YSL Rouge Volupté Shine in 6 Pink in Devotion: First Impressions Review + Swatches

You can check out the post for YSL's Rouge Volupté Shine in 3 Violet Incognito by CLICKING HERE.

I'm in love. I am actually in love with the YSL lipstick packaging. They are so beautiful and luxurious. I'd pick a YSL lipstick over Chanel, Tom Ford, etc any day, purely for the packaging. It looks expensive (which it is!) and has a nice weight to it so it feels study and robust. I have a problem with No. 7 lipsticks in that the lid seems to crack and becomes loose which is highly annoying.
I won't be having those problems with the YSL lipsticks. And I'm only in love with the lipsticks that have the YSL cut out in the round tubes (not the square tube ones). I first came across these beauties on YouTube and thought they looked gorgeous then, but they look even better in real life. Oki, enough about the packaging. Actually, one more thing about the packaging, I like the fact that you can see the colour of the lipstick in the cut out in the middle of the tube. However, I do not like that the lipstick name is not on the bottom of the tube, it tells you the number, but not the actual name of the lipstick which I find quite odd (the name of the colour is on the box though).

 Onto the actual product. What YSL says about the lipstick:
 "Give in to the temptation of dazzling color. Succumb to a unique sensorial experience with extreme comfort and luminous shine.  Hyaluronic acid microspheres help seal in moisture for 8 hours of hydration. Anti-oxidants and emollients help condition and soften lips."

If you have had the pleasure of owning slash experience the YSL Rouge Volupté lipsticks, you know that they pack quite a punch. They are extremely creamy and pigmented. The Rouge Volupté Shines are more sheerer and has a much more glossy finish (as the name would suggest). I would say that although these lipsticks are not as opaque as the Rouge Volupté lipsticks, I feel like the Rouge Volupté Shines have more pigmentation than the typical sheer lipstick. I do feel like they are more long wearing than sheer lipsticks and does wear off quite well. I don't find this lipstick to be particularly moisturising though, and at the same time I don't find them drying either.

There is a nice colour selection, 19 shades in total, and retail for £24 (UK) or $34 (US). The colour that I bought was No. 6 Pink in Devotion and is a hot pink with very subtle blue-tone micro shimmer (the shimmer is not noticeable when applied). Check out the swatches to see what the colour looks like. The top swatch is just one layer and the bottom is with a few layers so you can build up the colour if you wanted to. They have a weird scent to them, I can't quite put my finger (or nose?) on what it is. I'm horrible at describing scents but if I had to, I would say that it was a mix between the typical lipstick smell with an old lady smell, and then a sweet fruity scent to mask the lipstick and old lady scent, but it doesn't quite overpower them? The overall scent is not too strong but you can kind of smell it when you first apply it to the lips so take a sniff of the lipstick before you purchase.

They feel nice on the lips, the lipstick melts onto your lips to give a nice sheer colour with a glossy (but not sticky) shine. Applies pretty evenly and feels lightweight (almost undetectable) on the lips. It doens't feel balmy which is what I've come to expect from sheer lipsticks.

They are definitely not cheap, but do I think they are worth it? In my opinion, if you are a lover of the packaging and love makeup, I would recommend getting a YSL lipstick. If you prefer sheerer lipsticks, then get the Rouge Volupté Shine, if you prefer full on colour (I'm talking similar to MAC Amplified finishes), then go for the Rouge Volupté. If you think that the price tag is too expensive, you can always ask for one as your present for the occasion.

I also received an email from Debenhams to say that they are having a 10% discount Easter special starting tomorrow (Thursday 28th March 2013). Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated or sponsored by Debenhams.

I have read that blogs that liken these lipsticks to the L'oreal Rouge Caresse lipsticks. I know that YSL is owened by L'oreal, but in my opinion, I do not think the L'oreal Rouge Caresses are dupes for the YSL Rouge Volupté shines. I think that the L'oreal lipsticks are sheerer and do not feel the same on the lips. However, they are nice lipsticks, so if you want to go for a sheer lipstick and do not want to pay a lot for one, then do check out the L'oreal line as they have a nice shade selection too. I just do not consider them dupes, just similar.

My first impressions verdict:
❤❤❤❤♡ (4 out of 5 hearts) ^^ (minus one heart for the price tag)

Do check out the YSL lipstick range if you want to spoil slash treat yourself to a high end lipstick, have a little swatcharoo and purchase if you want =))

Hope you enjoyed reading this review.. And until next time..

