Hellooooooooooo lovely people! 
I recently went to Beauty UK at the NEC in Birmingham and was super excited to see that NYX had a stand there. Coming from the UK you can only get NYX online (as far as I know) so it was a real treat to see their whole range of products face to face and get to try them out.

While I was there some glosses caught my eye, so I swatched them on my hand and FELL IN LOVE!!!

I am a real sucker for red lips so when I saw these my heart stopped!

The shades I got from left to right are- Plush Red, Garnet and Maroon.

The first thing I noticed about these glosses when I swatched them is that they smell frickin’ DELICIOUS like cherries! Mmmmmmmmmm!

Swatched together in natural sunlight.

The glosses are super highly pigmented and such amazing colours! Especially Maroon! *Dribble!!!!*

The glosses have a bent wand which give a good angle for applying the product to the lips, however I find wands like these make it difficult to apply neatly. I would always recommend using a lip brush and lip liner to get a neat edge.

PLUSH RED- Swatched

Above, Lipgloss on it’s own

Above, Over the top of red lip liner.

Plush Red is a bright blue based red lipgloss. It is opaque and would look great over any red liner/lipstick.

GARNET- Swatched

Above, Lipgloss on it’s own

Above, With deep red lipliner.

Garnet is a deep red. It is a beautiful shade but I feel this gloss is trickier to get an even colour. I would definitely use a base underneath either a lipliner or lipstick.

MAROON- Swatched

Above, Lipgloss on it’s own

Above, With deep red lip liner.

Maroon is deep purple red. This shade goes on really opaque but bleeds really quickly so I would recommend using a lipliner or going along the edges with concealer.

OVERVIEW
All the glosses are stunning colours and smell amaaaazing. I wouldn’t say they have a sticky texture, but they do feel thick on your lips. They bleed so use a lipliner or concealer when wearing them and I would recommend using a base colour, although it isn’t necessary. I don’t think they are particularly long lasting but who cares, they are beaut! Last but not least, LADIES- wear your UP! I wouldn’t fancy getting my hair stuck in this on a windy day ;)

Available at http://www.nyxcosmeticsstore.co.uk/ (UK) for £7
http://www.nyxcosmetics.com/ (US) for $5

Thanks for reading!

Have you tried these glosses? What do you think?

Stay creative,

Carole Lasnier

Christel B

Christel B

Make-up by Yin Lee

Make up by Michelle Webb

Marco Antonio

Make up by Michelle Webb

Christel B

Make up by Adam Burrell

A super hot look seen this season on the catwalk has got to be super sexy red lips! 

Seen strutting the runways for the likes of Victoria Beckham, Marc Jacobs and Zac Posen, this is definitely a classic trend.

Nars headed make-up for Thakoon and they had a special secret to making their red lips so bold:

“We first applied our Heat Wave lipstick, and then crushed Exhibit A blush with a mascara wand as a loose pigment,” revealed Arthur Boston, national stylist for NARS. “Then we carefully set the crushed pigment onto the models’ lips to create a really bright, luminous quality.”

Red lips are definitely something that creates a statement and can be difficult to perfect. Here is my way of doing the perfect red lips:

