Going nuts for Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains

Well what would you expect really? I love Lip Stains, I adore tinted lip balms and they've gone and combined the two into my ULTIMATE lippie - complete with the crayon format that Clinique made us all covet with their Chubby Sticks. And to cap it all off... they're mint flavoured. It's like they made it from my personal lipstick wish list!

Revlon has really been knocking it out of the park lately with their Lip Butters and now this!

As you can see I hauled quite a few. I spotted these online before they were available in Hong Kong and immediately ordered two (Cherish and Smitten) on eBay. Then, they launched in Hong Kong at a discounted price of HKD75 (Down from HKD98) so I hauled three more! If the other shades hadn't been so unappealing to me I'd probably have bought every colour they had. 

So here's the general overview

I love them because...

• They go on like a balm, stay like a stain
• Once the sheer glossy layer has worn off they're kiss proof
• And can last through most meals with only slight fading. 
• Are pretty darned pigmented yet still sheer
• They are lightly minty
• And can be toted around throughout the day for touchups
• Also, unlike most stains, they can be used OVER lip balm instead of only on clean lips.

My Makeup Bag: Work and Uni Edition

Compare and contrast, girls: The life of a working professional versus the life of a Masters student, illustrated through the contents of her makeup bag.

Yes, that is an RM5 pouch from Daiso. I purposely picked a small bag to keep me from carrying too much around the place. As it is, this little guy can carry a surprising amount of stuff!

Loving: Warm nude shades ~

I have a girlfriend who's crazy in love with nude lipsticks. She loves playing up her eyes, and hence, tends to stick to brown and nude lipsticks so it'll work easily into her entire look.

And every time I meet her, I fall into loving nudes all over again. But I love me some pinks and peaches too. Cos I'm greedy like that.

That got me thinking as to what shades I had in my stash (either peaches or pinks) which were still "nude" enough that I could wear them, even if I wanted to play up my eyes.

And I came up with these four easy-to-wear warm nude shades to share with you lovelies. If you love nudes too, but want to just add that little bit of colour for your lips, I think these would work really well.

My Last Malaysian Haul

I am still getting used being back in Sydney -- right now, I don't even have a table to type on! -- so review posts are going to be a little erratic until I settle down. So why don't I show you my very last haul from Malaysia? Cosmetics are incredibly expensive here so I indulged in a little shopping and stocking up. I won't be back in Malaysia for a year after all.

And in no particular order...

(UPDATED) Review: Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait

From the moment I read about the Revlon Lip Butters online, I've been wanting them. Bad.

And dear Kahani was kind enough to help me haul four shades back from Hong Kong when she was back over the Chinese New Year holidays. No prizes for guessing which of the four I've been playing with the most.

Lovelies, meet Peach Parfait.

Revlon Nail Polishes in Orange Pop, Sheer Rose & Temptress

Orange Pop, Sheer Rose & Temptress

Nail polishes are quite the indulgence of mine. So when I saw these going for HKD25 each, I found them hard to resist! For the price, two hits out and one miss isn't too bad I suppose.

Orange Pop

Gorgeous summery colour with fun slightly holographic shimmer. It has enough red to be a grown up shade yet playful. It even smells like orange pop when dry. Love!

Review: Poppy King for No. 7 in #2 Power

No. 7 next to Lipstick Queen's Saint

My apologies to those saw this post without a writeup earlier today. Was stuck in a meeting and couldn't paste the review til afternoon.

My best friend acceded to my selfish demands and brought back the No. 7 Poppy King Lipstick in Power and the lipgloss in Allure from UK last month. Let's take a peek at the Power lippie today.

My Lipstick Collection

I cleared out my makeup collection the other day and did a lip count. Are twelve lipsticks too little or too many? Four of them are in a wee palette though so I am not sure if they should be counted or not.

