Hustle For Me

song of the day - Tilt Ya Head Back by Nelly & Christina Aguilera

For the longest time I avoided nude lips, certain that there would never be the right colour for me. Oh how times have changed. Sarah has been raving about MAC's Nice 'n' Spicy lip pencil for so long that I finally decided to check it out, and I just had to buy it. It's the first lip liner that I've bought from MAC, and it will not be the last.
The colour is described as "pink cinnamon stick" on the mac website, and although it's not very pink, I have to agree on the description. It reminds me of the paint colour Burnt Umber.
The pencil applies smoothly, and is fully opaque. You can wear the colour by itself. As a matte pencil it is drying, but a good lip balm can sort that out if you want to wear the pencil with no other colour.

Nice 'n' Spicy is part of the prolong wear range, so at £15 it's a little more expensive than the normal MAC lip pencil range, but totally worth it. I don't own backups of any product, but I'm thinking of getting a backup (or 3) for this one. It is just that good.

I've been wearing it obsessively with MAC's Oxblood and Buxom's White Russian. The three have become my holy trinity of lip products. I wore the three for a 8.30-18.30 shift at work and I only had to touch up once (after eating).
Have you got any MAC lip liners? What's your go-to lip colour at the moment?
Rubi
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Step Out Tonight

song of the day - Step Out by Oasis

A few weeks ago MAC released a new collection (as they constantly seem to do) designed in collaboration with Isabel and Ruben Toledo. I've been waiting for this collection since I saw the promo photos on Temptalia's blog in January. The main reason I was attracted to this collection was because of the blush ombre's, they look so pretty. Sadly the shade I wanted was sold out. I did manage to get one of the lipsticks though.

I went for Oxblood, which contrary to the name is a nude. This seems to be the most popular colour from the collection, and it's sold out on the majority of websites. If you can find it I'd definitely recommend buying it. It's paler/more peachy on the lips, than it is in the bullet.

Oxblood is a matte, and described on the MAC website as a light peach nude, which it is. This is the type of colour that I would wear to work, because it's not in your face but still very pretty. As you can see in the picture above it's a very natural colour.

I'm not the biggest fan of MAC's matte formula, but with a hydrating lip balm underneath this colour goes on very smoothly. It lasts an alright amount of time (over 3 hours), and the pigmentation is pretty good. Then again, mattes usually are.
Have you made any purchases from any of the recent MAC collections? Are you a nude or bold (lipstick) kind of person?
Rubi
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You've Got To Make It Hot

song of the day - Gimme All Your Lovin' by ZZ Top

Last year to celebrate Nars' 20th anniversary a collection of 40 lipsticks was released. The line is described on the Nars website as "Modern lipstick so shamelessly seductive in touch and texture the sensation is audacious. Unadulterated luxury glides on like satin across skin with single-stroke coverage. A spectrum of 40 shades for unstoppable impact". The collection is permanent, but a few of the shades are exclusive to Selfridges and the Nars website.

I currently own two lipsticks from the line; Claudia and Dominique. Both of the colours look so much more vibrant in the bullet than on the lips, but I prefer the colour on the lips.

Claudia is a cool toned pink, and probably the most Barbie pink I have in my lipstick collection. This was my first Nars lipstick so I wanted something different to what I normally go for. I tend to rock this when I'm feeling very girly.

Dominique is one of the exclusive to Selfridges shades. I swatched this shade back in December and fell in love. At the time though Selfridges was sold out. Last week I noticed that it was back in stock on the Selfridges website and so of course I had to go and buy it. It's a very unique Lavender shade, which is why I was drawn to it in the first place. I feel like I need to be careful with this shade though, because on a grey day it may make me look a little dead.

Review in short: Both shades are fully opaque, smooth to apply, and long lasting. They have a matte finish, but don't make the lips feel dry. Nars really know how to make a good lipstick! If only they didn't cost so much.

Have you tried an Audacious lipstick? Are you a fan of Nars?
Rubi
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Looking For The Shade I Sought

song of the day - Past My Shades by B.o.B.

(photo taken at MediaCityUK)

For the majority it's not the right time of year to be talking sun protection (unless you're off on a jolly). I like to use my factor 15 on a daily basis though, especially since I gained a few extra moles last year. The sun has been peaking out a bit more though recently, and this has put me in such a good mood.

I'm currently using the Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration sun lotion SPF15*. It's lovely and light weight, it applied really smoothly and sinks in immediatly. It has none of that usual stickiness you get with other sun protection, which is always a plus.

Hawaiian Tropic has such a lovely scent to it. It took my a while to realise what it smelt like; My favourite Herbal Essences shampoo.
The product claims to be moisturising, but it doesn't seem to be to me. Maybe it's because my skin is so dry from the cold weather that only a heavy duty moisturiser is making any difference. The After Sun (which I haven't used as much) does seem to be moisturising though.

Will I be purchasing this product when it runs out? Probably not, the smell is lovely compared to what I usually use though. At £15 (from Boots) it's not exactly cheap, but what sun protection is? I usually go for the Boots Soltan and that's £10. I'd be more likely to buy Hawaiian Tropic if I was to go on holiday, and I wanted to treat myself a little more.
Are you a daily SPF-er or do you just use it during the warmer months? Have you ever tried Hawaiian Tropic?
Rubi
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I was sent this product for review by BzzAgent.

Roll With The Rock Stars

song of the day - Bring The Noise by Public Enemy

When Sephora announced they were shipping to the UK I was all a buzz. How could I not be after watching so many Sephora hauls on Youtube. It did take me until November of last year to actually place an order though. I was so pleased with the service that I placed a second order earlier this month (before my spending ban came into force).

There were a few things that I wanted to purchase but couldn't because they weren't able to ship them to the UK. Mainly Make Up Forever items. The good news is though that MUFE will be sold in Debenhams from May.

Kat Von D Spiked Lipstick in Vampira, and Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks in Berlin and Bauhau5.

There was one thing that made me nervous about ordering from Sephora in the first place; if there was an issue with my order it would be difficult to sort it out. And, of course, there was a slight issue this time around. I'd ordered the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner as a gift for a friend, instead I received the KVD liquid lipstick in Bauhau5. After thinking about it I just decided to let the issue rest, and keep the lipstick in lieu of the liner; it just wasn't worth the faff, and it is a nice colour. This just means I'll have to place another order from Sephora at some point. Oops.

 TooFaced Melted Lipstick in Fig. Bite Matte Crayon in Glace. Sephora Matte Lip Colour in Mulberry.

As a lip product junkie I had to try a variety of lip products. I've been wearing the Bite Beauty lip crayon so much recently. Oddly enough, it smells like Terry's Chocolate Orange.

 TooFaced SoulMates Blusher Bronzer in Ross & Rachel.

With a name like that how could I not buy it? The only way it could have gotten into my basket faster is if it was called Piper & Leo.

Samples: Tarte blush in Fearless. Dr Jart BB cream.

The great thing about Sephora is that you can get at least three samples with each order. I wasn't interested in the majority of the samples on offer though, so I just went for a blush and bb cream sample.
Do you have any of the items mentioned? Would you like to try any of them? Have you purchased from Sephora before?
Rubi
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