Lipstick

Armani Ecstasy Shine Lip Cream Review

- Vicki 1 Comment
NEW Armani Ecstasy Shine Lipcream

New Armani Lipsticks

Armani Beauty Ecstasy Shine

This brand new Ecstasy Shine launch from Armani Beauty combines the high shine finish of a gloss and the hydration of a balm into one handy lip cream. It is fantastic for giving  a pretty wash of colour whilst also protecting and nourishing your lips. This is a great all rounder.

As with all Armani Beauty products the packaging of this new lip range is utterly luxurious. All 18 shades come in the signature ergonomic bullet case, lacquered in the immediately identifiable red 400 of Giorgio Armani Beauty, with the iconic magnetic clasp. They feel weighty and luxe and the magnetic closure means the lid will never come off in your handbag!

NEW Armani Ecstasy Shine Lipcream

I have been testing 6 out of the 18 colours and as you would expect the lighter shades are more sheer but the deeper plums and reds offer a more bold finish but these are meant to be easy to wear and light on the lips. They have more of a fresh feel, modern feel especially after a year of the ever popular Matte lip. I personally love the balm like texture of these, they glide on the lips with ease and because the colour isn’t too vibrant they’re fuss free to apply. No lip liner needed and if you’re in a rush a mirror isn’t even a must! As Armani say Minimal input, maximum impact. 

Armani Beauty Ecstasy Shine Lip Cream

New Armani Beauty Releases

These have a modern glossy finish to them, not your throw back gloss of the 90’s but a more radiant, non sticky, light reflectant finish. They feel lovely and smooth on the lips and despite them being a gloss / balm hybrid the staying power was impressive. I have to say at £29 each they are very much a luxury beauty product but If there is a shade you fall in love with (& with 18 wearable shades to pick from that won’t be too hard) I guarantee you will want to use it all the time. My lips feel and look so good when I am wearing these and also once the colour has faded my lips still feel soft and hydrated.

  • 100 is a light pink neutral
  • 200 is a nude brown
  • 401 is a cherry red
  • 500 is a pretty pink
  • 505 is a deep vibrant pink
  • 602 is a berry

Armani Ecstasy Shine Lip Cream Swatches

Top to Bottom > Night Viper 602 / Silenzio 200 / Crescendo 500 / Smile 100 / Ecstasy 505 / Hot 401 

Currently exclusive to Selfridges & the Armani Beauty website RRP £29 each

  • PR Sample

New Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks

- Vicki 8 Comments
New Vice Lipsticks from Urban Decay

Urban Decay Vice Lipstick Collection

So recently Urban Decay revamped their lipstick collection & released 100 beautiful Vive Lipstick shades in 6 indulgent finishes. All of the Vice Lipsticks come in a modern sleek gunmetal case with a rose gold base and UD embossed on both the lid and the actual lipstick bullet. The packaging feels luxurious and vampy which I like a lot.

The 6 finishes are

  • Mega Matte – Super Intense Matte
  • Comfort Matte – Urban Decay’s Creamiest Matte
  • Cream – The Original: creamy, badass, luxury
  • Metallized – Cream with a high level of pearl
  • Sheer– A punch of colour with a sheer, shiny finish
  • Sheer Shimmer – Slightly transparent finish with a floating pearl and a smooth texture

UD Vice Lipsticks

All the lipsticks have the most lovely formula, easy to apply and rich in colour as well as feeling comfortable on the lips. They contain Aloe Vera, Jojoba, Avocado and Babassu Oils which nourish and soften your lips. Vitamin C and Vitamin E provide a hit of antioxidants & Illipe Butter provides that all important long lasting moisture.

I have 6 of them to show you & my gosh what a beautiful selection of shades & finishes they are!

