YSL Rouge pur Couture Glossy Lip Stain (9)

I am in love with red lips at the moment and have a growing collection of red lip glosses, lipsticks, lip stains and balms. I decided to treat myself and buy a YSL Glossy Lip Stain, I have wanted one of these for a while but never knew what colour I wanted, there's too many to choose from, but I finally just went for number 9. You can view the whole range HERE. I bought mine from Debenhams for £25.00, I also have my Debenhams Beauty Club Card so I get points every time I make a purchase.

YSL Glossy Stain in 9

I know some people think that £25.00 is a lot of money for a lip gloss/stain, but I love buying premium beauty products and I love designers. I also love some of the other YSL products and think they are all great quality and are worth it. This product gives me beautiful red, glossy (but not too glossy) lips which lasts until I eat a meal or take it off. 

The applicator is a really good shape, it's just perfect for applying it evenly and symmetrically to the lips, it also holds enough product and doesn't give an uneven finish. When I wear this I just feel glam, I really love the look it gives me and I love taking it out of my bag to apply it, the packaging is just beautiful. The colour 9 is a lovely bright true red, the kind of colour and tone that suits me best. They have so many colours though that you are sure to find one to suit you. If you don't want to pay the £25.00 price tag for this product a good dupe for these YSL Glossy Lip Stains is the L'Oreal Paris Glam Shine Stain Splash at just £7.99, you can see the full range of colours HERE.

I would say that the L'Oreal ones have less colours to choose from and don't last as long and aren't as pigmented, but I now have a few of these L'Oreal lip stains and I love them, they are so easy and probably do a better job of actually staining the lips so when anything does come off you still have the lovely colour underneath. Although I'm a big fan of the L'Oreal Glam Shine Stain Splash range, I really do like a little bit of luxury and feel that the YSL Glossy Lip Stains delivers just that. The colour is so rich, pigmented and think so it really gives a great colour payoff.

I want to buy more of these now in different colours!

Chanel Beaute Des Cils Mascara Base

Last week I bought the Chanel Beaute Des Cils Mascara Base because my Dior one needed replaced and I thought I would try a different one for a change. I never bothered with mascara primers before but I decided to try the Dior one about six months ago and now I think they are fantastic! They are great for days you need your make up to last longer and they really help to hold your lashes in place all day, some primers are also enriched with lash caring ingredients which is beneficial for the condition of your lashes. You can also wear some of these lash caring primers at night although I never have.

Chanel Beaute Des Cils

The Chanel primer was £24 which is expensive but I wanted to try it for ages and the Dior one I normally use is £23 so its not a huge difference in price for me, also because you don't need to use it everyday it lasts longer so you don't need to buy it all the time.

"Beaute Des Cils is the 'specific beauty care' for lashes to be used on its own or as a primer. Worn under mascara, it intensifies and prolongs the makeup effect. Applied daily, it protects and acts like a rejuvenating treatment thanks to its nourishing and fortifying formula. Watch your lashes grow stronger." Find out more here.

Without Chanel Beaute Des Cils

With Chanel Beaute Des Cils

You can see the consistency and how it really coats your lashes, after a while it dries clear however some thicker areas of the primer stay white so I wouldn't recommend using this on it's own during the day. After it has dried applying mascara is easier as I usually find I only need the one coat but if you don't let it dry fully I feel like you just wipe it off with your mascara.

Chanel Beaute Des Cils

Brush Applicator

Overall I do like this primer it's just I think I prefer my Diorshow one as I feel it gives better results and I prefer the brush of my Diorshow Maximizer because it really holds my lashes in place all day, I feel that with the Chanel one they do lose some of their shape as the day goes on, not a huge amount but enough to notice the difference between this and my Diorshow Maximizer. The Chanel one is really good though and I will use it up but the next time I run out I will go back to my trusty Diorshow Primer. I also feel that the Diorshow Maximizer gives my lashes a bit more volume than the Chanel Beaut Des Cils. These are the only two eye lash primers I have used so let me know what your favourite one is so I can try others.

Clinique: Bottom Lash Mascara Review

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara

So my lovely fiancé bought me the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara in Black. It retails for £12.00, he bought it in our local Debenhams store.

http://www.clinique.co.uk/product/1606/15586/Makeup/Mascara/Bottom-Lash-Mascara/index.tmpl

So for starters its probably the cutest mascara I have ever seen!

Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara

Close up of the cute little brush.

For this review I don't think my usual L.O.V.E method is appropriate, seeing as it is just for bottom lashes the review will just be a general review of the product.

