Top Three Beauty Favourites - October

Every month or so I try to switch up my beauty routine and try something new or challenging. This not only helps to keep me on my toes, but it also helps me to use all the products I have in my beauty stash. In October I wanted to delve into the Fall beauty trends and try darker wine and berry colours on my cheeks and lips. These are the products that I kept reaching for over and over again:

L-R : JORDANA EASY LINER IN CABERNET, TERRA KISS & PLUSH PLUM; L'OREAL INFALLIBLE LIPSTICK IN PERSISTENT PLUM NO 737; MAYBELLINE COLOSSAL VOLUME EXPRESS WATERPROOF MASCARA IN GLAM BLACK; MAC SHEERTONE SHIMMER BLUSH IN AMBERING ROSE

Lips

Fall is all about the dark lips and I am a big lover of red and plum lips. I have been pairing the L'Oreal Infallible lipstick which is a deep plummy red with different shades of lip liner to change its undertone. This is a good way to change up your lipcolour slightly without having to shell out for a new lipstick. The redder lip liner makes the lipstick look more red, the plum one more purple and the brown one deeper like a raisin colour. These pairings give an all day stain that stayed on my lips through a meal, drinks and a three hour long meeting. Though not moisturizing, you can easily swipe on chapstick over the combo to keep your lips supple. You can purchase these at Discount Pharmacy in Manor Park or the Beauty Counter at Chesterville Pharmacy.

Cheeks

I wanted to try darker colours with shimmer to add some sparkle to the matte colours I was wearing and to also skip the highlighter. I went back to the MAC sheer tone because it gave the option of a sheer layer or building it up to a bolder cheek. It also layered really well over an orange blush for a different tone.

Eyes

With the focus on the lips and cheeks, I wanted to go minimal with the eyes which meant no eyeshadow. I reverted to my all time favourite mascara - Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express paired with a thin line on the top of my eyelid. The mascara creates long thick fluttery lashes that are super black and perfect for day or night.

Extra

I had to add in Biotin as a favourite I finished earlier on because it has done wonders for my hair. Along with my routine it has strengthened and thickened it. If you want to read more about that, you can see it here.

What have you been loving for the month of October and what are you eager to try this month?

Till later,

*Jane

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Review - Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids Lipstick

When I got into wearing lip colour I started out with berry tones, plums and reds - all pretty safe options for my skin tone but then I saw and fell in love with Kerry Washington's lip color on the cover of Elle Magazine and then even more so the new trends with orange and coral lip colours so I went and picked up the Mabelline Color Sensational Vivids Lipstick in 'Electric Orange' No. 880. It wasn't quite the shade I wanted so I also picked up ''Vibrant Mandarin' No. 885.

                             

I've had the lipsticks now for a couple of months and have worn them out on different occasions to get a proper feel for them. Here are my thoughts thus far:

Packaging

Left - Electric Orange ; Right - Vibrant Mandarin

The packaging is relatively simple and fuss free with a square, faux metal base and a transparent neon cap. The name and number of the lipstick is printed on a sticker on the bottom and the actual colour is pretty close to the colour of the sticker. The cover is the standard snap/pull off cover and you get to the bullet by twisting the bottom. There is nothing fancy but because the cover is neon, it is easy to distinguish from your other lipsticks.

Pricing
The lowest price point I've seen this at is $750 JMD and the highest at $990 JMD so you will be spending more than say a Jordana lipstick but definitely less than a MAC lipstick. I personally don't think that this is bad for the price as Maybelline lipsticks are pretty much reliable.

Application
When you open the tube the first thing that will hit you is the smell. Both smelled slightly different but they had the same base scent. The smell reminds me of if you were to mix the smell at the end of a vanilla candle with play-do. It's not a pleasant smell and it lingers so that you can smell it on your lips for about an hour or so. So boo to that. 

Above - Electric Orange; Below - Vibrant Mandarin

Separately from that however, the colour is true to form and what you see on the bullet is the color pay off you get. The application is therefore almost opaque which is excellent for women of colour because this means that you don't have to apply concealer to get the true colour of the lipstick. Application is smooth because the lipstick is quite moisturizing and has a creamy glossy finish. However, if you layer it on you will see it start to drag and the colour streak a bit. For this reason, I would say to get the best result, apply lip liner to your lips first and dot on the colour rather than swiping it on. If you are going to go lipliner-free then application with a lip brush should help you avoid that streakiness if you intend to layer.

Durability
The product is not one of the long-wearing lip colours offered by Maybelline and therefore will transfer and rub off, but unless you are eating or making out, the colour doesn't fade for about four hours. It also doesn't dry out the lips leaving you with that shriveled lip effect some long wearing lip products cause.

Results
The Vivids lipsticks are true to their name - they provide a bright, basically opaque, creamy colour for the times when you want a bolder look. If you want to tone it down, rim your lips with a deeper coloured lipliner and blend it into the lipstick to bring down the contrast or, mix it with sheer gloss for a lighter feel. I even mixed mine with another lip colour to create a colour I felt more comfortable wearing during the daytime. You can see that diy here .

All in all, this is an excellent solution for those that want great colour pay off but don't want to shell out for higher end lipsticks. I would give this a 7.5/10 with my only complaints being the inability to layer the colour easily and the off-putting smell.

Have you tried these out yet? Which colour are you loving?

Do you have a product you'd like me to try out and review before you buy it? Shoot me an email or leave me a comment and I'll give it a try.

Till later,
**Jane

(I am an Amazon Affiliate and image links are Amazon Affiliate links)

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