Messing Around with Make Up

This morning I went shopping for lipstick.

Since Christmas I feel I have fallen into a style black hole. I have been attempting to drag myself out of it over the last few weeks with a few new things. I started off with revamping my wardrobe a little. I’ve said yes to some things for review that I might not have done before, like dresses that come ABOVE THE KNEE, and I’ve bought a few new things like the BooHoo Dress, the Fan Print Fleur and some new shoes for my wardrobe. When I get 5 minutes at home I also plan to have another very stern wardrobe clear out and do all those things like sew up seams and replace buttons.

I feel in real need of a Spring revamp. So I decided that although my wardrobe is still a work in progress, it was now my make up bags turn. The easiest way to have a bit of a freshen up is with a new lipstick, so this morning I went out and bought FIVE new lipsticks.

Yes, that’s FIVE!

They are all super cheap brands, and all 5 cost me £9, so for under a tenner I got to play around with some new shades, relatively risk free, to see if there are any I might want to find more expensive equivalents of in the future. We all know the only way to tell if a lipstick REALLY suits you is to actually put it on, all that tip of the finger stuff never works. You’ll also have to forgive the state of my hair in these photos, I’m planning a run tonight and I refuse to wash my hair until afterwards!

First up…..

MUA Matte in Totally Nude £1

I bought this as I noticed the models in the Lena Hoschek shoot wearing a really nude lipstick, and I wondered if I could pull of the “no lips” look.

And I liked it. It’s really matte. I suspect it will clump up quickly as it’s a cheap lipstick, but the shade is good, easy to wear, and I think will look amazing with smoky eyes.

Beauty UK Lipstick in Cupcake £3.49 or 2 for £5

This is a pale white/pink 60s sort of shade. I’ve never tried this sort of colour, so I thought it would be fun to give it a go.

No. Just no. This one’s going straight into the “ooops” box and only coming out if I get invited to a 60s fancy dress party. It was difficult to apply smoothly as well.

MUA Lipstick in Shade 3 £1

Shade 3. What a boring name. It looked like a bright pink in the tube, and it was.

It’s ok, but there’s something about it that doesn’t quite work on me, I think it’s possibly a more orangey pink than it looked in the tube, and as we are about to see, orange is not my colour…..

Beauty UK Lipstick in Naughty £3.49 or 2 for £5

I’ve always thought orange lipsticks weren’t for me. Besame Carmine looks awful on me, as does Revlon Fire & Ice. But I see photos of people looking so gorgeous in it all the time, so I thought I’d try another shade and picked up this really bright looking orange.

Turns out I was right all along and orange lipsticks aren’t for me. Now, I can only assume orange lipsticks photograph well as the photo looks ok. Just trust me, that look on my face is consternation that I would even let a camera near me in orange lipstick.

NYC Expert Last in Blue Rose £1.99 (half price)

This last one was an impulse grab on the way out as it was half price, and I’m so glad I did! As you can tell by the helpfully descriptive shade “Blue Rose”, this is a pink with a blue base. Almost purpley.

I love it. It’s bright and perky, but doesn’t make me look like a clown. In real life it’s a little deeper than this photo came out. Plus as a bonus it matches my nail polish that my sister did for me (oh yeah, Happy One Year Anniversary to Kellys Nail Box!)

So, 2 new shades out of a potential 5!

Next up on the “sort myself out” list. Skin, I feel like I’m looking very tired at the moment, I can even see it in photos, cold weather and being ill has really taken it out of me and I feel weary and run down. So drinking more water and taking care of my skin is on the list.

Then, I’m onto hair. It needs its crispy ends cut off, the colour evening up and I’m considering getting a fringe cut back in, maybe not a blunt one, more a long, swept to one side sort of a job, or maybe a blunt one again, I’m not sure.

What do you think?