MAC Lipstick reviews - Creme Cup, Speed Dial and Viva Glam Gaga 2

Today I decided to review the MAC lipstick I own which up to now are Creme Cup, Speed Dial and Viva Glam Gaga 2. I own a lot of lipsticks but these three are the ones I wear most, partly because of quality and also because the shades are my favourites.

On the left we have Creme Cup, my absolute favourite lipstick shade out of any brand I own. I use this colour the most. In the middle is Speed Dial and on the right is Viva Glam Gaga 2.

First I'll talk about Creme Cup as I mentioned it is my favourite lipstick:

This shade is a Cremesheen finish and looks quite glossy when worn on the lips. It is a pale pink colour and is described on their website as a light blue pink. I wear this almost everyday as it literally goes with anything and looks absolutely beautiful on. Sometimes I do wear lip gloss over my lipstick but not with the Cremesheen finish as I mentioned before it has a glossy look when worn. When worn on a night out I find I need to reapply once or twice when I've had a drink just to make sure it stays perfect but otherwise it generally has really good staying power. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this shade but I believe everyone should own it!!

Okay so next is Speed Dial:

As you can see from the picture, Speed Dial is a more vivid pink than Creme Cup however it also has a Cremesheen finish. I tend to wear this when I want a pink lip but a bolder colour than Creme Cup and want to make my lips the focus of my make up. It is described on MAC's website as a light blue pink but I will include pictures at the end of the post so you can compare Speed Dial next to Creme Cup. As with Creme Cup the quality and staying power is exactly the same, it is just a different shade.

Finally, the first MAC lipstick I ever bought which is Viva Glam Gaga 2:

This shade was described as a warm beige and is exactly what it says. When worn on my lips it almost matches my skin tone and is a very neutral colour. I use it mostly when I'm creating dramatic eye make up and need a very neutral lip. It last for hours on end due to it having an Amplified finish and being more pigmented than the other two in my opinion, however it does show up imperfections on my lips so they need prepping well before it is applied. 

All the lipsticks above cost me £14 each and the swatches are below. The first picture is without flash and the second with a flash starting with Creme Cup on the left, Speed Dial in the middle and Viva Glam Gaga 2 on the right:

I will be buying two new MAC lipstick shades soon called Modesty and Creme D'Nude so I will review those as soon as I buy them :).

Amanda

KIKO product reviews (lip liner, eyeliner, lipstick)

Recently I visited the Stratford Westfield centre near London and got to buy a few products from a brand I've been wanting to try called KIKO. I went in and bought two lip liners, one pencil eyeliner and three lipsticks, all extremely reasonably priced. In this post I'm going to give you a review of the items I bought.

I'll talk about the lipstick first, stating with what is known on their website as the 'Smart Lipstick'. I bought two shades of this lipstick for £1.90 each (absolute bargain).

First I'll review shade number 12 called 'Antique Dark Rose':

The shade a brown-ish pinky colour and has a matte texture. It is a pretty neutral colour so could be worn most of the time without clashing with too much. The staying power of the lipstick is pretty good considering the price paid, however it will probably need to be reapplied a few times through the day, mostly after having a drink. Swatches of the lipstick will be further down.

The other 'Smart Lipstick' shade I bought was number 78 which is called 'Light Brown':

As suggested by the name it is supposed to be a light brown however I found that it had a peach tone to it, so don't be frightened off if you don't think you could wear brown. Again like the previous lipstick the staying power was pretty good but it would probably need reapplying a few times.

The other type of lipstick I bought is called 'Crystal Sheer - Glossy Lipstick' and I bought this in shade number 401 called 'Latte':

This lipstick cost me a little bit more than the other at £5.00 but is definitely my favourite of the three. It has the colour you would expect from a lipstick but as suggested by the name it looks like you have applied a gloss too. Thsi colour is very similar to the 'Light Brown' shade mentioned and is a nude colour. I find this one need a little bit more application that the 'Smart Lipstick' due to the glossy appearance of it because it can come off easier than the other however it looks beautiful when worn. 

Next I'll review the two lip liners I bought which also cost me £1.90 each and are called 'Smart Pencil'. The first shade I'll show you is number 700 called 'Light Sienna':

This shade is similar to the 'Light Brown' and 'Latte' shades and I use it with these two as well as nude coloured lipsticks from other brands. I find the application very easy and smooth, creating a perfect line around my lips. The staying power is very good on these pencils as I did not need to touch it up at any point through the day. 

The other shade I bought is number 703 called 'Rosewood' and has the same quality as 'Light Sienna'. I would use this shade with my red lipsticks and dark pink lipsticks. 

Finally the last product I bought was a pencil eyeliner called 'Smart Eye Pencil' in the shade 815 called 'Smoke Gray'. 

The shade is not quite jet black but not too far off and when worn on the inside of your eyes you would not be able to tell the difference. As with the lip pencils I found the application of this really smooth and I did not have to go back over my line at all. As with any liner worn on the inner rim of your eyes it did run a little, but no more than any others and it did not ruin the look I created. This item also cost me £1.90 so for the price I would really recommend it.

These are swatches of all the products mentioned above starting from left to right with lip liner in 'Light Sienna', lip liner in 'Rosewood', Crystal Sheer lipstick in 'Latte', Smart Lipstick in 'Antique Dark Rose' and finally Smart Lipstick in 'Light Brown'. 