Pandemonium / Mega Matte*

This is a bold, bright vivid pop of purple and isn’t for the faint of heart. Its a really rich shade and I like that its a nice bright purple rather than a dark purple. It was quite hard to get an even application of this shade as it wasn’t as creamy as the other 5 shades but once on it does look beautiful. This is a little drying on the lips but as it is a matte finish I guess that is to be expected.

New Urban Decay Vice Lipstick-collection

714 / Mega Matte*

This beautiful bold red is from the recent Gwen Stefani Collection & is now a permanent shade. It is a mega matte finish and this shade stays put on my lips for ages. The colour is a rich red with orange undertones and I would say, if you can, use a lip liner with this shade as it does bleed. It does drag slightly when applying it to your lips but its worth the perseverance as it is just the most gorgeous easy to wear red.

Firebird / Cream*

Did someone say PINK! If you like a pink lip then this is undoubtedly the most intense, rich creamy pink I have ever worn. The colour is vibrant and the creamy formula means that it feels nourishing and smooth on your lips. In the bullet this lipstick looks a little more on the purple side but don’t be fooled, it is a true fuchsia pink. Even though this has a cream finish its still long wearing on the lips and the colour stays looking vibrant for hours. This shade is also a shade from the recent Gwen Stefani collection and I’m in love with it. I tend to shy away from bright shades but this has won me over and I have been enjoying wearing it.

New Vice Lipsticks from Urban Decay

Backtalk / Comfort Matte*

OK this is totally in my comfort zone, its a rose pink nude and it just looks effortless and pretty on the lips. This has become my everyday lipstick, it applies so evenly and is opaque in one application. It doesn’t feel at all drying on my lips, and this wears so well without going patchy or fading throughout the day. I am in love with this shade. I do like the bright colours too but we all have those shades that we feel most comfortable in & for me this is that shade.

Big Bang / Metallized*

This is one of those lipsticks I wish I had the balls to wear out in public & not just in the house. This is a sweet sheer pink with a glossy silvery pink fleck finish. This is a statement lipstick and it looks very metallic on the lips, almost duo-chrome. I think its pretty but quite hard to wear. Out of the 6 shades I have this was the hardest to apply & achieve an even coverage, I had to go over my lips quite a few times to build up the colour and get a clean even finish. It does feel creamy on the lips & smooth too. Its such a fun shade and not at all subtle!

Urban Decay Vice Lipstick Swatches

So there you have it a the Vice Lipsticks are a huge exciting launch from Urban Decay and they have everything from bold brights, vampy plums to beautiful wearable neutrals and everything in between. What shades do you have your eye on?

Urban Decay Vice Lipstick £15 each 

*PR Sample

Christmas Party Makeup Wishlist

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Christmas Party Makeup Wishlist

It is edging closer to the festive season and that means Christmas Parties galore. I thought I would share with you a few products that I think would be great for making your makeup look more festive and party ready.

  1. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit – Oh my word this is stunning. I don’t own any Hourglass products and it think this would be the ideal place to start. You get 3 of their face powders, 2 blushers and a bronzer. You would be set for the party season with this!
  2. Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon Smokey Eye Kit – I love eye crayons and these look like beautiful colours, I like that there are some unusual shades in these and you could create such an effortless smokey eye with these. I also find that Cream shadows last a good amount of time on me so these would be perfect for a night out & you could build up the colour so it was quite intense or if you like to play it safe you could just add a light wash of colour.

  3. MAC Irresistibly Charming Pigments – Its not Christmas without a little sparkle and I find MAC pigments to be great quality and really packed with shimmer. They also last so long too so these will do you for many party seasons to come. This collection is a Christmas limited edition and I love the colours, especially the beautiful gold.

