Review: Loreal Les Chocolats Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick

When I saw Loreal advertising their Les Chocolats Ultra Matte Liquid Lipsticks on Instagram, I wasn't instantly hooked and wanted one of every shade. I waited patiently for them to come into stores and then spent even longer deliberating what colour I wanted. Then I finally had my colour and it was mine to wear whenever I wanted which is where the disappointment set in.

 I got the shade, a deep browny greige shade. There's a backstory to why I went with this shade when there where other shades I could've chosen. A couple of years back Stila released their annual miniature liquid lipstick set and in one there was a limited edition shade called Serenata. It was stunning, a deep greige shade that complimented my fairer complexion perfectly and acted like my perfect nineties grunge brown shade. However with it being limited edition I haven't worn it as much as I'd love to because I don't want it to run out. So I've spent ages looking for a good dupe that'll give me the same shade without being limited edition or hard to repurchase. I thought this was it and whilst it's a beautiful colour match, the formula is the biggest formula let down I've had in ages.

When somethings advertised as ultra matte you know it's going to be long wearing but slightly uncomfortable to wear. We've all worn something similar before and will likely do it again in the future but I for one can tell you, this liquid lipstick will never grace my lips again. It's highly pigmented and opaque in one swipe making it sound perfect but during the drying process it becomes extremely sticky and if you make the mistake of pushing your lips together then it's game over. Thinking it was dry, I pushed my lips together and ended up with a string of product hanging from my top lip, it also removed product from my lips and when I tried to remedy it, it just got worse.

The formula is too thick, the doe foot applicator holds too much product and not enough product at the same time. The product isn' distributed evenly across the lips, meaning you have to dip back into the tube and end up applying even more product where it isn't necessary instead of where you need it. Yet it wasn't all this that put me right off this product. It's the fact that it took several layers of my skin off with it when I removed it. I used an oil based cleanser like I do with all liquid lipsticks and it still took five minutes of me removing it to see even the tiniest bit of my lip underneath. Once I did manage to remove it, my poor lips were sore, red and chapped. No amount of lip balm was saving my lips from this product and if I were you, I wouldn't even give it a second glance in the stores. Sure they have beautiful neutral shades, sure they smell like chocolate but application is more work than I and I'm sure many others are willing to put in and removal both after a mistake and in general is a painful task which will leave your lips so sore you won't be able to wear lipsticks for a good few days afterwards. Want a long lasting lipstick that won't ruin your lips? Try the Maybelline SuperStay Matte Inks or pay a little more for the Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipsticks or Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks. 

Review: Revlon Prep, Set, Refresh Mist

                           

Setting sprays are becoming a popular trend amongst high street brands. The big three (Rimmel, Maybelline and Loreal) have released their own take on the setting spray alongside smaller brands such as Collection and Barry M. So it was about time that Revlon jumped onto the trend and released their own. And like with so many high street setting sprays, this had the potential to be great but unfortunately fell flat. 

Revlon have kept it very simple with no bold claims of being packed full of vitamins or other skincare based ingredients like other brands do. However when you look at it online or in stores, it just doesn't have enough of a description to persuade me as a consumer to buy it. Obviously I did buy it but that was out of curiosity more than anything.The packaging is sleek and minimalistic which is something I've come to expect from Revlon as a brand but it's also lacking that something that a lot of other products have which make them really jump off the shelves and appeal to our ever inquisitive manner.

Advertised as a three in one, do it all micro mist, the Prep, Set, Refresh Mist is supposed to work as your primer, setting spray and refreshing/hydrating mist. Unfortunately it does none of these things for me which is a shame but it seemed like it was a very promising product when I tested it in the shop. What I thought would be a fine evenly distributed mist is in fact a fine mist that shoots where it wants onto your face which can easily disrupt make up and leaves skin feeling sticky to the touch. 

It has potential as a primer because of the tacky finish it leaves behind which would work well to adhere any base products to the skin but that's about it. I tried it as both a setting spray and a refreshing pick me up and it did not end well. I found I had to go back in with a dampened beauty blender to try and blend out the patches where it had disrupted my make up. If you're looking for a spray primer that helps the longevity of your foundation, then this could potentially be right up your street. But if you're looking for a setting spray I'd say give this a miss and go for either the Maybelline SuperStay Setting Spray, the Collection Primed and Ready Make Up Fixing Mist or even the B Vitamin Facial Mist. All three work really well, don't disrupt make up and don't leave skin feeling tacky or uncomfortable.        

Review: Essence Liquid Lipstick

I'm always on the lookout for budget lip products that exceed expectations. And when I was browsing an Essence stand recently I thought I'd found a good one. However I've been highly disappointed. When I first picked this up, I noticed that this had the name Longlasting Lipgloss but on the lid it claimed to have a matte finish. Thinking it was some kind of hybrid I picked it up and took it home to test it.

