Glossy Lip Picks

I've recently started favouring a glossier lip, I feel like it's more suited to Spring and Summer months, and matte lips belong in the colder seasons. I've even gotten into lipgloss, which is saying something since I'd never normally go near lipgloss with a barge pole, and I know a lot of you feel the same! So I thought I'd give you a round up of my favourite lip products that give a glossy effect, without actually wearing a gloss.

One of my favourite lipstick ranges right now is the Bobbi Brown Sheer Lip Colour Line, pictured here is the shade Rosy. As the name would suggest, the formula of these is pretty sheer, but easily buildable. What I love about these is the fact that they have a super glossy finish, but they still last ages on the lips. They aren't cheap but as far as I'm concerned, they're totally worth it. 

Another high-end pick I wanted to mention is the NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils. Pictured above is the shade New Lover and I just love this as a not-quite-nude my-lips-but-better shade, that just adds a little colour and shine. This range of pencils is just so easy to wear, and perfect for chucking in the handbag for on the go.

Another pencil option that's a lot more budget friendly are the Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayons (pictured above Peach On The Beach). When these were first released I didn't think I'd wear any of the shades, but actually they all look quite different on to how they look in the bullet, since they're quite sheer. Again, I love these because despite their sheer, glossy look, they last really well on the lips.

I've raved about the Kiko Kiss Balms a lot on this blog, and quite deservedly. Under five pounds and incredibly moisturising, with just a sheer hint of colour, I'm a big fan of these. Since they're technically a balm they leave a super glossy effect to the lips, but with a pop of colour. A definite handbag staple. 

The Korres Lip Butters aren't necessarily the most practical of lip products, the pot means it's not ideal for on the go, but I do love them all the same. Super moisturising, but they come in a super pretty range of shades (pictured is Pomegranate, my favourite) and they give a seriously glossy finish.

And lastly the Revlon Lip Butters. In all honesty I'm not a massive fan of these, I find the colour range a little suspect but the above shade, Berry Smoothie, is the most wearable, and with some of them they're just a bit too wet, if that makes sense, they're kinda squishy in the barrel. However, they do leave a glossy, pretty finish on the lips, despite not being moisturising at all.

What are your favourite glossy lip picks?

The Best of The Nude Lips

Nude lips are something I never used to go for, until recently that is. I felt like nude lips really washed me out, and hell, what's the point in wearing lipstick that looks like your lips when you can wear pink or red? Well, that's how I saw it anyway. 

Now I can't get enough of nude lips. I feel so sophisticated with a smokey eye, contoured cheek and a nude lip, like a proper grown up. There's a lot of ways to do a nude lips, so I thought I'd round up my pick of the bunch to show you. 

The sheerest nude I reach for also happens to be the priciest. Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy was a Christmas gift this year, a pretty luxurious one to say the least. This is my go to for running out the door, the minimal effort pick. It's almost just like a glossy finish to my lips, since the colour is pretty similar to my natural lip shade. I also love wearing this over lipliner, I'll use a nude lip liner like the Clinique Quickliner for Lips in 40 Neutrally to make my lips stand out a little more, and accentuate my cupids bow, and then layer Boy over the top. 

The classic nude shade I reach for the most is the Clinique Chubby Stick Intense in 01 Curviest Caramel, your standard browny-nudey shade, but this is glossy enough, and just pink enough to not make me look dead. This pretty much lives in my handbag for touch ups, it's so neutral, it just goes with everything. It's also super moisturising, so it's a great option for dry lip days.

My most worn nude is the MAC Lustre Finish Lipstick in Syrup. In the bullet this looks plummy, but it's super sheer, so on my lips it's very similar to my natural lip colour, just with a slight darker tint. This is again really easy to wear, and goes with a lot, it just makes you look pulled together. 

The newest nude in my collection is the MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Peach Blossom, which was a birthday gift from my parents. It's a  light pink with a slight peachy tint to it, and is probably the closest nude to my natural lip colour, if anything it's a little lighter, but the pink tones stop it from washing me out. I've only had this just over a week and I am totally in love with it already. 

The pinkest nude I reach for is the NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien (don't ever ask me to pronounce that). I love this one because it's a bit different to your standard nude, it's definitely a pink, but on me it looks like that cliché my lips but better. I love the formula of these, they're so long lasting. 

And lastly the peachiest nude of the bunch (and the cheapest) is the Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Let's Get Naked. I've spoken about this a tonne, but basically it's your classic nude, but with peach undertones. It looks much peachier in the bullet and swatched than it does on the lips, so don't be put off! I get so many compliments on this lipstick.

What are your favourite nudes?

The Review: Bobbi Brown Sheer Lip Colour in Tutu

Last month I posted a What's On My Face where I used a lipstick I had just bought.  I got a ton of compliments on the colour, not just from you guys but also from 'real life' people out and about, and really, that's the true test of a good product. A few weeks down the line now and I've given it a run for it's money, and I can definitely say it's a firm favourite.

There's a new Bobbi Brown store in Westfield so naturally I popped in after a lecture one afternoon (my university is handily located a three minute walk from Westfield) to peruse the counters. Bobbi Brown is a makeup range that I lust after frequently, but purchase rarely. I'm not really sure why that is, maybe because their range is quite solid, it's got all the basics, but I tend to get hooked in by the latest and greatest. Either way, all the products I do have from there I love, so I didn't have any qualms about picking up something.

