Face of the Day #12: Simple Red

Hey! I've got a makeup look for you all today so let's get into it, shall we? My go to look has to be the classic bold red lip and simple eye. It's quick, it's easy and it's timeless.

Products Used:

L'oreal Nude Magique Blur Cream | £9.99

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in '52 Vanilla' | £9.99

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 'Light' | £4.19

Rimmel Stay Matte in 'Transluscent' | £3.99

Anastasia Beverley Hills Dipbrow in 'Chocolate' | £15.00

NARS Blush in 'Orgasm' | £22.50

Sleek Face Form Palette in 'Fair' | £10.00

GloMinerals Water Resistant Mascara in 'Black' | £19.50

Milani Lipstick in 'Ruby Valentine' | £3.69

Winter Lip Care!

It's getting cold, and that means our skin often needs a little more extra care - especially our lips! They can get cracked, dry and sore and that's not a good look under your favourite lipstick now is it? So, in this post I thought I'd share with you my favourite lip treatments and products to help renew and protect your lips!

Eucerin Aquaphor Soothing Skin Balm:

Eucerin's Aquaphor is a multi-purpose skin balm that can be used on any sore, dry and cracked areas of skin. It's fairly thick in consistency and once rubbed into the skin or lips, goes very far so you really only need a small amount. It has a kind of vaseline-like finish to the skin and so it is therefore quite shiny. As a treatment, I like to use this in the night time which means I can really use as much as a I want and not care what it looks like! I find it be instantly soothing and to not in any way irritating. It has no scent to it (from what I can tell, anyway) and it's definitely not perfumed meaning it's great for use on sensitive skin. I find this stays on the skin for quite a while, leaving my lips feeling soft and moisturised for a long time. I also feel as it really helps to soften any dry skin and I do personally notice a difference in dryness after around 2 days of use.

Burts Bees Lip Balm:

This is a really nice lip balm for daily use. It's a great base for lip products and the peppermint oil it contains give your lips that fresh, tingling feeling - it's not too overpowering either so it's actually quite placement. This also helps to give it a lovely scent too which is why it's nice to wear all day long. It's not an intense treatment by any means but is a good product for maintaining a bit of moisture in the lips.

EOS Lip Balm:

I really like the EOS Lip Balms - again I think they're ideal for every day use. They're non greasy and they smell GREAT! Especially this particular scent / flavour (Strawberry Sorbet) which smells so good I'd happily eat it! They do condition the lips and I'd say they're a little bit more moisturising that the Burts Bee's balms. The downside of this product is that it is a little more pricier for a simple lip balm, at an average of £6.00, I do think it's a little bit expensive for what you get. Nonetheless, I do really enjoy the smell and performance of this product and so I would recommend them. In the UK, the only place I've seen them is in Urban Outfitter and Selfridges so they can also be a little bit hard to come by, too.

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Treatment:

This is sort of a similar product to the Eucerin Aquaphor but it's a lot more intensive. It's also a lot more pricey, but for me it's definitely been worth it. This product eliminates and reduces redness, dryness and any soreness on the skin literally overnight. While more stubborn areas may not be completely restored, they are significantly treated after just one night. Once again, a little bit does go along way, so you do actually get an awful lot of product considering this fact. This product also has multiple uses - both skincare and beauty related. It can add a beautiful shine to your lipstick, is a great base for glitter or pigments and is also brilliant for keeping those brows in place. As a lip treatment, this stuff is seriously moisturising and conditioning and really helps to sooth my dry and sore lips. I also use this on areas of irritation from my eczema or simply just any scrapes or cuts I may get - it works brilliantly on both! Yes, it's a little bit expensive but there are places you can get it discounted (which I've linked in it's title) and I do believe it's worth it if you're looking for something like this!

Face of the Day #11: Technopagan

Hello everyone! I've got a Face of the Day post on the blog today featuring my newest lip purchase: OCC's Technopagan Lip Tar! I'm absolutely loving this bold, metallic shade and it's actually surprisingly versatile. Anyway, let's get into the look shall we?

Products Used:

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in '52, Vanilla' | £6.50 (Sale)

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in 'NC20' | £17.00

Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade in 'Chocolate' | £15.00

Urban Decay's Naked Palette | £37.00

Maybelline Eyestudio Gel Liner in 'Black' | £7.99

Maybelline The Rocket Mascara in 'Very Black' | £7.99

OCC Lip Liner in 'Anti-Feathered' | £11.00

OCC Lip Tar in 'Technopagan' | £11.95

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder | £3.99

Sleek Face Form Palette in 'Fair' | £9.99

My First Comic Con!