There is nothing wrong with the colour of this product. It's a bright tomato red shade that is perfect for this time of year. It's not the colour, when I applied it, I was very happy with how the colour complimented my skin tone. And it's not the applicator that I have an issue with. It's a standard doe foot applicator that is slightly longer than most but that only aids application and doesn't hamper it in anyway. They're both credits towards this product and this would have turned into a good/non disappointing review if it hadn't have been for the formula.

The formula of this product is the let down. I was confused when I read the words lipgloss and matt on the packaging and assumed that it was some kind of hybrid. No. It's not a hybrid, it doesn't dry down to a matte finish. It doesn't even dry down to a satin finish. It's a gloss. A shiny, sticky looking gloss that personally doesn't work with bright opaque colours. After applying this I allowed it a good ten minutes to set on my lips and even was nearly late for work as I gave it every chance to impress me. Yet it didn't. It stayed shiny and almost wet looking on the lips and made them feel sticky or tacky everytime you put them together or opened your mouth to speak. I unfortunately had to change my lipstick and was as I said very nearly late for work.

It reminds me a lot of the Loreal Matte Glosses that they released a few years ago that didn't even show an intention of drying to a matte finish. Unlike those, this disappointing product only cost £2 and whilst it may have been expected from such an inexpensive product, I do consider it a waste of money. If you're looking for a inexpensive liquid lipstick that is opaque, dries to a matte finish and comes in a range of colours then I'd highly recommend checking out the NYX Soft Matte Lipsticks.

Have any of you tried these? Or do you have a high street liquid lipstick recommendation? Let me know in the comments.

Review: Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid Lipsticks

Liquid Lipsticks are something seriously lacking on the high street. So when brands launch their version of a liquid lipstick I'm quick to snap one up. And the latest release comes from Maybelline who's Vivid Matte Liquid Lipstick look like they could be right up my street.

There are six shades in total in this range and I picked up the shades Nude Flush and Possessed Plum. I would like to say I wasn't disappointed with the shades I picked as well as the shade range but unfortunately I am. Nude Flush looks like a mid toned pink shade but when applied to the lips it is more of a bubblegum pink shade that personally I believe won't look flattering on most people. Possessed Plum is more true to the colour you see in the tube but it's the formula of the lipstick that let's this colour down.

They have a doe foot applicator which is standard for liquid lipsticks these days. However these applicator hindered rather than helped with the application of this product. It's almost as if the applicator doesn't pick up enough product when you remove it from the tube because it'll apply nicely to the lips to begin with but by the time you get to the corner of your lips the colour gets patchy and uneven. And applying another layer over the top is out of the question as the applicator just seems to pick up product you've already applied and moves it around the lips.

And then it comes to the formula. Matte is not a word that should be featured on the packaging of this product. There is no sort of matte finish to these lipsticks at all. Obviously when you first apply them there is a shine as with most liquid lipsticks but instead of drying down like most do, these stay shiny and sticky and move around the lips as well. When normal liquid lipsticks dry down most of the time you can press your lips together and nothing will transfer but with these as soon as you press your lips together everything from the bottom lip transfers to the top lip and leaves the whole look looking patchy and just generally not nice.

Overall I'm really disappointed with these products. I was drawn in by thinking they were going to be a new budget friendly version of a liquid lipstick but in fact they are just a highly pigmented lip gloss that stays tacky and in my opinion gross feeling on the lips. If you're into glossy lips then maybe these would be good for you but if like me you prefer a matte finish to your lips then stay very far away from these. They will not live up to your expectations.

Have any of you tried these? Did you like them? Or were you disappointed with them? Let me know in the comments.

Review: Revlon Volume and Length Mascara

It's still only the beginning of the year but brands have already been inundating us with new launches, especially with mascara. And as much as I'd love to try them all out I only have two eyes so I cut it down to two. I've already done my Maybelline Push Up Drama Review which you can find here but I thought it time I write my review on my other new release masacara choice.

It was quite hard to choose one of their mascaras as they've released five that all aim to do something different to your lashes. Whilst the lengthening mascara appealed to me because it's green packaging and length is what my lashes need, I knew that mascara alone wouldn't suffice my needs. So I went with the blue lidded volume and length mascara which I hoped would give my lashes that long fluttery look I love. 

What first appealed to me with this mascara was the thick curved bristle brush that looked a lot like my Maybelline Go Colossal Leather Black Mascara. However I found it to be very disappointing as a brush. Instead of gripping my lashes and pushing them upwards to help hold the curl they left them looking flat and spiky. I also found that the brush malted every other use, there would be fibre looking bits stuck to the end of the lashes that needed to be removed as they had a habit of flaking off onto the cheeks. Normally a malting brush wouldn't be a bother but because it wasn't working how I hoped it would work, this one was very disappointing.

