Colourpop Ultra Matte

Posted on November 4, 2015 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Liquid lipsticks are all the rave at the moment, which means I had to test some of these bad boys out for myself. Loads of makeup brands have launched their own versions of these long wearing formulas including the fairly new brand Colourpop. Known for their fun notes and holographic packaging, Colourpop has delivered some great products thus far, including the ultra matte lipsticks. Here’s my honest opinion (based on the two shades I purchased).

Pros: very pigmented, about 4-5 hour wear, great price ($6)

Cons: dries very quickly, can flake a bit

Now let me elaborate on my cons. The texture/formulation is really thin and liquidy, which is why I feel that they dry quickly, you don’t have much time to work with the product once applied on the lips. Now on to flaking, this happened to me because I made a mistake applying it the first time, figured I could just add another layer but after it dried it began to flake off a bit. Basically you have to be quick and precise with these. I will also say that as many other liquid lipstick formulas these are drying but it’s nothing a little lip balm underneath can’t fix.

Chocolate brown on top is Limbo, Mauve/Rosey on the bottom is Tulle.

Limbo

Tulle

Overall I feel that for the low price of $6 these are a really good buy. I’ve tried some higher end ones that feel the same way so why not save a few dollars, right?

Hope these swatches were of help for those wanting to purchase any of these shades. Which are you favorite liquid lipsticks? Leave comments and suggestions down below.

xx, Gwen

Influenster + YSL Rouge Pur Couture Lipsticks

Posted on October 12, 2015 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Lipstick is one beauty item I most definitely cannot live without (then followed up with mascara as a close second). It can be used on your cheeks for a pop of color when you are in a pinch and can brighten up any dull face to look alive and healthy. I don’t discriminate when it comes to lip products and can appreciate both high end and drugstore brands for what they offer. Influenster was gracious enough to send me two new YSL lip rouge products to test out for our readers! Disclaimer* although these items were sent for review, my opinions and thoughts are mine. Obviously being YSL, the packaging is pristine and I was so giddy opening up the package. The two colors shown are both Rouge Pur Couture in numbers 9 (rose stiletto) and 19 (fuchsia). Retailing at $36 these babies have a high shine satin finish, intense pigmentation and hydration for the lips. I have swatched them below for my ladies out there with my specific skin tone.
Pros
• Intensely Pigmented
• Packaging
• Hydration
• Finish
Cons
• A little pricey (to be expected with a higher end brand)
• The smell is a little bit strong and distracting (in my opinion)

Thanks to influenster for this amazing treat, I can now add these luxurious “grown up” lipsticks to my collection!

ysl, makeup, lipstick, review, influentster

Rose Stiletto (09)- On my skin tone it is a perfect rose nude for everyday purposes.

Fuchsia (19) The perfect hue of pink for a fun pop of color.

XOXO- Ari
Link to purchase the lipsticks – HERE

YSL Vox Box Review

Posted on July 27, 2015 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Luxury cosmetic brands are typically out of my reach seeing as I can’t justify spending the same amount on one thing versus being able to obtain more items (more is more people). In comes influenster! They have graciously sent over the YSL vox box including two brand new YSL cosmetic products to test out for our readers. Disclaimer* Although these items were sent for review, my opinions and thoughts are mine. To start off, the touche eclat blur primer serves many purposes. It can be used as a luxurious base for any foundation or alone to even out the skin tone on a makeup-less day.

Touche Eclat Blur Primer

               Pro’s                                                                                                              Cons
-Super velvety and smooth                                                         -Shimmer/Glitter is very visible worn alone
-Non-comedogenic                                                                    -Slight residue feeling
-Blurs imperfections and minimizes large pores

The second product sent over was the Touche Eclat Blur Perfector. This compact is meant to transform from a balm to a powder to soften the skinds imperfections, mattify and set makeup.

Touche Eclat Blur Pefector

Pro’s Cons
-Beautiful Packaging -Not great to initially set makeup with (I prefer a setting spray
-Universal for all skin-tones
-Minimizes pores
-Can be used for touch ups throughout the day
(not to initially set makeup)

If I were to repurchase one item it would definitely be the perfector seeing as it doubles as a compact and works great for so many purposes.