After a little swatching I fell in love with the Sheer Lip Colours, a line of lipsticks with a creamy, sheer but buildable formula, and ended up taking home Tutu, a peach that definitely sits on the pink sides of proceedings, but is quite muted on the lips, just giving a wash of colour to perk up the whole face. I don't own anything like this in my collection, Rimmel's Let's Get Naked is similar but more orange based, and this is definitely more subtle. Either way it was an unusual colour choice for me, but the risk definitely payed off.

I love this colour on me, it's my perfect lazy makeup day colour, just adding something to the face to make it look more alive. The lasting power is excellent, particularly for a sheerer formula lip colour, and I love that you can wear this sheer, or build it up. The packaging is sleek and I love the magnetised close to it. 

I've totally fallen in love with this lipstick, I'd go as far to say it could be one of my favourite discoveries of the year, up there with the Urban Decay Lipsticks, and the Dior BB Creme. I'm definitely going to be adding a few more of these to the collection in the future!

You can see this colour on my face here.

Have you tried any Bobbi Brown Lipsticks? What should I try from there next?

The Review: Benefit Hydra Smooth Lip Colours

Benefit relaunched a ton of their makeup this year, and whilst at the time, I wasn't all that bothered, I appear to have fallen for their lipsticks.

The Hydra Smooth Lipsticks have a strange feel on the lips, they aren't glossy or matte, but they are very very smooth. The formula contains Shea Butter, Vitamin E and Mango Butter, making them smooth and hydrating too. They glide really easily onto the lips. They have a slightly strange slanted tip, which Benefit says is to aid application and make it more precise, which I'm not sure I agree with, I think they're probably just as precise as your average shaped lipstick.

The packaging of these is seriously love it or hate it. The boxes they come in are super cute, but I can't really think of a secondary way to use them, so I ended up chucking them, which is a shame. The lipstick bullet itself is pretty strange, they kinda remind me of big greek pillars, which is cute, but not necessarily how I want my lipsticks to look. The lids are kind of clumsy, and 9 times out of 10 I end up mushing the end of the lipstick putting the lid back on. They're kind of big and clumsy, and not particularly luxurious. I think I prefer something a little sleeker (Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks, ahem). I feel this way about a lot of Benefit packaging though, I don't think it's nice enough considering the price, some of it I think is cute, but other things, this and Fine One One in particularly seems quite cheap in real life. In terms of lasting power, these are some of the longest lasting lippies I've tried.

I have two colours, Talk Flirty, a bright, Orchid-esque pink, and Fling Thing, which is a medium toned berry shade. Both are very easy to wear with any eye look!

These retail for £15, but I've been picking these up on Debenhams 10% off days! I think £15 is pretty good though, it's the same as MAC and Urban Decay, and much cheaper than other high end brands.

Have you tried these lipsticks? What are your favourite Benefit products?

The Christmas Gift Guide: NARS Promiscuous Lip Set

 What better Christmas Gift for a beauty lover, than a set of five miniature Nars Lip Pencils? 

Nars have really done well with their Christmas Collection this year, there's a really good selection and they are great value for money too. These pencils retail for £17.50 full size, so to get all of these, plus a makeup bag for £30 is a pretty good deal.

In the set are four Velvet Matte Pencils and one one Velvet Gloss.

New Lover is the only Velvet Gloss pencil of the bunch. It's a pretty light pink colour, the bullet looks slightly shimmery, but that doesn't translate on the lips. It's a great everyday colour, that kinda goes with everything, I particularly love it with this blush (Chanel Creme Blush in Revelation). 

Sex Machine is a lot lighter a pick than I would usually go for, and it's the mattest of the bunch. I exfoliated my lips and put on balm before putting this on and it still made my lips look dry and cracked, so I think it would probably need a balm or gloss on top. However, I do quite like the colour, more than I thought I would. I'll probably wear this a lot more in the spring!

Never Say Never is another colour I wouldn't normally choose, it's a barbie-esque blue toned pink, but again I really like this. This one didn't feel anywhere near as matte as Sex Machine, it didn't tug on the lips when I applied it, and it felt smooth. The wear time of the matte pencils is amazing, I got nearly eight hours wear out of this before I topped it up.

Dolce Vita is a weird one, in the bullet it looks like a terracotta sort of colour, but on the lips it's more of a dark peach pink, it's quite subtle and could almost be classed as a nude. I've been wearing this a tonne the last few weeks, and I really like it. 

Ahhh matte red lips. This is what I will be sporting for 99% of the Christmas season. Cruella is a true red, brighter than MAC's Ruby Woo, comparable in colour to M.A.C Red, but with a matte finish. This to me is the perfect holiday lip colour, the wear time is incredible, and whilst it's matte, it's not in any way drying. 

Nars did a really good job when picking what colours to include, each of these pencils is really wearable, and there's something for everyone. This is a great little gift set, for a fellow beauty lover, or a treat for yourself! I love the makeup bag too, it's perfect for keeping all my beauty bits together in my handbag.

After trying all these, I've started a bit of a love affair with Nars Lip Pencils, and I'll definitely be stopping by the counter to have a look at a few more...

Have you tried any Nars Lip Pencils? Which of these is your favourite?