When it comes to formula, it doesn't get much better really. What was advertised as a lengthening and volumising formula was really a thin, practically non exisitent formula that barely coated lashes. But what did coat the lashes was ridiculously hard to remove and would appear under the lower lash line the next morning no matter how hard you tried to remove it. I'm not entirely sure if there are fibres in this mascara but it does look like that on the lashes from certain angles.

Overall this mascara has been nothing but disappointing. I'm not sure if the other mascaras in the range are as bad as this one but for me the volume and length mascara is a big no no. I  much prefer the Maybelline Push Up Drama Mascara and my old time favourite Maybelline Go Colossal Leather Black Mascara.

Have any of you tried this? Did you find it as bad as I did? Are any of the others as disappointing? Let me know in the comments.

Review: Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet

Happy Monday! It's that time of the week where I review a new product for you guys and this week it's the turn of the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet's Autumn Releases. And lets just say now I had high hopes for these.

These are the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet liquid lipsticks. Highly pigmented matte lip colours that are advertised to last all day on the lips, these are a budget alternative to all the liquid lipsticks on the market these days. I've tried some of the original shades they released and loved them so when they released these autumnal shades I knew they were right up my street. I got the shades 14 Plum Plum Girl and 15 Red-volution. Plum Plum Girl was the one I was looking forward to trying the most but unfortunately I was disappointed.

When I tried these lip colours I was hoping for highly pigmented, opaque matte colour. What I got was thin, overly liquidy, non matte colour that transferred from my lips almost as quickly as it had been applied. Red-voultion wasn't as bad a Plum Plum Girl and lasted longer out of the two but it didn't have the same feeling as the earlier shades. Nothing has changed about the formula of the product or the application, they both have doe foot applicators that cover the lips nicely as you apply the product.

However whilst the applicators apply the product nicely, it's the actual formula of the lipstick that lets them down. As I said Plum Plum Girl was the worst of the two shades, one coat was streaky in finish but when a second coat was added, it removed exsisting product in places which left it looking patchier than before.

However Red-volution was better in application. Slightly thicker than Plum Plum Girl, Red-volution was opaque in one coat and even when I did go over it to make sure everything was even there was no streakiness or patchiness anywhere. I also put the better application of Red-volution down to the fact that I lined my lips first before I applied the product, hoping the matte finish of the lip liner would cling on to the lipstick. Lining the whole lip would give a brilliant matte finish to the lip look as a whole as it would definitely help the Bourjois lipstick stick to the lips more.

I am disappointed that these lipsticks didn't work out as well as I was hoping but I have noticed that with the newer shades of these lipsticks. If I were you, I'd go for the earlier shades as there haven't been any problems with them. However if you have the patience to work with them some more than I say check them out.

Available from Boots and Superdrug

Review: Ps Love Matte Lipsticks

Welcome Back to Lip Product Week Day 5. Ever since I saw Primark's Ps Love lip products mentioned on msbudgetbeauty's channel I've been itching to try all of them. I'm a matte girl at heart so I was a little bit disheartened that Primark mainly did sheen finish lipsticks but then I stumbled across a couple of beauts that just had to come home with me.

The first shade I picked up is called Femme Fatale. It's a deep raspberry pink shade that would be perfect for now or even later on in Autumn. The other shade I brought is called Whisper which is a beautiful pinky nude shade.

Both of them are very creamy to apply and don't drag on the lips unlike others I've tried. However that's the only thing that impressed me. Femme Fatale transferred very easily and left what was left on the lips looking streaky. It can be easily reapplied as they are non drying on the lips but as they transfer quickly makes me prefer taking it off or wearing a different lipstick.

Whisper on intial application I was impressed with. It was creamy, easy to apply and non drying on the lips. Yes, it transferred quickly but as it was only a nude shade it didn't bother me so much. What did bother me though were the massive chunks of glitter which weren't obvious when you look at it in the bullet but upon application stand out all over the lips and in this case my chin as well.

When I wore both of these shades I knew that out of the two it would be Whisper I would recommend to you all. However when I spotted all the glitter over my lips and chin I was beyond disappointed. If glittery lips are your thing then I would highly recommend Whisper but if they're not then I would say stay away.

I don't like giving negative reviews on products but I'm honest as it's always the best way to be and there was no way to review this in a positive light. If you're looking to try some lip products from Primark I recommend you try their Velvet Matte Lip Crayons, I reviewed them here  if you'd like to see what colours they do.

If you have a different opinion of these lipsticks then please let me know in the comments.