Nuxe Reve De Miel Lip Balm

Lip balms, so many to choose from including all varieties of flavours, tints, fragrances, with SPF, without SPF the list goes on. What I want from a lip balm however, is one that sinks in and repairs my lips. A balm that I don't need to keep re-applying to stop them feeling dry. The kind of balm where I apply it at night and wake up in the morning with soft, smooth lips.

I know I expect a lot from my beauty products, but fortunately Nuxe's Reve De Miel Lip Balm fulfils all my requirements. It's a balms that sinks into your lips and keeps them moisturised for the majority of the day. It's a great base for lip colour as it helps any gloss or lipstick glide on smoothly and stops it from catching on any dry bits. The best part is, I picked it up from Marks & Spencer for about eight quid in a sale! It's a steel really for what I think could easily sit in with high end beauty product lines.

Texture-wise it's quite dense, you may feel like you have to work it into your lips but I quite like that. Despite that it's super nourishing and soothing so great if you suffer with dry, chapped lips. Definitely a 'must have' skincare item. No other balm that I have comes close to this one so it's definitely a keeper, and I have loads of lip balms!

Just love

Rina xoxo

My perfect cool toned brown - Illamasqua's Glamour lipstick in Buff

I feel like I've been looking for the perfect cool brown lip colour for, like, ever. All I wanted was a brown lipstick. Not a pinky brown or a reddish brown, just a cool brown. It's got this 90's, Cindy Crawford feel to it and although it's not impossible to come across one for paler skins, finding one that doesn't make me look like tanned corpse has proven to be extremely difficult.

I've seen a few lip colours that have the right tone but they just don't have enough depth to cut it with my skin tone. Until (hurrah!) I nipped into Illamasqua in Leeds the other day. It's obviously been far too long since my last visit because I came across Buff from their Glamore collection and it was everything I had been looking for; a cool toned, medium depth brown with a satin finish.

I also picked up a couple of other bits to go with my new lipstick; A colouring pencil in Fidelity and a lip gloss in Intimacy which look amazing together or teamed up with with Buff.

Let me know what your perfect brown lip colours are...

Just love

Rina xoxo

4 Shades of Autumn - My go to lipstick shades for autumn

I love autumn for fashion and beauty because I prefer the colours and textures that I can play around with during this season. My favourite way to add a bit of autumn/winter to my look without buying a whole new wardrobe is with lipstick. Here are four of my favourite shades that I have been wearing a lot recently:

Shard by Illamasqua
Vesuvio by Nars
Rebel by Mac
Crimson by Bobbi Brown

The following pictures feature me wearing the lipsticks named respectively.

I really enjoy wearing these colours because they easily make a statement without a lot of effort. The pop of colour also brightens your complexion up and makes your skin look better. You'll notice that Shard by Illamasqua is very matte compared to the others but I like it because I find the blue undertone flatters a rich skin tone. Vesuvio by Nars is a great clean red which is a must for autumn. Rebel by Mac is a great has a very blue undertone and tends to stain the lips so don't go for this if you don't want your lips to be tinted even after you've removed your make up! Lastly, Crimson by Bobbi Brown is a gorgeous bordeaux red that is great for evening glamour.

In the pictures I created the rest of the look using the following products:

Nars Sheer Glow foundation
Mac Select Moisturecover concealer
Illamasqua brow powder in Gaze
Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner in Infinity
Kiko Ultra Tech Mascara
Bobbi Brown bronzer in Bali Brown

Which colour is your favourite? What lipsticks feature in your favourites list?

Just love

Rina xoxo

Berry Beautiful Test Shoot

In February this year I collaborated on a test shoot with photographer Nicole Jopek and model Lanie Wilson from Boss Model Management. The look was quite editorial and I wanted to make the most of Lanie's amazing bone structure so I opted for a bold, berry lip, kept the cheeks strong and left the eyes subtle. When doing beauty looks I love clean looking make up, sharp lines and flawless skin. The kind of make up that people look at and think 'I could wear that'.

This look is timeless and really easy to wear in the day by not going as strong on the cheeks and adding a bit of clear or brown mascara to the lashes. Or add a flick of black gel liner and and build up your lashes with black, volumising mascara and you have a great look for a night out.

I created this look using the following key products:

Mac Face and Body foundation
Illamasqua Translucent Loose Powder
Nars Blusher in Ninotchka
Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder in 01 Highlight
Mac lipstick in Media


Just love

Rina xoxo

http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/
http://www.illamasqua.com/
http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/
http://www.lauramercier.com/store/

October '14 Beauty Buys

I was only intending to buy one product that I'd been meaning to review for a while but I ended up buying a few more... Oh well, more products to review, not entirely a bad thing.

So I ended up settling on the following:
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Tahoe
Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder in Highlight-01
Illamasqua Skin Base Lift in White Light and Deep 1
Illamasqua Colouring Pencil in Seize
Illamasqua Lipstick in Shard from the Sacred Hour collection

I'll be reviewing some of these separately with more pictures soon.

Just love

Rina xoxo