Review: MUA Lip Liners

A little while ago a friend of mine recommended I try the MUA Lip Liner and I was dubious to being with. I'd tried one a while back and it didn't work well for me, it was scratchy and patchy in application. But according to my friend they had improved the formula and were now a lot creamy and easier to apply. And at a £1 a pencil how could I resist giving them a go.

I picked up three shades. Sloe Berry, Dark Thistle and Brooding Plum. I was feeling very autumnal when I brought these and considering darker tones are the most prominent in my lipstick collection I thought these were the best choice. Dark Thistle is my favourite of the three as it has a bright almost violet tone to it that translates nicely on the lips and works well as a unique lip loo. Sloe Berry and Brooding Plum are going to work well under a variety of lipsticks and as they are so creamy to apply they're not going to be a pain to wear.

Normally a traditional wooden pencil liner is scratchy, patchy and hard to work with. These are highly pigmented, not scratchy and somewhat creamy. They're not creamy enough to wear these comfortably on their own but under lipsticks or any lip product they work well. The nibs of the pencils aren't sharpened to a really harsh point which I think is what makes them less scratchy in feeling and easier to apply. If you really wanted to wear these on their own, I'd advise wearing a little bit of lip balm underneath to protect and moisturise lips and make sure you have a pencil sharpner handy. The wooden pencils do get dry as the nib runs down which makes them drier and more scratchy to use so I'd advise avoiding using these on the centre of the lips where it can be drier as they'll just make lips dry and flaky feeling.

Overall for the price point these aren't the worst liners on the market but personally I prefer the Primark liners which are the same price but a lot creamier in texture and less drying on the lips. I know some people may think Primark make up may be a bit down market but out of the two sets of liners I'd highly recommend checking the Primark ones out over these.

Have any of you tried these? What did you think? What do you think of the new blog name? Let me know in the comments.

Review: Revlon Lip Liners

I'm a lip liner junkie. I'm obssessed. I can't help it, I love lip liners and I'm making it my aim to try every high street brand of lip liner I can find. I've already reviewed Rimmel, Maybelline, Loreal and Barry M and today it's Revlon's turn.

First off, I love the fact that these are mechanical liners. Don't get me wrong, the pencil liners I've tried have been good and haven't scratched my lips but I still prefer a mechanical liner than a pencil. Then you have the shade range. I only have two of the shades but believe there are six shades which all have that inbetween colour to them that means you can wear them with a multitude of lip shades. I have Red and Plum and find these work well under so many of my lipsticks. Red works just as well under tomato red shades as it does blue toned reds which is perfect if you don't want two different liners for each shade. Plum is a darker berry tone so gives nice definition under lighter berry tones and really intensifies the colour under darker, more purple toned shades. I prefer to wear Plum on it's own as it's much more of an interesting shade without a colour over the top then Red.

These liners are really creamy and easy to apply. One swipe and you have an opaque line that you can build up without it becoming too heavy or thick looking. However I find because these are so creamy you can go through this quite quickly. I've barely worn either of these because I've been trialling others but I'm already a good quarter of a way through them. However I can't complain because I do prefer them over a lot of other liners I've tried. Some liners tend to be quite drying on the lips when you fill in the whole lip but with these you don't have that immediate dry feeling on the lips. Sure you'll get that after wearing them for a few hours but it's not immediate like it is with the Rimmel ones.

My only problem with these liners is the fact that they can and will easily break. It's one of the big problems with mechanical liners, you can drop it and it can snap inside the tube and then you don't know until you get to the snap and the liner falls out. So far I haven't dropped these and haven't had any snapping or cracking in the liner themselves so I'm quite happy with them. A bit pricier for a liner on the high street but they're a good quality and work with a multitude of colours.

Have you tried these? Or do you have a recommendation for me? Let me know in the comments.

Review: Barry M Lip Liners

Recently I've been reviewing a few lip liners I brought on a lip liner splurge a few months ago. Today's post is the review of the last of those lip liners and they come from one of my favourite brands on the high street.

When I first started looking at Barry M lip liners I didn't think they'd be for me. They're a wooden pencil liner which have a tendency to drag and scratch at the lips. And I've always preferred mechanical liners until I tried these. Of course I picked up two red shades that they have and I have to say I'm really impressed with these liners. They both suit well with a variety of red and plum shades so if you don't want to buy a load of different red shade liners then these would be perfect for you.

The points on these liners do look like they could be quite scratchy and harsh on the lips but in fact they're very creamy and glide nicely along the lips when lining and filling in your lips. The texture of these on the lips is drying but lipstick adheres to them brilliantly and you don't have to worry about having that odd looking line that makes it obvious you've lined your lips. They can be worn on their own but you'd need to wear lip liner underneath and after a while lips will look dry and imperfections will start to show. However underneath a lipstick you'll have a perfect even coverage that will last longer than normal no what finish your lipstick is.