To get an idea of what colours I go for, check out the swatches after the jump:

Revlon Nailpolish in Amber Ablaze

If you're wondering why I'm suddenly obsessed with Revlon's nailpolishes blame the BOGOF. Also I'm rushing the reviews out because I want you, dear reader, to be able to score the good shades during the promotion. See how nice I am? =P

Amber Ablaze is an older possibly discontinued shade manufactured early '08 so it may be sold out in the more popular retail outlets. As you can see, I picked this one up at Tesco's (the label is on because I learnt a valuable lesson. Don't pick off labels with freshly painted fingernails. Really. Don't.)

The picture absolutely does not do this shade justice! It is a warm dark red with swirls of gold shimmer in it. Shaking the bottle and watching the gold dust swirl around is almost as fun as a lava lamp! On my fingers it is slightly less fun, but still good!

Normally I don't wear reds on my fingers as I find the shade distracting to me, my colleagues and the people I interview. But somehow although this is a bold, festive colour, it is somehow muted and not in-your-face. Would love to pair this with a gold knit dress I bought in Europe - only in our weather I'd melt into an unpleasant greasy puddle on the ground.

This would also be a really great colour on toes. Not quite as happy happy as the brighter ones but cheery nonetheless. If you prefer deeper shades of red, but find that they can look somewhat gory, this colour's for you. It manages to NOT resemble blood at all. Yay Revlon!

A bottle retails at RM19 and Watsons is currently running a BOGOF offer on Revlon Nailpolishes till Jan 3.

Christmassy nails: Revlon Nailpolish in Copperglaze Platinum

While I adore the idea of gold nails, the execution never quite works for me. Most gold nailpolishes either blend into my skintone or clash ferociously. This copper shade though which, to be honest, matches the bottle colour of Dove Hair Fall therapy to a 'T' - is perfect.

It's shiny and metallic enough to be festive, compliments my skintone so it looks elegant and remarkably natural and it even does the "nude" effect - make my fingers look longer.

So if you're thinking of taking advantage of Watsons' BOGOF offer on Revlon nailpolishes, give this shade a try. At RM18 for 2 you'd be nuts not to!

Happy Toes: Revlon Nail Polish in Red Hot Tamale

Ever since I got this bottle of red hot nail polish from Revlon's distributor, Alliance Cosmetics (thanks girls!) it's been almost constantly on my toes. I love bright loud happy colours for my toenails - it's like therapy in a bottle. Just seeing bright glossy red toes peeking out from my sandals makes me grin happily to myself.

Pedicures always outlast manicures (most of us don't use our toes to type) and with a top coat, the polish lasts till the nail grows out.

For RM19.90, therapy in a bottle is pretty affordable!

Pardon the smudgey big toe, I didn't notice it till after the pic was taken and then I was too lazy to retake!

Review: Revlon Matte Lipsticks in Mauve it Over and Really Red

I know I've been reviewing a lot of Revlon stuff lately, but the sweet people who run it gave me a stash to try out. I was going to review these lippies as part of their entire Matte collection but girls they're so stand-out good they deserve a post of their own!

While the rest of the collection is great these two lipsticks are really something special. Reasonably priced, light and creamy feeling they nevertheless impart a matte finish which, to my surprise I like! The matte finish isn't dry or caked, it has the same natural sheen bare lips with a hint of non-glossy lip balm has. For different reasons the finish flatters differently with each colour.


The shades
I received two shades to try, and may I add they appear to be the nicest two shades out of the four available?

Mauve it over is actually a very neutral shade with enough peachy pink tones to not wash me out. Perfect for day, the matte finish gives is a natural and surprisigingly natural look. These are lips that don't scream for attention, but are pretty polished and professional. While today's beauty world is all about va-va-voom lips there are days when you just want to pull the whole look together without having any one feature stand out by being glossy, shimmery, and pouty.