So, today I went to Birmingham's MCM Comic Con - with press passes! As a Media student and member of my Uni's TV Society (Scratch TV), we're able to apply for press passes to all sorts of cool events and this was one of them.

This was my first ever Comic Con and man, it was awesome! I'm a lover of all sorts of things and there was so much to explore and look at there. I was definitely in my element and I can only imagine how awesome Con's must be in other cities. I definitely want to go again and I just HAVE to cosplay for it at some point. This was seriously such a cool experience and so I had to share it with you guys.

There were some celebrities there too including TOM FELTON (eek) who by the way I was literally inches from after spotting him in a pub next to the event hall! Here are some pictures from the event - make sure to check out the Scratch TV page too!

Review: OCC Metallic Lip Tar in Technopagan

 Hello! I'm here today bringing you a review - it's going to be of OCC's Lip Tar in the shade 'Technopagan'. I first tried lip tars a few months ago when I purchased the shade 'Hoochie' which is a beautiful, vibrant matte purple (a review of which you read here!). After trying that out, I fell in love with both the concept and use of the product itself and I knew I wanted to try more! After eyeing up this bold shade for a long time, I bit the bullet and got it and I have to say - I'm in love!

Technopagan is a bold blackened purple with a metallic finish. In the light however, it has more of a deep blue sheen with a kind of dark purple lining peaking through. It's on the cool side and has a beautiful shine to it. I'm not stranger the bold colours but this shade is definitely something new for me and that's definitely in a good way. I love alternative lip colours and this particular one definitely fits that category though at the same time I feel it is still strangely wearable (for me, anyway). 

Unsurpringly and as with all other Lip Tars, Technopagan is HIGHLY pigmented and a little bit goes a very long way - believe me! Unlike the others I've tried, the metallic formula seems to be a lot thicker but it still applies smoothly and evenly. It has more of matte kind of finish on the lips and doesn't have a sheen in the lip gloss kind of sense but this is instead due to it's metallic finish. I wouldn't say it feels drying on the lips which is definitely a good thing and in terms of creaminess, it's probably in the middle somewhere. Along the edges of the lips it does kind of fade out to a sort of pink-purple outline which may mean you need to build up the colour a little but it's an effect I happen to really like.

In terms of staying power, this product is a winner! As I've found with the other 2 lip tars I own, the staying power is awesome. I wore this product for a whole day complete with eating, drinking and general chit chat and this guy stayed put. No smudging, no streaking and it still maintained that intense pigment. 

Overall, I'm really impressed with this Lip Tar and I'm absolutely in love with the colour and finish of it. I think this may just be my new favourite lip product right now and I desperately wanna try some more OCC Lip Tar's because they're honestly just that good.

I got my Lip Tar from Love Makeup for £12.00!

Have you tried any of the OCC Lip Tars?! What do you guys think of them? I'd love to know!

Guest Post: Astr0man

Hi guys. You may have noticed that I’m not Levinia! My name is Steph, I run a primarily nail tutorial based Youtube channel called ‘Astr0man.’

I started experimenting with nail varnish and nail art in April of this year and I’ve steadily improved and my confidence has grown tenfold. A lot of people would ask me how I did my designs, or ask me to do their nails and teach them how to do it and after a lot of deliberation I finally decided to start up my Youtube channel and share my nail art journey.

I’ve been obsessed with Youtubers such as Elleandish, MissJenFABULOUS, cutepolish and Robin Moses for so long and I really think that it was these channels that sparked my passion and inspired me to do this myself (so, if you’re interested in nails and beauty definitely give these girls a watch!)

I am not a pro, and I’m constantly searching for new designs and new techniques and I’m inviting all of Levinia’s readers to check my channel out and learn with me!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and 100000 thank you’s to Levinia for giving me this guest spot.

https://www.youtube.com/user/astr0man1441

Face of the day #10: Purple Power.

Hey! It's a Face of the Day in this post and this week I've been embracing my love of purple. This look communicates that pretty well as I'm rocking a purple lip and liner! I really want to try out some more colourful liners - do any of you guys have any recommendations for me? It's always so hard to find ones that are pigmented! Anyway, let's get into the look and what I used:

Products Used:

Revlon ColorStay Foundation in 'Buff' - £12.49

Pixi Peach Correction Concealer - £10.34

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 'Light' - £4.19

Urban Decay's Naked Palette - £33.50

Barry M Bold Liner in 'bwe5' - £3.99

Benefit's Hoola Bronzer - £23.50

Sleek's Face Form Palette in 'Fair' - £9.99

MAC Lipstick in 'Heroine' - £15.00

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 'Transluscent' - £3.99

First Impressions: BH Cosmetics Pop Art Brush Set

Hi! So, I've been doing a lot of reviews and first impressions lately... I guess that means I've been spending too much, huh? Well, today is no different and I'm bringing you a first impressions on a set of brushes from BH Cosmetics.