- Diem xo

L'oreal Colour Riche Balm Lipstick(?) in 318 Heavenly Berry: Review + Swatches

I'm back with another review. Today I will be reviewing the L'oreal Colour Riche Balm (lipstick) in the colour (hah) 318 Heavenly Berry. I got this at when I was in The States at Target for $7.99. but apparently you can get them for $6-$8. I'm not sure if these have (are) released in the UK, as I haven't been able to find them anywhere. I hadn't heard anything about them, I just liked the way it looked, like the colour and thought I'd give it a shot. As most of you already know, they don't have testers on all products like we do on the UK, so I didn't have the chance to swatch this (and I didn't want to open it on the sly).

And let me tell you, I should have researched this and looked at swatches before purchasing it. I was on holiday and went a bit cray cray in my shopping sprees and picked up anything that tickled my fancy and I hadn't seen in the UK. This, to me, is a very pointless product. It offers pretty much no colour payoff and is not nearly as moisturising as an actual lipbalm. I love sheer lipsticks, they're my favourite kind, but the colour on this is almost non-existent.

I've checked out some blogs and reviews on the internet and this has gotten some favourable reviews and I cannot fathom as to why. If you look at the swatches (pictured right), the top swatch is about 20 layers of product and the bottom swatch is just one layer. As you can see, the colour does not build up, it is just extremely sheer and once it is on the lips, you can't even tell you have any colour on, it just looks glossy. It does feel balmy on the lips, and it isn't drying. But why spend $6-$8 on a product if it all it does it give you a slight gloss on the lips? I think you might as well go for a nice lip balm, which will prolly be half the price. And if you are dying to try this out, for whatever reason, you only need to pick up one, and it won't even matter what shade you go for because I reckon they'll all look almost identical once applied on the lips. So why waste your money? Sorry L'oreal, but I just don't see the point of this product - extremely disappointing.

My overall verdict:
❤♡♡♡♡ (1 out of 5 hearts) ^^ Because after all, it didn't do anything bad to my lips.

Please save your money and go for the Caresse Lipsticks if you want a sheer lippy. Hope you found this useful and until next time..

- Diem xo

bareMinerals READY Luminizer in The Love Affair Pictures + Swatches

Back with another review, well, more like a first impressions of a product. I've always wanted to try some of the bareMinerals READY collection because I am a fan of bareMinerals, but not so much the mess that comes with loose powder. However, bareMinerals is really expensive in the UK compared to The States. This retails for $26 in America and £26 in the UK! I picked this up half price (£13) at Debenhams, which is unfortunately now out of stock. "The Shining Moment" was already out of stock so I had no choice but to take "The Love Affair".

bareMinerals describes this products as enhancing "your complexion with a radiant, lit-from-within glow. Powered by our proprietary SeaNutritive Mineral™ Complex, this silky smooth formula delivers incredible skin-nourishing benefits. FEATURES & BENEFITS: This formula combines our proprietary SeaNutritive Mineral™ Complex composed of positively-charged sea minerals with antioxidants and cold-pressed kiwi seed oil for soothed, conditioned skin. Highlights the complexion with a soft, candlelit radiance. Sweep over cheeks, eyes, forehead and bridge of nose for beautiful luminescence."

The colour is described as a "pink nectar glow." I would say that it's more gold-beige colour, slight hint of pink with champagne-gold shimmer. It is definitely on the warmer side, and does not have chunky glitter.












I have been obsessed with highlighters recently, I'm not sure what it is, but I have been lusting after plenty of highlighters, but I'm definitely not liking some of the price tags.

I like the packaging, it comes in pretty sleek white compact with a good sized mirror. I think the pattern is gorgeous (it's all in the small details). I don't think this looks cheap at all.

The formula is extremely silky smooth and I am pleased there is no chunky glitters in it. In my opinion, the only product that should have chunky glitter in it is eyeshadow. This is why I do not like NARS Orgasm, AT ALL. Back to the topic at hand, I am so glad this is now in my collection. I've only used it once, and it looks very nice on my skin (I would say I have a light-medium skintone), but so far, I like it. I think this would look nice in the inner corners of the eyes as well. It gives a nice subtle glow, exactly what you want from a highlighter. All in all, I'm quite the happy bunny.

My first impressions verdict:
❤❤❤❤♡ (4 out of 5 hearts) ^^

Hope you enjoyed this review and until next time..

- Diem xo

Laura Geller Inkwell Waterproof Gel Eye Liner: First Impressions Review + Swatches

Time for another review again. This time it'll be a first impressions type of review. So, my Birchbox arrived last week and lo and behold, one of the goodies in the box was this Laura Geller Inkwell Waterproof gel eyeliner.