Overall I like these lip liners, they're not harsh or scratchy. They're highly pigmented and opaque in one swipe but there is just something missing in them that isn't missing in the Loreal or Maybelline liners I've reviewed recently. They're nice and have a wide colour selection but they're not one of my most used lip liners and I don't find myself reaching for them as often as I should.

Have any of you tried these? Did you like them? Or do you have a lip liner recommendation for me? Let me know in the comments.

Review: Maybelline Lip Liners

Last week I talked about the Loreal Lip Liners that I brought when I went on a liner splurge a little while ago. So today I'm going to talk about the Maybelline Lip Liners, consider this the second installment of my lip liner splurge reviews.

Just like the Loreal Liners these are a wooden pencil liner instead of a mechanical liner. Mechanical liners aren't that popular on the high street and if you look around you'll notice most brands have wooden pencil type lip liners. I was always a bit wary of pencil types as I though they'd be harsh and drag on the lips but with the ones I've tried from the high street I've been pleasently surprised.

Maybelline Lip Liners are creamy to apply, don't hurt the lips or drag and can be applied very lightly or full out on the lips. I picked up three shades out of the six they offer. I have Hollywood Red, Midight Plum and Pleasure Me Red. I can't decide on which is my favourite out of the three as all of them are brilliant colours. I think if I had to choose then it would be the two reds, because they're not like a lot of the reds on the market. Instead of having one tomato red shade for the more orange reds and one darker red for all the other red shades they have two slightly darker red shades that can be worn under a multitude of red shades. And the same stands for the plum liner as it's the only plum/berry shade they offer.

Using these to fill in the lips is brilliant, they're creamy and opaque in one swipe but if you're looking into filling you entire lip in then these are still amazing. Instead of going ultra matte, drying and dragging on the lips like other liners can do these don't. They stay creamy as you apply them and they don't become ultra matte on the lips once you've filled your lip in. It makes them perfect to wear on their own or under a lipstick.

What I like the most about these lip liners is that if you're the kind that likes to wear the matching lipstick then you can with Maybelline. Hollywood Red, Midnight Plum and Pleasure Me Red are all lipstick shades in their Color Sensational Lipstick Range. I don't have the matching lipsticks but they are available as an option if you like to match your liner to your lipstick.

Overall I'm really impressed so far with these liners. I won't be picking up the other shades as they are more neutral and not me but if you're a neutral girl then there is that option for you.

Have any of you tried these? Did you like them? Or do you have a high street brand liner to recommend? Let me know in the comments.

Top 3: Lip Liners

Welcome back to another of my Top 3 series. So far I've done Mascaras, Summer Fragrances, Eye Make Up Removers and Face Masks. So today I'm back with a product that is quickly becoming one of my favourites. Today I'm talking about my Top 3 Lip Liners. Lip Liners have quickly become an obsession of mine, they're so easy to use, there is a multitude of colours to chose from and you can wear them both on their own and under lipstick. To say it was tough to name my top 3 is an understatment. 

 My first choice/pick is the most budget friendly of the bunch. This is of Primark's Ps Love lip liners. Now I know that Primark may not be your first stop for beauty products but I am really impressed with them. This lip liner is creamy, highly pigmented, non dry and long lasting. I have a few shades from their lip liner collection but the red one is my favourite. It glides onto the lips and filling them in doesn't take forever as it does with some pencils. Yes it dries down to a matte finish but it doesn't leave lips feeling dry or flaky and it adheres nicely to any lipstick you put over the top of it. My favourite two lipsticks to wear it with is MAC's Russian Red or Loreal's Pure Red Collection in Blake's Red. And for a £1 a liner you can't go wrong. 

My second pick is a newer liner to me. This is the Essence Lip Liner in Femme Fatale. Yes I know, another red but red lips is my go to look when I can't think of anything else. What I like about this liner is that while it's wooden pencil type of lip liner it doesn't drag on the lips when you apply it. It's creamy, non drying and long lasting on the lips. Filling in my lips is easier than ever with this lip liner and it's a nice enough red that I can wear it on it's own or with a lipstick. And at only a £1 I don't mind if I go through this quicker than others. 

 And my final pick is a bit of a cheat. Instead of picking one shade I've picked a range of lip liners as I love so many shades from it. These are the Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liners and are by far some of my favourite lip liners on the market. A twist up crayon form instead of a wooden pencil, these liners are even creamier and easier to apply than most. The slanted shaped head makes filling in lips easier as it covers more lip space than a normal pencil. And their shade range is to die for. My favourites from this range are Eastend Snob, Obsession and Under My Spell. They dry down to a matte finish on the lips and don't budge all day long. 

Have you tried any of these? Let me know in the comments if you have.