Well I never thought I would see the day when I talk about the 90's lip products again, but yes this has made a come back and yes we have gone slightly crazy for it! Gone are the days of the iconic Rimmel Coffee and Heather Shimmer and in it's place are a selection of more sophisticated, mauve's, brown's, plum's and taupe's that are totally wearable for everyday. But with so many to choose from, I wanted to narrow it down to my Top 10 picks both from the drugstore and high end, to give you a little 90's lip inspiration.
1. Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid in Nude Thrill
2. Essence Velvet Matt 08
3. NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Abu Dhabi
4. MAC Lip Pencil in Spice
5. NYX Liquid Suede in Soft-Spoken
6. MAC Lipstick Velvet Teddy (Matte)
7. Essence Lipliner in Satin Mauve
8. Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid in Possessed Plum
9. NYX Lip Liner in Mahogany
10. Too Faced Melted in Chihuahua
I haven't done a favourites in a while now, but this month there's been quite a few bits that I've really taken a shine to and it's safe to say there's defiantly a Summer theme throughout, so here's a round up of everything bronzed, cushioned and nude.
Nivea Rich Nourishing Body Moisturiser
1. Nivea Rich Nourishing Body Moisturiser
Ever since I got back of holiday in May, I've been on the hunt for a day moisturiser to intensely hydrate my body, as my skin has been extremely dry after being zapped from the strong rays and humidity in Mexico.
I had heard a few things about this particular moisturiser from Nivea and this certainly did tick all my boxes when it came to hydration. This light moisturiser keeps my skin looking and feeling soft as well as deeply hydrating my the body thanks to the almond oil, but I do advise waiting a bit before you get dressed, as it can be a little slippery because of the almond oil extract.
2. Revolution Radiance Lights Palette
I reviewed this a few months back and I absolutely fell in love with it! If your not into a full on strobing highlighter but you still want a bit of a glow, then this may be right up your street as not only is this trio superb value for money, the quality of these is on par with many high end highlighters. I've been loving the first two shades mixed together to set my under eye concealer as it doesn't crease and it gives my skin the most beautiful subtle, ethereal glow!
MAC Hue
3. MAC Hue Lipstick
Nude Lips have been my Summer staple as they just go with any bronzed or golden make-up look. One of my favourite nude lipsticks I go to time and time again is MAC Hue as it's just the perfect light pink nude that looks gorgeous teamed with a nude pink gloss too.
L'Oreal Nude Magique Cushion Foundation
4. L'Oreal Nude Magique Cushion Foundation
Ever since I reviewed this genius cushion formula, I've been obsessed with it. Having never tried any foundations from L'Oreal before, this caught my eye purely because of the gorgeous packaging, but besides from that this foundation gives the most beautiful dewy, lightweight glow, just like it says on the packaging and it lasts too!
Clinque Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer
5. Clinque Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer
Speaking of foundations, I also have a high end favourite too in the form of the new Beyond Perfecting Foundation from Clinque. Matte foundations have never been my thing, but this one has changed my mind for sure, as it gives the most amazing flawless coverage, it's a great 2 in 1 and it comes with a neat applicator too.
L'Oreal Glam Bronze Cushion De Soleil
6. L'Oreal Glam Bronze Cushion De Soleil
Another L'Oreal favourite has been this Glam Bronzer that also comes in a cushion formula. I've been wearing this a ton lately, as it blends a lot easier than a powder, it's also matte and totally not orange at all, considering it only comes in one shade.
Benefit Dew the Hoola Liquid Bronzer
7. Benefit Dew the Hoola
Staying along the lines of bronzers I have a high end favourite too. When I reviewed this I confessed I'd never actually tried the original Benefit Hoola Bronzer and so I really didn't know what to expect from this, but thankfully I loved it! First of all the packaging is possibly my favourite packaging of all time, Benefit really have stepped up their packaging game lately! Secondly this bronzer is again, non-orange, matte and blends in beautifully, it's also buildable too.
La Roche Posay Anthelios XL
8. La Roche Posay Anthelios XL
This is the only moisturiser I use in the day now, as it's a lovely light fluid which is perfect for the day time and of course it has an SPF of 50+ which is amazing.