The first thing I thought of when I first saw this was that it pretty much looks identical to the Rimmer gel eyeliner (pictured above, right). This eyeliner has a built in brush into the handle which you pull out so it's ideal for travelling and it won't make a mess in your makeup bag. This gel eyeliner retails for $16.50 in The States and £24.50 for a duo set. I'm not sure if this is sold as a single, but quick research (the Birchbox and QVCUK site) sells this as a duo set. The colour I received is black.

My first impression on the packaging is that the brush is pretty soft but not as fine as I like my eyeliner brushes to be. I can't imagine myself to be able to draw a really fine line with this brush. I also find it quite awkward to hold and it doesn't seem to snap securely into place so I feel like I need to hold it at the joining or else the lid and brush will dislocate. The brush did manage to come loose in my makeup bag so do be sure to wipe off any excess product after using or else you may end up with a messy makeup bag.

The product itself is very creamy, but in my opinion, not very opaque (please find swatches pictured to the left). I did have to go over with a couple of layers to get an opaque black colour and I was also unable to get a fine line with the brush. I would say I am pretty experienced in using gel eyeliner and have done so for years and I would use a different brush to apply this if I had the option to. I would advise a fine liner brush or a hard angled brush.

I found that the liner took a pretty long time to set and even when it had, when I swiped the swatches a few times, it smudged instantly. I think I waited for about 45 minutes before rubbing my hand. Please find the picture of what the swatch looked like after slight rubbing. I also washed my hands with soap and dried off with a paper towel. When I held my hand under the tap with no contact, the product remained, but once I washed my hands with soap, most of the product washed off. I'm not sure how this affects the staying and holding power on the eyes because you don't wash your eyes with soap like you would your hand, but I just wanted to make a comment about this.


The picture below demonstrates the holding power of the eye liner. Please do apologise the state of my eyebrows, this was after a long day at work sans makeup. I applied the eyeliner with the brush that it came with, without any makeup on and without the use of primer. The brush wasn't actually too bad, I didn't do a very fine line, but I don't tend to anyway. The eyeliner in the picture is the way I typically do my eyeliner so I wasn't too fussed about the brush.

I made sure not to touch my makeup and just went about doing what I usually do after work which is pretty much have my dinner and catch up on TV (hehe). So there was no running around and thank gawd I did not leave the house with this on because as you can see, after three hours, I am a complete panda. I made sure not to wipe underneath my eyes as to show an accurate representation of how the eyeliner lasted. Even though the actual line above my eye remained pretty much intact, it managed to smudge all under my eyes, not a great look. I do have oily eyelids and eyeshadows do tend to crease on me. However, I have found that that the Essence liquid eyeliner does not smudge at all. I have used the MAC Fluidline and the Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner before and although the two of them do smudge, they do not smudge this much and so quickly.

My first impression of this product is not a good one, especially since this is pretty expensive. I'm sure there are better and cheaper gel eyeliners out there.

My first impression verdict:
❤♡♡♡♡ (1 out of 5 hearts) ^^ No hearts feels a bit too harsh, I guess I could use this as a base and see if I can make it work?

Hope you found this review useful and helpful, and until next time..

- Diem xo

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Damsel: Review + Swatches

 Today, I will be reviewing the Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof eyeliner in the colour Damsel which is Stila describes as a matte brown colour. I received this as part of Stila's 'In The Light' palette and is the second Stila Smudge Stick that I own. It is a retractable eyeliner (yay for no sharpening). It retails for $20 in The States and £13 in the UK, so it is pretty dear for an eyeliner.

 I much prefer my eyeliners to be in a retractable pen form, however, with the Stila ones, once you wind them up, you can't wind them back down. This means, you won't be able to know how much you have left unless you wind the product up and have no way of winding it back down. That is my only complaint with the packaging. I do like how the eyeliner packaging tells you what colour the eyeliner is and whether or not it's shimmery. My other Stila Smudge stick is a shimmery colour and the packaging is shimmery also. Ok, onto the actual product.

 The colour is an extremely dark matte brown colour. It glides on like a dream - extremely creamy formula. And once this eyeliner sets, it is set. I know this  has been compared to the Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners, but I haven't owned any so I cannot comment on that. The eyeliner is extremely long lasting but not so much on my waterline. That being said, I have yet to find an eyeliner that doesn't budge from my waterline so I don't hold it against this product. I think it is an extremely good eyeliner and is great for smudging on the top lash line. No effort necessary.
It really does have good staying power  and would say that it is pretty waterproof - even after washing my hands (with soap) and made a conscious effort trying to wash the swatch off and using a paper towel to dry my hands, the eyeliner did not fade away completely (see picture below). It comes off with a half decent makeup remover though. I would say there were good drugstore slash high street alternatives such as the Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeliner, so the only negative thing I can really comment on is the price tag.