I actually think this product is just so cute that I have to like it! The packaging it gorgeous, silver with a floral print all over it. The brush is just so tiny so it's perfect for getting all of those bottom lashes, and it did this really well. I sometimes find with putting normal mascara on your bottom lashes it can clump easily and get kinda messy, but with this little one there's no problems at all. My lashes didn't clump, stick together and it gave an even coating to all of my lashes giving them a natural look, this is the kind of look I personally want for my bottom lashes because I don't suit darker, thicker ones. This product really is idea if you just want natural looking bottom lashes, I think if you added another coat or two you could get a darker, thicker effect if that's what you were after. At the same time, I don't know if it is really necessary, I can achieve a similar effect with certain other mascaras I can use for both my top and bottom lashes, is having a separate product for top and bottom lashes really needed. In my case, it's not, but I will use this product up while I have it, I will actually use it every day, who knows maybe I will fall in love with it but for now it's not something I would spend my money on again because it kinda over complicates things, but it's just so cute!

Dior: Diorshow Iconic Mascara Review

Dior, Diorshow Iconic Mascara

Today I have another mascara review, this time I review the Dior, Diorshow Iconic Mascara in Black.

"A Dior exclusive innovation for a revolutionary oblique brush. The incredibly soft elastomer brush features slanted bristles to capture each lash one by one. In one quick stroke, with no special application method necessary, the brush acts like a brushing on lashes. Enriched with a unique lifting formula, Diorshow Iconic sculpts, stretches and curves the lashes with extreme hold and high definition."

I bought this mascara for £23.00 in Debenhams, I also had £5 to use on my Debenhams Beauty Card so I put that towards the cost so I only paid £18.00 for it. This was my first Dior mascara, I bought it because my mum loves it and has used it for years, she also said it lasted ages and doesn't dry out, so I thought I would give it a go.

http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10701_10001_123172963799_-1

My bare lashes, I have only combed them with my MAC lash comb.

This is my lashes after two coats of Diorshow Iconic Mascara, and one coat on the lower lashes.

This is my complete eye makeup look with my usual eye liner.

Overall I found this mascara was slightly too wet, almost tacky for me. It made it more difficult to apply and took longer because my lashes kept sticking together. It also created some little clumps which you can see in the shots above. I do love the packaging of this mascara though, it looks great in your makeup bag! Just a classic silver tube with Dior printed all over it, the actual size of the product seems bigger than most mascaras which is surprising for a premium make up brand. The brush is a rubber/plastic one with lots of soft tiny bristles.

 

Loving the packaging!

You can see the structure of the brush and all of the tiny bristles.

Length: 3/5 This mascara did add some extra length to my lashes, but only after a second coat, which unfortunately caused some slight clumping. Adding a second coat took a lot longer as well because the formula was slightly tacky. Because my eye lashes are naturally longer, its difficult to add a huge amount of extra length to them, so it defined my natural length, sculpted them into place while adding a slight curl, this in turn added extra length to my lashes.  I give Diorshow Iconic 3/5 for length, it did add some extra length and help sculpt and curl my lashes, but the formula did clump making it harder to add further coats.

Overall Performance: 3/5 The overall performance of this mascara is decent. The formula I found to be too wet which made it really difficult to apply the mascara whilst separating my lashes as they all stuck together. The formula did clump during the application even on the first coat, but I think this is because the formula is really thick. I like the idea of the brush, it would make a fantastic lash comb! I think, however, due to the formula being so wet and thick it stuck between bristles preventing them from separating my lashes evenly. The mascara didn't flake, transfer or smudge throughout the day and it held my lashes in the same place all day as they were that morning. The also mascara comes off with no difficulty, I used my normal makeup wipes.

The mascara defined my lashes well but didn't give them enough separation as I would have liked. I did like the completed look with my eyeliner as I felt it was a darker more glamorous look, maybe more suitable for special occasions or for going out. I prefer the fanned out look to my eye lashes, this gave some of them a more spiky look.

Volume: 3/5 So the Diorshow Iconic did add voulme to my eyelashes, I think the thicker formula did this, at the same time it did clump slightly which was annoying and took longer to apply. The first coat did add some extra volume but when I applied a second coat, which I usually do with mascara, it started clumping and stuck some of my eye lashes together.

Expense: 2/5 I don't feel the Diorshow Iconic was worth the price I paid for it, I was glad I got my extra £5 off! I love having premium makeup brands and Dior is such a good brand with a great range of beautiful products, but the Iconic didn't live up to my expectations and I think its all down to the formula, it's just too thick for my lashes, maybe because my lashes are so fine it weighs them down and they stick together. I really do love the brush though and if the formula was maybe more whipped it would provide excellent separation with that amazing brush. However, my mum loves this mascara and it looks great on her, she has shorter lashes than me so maybe that's why.

L.O.V.E RESULT:

      11/20

Overall I wouldn't buy the Diorshow Iconic mascara again, (unless it was a present for my mum) and I won't be adding it to my makeup bag. I think this mascara would be better suited for shorter lashes and I am looking forward to trying another Dior mascara in the future, I have my eye on the New Look, watch this space!