 

The first picture is without a flash and the second is with a flash. In the second picture you can really see the glossy effect of the Crystal Sheer lipstick. As KIKO stores only seem to be in the Westfield centres, if you can't get to their stores they do have a website for you to order from. I really would recommend these products for the prices and I'm actually going to buy some more when I've finished this post so I shall keep you updated on what I buy.

Hope this helps! 

Amanda :)

A little about me...

I'm currently working on a few things for upcoming posts including nail polish swatches and I thought in the meantime I'd tell you a little bit about myself...

My name is Amanda and I'm 21 from Liverpool. I study English Literature at Liverpool John Moores University however my real passion turns out to be for make up (so much so I'm actually considering going to do a course in that). I spend a lot of my time in London as my boyfriend lives there but you can't take the city out of a girl, especially Liverpool. Liverpool is pretty well known for girls being glammed up all the time for example, rollers in our hair and the 'scousebrow' etc. That's just a bit of a stereotype though, however we do like to look good.

Anyway, I'm going to carry on doing prep for my future posts now :)

Upper lash liner - Gel vs Liquid

Okay, so I decided to do my first post about upper lash line eyeliner as it's something I tend to wear a lot of and have a few brands and types to compare. I sometimes wear this on a day to day basis however it is a must when wearing false eyelashes to ensure they blend with your own eyelashes and no gaps can be seen.

First up, we've got Bobbi Brown - Long Wear Gel Eyeliner, my personal favourite and go to eyeliner:

This is the packaging the Bobbi Brown eyeliner comes in and in this pack you get two colours, Black and Sepia which comes out as a dark brown on the skin which is a bit less harsh against blonde hair.

Once out of the packaging you can see that they come in their own lovely glass pots and also come with a brush for application. I find that this eyeliner is very easy to apply and has a very intense colour, so you don't need to use much to achieve a perfectly opaque, smooth line. I tend to use the Black more than the Sepia just because of personal preference as the Sepia is also lovely when worn. The pots last absolutely ages, I still have another unopened duo in my drawer because I haven't ran out yet. I do wear these pots an awful lot, so even though they are the most expensive of the brands I am listing, they are very worth the money not only for quality but for how long they last. You can see the swatches for this at the end of the post so they can all be compared next to each other. You can buy single pots from Debenhams for about £17 depending what shade you choose.

Next up is MAC Penultimate Liner which is a liquid liner in the form of a pen. The best way to describe this would be like a slimline felt tip pen. 

Anyone who knows me will know how much I love MAC make up and how much of it I own, however I really do not rate this product. I find it does not create a strong line and to get a real intense colour you have to go over it many times. Even after doing so it still does not create a fully opaque black line and unless you have really steady hands and are skilled at applying eyeliner you will probably struggle to get a perfect line in my opinion. This can be bought from MAC for £16 and swatches will be at the bottom of the page. 

The third eyeliner I am comparing is Illamasqua Precision Ink. I bought this is the shade Havoc which is a deep reddish/brown colour and is described as Aubergine:

This eyeliner is a liquid eyeliner again and I really do like this eyeliner. It makes for a smoother application than the Bobbi Brown however I find the Bobbi Brown has better staying power. The line is perfectly smooth due to the pointed nib on the brush and the colour is very intense and opaque. I got mine for £5 in the sale after Christmas, however it can still be bought from Illamasqua for £17. I would recommend this eyeliner as the best liquid liner, but Bobbi Brown as the best Gel eyeliner. Swatches will be below.

Finally the last eyeliner I will be comparing is Tesco's brand VIVO Gel eyeliner in Lady Grey:

So, this eyeliner is not a brand that I would usually go to but I was caught without my eyeliner in London and really needed some so grabbed the nearest option. The colour is Lady Grey and is not quite grey or black. but a dark grey that is verging on black. I find the application quite difficult compared to the other gel liner I mentioned (Bobbi Brown). The product can be quite clumpy and is not smooth to apply at all, leaving clumps inbetween your eyelashes. The line it creates is not an intense colour and even with many coats I found the colour did not get any darker or more opaque. I tried to apply this under false eyelashes and it had absolutely no staying power and the glue of the eyelashes in fact removed some of the eyeliner. The only pro to this gel eyeliner is the way it is packaged with the top of the lid pulling out and when flipped round it clips back in to the lid to create a long brush to use. The price is very reasonable but I would not recommend if you're looking for a great quality product. It can be bought at Tesco for £3.49

The final pictures I have to show you are swatches of the eyeliners on my hand:

The top picture is taken with a flash and the bottom is without a flash. From left to right the brands and colours are: Bobbi Brown Black gel eyeliner, Bobbi Brown Sepia gel eyeliner, VIVO Lady Grey gel eyeliner, MAC Penultimate liner and finally Illamasqua Precision Liner in Havoc. 

So to conclude, in my opinion the best gel liner is Bobbi Brown by far and the best liquid liner is Illamasqua Precision Ink. I would choose Bobbi Brown for staying power, especially when wearing false eyelashes and I would choose Illamasqua for a day to day wear with easy application. 

Thanks for reading and I hope this was of help!!

So, I'm new to the blogging world. That being said I've developed a real passion for make up and beauty products. I've started buying a lot of products by many brands including MAC, Illamasqua, Urban Decay etc. So my plan is to start off blogging about the products I own or have bought recently and take it from there! Enjoy!