L'amour est Rouge

I think red is the perfect Valentine's colour and with Valentine's day tomorrow, I thought it would be nice to do a seasonal post, however whether you have a Valentine or not (join the crew), this post will probably be useful to you anytime of the year.

I love red lips because they're timeless, make it look as though you've made a massive effort even if you haven't made any effort at all and can be used for loads of different looks. Over the past year or so I've acquired a nice collection of red lip products and got to know my favourites so I thought I'd share them with you.

Here are some swatches of all of the products so you can see the consistencies and finishes of them. Sorry they're on paper and not on my lips but the lighting was terrible!

First of all the actual lipsticks//

MUA Lipstick: Shade 13
£1
First up is the cheapest of the lot from MUA. Don't be fooled by the very much affordable price of just £1 because this lipstick is really worth giving a try. This one is in shade 13 and although it is definitely more of a pink toned red is very much a bright red and has a lovely rich consistency. It is pretty much odourless but I think it has a slight fruity hint. Either way the smell is really pleasant and the only thing I don't like about the lipstick is the fact it doesn't have a pretty name, which I think should be a law. If you're trying out red lipstick for the first time or are a regular wearer, I think that this lipstick is a makeup bag staple and I would definitely recommend it.



Matte Lipstick by H&M: Dita
£3.99
I got this lipstick for christmas from my sister and am in loooove. As much as I love glossy lips, I'm a sucker for anything matte and this is just an all round perfect lipstick. The texture is rich and creamy and generally just feels really nice on your lips. I sometimes find lipsticks quite messy and a bit of a faff which is why I usually prefer stains, however this seems to stay put really well. It smells sweet and fruity but not overpowering and this is probably my favourite red lipstick at the moment. In terms of both consistency and colour, it is also quite similar to MAC's famous Ruby Woo.


Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick: Mayfair Red Lady/510
£6.49
I wouldn't normally spend this much on a lipstick when there are other cheaper alternatives but I received this as one of my gifts from the magazine that I did work experience with last year and think that it is well worth the money if you're willing to spend this much. It feels very moisturising unlike a lot of lipsticks which I feel dry my lips out quite a lot. It is a lovely shade of red and smells like how you would imagine classic, grandma makeup to smell. Wow, I'm selling this well, ha! That may have made it sound bad but it really does smell like an old woman's makeup bag which personally I find a really nice smell for makeup! It stays put pretty well and feels really nice to apply.


Now onto some alternatives. These are definitely more high-end and aren't quite as affordable as the lipsticks, but I couldn't not include them as I use both of them on a very regular basis. //

Bourjois Color Boost Lip Crayon: Red Island/05

£7.99
Although this isn't the cheapest of lip products, it's a lot cheaper than the Clinique version and I really do love it. This is perfect for daytime wear as it is a lot more sheer than lipstick and feels really moisturising. Although it can be built up really well to look like a lipstick, I also often put on just a tiny bit and blend it in which creates a really subtle colour that looks really natural. The crayon is so easy to apply and so wearable and I would definitely recommend it. I'm aware that there are now so many products with the same concept which may be cheaper and I would love to give them a try, but I think this one is brilliant despite the price.



No7 Stay Perfect Lip Lacquer
£10.75

This is potentially my favourite lip product that I've ever tried. Oh my lord, I just love it. I got this as a gift but when it eventually runs out I'll probably have to treat myself because I think it's the best thing ever. As I mentioned earlier, I often find lipsticks a bit high maintenance and so using a stain is a much better option as I don't have to keep topping up. Unlike a lot of cheaper lip stains, like Sleek's Pout Paint for example, this doesn't end up everywhere and stain your face and clothes as well as your lips, and so as long as you apply it properly, it'll stay that way. First of all you apply the colour and wait for it to completely dry, which doesn't take much time at all, and then use the clear end to make it look glossy and glamorous. On mine, the sticker says that the colour is 'Sweet Pink', but this is most definitely a bright, rich red and from looking at the colour swatches on the website it looks like 'Chilli', so I'm guessing it has the wrong sticker on it. I would highly, highly recommend this if you don't mind spending this much but otherwise I'm sure there will be some dupes somewhere that you can try.


Aaand that's my lot for today. I hope you find this useful and have a lovely Valentine's day/life.

Loads and loads of love from your fellow Penniless Princess xxxxxx

Pound Shop Lovin'

Happy New Year!
It's been a while. 3 Months and 2 days to be exact. I could bore you with a ton of excuses (which I do actually have, by the way) but I won't waste any more time. So without further ado, I present to you, a gift from me, blog post number threeee. (I have no idea how/why that just happened but it did and I apologise profusely.)