  4. Accessorize Retro Lip Duo Lip Gloss – You have to have at least one red lip option for the party season. Accessorize have recently revamped and re launched their makeup line and everything looks gorgeous. I thought this handy two in one lippie would be ideal for a Christmas lip. You get a lipstick in one end and a high shine lip gloss on the other, you can’t beat a two in one!
  5. Accessorize Lip Me Up’ Lip Gloss – If you want more of a low key lip a pink lip gloss is always a pretty option. I really like the packaging of the new Accessorize makeup line and this has a light up lid and a mirror on the side so you can reapply your gloss anywhere!
  6. Eylure Party Lashes – You have to go big when it comes to the festive party and Eylure have some beautiful party lashes. These have tiny embellishment gems on them and they will look beautiful and sparkly on.
  7. Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation – I have heard such good things about this foundation and how pretty it looks on the skin. I’m a big fan of Charlotte Tilbury makeup but have never tried any of her base products, I think I will be investing in this for the party season. You need a flawless base and this one seems to tick all the boxes, and it has a good shade range too so I won’t have any trouble getting the perfect match.
  8. bareMinerals Double Domination Mascara Set – The name of this won me over it sounds like you will get dramatic lashes with this mascara and thats a party must have! This mascara promises to be a volumising, lengthening, thickening, separating, long-wearing mascara – so I say yes please! You also get two mascaras in this gift set so that is great value for money!

What is on your Christmas Party Makeup Wishlist?

*This post was written in collaboration with Accessorize

Max Factor Lipfinity Long Lasting Lipstick

- Vicki 8 Comments
Max Factor Lipfinity Long Lasting Lipstick

Max Factor Lipfinity Long Lasting Lipstick

Max Factor Lipfinity Long Lasting Lipsticks* £8.99

Apart from mascaras and blushers, Max Factor is a brand I haven’t tried much from, I think it’s because their products are a little harder to come by so I was excited to try 6 lipsticks from their Lipfinity range.

There are 12 Lipfinity Long Lasting Lipstick shades to chose from and I think they have a great selection of wearable shades, from deep plums to the ever-popular nude pinks. I have had a nice selection of shades to try out. Max Factor say they will give you,

  • Intense colour and conditioning moisture that lasts.
  • Up to 8 hours of vibrant, nourished colour that doesn’t dry out lips.
  • Infused with nourishing oils, this long wear lip colour doesn’t crack, crumble or bleed.
  • Your high-impact lipstick that’s long-lasting and effortless to apply.

Max Factor Longwear Lipsticks

I found these lipsticks so easy to apply and they didn’t drag on the lips or apply patchy. I also found that the darker / deeper shades lasted a little longer on the lips which I have to say is true for most lip products I’ve tried. All 6 shades are beautifully pigmented, and if you want to have a really bold lip you can build these up to give a pretty intense colour.

Like the name suggests these lippies have good staying power considering they are quite creamy and nourishing on the lips, I didn’t manage to get 8 hours out of them but they certainly stay put for at least 3-4 hours. I did have to do a little touch up after eating and drinking but the colour hadn’t completely worn off just dulled slightly. Lipstick never seems to last that long on me so you might find these last longer than 3-4 hours on you.

They apply evenly on the lips and have a nice satin finish, a few of the shades look quite glossy in some lights. The formula feels comfortable on the lips which is probably down to the fact these lipsticks contain 60% skincare ingredients including shea butter and acetylated lanolin, so your lips are being well looked after.

These come in nice luxurious gold bullets with a clear acrylic lid, so you can immediately see the shade you’re looking for, which is very handy.

Max Factor Longwear Lipstick

Max Factor Lipfinity Longwear Lipstick Swatches

From Left to right

Just Deluxe / Always Chic / Forever Strong / Just Alluring / Evermore Lush / Always Elegant

I absolutely love a couple of shades, in particular, Just Alluring is the perfect everyday lip colour and is a really flattering dusky pink. Also Evermore Lush has become my go-to evening lipstick of choice and this is more of a plummy pink. But I do like all 6 colours and have been enjoying wearing them all.

What are your favourite shades & let me know if you have any favourite products from Max Factor that I should try?

Products that are marked with a * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However, if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.