easy Going for a while, but it was always out of stock in my local Boots. There were rows and rows of the shade on Sunday, though, so I picked one up. The 3 for 2 offer meant that I got this £1.99 polish for free, which is even better! I must admit, when I first laid eyes on it, I was a little disappointed. It didn't look anywhere near as pink as it did in the photos I'd seen. However, I now love it. This extremely pale, off-white pink is delicate and chic; aspects I've been prioritising recently. Three coats were applied to achieve opacity, which I can deal with. It's when we get to four that I have a problem. I'd say that it's a little more pink than the photo above is suggesting, but it varies in different lights. It can look more peach in some, and cream in others. I'll apply a glitter topcoat when it starts looking worse for wear; it's the perfect base for it!

What do you think of Sinful Colours Easy Going?

Revlon Top Speed Nail Polish in 570 Vintage (99p at Fragrance Direct)

This is one of the nail polishes from my most recent Fragrance Direct order (haul post here), and my favourite! Vintage is a deep, berry shade, and varies between shades of red and purple, depending on the light. Two coats were needed, and I had no problems with the formula. These kinds of shades are known to stain more than others, though, so cleaning up was more difficult than usual. Surprisingly, I have nothing like this in my collection. The closest shade I have is Barry M's Raspberry, but this is more purple toned than that. For 99p (from here), I'm pretty pleased!

Have you bought any nail polishes from Fragrance Direct recently? Do you like these kinds of shades? I think they're perfect for autumn/winter.

Barry M Matte Vanilla

I've worn neon nail polishes that dry to a satin finish before, but Barry M's Matte Vanilla is my first 'proper' matte. I'm surprised at how much I like the matte effect, actually, because I hate every other texture that's not shiny or glitter! Fluff and sand are the ones I really can't stand. I think Vanilla is a great nude for my skin tone. I'd describe it as a muted nude that looks grey in certain lights, and it even has some lilac tones in there at times. I'd heard a few people say that the first coat kind of separates and looks oily, but a second evens everything out. I didn't experience this at all, and could have left a few nails with just one coat on. I ended up applying two on all of them so they looked the same shade, though. It dried very quickly, and was one of the easiest polishes I've applied recently. Matte polishes are known to accentuate any flaws you have on your nails, so I gave them a good buff beforehand, and that seemed to do the job.

I'm surprised at how much I like this polish, and want to get Crush and Espresso next! What do you think? Are you a fan of matte nails? If not, you can always apply a topcoat over them!

Models Own Utopia

Models Own Utopia is the first bottle of Models Own nail polish that I've actually paid full price for! My others have come from sales, be it ones of the blog or ASOS variety. As I said in my previous post, I'm going through a phase at the moment, and am really loving these muted, off white, lilac toned shades. I'm still getting used to how they look on my nails, though! It's weird not seeing them painted with a bright coral or turquoise. Utopia is difficult to describe... if a lilac, grey, white, and a touch of nude all came together, this is what it'd look like. It took two coats to become opaque and I had no problems with the formula, so it gets high marks from me. I'm tempted to add some nail art to it because it's the perfect base for doing so, but don't want to ruin it!

What do you think of Utopia? Do you like shades like this?

Essie Go Ginza

(Instagram photo)

I'm not happy with my application of this, but I just had to show you the shade because I have nothing like it in my collection! As you can see, it's so much lighter than my other lilacs. I found myself looking at swatches of Go Ginza on Thursday, and then found it in the ASOS sale for £5, so it was meant to be. I was a little apprehensive about paying that, though, because I'm used to Fragrance Direct's £1.99 price tag, but once I found a student discount code (making the polish £4.50) and realised they were giving me free next day delivery (worth £5.95), I couldn't resist. The formula was good, taking just two coats. The first coat was streaky, but a second evened everything out. For such a light shade, I was expecting to have more issues. I really like it, and think it would look even better paired with a light coloured glitter!

What do you think? Are you a fan of lilacs? I personally love them, and deep berry shades, but tend to stay away from the purples in between.

Rimmel 60 Seconds Nail Polish in Coralicious

You know, I think I'm going through a phase. Two weeks ago I wore a neon red, last week I wore a berry red, and this week I'm wearing a coral red. I tend to lean towards warmer shades in general, though! Rimmel's 60 Seconds Nail Polish in Coralicious was part of a Fragrance Direct order I made many months ago, and have only just got round to wearing it. It cost me just 99p, and although it's not available on there any more, you can buy it from eBay for £2-3, or Boots or Superdrug for £3.69 (and Superdrug currently has free delivery until the 22nd of October). I'm wearing three coats in the photo above, but this is only because I have longer nails at the moment and need to cover the visible nail line. If you have shorter nails with minimal white tips, you could get away with two coats. Although it could be more opaque, I love the formula. It's smooth and applies like a dream. This is also down to the brush, which is slightly thicker and rounder than others I'm used to. The brush alone makes me want to buy more from this range!

What do you think? Are you going through any nail polish phases at the moment?

Models Own Hedonist

First time painting my nails in a month! None of the shades I have were taking my fancy, and I hate the process of painting my nails anyway! Definitely couldn't paint them daily like some. Models Own Hedonist is one of my all time favourite shades, so I'm surprised I've never swatched it for you guys before! It's a neon coral red. Like most neons, it's difficult to photograph. I'd say it's more coral in person, and much more beautiful. It takes 1-2 coats, and dries quickly, almost to a satin finish. I personally keep it how it is, but you can easily add a top coat if you prefer to always have a high shine finish.

What do you think? Are you a fan of super bright nail polishes? I love them, but also love dark, muted shades and everything in between!

MUA Power Pout in Runway

This is my last drafted post, and I haven't bought anything new recently, so need to go to the drawing board after this and think of new post ideas! This is MUA's Power Pout in Runway. You can see my swatches of the rest of the collection here and here. It's looking a little patchy in the photo above, but it wasn't in real life, I promise! Also, I rarely wear it to this intensity. I prefer to wear it as a light stain and create that 'I've just been eating strawberries' look. Runway is a warm, strawberry red which can pack a punch on my pale lips if desired. Like the other shades, it lasts for a good few hours before wearing away, leaving a subtle stain.

I really like the MUA Power Pouts, and hope they bring out more shades in the future. They're definitely worth more than their £3 price tag!

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Fuchsia-ristic

Another day, another lip crayon. I've had this one for a while, so thought it was about time I blogged about it! Soap & Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Fuchsia-ristic is the balmiest lip crayon I own, and the most sheer. It's not designed to be an intense, lip staining, long lasting lip colour, but a rather good tinted lip balm that lasts a little longer than others in this category. It lasts for a few hours, and smells delicious, like vanilla. The name suggests Fuchsia-ristic is a fuchsia, and the bullet suggests it's a bold orange, but it's more of a warm, natural pink.

These gloss sticks are priced at £8, but can often be bought for less due to offers. For example, they are currently only £5 in Boots, so I'm tempted to pick up another shade or two!