Toodles, Ari

Mac “Stone” Lipstick

Posted on July 21, 2015 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Having been a cult favorite for some time now, Mac cosmetics has finally come out with some of their signature lip pencils in lipstick form. The color “Stone” is a sexy matte greyish taupe brown that is so on trend right now! This color is muted on its own for everyday use or can be vamped up with some gloss on top for a sexy night transition. I personally would not wear it unless I had a full face just because it makes my skin tone look a little sickly on its own. With a nice highlight and blush, cat eye and bold lashes this lippie is sure to call everyone’s attention. Check it out on Mac’s website or try it on in store! Link down below.

Mac “Stone” Lipstick

Toodles, Ari

Real Techniques Sculpting Set

Posted on June 15, 2015 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Makeup brushes are the kind of item that will either make or break your look, am I right ladies? I am not one to normally splurge on brushes because I believe you can achieve flawless looks with some of the lower end brands, which brings me to speak about Real Techniques! This is by far my favorite brand of brushes! They are affordable, blend amazingly well and do not shed. I own quite a few of them as does Ari and we both absolutely adore them.

If you haven’t heard of Real techniques, it is a brand launched by two sisters (Sam and Nicole chapman). In 2008 they started a YouTube channel and then followed with the launch of their brushes in 2011. They now sell a wide array of brushes ranging from $6-$26.

Now this set I will be speaking about is the sculpting kit ($20). It comes with three brushes, one for sculpting, a fan brush and a setting one. Here’s a closer look

From left to right:

Sculpting brush is great for contouring. It’s angled shape fits perfectly into the hollows of your cheek bones and it is dense enough where it doesn’t grab too much product. Just make the fishy face blend the product and you’re good to go!

Fan Brush is exclusive to the set and it is utter perfection! It’s thin and fluffy enough where a light dusting of product is distributed. I feel this one is perfect for highlight on top on your cheek bones, tops of your brows, center of the nose and cupid’s bow.

Setting brush is another amazing brush! Setting under the eyes can be a bit tricky but with this one it fits nicely under your eyes or anywhere else you want to set (such as your t-zone for my oily girls).

All three of these brushes are super soft and blend products with ease. They can also be used on powder, cream and liquid formulas. What more could a girl ask for?
Hope you all enjoyed this review of my new favorite brushes! Do you guys have any Real Techniques favorites? If so let me know which ones in a comment! I believe this set is sold out on their website but can be found at Superdrug and Feelunique in the UK and at Ulta in the US.

Till next time lovelies,

xx, Gwen

Makeup Forever-Blue Sepia Palette Review

Posted on June 3, 2015 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Today I bring to you this limited edition makeup forever eye shadow palette “Blue Sepia”. I found this lovely at my local Marshalls for the low price of $16.99 compared to its original price of $45! It is an older season item but can still be found online and or in stores like TJMAXX and Marshalls. Inspired by the 1950’s it features a petrol sparkling blue color that really makes your eye pop! I mainly was attracted to it because of the varying soft brown shades that I figured were perfect to use as a base or transitional colors for any shadow look. Two shades are completely matte and even perfect for use on your eyebrows! It also came with a mini double ended shader brush, crease and an angled eyebrow brush not pictured here as I could not find them after use. It is compact and perfect to throw in a travel bag for everyday neutral looks while having the black and blue color options to intensify it to your liking for night.

The pigmentation varies with each color (the darker matte colors show up a lot easier on my tan skin). Feel free to use a medium like fix plus or eye drops to intensify the iridescent or satin colors. Pictures below are with and without flash.

Until the next one, XOXO Ari

New product alert: Covergirl Review

Posted on May 19, 2015 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Hi there lovelies! Fun news: Covergirl was gracious enough to contact us and mail out two new products that are just about to launch! Super exciting right? One of my favorites from Covergirl is the Lashblast Fusion Mascara, makes them really pop! Naturally I was elated when we were sent this package with their new mascara and eyeliner. I’ll be demonstrating some before and after photos and of course per usual give you my honest opinion on these products. Let’s begin!

The mascara is called the “super sizer” and it claims to build up to 400% more corner to corner volume. The applicator brush is made of rubber and it starts off thin and becomes fuller as you reach the top. There are also tiny little bristles in between the larger ones for an added grip on your lashes.