 My final verdict:
❤❤❤❤♡ (4 out of 5 hearts) ^^

It would have been 5 hearts out of 5 if it wasn't so expensive. It is still a pretty amazing product though and it is a permanent resident in my makeup bag.

Hope you found this review useful and until next time...

- Diem xo

L'Oreal Colour Riche Caresse Lipstick in 179 Cherry Tulle: Review + Swatches

179 Cherry Tulle

401 Rebel Red

 Today, I am going to be reviewing the L'oreal Colour Riche Caresse Lipstick in the colour 179 Cherry Tulle. I'm not sure if this colour is available in the UK because I got this when I was in America. I've checked out the L'oreal Caresse lines in the UK and from what I can tell, they only carry one red shade, 401 Red Rebel (see picture to the right). Another thing to note is that the packaging for the Caresse lipsticks in the States (see picture to the right) are different to those found in the UK. In my opinion, I much prefer the US sleek packaging - it look's more expensive. However, the UK packaging has the colour of the lipstick on the top, which makes locating a specific colour all the more easier.

Onto the review. This line was released not long after Revlon released their lip butters and so everyone was comparing the two. The L'oreal lipsticks are more expensive, but are they worth the extra buck? For me, I can't wear the Revlon lip butters, I think I'm allergic to something in them and my lips did not react well to them so I cannot say whether or not they are worth the extra pennies. I am very glad that L'oreal released a line that was similar. The lipstick is very glossy and sheer - perfect for those who are afraid of full-on lip colours. This also quite moisturising on the lips and do not leave them feeling really dry. Unfortunately, because of sheer formula, the lipstick does not last incredibly long on the lips.

This particular shade is a great way to get into wearing red lipsticks. The colour is not opaque which can be terrifying to those who are not used to it, but it provides enough colour payoff. The colour itself is a cherry red (as the name would suggest) with the smallest micro shimmer that is not able to be seen when worn on the lips.

I think this shade is incredibly wearable, one that I'm not afraid to slap this on during the day. I love wearing this lipstick with some simple winged black eyeliner.

It is a shame that this shade cannot be found in the UK, but for those who live in The States, I would highly recommend it. I would recommend the line in general, so check out what shades there are, I'm sure you'll find one to your liking.

As you can see in the picture to the left, the lipstick is very glossy and balm-like. It feels very light on the lips and does not feel sticky. There is a slight lipstick fragrance to it, but it is definitely not as strong as the usual lipstick.

The top swatch is the lipstick with just one layer and the bottom swatch is what the lipstick is like with a few layers. As you can see, the lipstick is buildable to a stronger colour. Extremely easy to wear and you can use the lid as a mirror when applying it - extra bonus points to the American packaging.

A beloved addition to my makeup bag, I will be sad once I finish this.

 My final verdict:
❤❤❤❤♡ (4 out of 5 hearts) ^^

Thanks for reading my review and I hope you enjoyed it.

Until next time,
Diem xo

ELF HD Blush in Headliner: Review and Swatches

 Hi everyone, long time, no post. Today, I will be reviewing the ELF HD Blush in the colour, Headliner.

The HD blush comes in a plastic pump bottle (measures around 10cm in height and 2cm in circumference). I would describe the colour as a dusty rose pink with subtle gold shimmer. I would say that once blended onto the skin, the shimmer pretty much disappears so for those who dislikes shimmer in their blushes (like I do), don't let this put you off.

Priced at £3.75, you can purchase it on the ELF website.

I quite like the packaging for this blush. I think ELF products tend to be a bit bulky, but this blush packaging is really light. The pump, however, dispenses too much product as a little really goes a long way with these blushes. They are too pigmented (yes, a product can be TOO pigmented) and so I would be careful when pumping out product.

The product itself is lovely. Feels very creamy and velvety, as if it has been whipped? I have dry skin and this blush does not leave dry patches. For £3.75, I think this is an absolute steal. The colour is very natural and I think it would suit light to medium skin tones.

Please find pictures of swatches below.

I would recommend this to people, with the advice of: use sparingly.

My final verdict:
❤❤❤❤♡ (4 out of 5 hearts) ^^

Hope you enjoyed this review - let me know your thoughts if you've tried this product and until next time..

- Diem xo