Tanya Burr Afternoon Tea
9. Tanya Burr Afternoon Tea Lip Gloss
I adore this lip gloss as it's the most perfect nude pink shade. I also love teaming this with a nude lipstick like MAC Hue as they really are the perfect partners.
Last week I focused on a special Nail Polish Week Series over on my channel. Nail Polish is defiantly one of my loves, whether it's the latest colours, treatments or fad, I'm there keen to try it out! Instead of doing a round up of my April Favourites, I wanted to share with you a few nail products I've been really enjoying using, old and new, so here they all are.
Products mentioned:
1. Nails Inc. Express Nail Polish Remover Pot
Just lately pot removers have been my only go to method as they are quick, convenient and non messy, my current favourite that does exactly that, is the Nails Inc. one.
2. O.P.I Rapid Dry Top Coat
For years Seche Vite had been my holy grail top coat, but over the past year I've found it to be not quite like it used to be. I explained this more in my video but I found it was shrinking when I applied it and leaving an odd line where it didn't cover completely at the start of my nail. Anyway to cut a long story short, I had to try a new top coat as the reason why I liked Seche Vite was largely because of the ultra fast drying time and so I recently re-discovered the O.P.I Rapid Dry and this does the job perfectly but without the shrinking!
3. L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream
Hand Cream is something I do try and apply on a regular basis and one I've been enjoying using at night is an old favourite from L'Occitane. The Shea Butter Hand Cream is ultra thick, luxurious and smells divine, it also helps keep my hands intensely moisturised and pampered.
My nails have been in a bit of a state recently and in need of a good buff and a shine! I picked up this pack from Sally's recently which had a great selection of all different types of files, but the ones I've been reaching for the most are the 220/280 & 1000/4000 files, which help buff out my ridges and give my nails a natural glossy shine to them.
Barry M recently launched their Coconut Infusion collection, which I reviewed last week. The range is made up of nudes and pretty Spring shades and one of my go to picks that I've been wearing a ton is Skinny Dip. This stunning shade is a creme formula and goes with anything and everything.
Barry M Coconut Infusion Blog Post - http://pinkparadisebeauty.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/barry-m-coconut-infused-nail-polish.html
Another Barry M favourite has been this flattering nude pink. This colour is such a wearable shade for Spring and Summer, it also dries super quick if teamed with the Daylight Curing Top Coat from Barry M.
Dadi Oil is another firm favourite that's been keeping my nails in check. This potent oil smells like a spa in a bottle, it's also a great multi use product too. I've been using this to hydrate not only my nails, but my feet too.
Essie has always been one of my favourite nail brands because of their amazing on trend colour selection and staying power, so when I heard that they had just released their own version of the two step gel, no light formula, I squealed with excitement! The Essie Gel Couture range consists of an amazing 42 shades, as well as a gel topcoat to seal in your colour. I just picked up the one shade to try out, so here's my thoughts.
Price
This is a two step method, so you would need to purchase the top coat as well as your chosen shades for the system to work properly. Both the colours and top coat retail for £9.99 each, which is a bit more expensive than your average drugstore nail polish and especially if your having to buy both the colour and top coat together, but this is a gel system, that claims to last.
Packaging
I love the new bottles for the Gel Couture range as they are unique, elegant and classy, and compared to the original bottles, these still identify as Essie, but with a twist! Inside the brush is short and flat and the base is twisted to allow for ease of application and an even coverage.
Application
On the How To video it advises that no base coat is needed, but on the Essie website it does mention using a base. Personally having tested this out I would recommend using a simple base coat, as it protects your nail plate and also helps the colour glide on that little be easier if you have ridged nails. When I first tested this out I didn't use a base coat as I wanted to see how this would wear without, upon application the colour glides on really nicely because of the flat, short brush and the shade I picked, Zip Me Up was opaque in two coats and dried semi-matte.
I choose this mint shade as I thought it looked very similar to the iconic Mint Candy Apple, except this shade is shot with a pretty iridescence through it. The top coat had a thick, plump consistency and glided on nicely too. This dried relatively quickly but not as quick as the Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat, although it did have a lovely shine to it.
Essie Zip Me Up
Longevity
The Gel Couture system states that this can last up to 14 days, now this is a big claim for a gel polish that doesn't cure under light and out of all the two step gel polish systems I've tried, none are yet to beat my regular salon formula gel cured polish.