Really Red is... REALLY RED. Pure va-va-voom. Think Roger Rabbit's girlfriend, Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich and Edith Piaf. This neutral classic red imparts old-time hollywood glamour (that ties in perfectly with my recent love for vintage) with its matte finish. But there's nothing old or dowdy about it's look. There is something about the matte look that makes it even more edgy, not less. This lipstick is vixen come out to play. Slick this on and turn heads all night.

Wear
Although both lipsticks are comfortable and non-drying to wear they do require some prepping ahead of time. While the creamy formula provides some cushioning, filling in lines and giving lips a smoother surface, it can't fully hide flaws the way a gloss or a more shimmery light reflecting lipstick can. So exfoliate lips and slick on some balm, allow it to sink in a little then apply the lipstick.

Mauve it over can be easily applied straight from the tube but for optimal smooth, precise and even coverage, Really Red, like most red lippies require work. Not that much work though. Thanks to its matte formula I find the lipstick can be applied without a liner and it doesn't travel. However I don't have fine lines around the mouth so I can't testify to whether it will stay put on more mature ladies.

The best way to apply Really Red is to apply directly from the tube staying well within the lipline. Then using a lipbrush blend it outwards for a more precise application. Applying directly from the tube makes it hard to be precise. But the brush doesn't pick up this lipstick very well. This way gets the best of both worlds.

Conclusion
If there's one item in the range you must try, this is it. At about RM33 each they won't break the bank and you'll get a quality lippie in a finish you probably haven't got. And of course I recommend Really Red as it's truly special.

Review: Revlon Nailpolish in Opulent Pink

Dare I say it? I think I've finally found my HG pink shade for my nails! Meet a new shade from Revlon - 904 Opulent Pink. A lovely neutral pink infused with fine shimmer, it's bright enough and warm enough not to make my fingers look corpse-like and not so brilliant that my colleagues get distracted by the shiny pinkness.

Since testing this shade out I've gotten countless compliments on my nails and who doesn't love compliments?

Formula
One coat lays down an almost opaque layer. However there is a fault with this nailpolish - it can be streaky. So two thin layers, replacing the cap and shaking well every now and then, definitely helps

Oddly enough I find it doesn't apply well over a base coat at all. Then it gets REALLY streaky. It performs much better on bare nails - so it's a good thing it doesn't stain.

While not promising to be quick-dry it really doesn't take too long. I have no trouble finishing my nails complete with a top coat in the 40 mins it takes to watch an episode of Leverage.

Wear and tear
With a top coat this polish lasts a week easily with little wear on the tips of my nails. Oddly enough I do find it peels near the cuticle first before it chips at the tips. I do prefer to top up with another layer of top coat mid-week to preserve that shiny finish though.

Conclusion
Despite it's slightly streaky formula (it really isn't bad) I do believe I've found a winner here at RM19.90. I hope they never stop making this lovely shade.

Edit 03/09/09: Sorry ladies forgot to add two things. One, I got this bottle free to review, and two, at 14.7 ml I think it contains more nailpolish than most. Whether it's a good thing depends on how long it lasts before it dries out.

Review: Revlon Beyond Naturals Bronze/Blush & Liptints with SPF15

I love it when I've been eyeing a product, really wanting it, but being a good girl and not buying it... and then have those exact products land on my desk.

Not that getting the Beyond Naturals bronze/blush in peach and the lipting in berry stopped me from spending. I loved the tint so much that when I saw it on sale that evening for RM24.50 (NP RM31.90) I immediately snapped up a tube in rosy pink. And now having used the bronze/blush for awhile, I'm eyeing the one in pink! Help!

Lip Tint with SPF15
It's ironic that the main complaint for these two products is that the lip tint is too pigmented, and the blush/bronze isn't pigmented enough! If you're expecting faint colour from these lippies, you won't get it. They are quite pigmented. What makes them a lip tint and not a lipstick is the formula. Instead of laying down a thicker creamy layer, this makes it look like your lips have been stained. The finish is not glossy but it's not matte either - it just looks like your lips with a slick of lipbalm

(L-R) Berry, Rosy Pink

I love both shades I have. Berry would be awesome in autumn (wrong country I know) but I can see myself using this for days when I want my makeup to be richer. Christmas dinners perhaps paired with a gold toned dress or deep rich jewel tones.

