bareMinerals Lipgloss Review!

I got a Bare Minerals lipgloss a while ago as part of a present from my sister. So, I didn't pay the £14.00 that an individual lipgloss (of 4.2ml) costs on the Bare Minerals website! I certainly wouldn't have bought one at that price. I find that, with lipglosses, really cheap ones are just as good as really expensive ones. My only priorities with lipglosses (I don't wear them often, only if my hair's up or it's a special occasion) are that they're shiny (as in reflecting the light) and are of a nice colour that suits me. They are not something I'd invest a lot of money in anyway. They soon come off once you eat and drink and even just talk, so I don't see the point! Even non-sticky still get your hair stuck with no intention of letting go!!

So, here's a couple of piccies of the 2 colours I own. The one on the left is 'sugar cookie' which would be cheaper because it's a smaller size) and the right one is 'fruit cocktail'. Cute names I think :)


Packaging
I like the lids as they are a nice 'soft' sort of plastic that is easy to grip and the two 'bumps' make them comfortable to hold while applying. The clear bottles make it easy to view the colours as well as see when they're running out.


You might be able to observe that they have what I call 'microglitter' in them. I like it when glitter in lip products is tiny because it doesn't look too cheap and tacky. Rather, it gives a nice professional sheen.

Here is 'sugarcookie' applied. It's a nude colour and didn't bring any colour to my lips really. But it is pretty much the same colour as my lips so what do you expect! I quite like this though, because it just gives them a subtle tint and sheen, perfect for everyday wear or subtle, more natural looks. I am naturally quite pale though, so maybe I would wear a little more blusher or eye makeup so I didn't look too washed out. 

This is 'fruit cocktail' applied. It's a rich red-pink in the tube, however I didn't find colour distribution to be all that amazing. You might be able to see that, on the picture, (after literally less than 1 minute of wear) the colour had sunk into the creases of my lips, and left patches elsewhere. This is despite trying to purse my lips together and use the small brush applicator to spread it all out and make it look even. I didn't want to daub too much on in case it just looked really over the top. However the colour is nice.


Both lipglosses are quite sticky, and yes the annoying hair thing does occur!! It says on the website that they're non-sticky but I do not believe them!
But, the colours are lovely and it smells really nice - like biscuits! However online it says they're actually scented with vanilla. Smells like biscuits to me :-) Cosmetics that smell like food, yummy! I sometimes wonder if this is a psychological ploy to try and make us like them more, because they smell like things we like to eat. But anyway.........


The main thing I like about Bare Minerals is that they have no preservatives in their products, and they're made from lots of natural things.
Their lipglosses are said to hydrate, which is a bonus :) They also soften, and ingredients that provide both qualities include cupuacu butter and jojoba, sesame and sunflower oils. Antioxidant protection is also provided via vitamin E and pomegranate seed oil. Vitamin E is great at protecting against the environment (I wrote more about it in my Avon Rich Moisture Face Cream Review). They also contain honeysuckle flower extract to condition the lips, and the general goodness of bareMinerals. So why not wear makeup that actually does some good in the process = simples!!


All in all, I think they smell great, are nicely coloured, have a nice sheen, and they're lip-healthy. I reckon the colour could settle and spread out better though, particularly in 'fruit cocktail's case. I would not pay £14.00 for a full sized tube. I think it's wayyy overpriced. But still a good product :-)


See ya soon xxx

Make Up Academy >Lipstick< Review! :)

I, like many others, have been pretty fascinated by 'Make Up Academy', the fairly recent addition to Superdrug's make up aisle and online store. A lot of MUA's products look rather professional and the prices are so so so cheap! It does make you wonder whether the low prices actually buy you a quality product, but like many other bloggers out there, I am trying to find out.

So I started out with a MUA lipstick as my first product. I was wanting a pinkier colour anyway, and for £1 I though it would be silly not to buy one! My motto whenever I'm buying anything, particularly a cosmetic product, is:

"Try a cheaper one first. If the cheaper version of a lipstick (for example) is of the quality you want then you've saved money not buying something more expensive, and if it isn't any good then you've not wasted as much money as you would've done if you'd bought something more expensive that was no good! Then, once you find your favourite product, you've saved money doing it this way and via a slight bit of trial and error you've found the best thing for you." That's my philosophy, take note if you wish :)

...Anyway back to the lipstick! There were a fair few different colours to choose from, and I tested this one on my hand and therefore decided to give it a go.

Packaging
It looks like a general lipstick from the outside, and by that I mean one that cost more than £1! You might expect it to look worse than it does, for what you paid for it. The silver lettering on the side can be scratched quite easily, but that happens to the most expensive of products!

 



Smell
It has qutie a pleasant fragrance, that I'd describe as biscuits/sweets. Kind of a mixture of the two! In my opinion it's quite a nice smell.

Colour
I chose shade 12 - a warm bright pink. I wanted a nice girly pop of colour for my face (not that I'm the most girliest of girls to say the least anyway, but I do enjoy make up). On my hand it looks nice enough, and you can see that it has glitter in it. The glitter doesn't overpower the colour when it's on my lips which I'm glad about; it just gives that extra bit of interest when it catches the light. Sometimes glittery lipsticks can look a bit cheap and tacky - not in this case!

Before & After

Forgive my 'blogging beginners photography' on this post, it'll improve I promise! As you can see I have naturally quite pale pink-nude lips. However with a full coverage of this lipstick I think it's a little too much colour for my face. So what I like to do is blot it so the colour is toned down a bit. This way you can actually get more colours out of one lipstick, depending on how much you apply.





Characteristics

This does not dry out my lips, which is a relief! It's annoying when that happens, but if it does occur to you with certain lipsticks you can put some lipbalm on before lipstick which is what I do sometimes :) When you 'rub' your lips together it does feel like a lipbalm in itself, I'm wondering if it does indeed has lipbalm properties! However it doesn't have great staying power when eating and drinking etc. And you can end up with quite a lot of colour-loss in the middle of your lips. At least it's nice and creamy and easy to re-apply! I find there's better staying-power if you apply 1 layer, blot dry and then apply a 2nd layer to the colour intensity you desire :) Alternatively you could try applying a lip-sealant such as Lipcote (which I love).

So...
All in all, great value for £1. It has a couple of bad points but they're nothing compared to the good points. You could always treat yourself to a couple of extra colours! I'm a very satisfied customer and I'll certainly be buying from MUA again. Just try and remember not to get too carried away; only buy something when you actually need it/are running out of a particular item, and treat yourself every so often too! Not too often of course ;)

Hope you enjoyed my first review :D
See ya soon xxx