I tried this twice without a base coat and I have mentioned recently in a video that my nails are not the best at the moment, so an ordinary manicure tends to only last two days and three if I'm lucky and that's with prepping the nail and using a base and top coat. So overall I defiantly don't think this would of lasted two weeks on me, but I really did get a good five days wear, before I started to notice wear on the tips and slight chipping on the 6th and 7th day, so for my nails that is pretty impressive.
The top coat helped keep the colour shiny, but I think by the end of the week I was ready to take the colour off as it didn't look as polished to when I had first applied this.
Overall Thoughts
This two step gel system from Essie is not a ground-breaking, new to the market concept, but this does claim to last up to two weeks, which is a brave statement to make considering this doesn't cure under a light. For me this lasted around five days before I started to have slight wear and chipping, but I do think this is still pretty impressive considering my manicure is lucky if it lasts two days!
Yes the price is slightly higher than your regular drugstore nail polish and you do have to invest in the top coat too, but overall the Essie Gel Couture range has a remarkable colour selection, perfect packaging, easy application and a durable top coat, which makes this accessible range a winner in my books. I do want to try a wider selection of shades, so I will keep you updated.
Redken Pillow Proof Blow Dry Express Treatment Primer
When it comes to blow drying my hair, these days I try to avoid it like the plague as usually it takes up too much of my time as well as straightening on top of that. Typically my haircare routine consists of a deep conditioner mask once every couple of weeks and then washing my hair every 3-4 days in the evening and air drying it over night. The next morning I use a heat protectant spray as well as going over it with the straighteners, but sometimes I may have to wash my hair in the morning as I haven't had time that evening and so I do have to end up blow drying it, so it's styled for the day which means getting up very early!
I recently received a bottle of the Redken Pillow Proof Primer*, which is the newest product to join the Pillow Proof family. This haircare primer is actually perfect for anyone like me as it claimes to cut down your blow dry time, protect your hair from the heat, as well as helping with breakage, especially if you have dry or thick hair, so here's my thoughts.
Price
This retails for £17 for 150ml, which is pretty pricey for a haircare product, but Redken are a premium brand that have been around for years and there is not much else out there that claims to cut your blow dry time down as well as protect your hair all in one bottle.
Packaging
The bottle is beautifully packaged with a sleek silver and pink mirrored design, it also tells you exactly what the product is and how it performs. The cream itself is dispensed through the top via an easy to use pump applicator.
The primer looks like a cream, but feels like a very thin putty, that's easy to manipulate through the hair. It also has a pleasant, fresh smell to it.
Application
Depending on how much hair you have, two pumps is all you need to use on wet hair that's been towel dried, I have quite long, thick hair and two pumps was ampules, but if you have shorter hair you may not need as much. You then apply this throughout the hair concentrating the product on the mid lengths and ends, I just used my hands to finger comb the primer through. To finish just, blow dry or style your hair as normal.
Longevity/Final Results
I defiantly noticed a difference in my blow drying time, it took me about 15 minutes max and my hair was pretty wet to start with. I also saw a big difference the other day when I unexpectedly had to get ready in an hour, this included doing my make-up and drying my wet hair, now this is a lot to ask for a girl that loves make-up and usually likes to take her time doing her hair, but using this crème really helped speed up the process and I was shocked at how quick I was able to do my hair and how smooth it was after.
The finished result after blow drying only
Overall Thoughts
I have to say this product was pretty impressive as I was dubious to start with at how a hair treatment could have so many benefits and also speed up your blow drying time too! Ok this is expensive, but for me as I don't blow dry my hair every time, this will last a fair bit longer and it has all the benefits of some of my products I already use, but all in one!
I think this is a great product for anyone who is short of time including mum's, as well as colour treated or dry hair and if this doesn't sound like you as I mentioned above there is two other formula's within the Pillow Proof family including the Pillow Proof Blow Dry Express Primer Spray which caters for all hair types and the Pillow Proof Blow Dry Two Day Extender which is a dry shampoo to help revive your hair if you want to maintain your style after for that little bit longer.
I award the Redken Pillow Proof Blow Dry Express Treatment Primer 4.8 out of 5
*This product was sent to me for review consideration, but as always all opinions are my own.