Today I'm going to tell you about some products that I have recently purchased from my favourite kind of shops, which as you can probably tell from the title, are pound shops. Yes I am that much of a cheapskate, but to be quite honest you should be too because they are just amazing really.
You are probably aware of pound shops' wide range of dupes and most likely their branded products too (if not then where have you been?!), but I'm going to share with you a few of my favourites/most recommended.

I'll start off with the dupes, which are both nail related products. I absolutely love nail varnish, to the point where my collection is preeetty excessive, and so naturally it excites me immensely when I see bargains in that field.


Twist and Out Instant Nail Polish Remover
I'm sure you know about the Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover which became very popular early last year. Essentially it's just a nail varnish remover soaked sponge in a pot, hence the reason I refused to pay £4.99 for it despite everyone raving about it. When I discovered, however, that Poundland had their own replica of it, I couldn't not give it a try. This nifty little pot has been a massive time saver and takes minimum effort, which means it is perfect for someone as lazy and impatient as me. It only takes a couple of twists for your nail varnish to vanish and from watching youtube videos of the Bourjois version, it seems to work just as effectively as the more expensive version. I have repurchased this product multiple times now and have definitely got my money's worth, so I would most definitely recommend it.

They have also brought out a version for removing glitter nail varnish, however the smell is horrendous and I haven't managed to use that one successfully because of it. I would suggest you don't buy that one and just use this one with a bit more work instead!


Fur Effect Nail Decor
Another dupe that I found was Poundworld's version of Fur Effects nail decor. I put off buying MUA's version of this for a while despite wanting to try it, due to the fact that I wasn't up for buying a £3 product that I wasn't even sure I would like. Admittedly, after buying Poundworld's dupe, I'm not in love with the overall concept of the effect and it is definitely more of a novelty for me which I can't leave on for too long, however I'm glad I gave it a go and for only a pound I don't regret buying it at all. I purchased mine in the shade 'Pink Tease' because who doesn't want their nails looking like candyfloss, eh? Worth buying if you're into that kind of thing but I would definitely recommend checking pound shops first before buying a more expensive version. 

Now for the branded products. The number of branded products now being sold in pound stores makes me extremely happy, and it's not just the cheap brands they're selling either. Nuh uh. From Barry M to O.P.I, most stores have a pretty good range of branded beauty products now. This does mean that they are becoming a lot more well known for these sorts of things and in most places often run out, but if you check back every so often you'll probably hit lucky.



Chapstick
Okay so the first product I'm going to talk (or write) about is really boring so I'll keep it short, but they sell Chapsticks for a really decent price. I use Chapsticks religiously because they smell so good and are actually moisturising, as opposed to lip products like Vaseline which don't actually help long term. They're not expensive at all (usually around £1), but I got 3 for £2 in Poundworld. Every little helps right?! I of course bought my all time favourite flavour, strawberry, but also the apple and the cherry because I felt like living on the edge, clearly.




Barry M Lip Gloss Wand 
Staying on the topic of lips, I picked up a Barry M lipgloss too. I haven't seen this colour before on Barry M stalls and am pretty sure they don't sell it anymore but from the Barry M website looks quite similar to 'Coral' although I'm not 100% sure. Either way, their lip gloss wands are usually £4.49 and to get one for £1 is fab. Now I know to some of you this may look horrible as it is incredibly bright and garish and is more of a neon orange than the apricot tones that I normally go for, however I assure you that with a bit of soft blending after application, it is a lovely coral-y, peach-y colour and as well as being my favourite choice of lip colour throughout Autumn, I'm sure I'll be wearing it a lot in Spring/Summer too.



Rimmel Wake Me Up Instant Radiance
Last but not least is this beautiful cheek brightener by Rimmel. I lovelovelove this product and it is part of the Wake Me Up range, just like my favourite foundation. I probably wouldn't use it during the day, as like the foundation, it glistens quite a bit, but for nighttime, parties etc. it's perfect. It is a thinner consistency to the other Rimmel liquid blush which I mentioned in my last post, which means that it is so easy to blend and isn't too obvious when worn. It adds a subtle shimmer and glow along with a gentle rosy colour and is an absolute steal at just £1.


That's all the products I'll be reviewing for this post but there are loads of bargains to be had in the various pound shops so I strongly advise you give them a go if you haven't already. I'll link a few of the websites (yes they have websites) of my favourite stores at the bottom incase you want to have a little browse.

XOXO, Gossip Girl

Ha just kidding, love from your fellow Penniless Princess xxxx

http://www.poundland.co.uk/
http://www.99pstoresltd.com/
http://www.poundworld.net/