Dainty Doll Storm in A Teacup

As I have said many times, Dainty Doll is one of my favourite make up brands, particularly when it comes to cheeks and lips, so I was really excited to receive some products from their Summer Collection! Their Summer Collection contains everything you need to perfect your summer look, whether you like bright neons or a soft neutral look.

The collection contains three beautiful nude lipsticks, and I was sent Storm in a Teacup to try. It is a soft pinky brown, and it doesn’t give me the dreaded ‘concealer lips’ effect. This is a great shade for pale girls that don’t have pale lips. My lips are quite dark and have a lot of mauve tones, so I need a nude that just warms them up, rather than blanking them out.

Like all the Dainty Doll Lipsticks I have tried this has a satin/matt finish, and lasts pretty well. This is one of my favourite lipstick formulas, they never slide around, and will stay where you put them, they are somewhere between a MAC Satin and Matt finish.

If you have pale to medium skin and can’t get beige nude shades like MAC Hue to work for you, this lipstick is definitely worth a look. For me it’s a nude that I don’t have to think about, I don’t have to worry that it’s washing me out, or that I need to crank up the eye make-up to make up for it. Just perfect!

Stay tuned for a FOTD including this lipstick, and some reviews on the cream blushers also released with this collection!

Dainty Doll can be found at Boots, where the lipsticks cost £12.50

Disclosure: PR Sample

Revlon Raspberry Bite

If your sick of reading about tinted lip balms and sheer formulas read on! Revlon Raspberry Bite Looks quite dark in the tube and looks like it would be more of an autumn shade. When applied however it is a really bright, in your face, true raspberry. This is definitely the perfect raspberry shade, if your missing your autumn berry shades this is a great lipstick for Spring/Summer.

I can’t fault the formula of this lipstick, it’s creamy, wears well and isn’t too drying. The best bit is I got this for £1.99! You can’t get this in Boots/Superdrug, I got it from a discount/wholesale cosmetics store but it can be found very easily on eBay (link) along with a lot of other Revlon shades.

Bargain of the Week

I have been lusting after some harder to find Revlon shades for about a year know, but I’m not keen on using eBay, and well laziness prevailed.

There’s a discount cosmetics shop in Loughborough, called Blush Beauty Box that I love browsing when I feel like grabbing a bargain. They have recently moved to a bigger location and stock some great brands both high end and high street, if your in the Leicestershire area I really recommend checking them out! You can view their website here

Whilst browsing the lipsticks I found the discontinued Strawberry Suede and Raspberry Bite (which I think is US exclusive?) they weren’t priced, but I knew I had to have them.  These were £1.99 each!

I’m not sure why I didn’t immediately go and raid the stand, but I’m sure I will find myself back there very soon!

L’Oreal Paris Rouge Caresse Aphrodite Scarlett

I spotted these a while ago, but for some reason haven’t bought one until now. Not sure why, perhaps over excited for the Revlon Lip Butters?

L’Oreal Rouge Caresse are another sheer lipstick/balm hybrid to pop up on the highstreet. As with the Revlon Lip Butters I don’t find these to be revolutionary, I think they have filtered down from the popularity of more expensive sheer lipsticks, like the Chanel Rouge Coco Shines.

I don’t find the formula of this to be like the Lip Butters at all. The Caresses' are a lot more translucent, slightly easier to apply but don’t last as long.

Aphrodite Scarlet is a gorgeous pinky red shade that gives a beautiful pop of colour. L’Oreal have got the texture of these spot on, they feel weightless and moisturising at the same time, and don't have the same thickness and tacky feeling as Revlon offerings.

My only gripe is with the shade range, which is mainly pinks and nudes, although it does have enough variety I would of liked to have seen an orange shade for summer. The other red shade looks beautiful, and I will definitely be picking it up when I can find a Boots/Superdrug that has it in stock.

You can find L’Oreal Rouge Caresse Lipsticks at Boots where they cost £7.99

No7 Vital Brights Lipstick in Blossoming Pink

There’s something about No7’s Spring collections, they always seem to get me. So when I found I had No7 vouchers coming out of my ears, I felt like I needed to pick something up. The lipstick in Blossoming Pink is a sheer pinky nude. This is my type of nude, anything paler than this scares the bejesus out of me and tends to make me look a bit corpse like. I love the pale lipped look on some, but on me? I have quite pigmented lips and  it just doesn’t work.

This has a really easy to wear creamy texture, and because it is quite sheer it should suit a wide range of skin tones. I really love this shade, and will definitely be pairing it with the Blossoming Pink Blush (reviewed here).

I love No7’s lipsticks, and they’re one of the first things I go for when I get a voucher. I have tried a couple of the forumlas and I’m yet to find a bad one!

I still have about 4 No7 vouchers left so do I be good and get some sponges for free, or more lipstick?

You can find No7’s Vital Brights lipsticks at Boots where they retail at £10 (£5 with a voucher)

Urban Decay Lipstick in Tease

I have a few Urban Decay lipsticks, and they’re one of my favourite formulas, they’re quite similar to the MAC Cremesheens. The shades I have are all moisturising,comfortable on the lips but still long lasting. If you’ve used a Urban Decay lip products you’ll know they are quite heavily scented of Creme Brulee, which I don’t mind, but if you don’t like scented lip products its something to consider.

Tease is a toned down pinky coral. If you are a bit scared of coral (like me) this is a great shade. It works well with neutral looks for a subtle pop of colour.

Urban Decay lipsticks are often overlooked but they have a great range of neutral and bright shades.