So, the set i'm going to be writing about is the 10 Piece Pop Art Brush set. This set comes with the 10 brushes (obviously) and a handy little brush caddy. The brushes are synthetic and have bright, neon coloured handles which instantly caught my attention. This is definitely a fun looking brush set and adds that cute pop of colour to your brush collection! So, lets get into the brushes we get and their intended uses:

1 - Powder Brush: Application of face powder and / or blush.

2 - Angled Powder or Blush Brush: Great for powder application in the contours of the face and /or blush to the cheek area.

3 - Foundation Brush: Application of liquid foundation.

4 - Flat Complexion Brush: Would be ideal for concealer application / blending.

5 - Complexion Blending Brush: Blending of foundations and / or concealers.

6 - Tapered Blender: Blending eyeshadow / softening lines.

7 - Fluffy Angled Shadow Brush: Ideal for application in the crease and outer corner.

8 - Angled Liner: Application of brow products / liner.

9 - Spooley: Good for brushing through the brows and / or brushing out mascara on the lashes.

10 - Lip Brush: Ideal for gaining a smooth, even application of a lipstick.

So, the verdict. Well, I'm really impressed with these brushes. They're so inexpensive and considering their purpose, I didn't expect too much. However, I'm really pleasantly suprised and I think these brushes are really good quality. They're so soft (like, seriously) and there is zero shedding. They look great which is always a bonus and from what I've tried so far, they do their job and they do it well! What more could I ask for? For such an inexpensive set, I praise these brushes highly and I'd definitely recommend them. I think I'll definitely be trying more of BH Cosmetics' brushes in the future and I suggest you do too!

I got these brushes directly from the BH Cosmetics site and they were $18.95 (£12.09). Don't worry, there's no duty even with delivery!

Have you tried BH Cosmetics brushes? What were your thoughts?

Face of the Day #9: Sparklebaby

Hey guys! I bring to you today a 'Face of the Day' post! Today's look is a bit of a sparkly one using my latest palette from Sugarpill! Enjoy!

Products Used:

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in 'Ceylan' | £31.00

L'oreal Nude Magique CC Blur Cream in 'Light to Medium' | £9.99

Collection Last Perfection Concealer in 'Light' | £4.19

Anastasia Beverley Hills Dip Brow in Chocolate | £15.00

Sugarpill Sparklebaby Palette | £24.95

Urban Decay's Naked Palette | £33.50

Sleek Face Form Palette in 'Fair' | £9.99

Seventeen HD Falsifeye Masacara in 'Brown/Black' | £6.99

Revlon Lipstick in 'Pink Pout' | £7.49

NARS 'Angelica' Lip Gloss (Similar alternative) | £19.50

No. 7 Creme Touch Powder in 'Transluscent' | £8.50

How I Style: Converse

Hey! This post is going to be another 'How I Style..' and this time it's going to be all about how I style Converse! I love Converse; they're stylish, comfortable and super versatile. In this post I'll share with you three different looks that I like to wear my own Converse with, I hope you like them! As always, I'm using the Shopcade app to create these looks, the pictures are clickable and you can actually shop any particular item if they take your fancy!

Pastel Pretty:

Monochrome: Check Shirt:

First Impressions: Sugarpill's Sparkle Baby Palette

Hello guys, in this post I'm going to be doing a first impressions on one of Sugarpill's most recent release; the Sparkle Baby Palette. This palette contains four full sized shadows - they're all pastel in shade and are very shimmery and as the name suggests, full of gorgeous sparkle!

The shades in this palette are:

Kitten Parade - A peach shadow with shimmer and a rich golden sheen.

Frostine - A frosty lavender shade.

Candy Crush - A shimmery aqua-mint shadow.

Hotsy Totsy - A bright magenta colour with irredescent sparkle.

I love the cute names of these shadows and the whole palette is packaged so nicely. It's really cute as SugarPill always is and I think it adds a lot of character and authenticity to Sugarpill as a brand. The shadows are all very beautiful and nicely pigmented - Frostine is probably my favourite as I am of course a lover of all things purple. After using this palette a few times, I can say that while there is a little bit of fall out in some of the shades, the shadows are definitely good quality and blend like a dream. I feel as if all these colours are really unique and will be great for a Winter look - pastels are really popular at the moment and though many like to go for darker, more smokey looks, I for one think this palette is a great alternative for an eye look. With that added sparkle and shimmer, these are particularly ideal for the festive, Christmas period!