• Make sure your lips are well conditioned and nice and smooth. Take an old toothbrush and gently brush away any dead or dry skin on the lips.
• About 15-20 minutes before doing your lipstick, condition the lips using Carmex, Vaseline or something similar. A great product to use is Lucas Papaw Ointment, a natural skin care product that is fantastic for lips!
• When you come to do the lips, firstly wipe away any excess of conditioner you have left.
• Line the lips with a nude lip liner, I like MAC Lip Pencil in Naked Liner, but use which ever you prefer.
• Using a light concealer or pearly highligher, highlight the cupids bow (centre of upper lip) and blend into upper lip. (this might look like you have a milk moustache now, but trust me when you apply your lipstick it is unnoticeable!)
• Next, line the lips with a red lip liner. It doesn’t have to be the exact same shade as your lipstick, but something similar or that will blend into the colour. Liners I love are- Mac in Redd, Nars in Dragon Girl, Barry M in Red.
• Also fill the lips in with the pencil, this will give it more staying power and stop the colour from bleeding.
• Using your favourite brush, (mine is Illamasqua’s Lip Brush, its beautiful!) Start to apply your lipstick from centre of your lower lip and fill this in. Then take your brush from the corner of your mouth and sweep in towards the middle so the edge of your brush creates a neat line. This can take some practice to get neat! Do the same for the upper lip, using the angles on your brush to get a neat cupids bow.
• When you are happy with the way your lips are filled in, blot once on some tissue.
• Finally we want to seal our lipstick, this can be done using a sealant or a powder. I personally prefer to use powder but you can use whatever you prefer, a good sealant is Lipcote. Take a tissue and separate the layers so you are left with one thin layer. Hold this up to your lips lightly so it is over them but not touching. Taking your translucent powder and brush, powder gently over the tissue and your lips. The small powder pigments will go through the tissue and onto the lips and set it. 
• You can go around the edge with a flat brush and concealer to neaten edges if you feel it necessary.

If you are going out, don’t forget to take your lipstick with you! It is handbag sized so there are no excuses! :)

Every brand has a red lippy so shop around and find your fave! Here are some of mine:

MAC-Russian Red, Nars-Heat wave, Barry M- Pillar Box Red, Illamasqua- Box, Max Factor- Flame Tree, Sleek- Vixen

There are sooo many!

Hope you get a chance to wear the statement lip as it is a beautiful look!

Stay creative,

Grace <3

BARRY M GLITTER NAIL POLISH

I am in love with this nail varnish, it is amazing!! The picture is really rubbish but my nails are block glitter and multi-dimensional, its FAB! 

I firstly applied a red base coat, I don’t think it matters which brand or shade its just to give the glitter a background. I did 2 coats of plain red and then 2 coats of the Barry M Glitter and finally applied a clear top coat to give more dazzle. I have had it on for 3 days now and haven’t even got 1 chip, which is rare!! I would recommend you all buy it because for £2.99 it is a major bargain! 

It is available in Superdrug stores and online here.

Stay creative

Grace <3

Jess Stam

<3

I am in LOVE with these lip pencils from Barry M!

Ok, so this is rather random, but…….. ages ago when watching the film Zoolander I noticed one of the characters, Katinka played by Milla Jovovich had a beautiful metalic red lip. From then on I tried to find a lip colour similar but couldn’t find one anywhere! 

That is until I discovered Barry M’s Lip Lacquer Crayon. Retailing at just £4.99 I would say that is a BARGAIN! 

They go on super creamy and really highly pigmented with a beautiful metallic shine. They are available in 5 colours, ranging from very light pink, to a deep red.

I would say my favourites are Scarlett Red and Party Pink!

They are definitely worth a buy and are great for personal use as well as for a make-up kit, GET YOURSELVES ONE OF THESE!

Party Pink

Scarlett Red

HOW TO APPLY BARRY M LIP LACQUER:

Make sure your lips are nice and conditioned before adding any colour. Use a scrub or an old toothbrush to remove any dry skin and then use your favourite colourless balm. I like to use Vaseline or Carmex.

Use a highlighter or a light coloured concealer to highlight the cupids bow and then blend outwards.

The best way to apply the pencil is not to actually pencil in the lips, but to use a brush. By using the pencil, it is difficult to create neat edges and is also common for the colour to bleed. My favourite lip brush is from Illamaqua £18.50, it gives beautiful definition and easy application. Well worth the investment!

 http://www.illamasqua.com/shop/catalogue/category/accessories/products/lip-brush/69/

Start by out lining your cupids bow then filling in outwards, making sure you go right to the edges of your mouth. For the bottom lip, start by outlining from the middle and then also filling outwards. 

If you are not used to using a brush it may take a while to get used to but it is definitely worth it! It enables super neat lips every time making your look neat and clean. So have a go!

Barry M Lip Lacquer Pencils are available from Superdrug and on their website.

http://www.barrym.com/lip-lacquer-crayon

Hope you like these as much as I do!

Stay creative,

Grace <3