I purchase my Urban Decay Lipstick from Beauty Box in Leicester (they are also stocked online here) for £6.00 but you can also find them at Look Fantastic (£13.00)

Gareth Pugh for MAC (aka Packaging Porn)

My boyfriend saw me looking at this collection online and he was lovely enough to pick me up the lipstick in Fervent, a dark blue toned purple. The packaging is gorgeous, a heavy metal case that shuts with a very satisfying click. As usual with the Gareth Pugh collections, they hiked the priced up, and this lipstick costs £20.50. I wouldn’t have paid that myself, so I’m really happy my boyfriend picked this up for me!

Fervent is available at MAC stores and online.

Gift Idea for Her (Luxury) Dolce and Gabbana Lipsticks

If you’re struggling to find the perfect girt for the lady in your life who loves luxury, you might want to take a look at Dolce and Gabbana’s Classic Cream Lipsticks.My boyfriend bought me the Lip Jewels Palette last year which contains (from top) Dahlia, Ultra, Devil, Nude, the lipsticks  have a gorgeous, classic satin formula, last for about four-five hours on the lips and don’t dry out your lips.

The line contains some beautiful, classic colours and the packaging is beautiful and screams excess and indulgence.

I’m one of the first people to admit to loving an inexpensive lipstick, but sometimes, you just need a touch of excess, and who wouldn’t love the gold packaging!

Dolce and Gabbana Classic Cream Lipsticks cost £22.00 and are available from Harrods

I’m Living in a Material World with Dainty Doll Lipstick in Material World

I’ve had this lipstick for a while, but for some reason it’s been ignored. I dug it out today for work, and I can’t think why I’ve left it stashed away for so long. The image above was taken after about an hours wear ( and consumption of half a pack of Double Stuff Oreos and milk, ssshhh!!!) Shades like this normally last half an hour on me before completely disappearing, but this one lasted a good 4 hours (which as I said included eating and drinking)  before I wanted to reapply. It’s got a lovely creamy texture and isn’t drying.

You can find Dainty Doll Lipsticks at Harrods and Boots priced £12.50

17 Mirror Shine Lipstick

I never really paid much attention to 17 until last year when I bought one of their lipsticks in New Black and loved it. Since then I’ve picked up a few bits from the line but the product that has really impressed me is the Mirror Shine Lipsticks. I’m not a bit lover of gloss and the sticky, gloopyness that comes with it, so when I want something other than an opaque lip colour I use these which offer a non sticky veil of colour for your lips.

The colours I have are Beehive, a gorgeous pinky nude, and Peace a muted coral pink. Both colours are sheer, so if you have pigments lips they will show through and the formula reminds me of Mac’s Glaze lipsticks. If you don’t like a lot of colour on your lips but just want to even out your natural lip colour Beehive is a great shade to get.

The longevity isn’t great with these and they won’t last through a big meal but they are so comfortable to wear I don’t mind reapplying, or you could always pop a bit of liner underneath to increase their longevity.
With a lot of higher end brands bringing out their own gloss/lipstick hybrids it’s great to see an affordable version on the high street. 
You can find 17 Mirror Shine lipsticks at Boots priced £4.59.

Top 5: Red Lips

Every woman should own a red lipstick, or so they say. I myself own far more than one! Here’s my Top 5 from my stash:

From L-R:
Jemma Kidd Make Up School: Silk Touch Lipgloss in The Perfect Red (was exclusive to last months Red magazine)
Mac Lipglass: Russian Red (£12.50 available at MAC)
Urban Decay: Icon Lipstick in Revolution ( £13.00 available here)
Mac Lipstick:Ruby Woo (£13.50 available at MAC)
Mac Lipstick: Viva Glam I (£13.50 available at MAC)

Dainty Doll Lipstick in It’s My Party

As I mentioned yesterday, I discovered the new Dainty Doll concession in Boots and the line of lipsticks caught my eye, knowing I had just enough Boots points to cover one I limited myself to choosing one ( not an easy task!) and settled upon the bright coral pink ‘It’s My Party’.
The outer packaging is gorgeous, I love the design on the box, and it’s nice to see something different to a plain black box with nothing but a brand name.


It’s My Party is a beautiful shade for paler skin tones, it isn’t too orange or too pink, so will suit cooler and warmer toned skin, and because it’s so bright it will suit darker skin as well. Its a matte finish lipstick, and a tad dry, but not uncomfortable,  so you will want to exfoliate and use some lip balm. Because of the finish the wear time is very good lasting around 4 hours on me before it started to fade, and this could be lengthened with use of a lip liner or primer.

It’s My Party swatched.
Have you checked out the Dainty Doll line? ill definitely be picking up some more of the lipsticks, and taking a look at the blushers!

A little haul…

I went into Boots this afternoon to get a hair dye and couldn’t resist using some Boots Points (so I haven’t technically broken my no buy!) to get something from Nicola Roberts Dainty Doll range which has recently cropped up in selected Boots stores.

I picked up a lipstick(£12.50) 003 ( it’s my party) one of five colours in the lipstick range, all aimed at paler skin. It’s my party is a bright coral pink, although it looks a lot redder in the tube. I’ll be doing a full review in a day or so when I have tested wear time!

I also picked up a John Frieda Precision Foam Colour in Deep Cherry Brown. I’ve used this colour once before and I’m a big fan of the foam, not only because its easy but I only need one box to do my hair, where as with traditional dyes I would need two!
Dainty Doll is available at Harrods and selected Boots, John Frieda Precision Foam Colour is available at Boots, Superdrug and supermarkets, and is currently on offer for £6.79 at Boots.