Though these colours are sold separately, you're actually getting a really good deal for this palette. Alone, the shadows are £8.95 each meaning that all four would be (cue awkward calculations in my head): £35.80. That means you're saving an impressive £10.85 which basically means you're getting a shadow free! Personally, I think that's a smashing deal and I really like the palette itself as well. I think you'd like this palette too if you're into shimmery shades and I think this is a palette that would be versatile for all seasons and times of the year.

I got my palette from Cocktail Cosmetics!

Face of the Day #8: Utopia

Wow, 2 posts in one day - I'm a roll! Ha, anyway in this post I'm going to be doing a 'face of the day' which will feature my newest lip product: the Lime Crime Velvetine in the shade Utopia - a gorgeous purple-pink liquid lipstick. If it takes your fancy, you can also read my review of the product here as well!

Products Used:

Maybelline Baby Skin Primer - £7.99

Revlon ColorStay Foundation in Buff - £12.49

MUA Concealer Palette in Porcelain - £3.50

Pixi Correction Concentrate Concealer - £12.00

Naked 1 Palette from Urban Decay - £37.00

Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder in Vanille - £8.99

L'Oreal Telescopic in Black - £10.99

Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso - £4.49

Benefit Hoola Bronzer - £23.50
Anastasia Beverley Hills Dipbrow in Chocolate - £15.00

Lime Crime Velvetine in Utopia - £13.50

REVIEW: Lime Crime Velvetine in Utopia!

Hey guys! I've got a review on the blog today and it's going to be on Lime Crime's Velvetine lipstick in the shade 'Utopia'. This is a popular product in the beauty community and I'm certainly late to the party even though I've been eyeing them up for some time! I originally wanted the classic red shade but Utopia caught my eye and I decided to get that instead.

Like a lot of Lime Crime products, the packaging is unique and attractive, I love the rose printing on it. It also feels like quality, the packaging is sturdy and well made which always nice.

So, the colour itself is a cool toned purple-pink shade - it's described as a 'bold orchid' on the Lime Crime website. I think i'd agree with this more or less, but I do feel it's a little more on the pink side than it is the purple. Either way though, the colour is really beautiful and bold. I love a bright lip and you won't be disappointed with this shade by any means - it's SUPER pigmented and in one coat you'll have opacity but with two you'll have that jaw-droppingly bright vibrancy.

In formula, it's basically a liquid lipstick - it'll go on like a thick kind of gloss consistency and will then dry to a matte finish like you've just applied a normal, matte lipstick. It does also have that 'velvet' kind of finish it claims to as opposed to something that looks super dry (which a lot of matte products really can). It's not as creamy as say the Bourjois Velvets though - which isn't an issue for me but might be something you'd want to keep it mind if you prefer a creamier finish.

So, how long does this product last on the lips? A good long while, actually. I wore this product for around 6 hours straight with drinking and talking involved and it didn't budge. The colour payoff stayed true all through that time and there was no bleeding or smudging. I did find it 'crumbled' a little bit in the very inner area of the lip but this was minimal. When removing the product from my lips, I actually found it stained a little which I actually find quite a good thing - it kind of shows you just how long lasting it is. Don't worry though, I applied a little bit more pressure than usual and it eventually came off without any fuss!

There are many products out there with a similar idea to the Lime Crime Velvetines. The one that might come to mind for most is MUA's Luxe Velvet Lacquers - they have similar packaging, a similar colour range and a lot of people say they're dupes. Whilst I do really like the MUA version and think they're good for their value, I have to say that they're trumped by Lime Crime on this one. They last so much longer and I think you get a lot more pigmentation from them as well. If you want to be wearing a colour for the whole day, the MUA Lacquers simply aren't going to work for you. From my experience, they crumbled within an hour or two and it was very noticeable. Lime Crime's Velvetines have that staying power and that vibrant colour and for me, it's so worth the price.

I purchased my Velvetine from the website Cocktail Cosmetics and it was £13.50. As far as I know, in the UK Lime Crime is only sold online and I personally love Cocktail Cosmetics for hard to find and higher end makeup products. They stock many popular, alternative and vegan / cruelty free makeup brands!

Anyway, that's my review of the Lime Crime Velevetine in Utopia - it's a beautiful product and I'll definitely be sticking some more on Christmas list! Have you tried this product, do you know any good dupes? Let me know!