Red Lips for Every Budget

Red Lips are timeless and classic. They can lift a woman's confidence to dizzying heights, bump up her sex appeal and embolden her to boot!

These days I feel I'm pretty qualified to give my opinion on rocking a red lip for every budget! 

Low Budget: 

I have no shame in saying that I find myself drawn to the low budget brands or "bargain" brands, because not only are you getting value for money, but these days you are getting brilliant quality too. 

Brands like Essence and Catrice have taken the beauty market by storm with their pocket-friendly offerings.

Essence Stay Matte Lip Cream in Silky Red is a fantastic red lip color for very little, retailing for €2.49 a tube. If you feel like treating yourself a little more, for €1.89 you can pick up the lipliner to match in the shade Femme Fatale, meaning for under €5, you can rock a beautiful, cool red lip, which wears beautifully and doesn't dry out your lips.

If Essence doesn't take your fancy, why not try some of the other budget offerings by the likes of Catrice, Collection or Natural Collection? I can verify that the Natural Collection lipstick in Crimson is a beautiful, well made lip product and is only 50c more expensive than Essence.

Mid-Range Budget:


The Mid-Range budget, by my reckoning would include the likes of Revlon and Maybelline.
One offering I particularly like is Revlon ColourStay Ultimate Suede in 095 "Finale".

One thing I will say about this lipstick is that upon first application it looks glossy, but as it dries it locks in, beautifully matte and pigmented.

This product is wonderful, I can attest to that. I wore this to lunch during the height of summer, with my mum and it never budged, and I wasn't using a liner with it. At €10.20, it's reasonable, but may be difficult to justify for some budgets.

Now that's a result!!

Top Tip: For extra opacity with this lipcolour, apply a first coat, blot, and then top up with a second coat before allowing to dry. Hello, Hollywood glamour!!



High-End:

Credit to Miss Penny Dreadful
http://misspennydreadful.blogspot.ie

The only lipstick that I think deserves a place here, is the much beloved, insanely popular MAC Retro Matte lippie, Ruby Woo.

This lipstick doesn't come cheap, at €19 a tube, but it is absolutely unbelievable. I would recommend this to anyone who was out to treat themselves to a lovely red lipstick.

Have you a birthday coming up? Need something for the Christmas wishlist? This is the lippie for you!! It has a gorgeous matte finish, lasts for ages, and smells divine.

If you are passing a MAC store, on Henry St or a MAC counter, treat yourself to this baby, I promise you wont regret it. It truly is the best red lipstick I have tried, and trust me, I have tried a lot.

Top Tip: For the best wear time and appearance, be sure to give your lips a good scrub with a sugar-scrub such as Lush Bubblegum Lip-Scrub, and moisturize with a good quality lip-balm. This will avoid it showing up the imperfections we all invariably have on our lips.


Christmas is the time to rock a festive red lip, no matter your budget, there is a red lip for you.
Will you be rocking a festive lip this season?

Amy
x

November Favorites - Beauty Edition

Hidihi, Campers!!

This months favorites is going to take the form of a blog-post, because at the moment, I'm buried under a steadily growing mountain of college work, and I haven't got time to film, never mind edit a video and upload it. I am, however, sitting at the computer and that means that taking a break from assignments mean I can tap out a blog post in double quick time, and in my pajamas to boot!

First on the line up, I have my EOS Lipbalm in Tropical Fruits. This was sent to me when I did a make-up swap with my lovely friend Kayleigh, from all the way over in Florida. During the month of October, I haven't left my house without this little ball of magic! It smells divine and it makes my lips feel so smooth, especially after using my Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub.

Next up, another American gift (does it still count as a gift if you asked for it?) from Kayleigh. The Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation in the shade 801 Ivory. This is the lightest shade, as far as I am aware. This foundation is everything I look for in a foundation. It's great coverage, pretty spot on with my skin tone, and light as a feather. It's got some shine control but I like to be sure of that ability by using my next make-up favorite.

Rimmel London Fix and Perfect Pro Primer. This stuff lay unloved for the longest time in a drawer, because it made my skin feel strange, but I tried it again a few months back, and I haven't regretted it for one moment since. Used alongside my Covergirl foundation, my foundation doesn't crease, slip or wear away in trouble spots. A+

My Maybelline Brow Drama in Medium is my new favorite thing. For a few uses I took um-bridge with the feeling of my brows setting, but now I love it, because it sets my brows tidily but still allows me to raise an eyebrow at people who annoy me!! :D

Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan. This may be my last favorite of the month, but it's definitely not least. I had some trouble with this at first, as my skin didn't seem to react to the DHA after an hour (I was timid). The Cocoa Brown team on Twitter were quick to lend a hand and we figured out that I needed one layer left on for the full time of 3 hours to get a noticeable golden glow. If you are pale like myself, don't worry about leaving it on for the 3 hours maximum time, you wont come out Tangoed, I promise you. I am as pale as the driven snow, and yet, after using Cocoa Brown Tan, I had a natural golden glow.

Those are my beauty favorites for the month of October. What do you think? Is there anything I should try in the month of November?? Let me know! 

Keep an eye out for my Random Favorites!!