“Intensify Me” is a liquid liner but has the control of a pencil liner. The paddle shaped tip gives you two looks in one, lay it flat and it creates a thick and dramatic line turn it sideways creating a thin and elegant line.

Here are some before and after photos (now please be kind everyone I am not wearing any concealer and my under eye lines/ bags are insane)

Natural Lashes

Two coats of the super size mascara

Thin application of the intensify me eyeliner

My overall thoughts: I feel the mascara is great for lengthening as you can tell in the photo they practically touched my brows after applying two coats. The formula isn’t too wet or gloopy which I really like and my lashes also appeared darker, this is due to the smaller bristles I mentioned before. Does it volumize your lashes? I don’t think it does as much volumizing as I would like it to. I feel this had a more lengthening affect on me.

On to the liner: I really loved the concept of the paddle tip making super easy to use either side for whichever look you’re going for. The formula dries quickly leaving a satin finish. As I mentioned above I am awful at applying liquid liner but this consistency is really smooth and glides on beautifully!

Thank you again Covergirl. Such a pleasure working with you!

Signing off as

Easy, Breezy Beautiful Cover-Gwen

Maybe she’s born with it

Posted on April 13, 2015 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Spring time is finally upon us! I am so excited to bring out some bolder and brighter lip colors now that the sun has decided to come out and play. Maybelline has launched some fun new products lately including these velvet lipstick pencils. I first purchased two colors from the Maybelline Color Drama range back when I attended London Fashion Weekend. I opted for a deep plum color and a blue toned red. I have recently added some brighter shades to my collection and thought I would share them with you all…

From top to bottom
Fab Orange: A fiery orange toned red perfect for those caliente summer nights!
Fushia Desire: An amazing blue toned hot pink shade, great with a flowy sundress!
Nude Perfection: No better name to describe this peachy beige nude shade, a good option when you’re on the go but need a hint of color on your lips

These velvet lipsticks glide on your lips just as the name suggests, super velvety! The texture is incredibly creamy and pigmentation is amazing! I do have to say they aren’t as long wearing as you would want them to be but I myself don’t mind having to re-apply every few hours or so. Also, I read a blog post stating that these could possibly be a dupe for the NARS velvet lipstick pencils (I cannot give my personal opinion on this as I do not own the NARS one) but hey for the inexpensive price tag of only £4.99 I would definitely give the Maybelline ones a go!

(To all my U.S peeps I am not sure if these are being sold back home yet, I know don’t kill me for posting things that aren’t available, I’m sure they will be soon)

What are some of your favorite bright lip shades for spring? Share down below!

xx Gwen

Colour Pop LBB Lippie

Posted on April 9, 2015 by itsapplesandorangesblog

On my recent trip to London to visit my sister Gwen, she gifted me this awesome Colour Pop lippie! This brand is all the rage now and with good reason. The products are so pigmented, affordable, a great color range for all skin tones and they don’t test on animals! I mean could it get any better? The packaging is clean and straight forward. I wanted to share a couple of lip swatches to show the great color pay off and how cool the product really is. This rich plum wine color featured is called “LBB” named after the creator and blogger LittleBlackBoots. It is a matte finish but not drying at all and glides on easily. Below I show it “as is” and with gloss over. I also love the personal touch of the post card! This seems like such a great company and Im excited to see more from them.

I added a slightly nude gloss on top and the lighting is different in this photo. It just goes to show how versatile and pretty this color is!

LBB matte Lippie

Glittery Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Merry Christmas everyone! I am currently down in the sunshine state with my family celebrating the holidays, eating, shopping and more eating! Being in the Christmas spirit and all I wanted to create a look involving lots of glitter. I chose the color green but kept the rest of my makeup pretty neutral. Check it out…

To create this eye look I used the two bottom brown shades in the Stila “mind” palette for the crease. I then used the green eyeshadow called Jade from the Lorac Pro two palette for the eyelid. Followed by some Urban Decay bondage weightless makeup adhesive I proceeded to wet my eyeshadow brush with MAC fix plus and gently patted the glitter onto my lids, (Glitter is from the craft store Michaels).