Berry

Rosy Pink is my honest to goodness MLBB shade (pic under Bronze/Blush section). Here's how Syen and I chose ours MLBB shades from this range. We both swatched Rosy Pink and Rosy on our hands and I swear Rosy looked more orange on me than on her, while Rosy Pink looked more pink on her than on me. Our chosen shades don't just perk up our lips they flatter our skintones. Syen reports that Rosy makes her face look brighter and fresher and I can say the same for Rosy Pink. So there's your shade selection guide right there!

The berry scents make the liptints smell of jam, or of berry-flavoured candy. I adore it although some ladies may find it cloying or too juvenile. The SPF15 included makes these liptints seem so wholesome - like non-makeup, makeup. Which is partially why they're so attractive I believe. We all have days where much as we love makeup we want to be naturally lovely without it. These liptints not only let me fake the look, they let me lie to me!

Bronze / Blush in Peach

Sorry for the weird hair, it was freshly washed in the pic. When swatched, the bronze/blush in Peach is not pigmented in the least. But when applied it gives your face a glow. Not a sparkly disco-ball glow, but one that makes you look like you've had 8-hrs sleep and a lovely walk in the park under a sunny sky. Sunkissed and happy. I find myself slightly addicted to it, and if I wasn't almost absolutely sure that the Pink shade would look precisely the same on my cheeks, and these duos didn't cost RM53 a pop, I would run out a buy another.

The bronzer is pigmented enough to contour and the blush bright enough to highlight and give your cheeks a pop. But neither are pigmented enough to make you look clownish. Fabulous, no?

I often use just the bronzer under my cheek bones, swirl both colours together and blend it into my cheeks as a blush, and apply only the peach shade on my apples for a pop. Perfect faking it. I rather wish they'd bring in the eye palette I KNOW I'd love it. Natural fuss-free browns in finger-friendly formula (for days when coffee has no effect and brushes require more IQ than you have alert braincells for). I can see myself bringing the collection on a holiday and being happy as a bug in a rug.

Conclusion
Revlon has hit the nail on the head with their Beyond Naturals collection. Great no-makeup, makeup they make you look like a prettier you. Even for makeup junkies like myself, that's sometimes all I really want.

Review: Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eyeliner

When researching for the best liner to achieve a "winged" tip, the one that kept getting recommended, again and again, is this - Revlon Colorstay Liquid Liner. (What's wrong with their site? Black looks MAROON!)

Right where was I? Ah yes...

I caved and picked up the liner at RM31.80 because my Coastal Scents Gel Liner was getting gunky. Also the idea of being able to swipe on my liner without needing an additional brush was tempting.

After a week's use I can see why this liner is so highly recommended. And I also realise that my dream of not using the liner brush is going to STAY a dream for everyday use.

Applicator
This is where the product is special. It doesn't use a brush, but a pointed felt-tip applicator that allows maximum control and the absolutely finest tip I've ever seen. If you want to draw wings, heck, if you want to draw flowers, birds, bees you name it you probably can!

Problem is, while it is great for precision, it lays down a very hard thin line which is too hard, thin and black for everyday. So I end up dotting on the liner and smudging it out with ELF Studio's tiny Smudge Brush. The result is wonderful!

Formula
When they say blackest black, they MEAN blackest black. It don't come more black than this! And it's smudgeproof and waterproof. Good thing is, once it's on it doesn't budge. Bad thing is, once it's on it doesn't budge so do all your smudging and correcting quick quick before it dries.

Conclusion
I'm aleady loving this liner, and will be happy to use and repurchase it. I aim to get the hang of the wing-tip and maybe one day be able to swipe it on perfectly and not require smudging! We all need something to work towards. ;)