Seasonal makeup: blush and lipstick

I was thinking the other day how I've totally neglected some of my blushes and lippies, particularly the warmer bronze/apricot colours. I thought I'd show you what kind of colours I tend to wear in winter as opposed to summer...

DAYTIME BLUSHES
TOP ROW: WINTER 

Savvy by DB blush in Rose

Arbonne blush in Blossom*

BOTTOM ROW: SUMMER

NARS blush in Luster

Sleek blush in Rose Gold 

 Left: Winter blushes - Savvy by DB in Rose, Arbonne blush in Blossom

Right: Summer blushes:NARS Luster  (3rd swatch), Sleek Rose Gold (4th swatch) 

During winter, I definitely wear more pink toned colours. I prefer a sunkissed glow in summer, if I did that in winter, you'd be able to tell I was cheating!

 NIGHT BLUSHES

TOP: WINTER

MAC Beauty Powder Blush in Feeling

Elf Studio Blush in Berry Merry

BOTTOM: SUMMER

MAC Powder blush in Margin

Sleek Blush in Sunrise

Left: Winter blushes - MAC Feeling & Elf Berry Merry

Right:  MAC Margin (3rd swatch) and Sleek Sunrise (4th swatch)

In winter, I opt for purpley toned blushes whereas in summer, I go with bronzey/browns.

NIGHT LIPSTICKS

LEFT: SUMMER

Savvy by DB lipstick in Sugar Rose

Revlon Colorburst lipstick in Rosy Nude

RIGHT: WINTER

Revlon Colorburst lipstick in Soft Rose

Arbonne lipstick in Jam*

Left: Summer lipsticks - Savvy Sugar Rose, Revlon Rosy Nude

Right: Winter - Revlon Soft Rose, Arbonne Jam

To be honest, I don't think  night time lipsticks really change for me between seasons - it depends on my outfit, where I'm going etc...anyway, I haven't included day lipsticks because I don't find much variation between seasons, but if you're curious, check out my MLBB post!

As for foundations, I find myself wearing powder foundation and BB creams more in summer because it's too hot to wear anything heavier. In winter, I make use of my liquid foundations a lot more.

For me, my eye makeup doesn't vary much by season, but rather with my outfit and how creative/lazy I feel.

Does your makeup vary with seasons? What have you been wearing this winter?

* sent for consideration

Experiments with lipsticks of the wrong shade (for me)

If you're anything like me, a large percentage of your beauty buys are either online or inspired by something you've seen online. I have fallen victim to buying quite a few things online and they turn out to be awful for me. Lipsticks seem to be a particular issue for me, so I have a bunch of them sitting around doing nothing but collecting dust! 

Today I thought I would try to mix them with other lipsticks to see if I could make these shades more wearable.

First up is NYX Round Lipstick in Tea Rose. I bought this one online after having a look at a few swatches. It's a shame the colour doesn't work for me because I really like the creamy consistency. I expected it to be a bit more peachy pink but it is more pink than anything else.

Yikes. You can probably see why I can't/don't wear this! Bubblegum pink doesn't suit my skin tone. That, and I don't have the confidence to pull off crazy shades anyway.

So I have tried to mix this with a darker colour to make it a darker berry pink, something I am more comfortable with. I have added Rimmel Lasting Finish in Temptation. I don't use this Rimmel one much either, it's a nice red but probably too blue toned for me. Mixing them together produces a deeper pink.

Sorry about the blurry photo! But the main thing here is just that this pink is a bit more in my comfort zone. This colour is something I'm much more likely to wear.

Alright, moving on. This one is Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick in Coral Desire. The lipstick itself is a gorgeous pale coral but when swatched - what?! Where did the colour go?! 

Yes I smeared my lips in vanilla frosting here. No, not really, but that is how Coral Desire turns out. I don't fancy wearing white frost on my lips, to be honest.

Again, I have mixed it with another lipstick that I don't use too much. I have added Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Sienna, a chocolate brown. This translates to a bronzey shimmer.

I actually really like this combination. It is something I can definitely wear and not be paranoid that I have alien lips.

What are your thoughts on mixing lipstick shades? Do you do it too?

Revlon Colorburst 'Rosy Nude' dupe

I know that Revlon isn't one of the typical high end brands that you would want a dupe for, but I noticed a striking similarity between one of their Colorburst lipsticks and a lower end one by Ulta3, an Australian brand (you may have come across their nail polish at various chemists).

Revlon Colorburst lipsticks RRP - $23.95 (or you can cheat like me and buy them online)
Ulta3 Moisturising Lipstick RRP - $2.95

...I think you can see why I thought this was worth posting about!

Comparison of packaging of Revlon Colorburst and Ulta3. I won't lie, the case for Ulta3 does it no favours. It is quite flimsy and very light weight, doesn't feel or look as nice as the Revlon one. But for less than the cost of a coffee, we can let that slide.

Swatches - which is which?! First have a guess. On the left is Ulta3 - Tawny Pink and on the right Revlon Colorburst in Rosy Nude. One swipe each, both pretty pigmented and they look quite similar! Rosy Nude is probably a bit more pink I would say.

From the picture above, you can see they are quite similar. I'll just add that the consistency of the lipsticks are different, Ulta3 is more like lipbalm/lipstick as it is quite creamy. It also has the wear of a lip balm. Revlon Colorburst is a bit thicker like the traditional lipstick and is longer wearing. You can probably see above that Ulta3 is more shiny too (as it is a 'moisturising' lipstick). 

Revlon Colorburst Lipsticks - the quest for my neutral shade

I have been searching for quite some time for a shade that is similar to my lips. I'm not using the term 'nude' because to me that means something like the typical skin tone shade, so I'll say 'neutral', as my skin is a little darker. 

Searching through some blogs, I came across two Revlon Colorburst lipsticks that could potentially fulfil this role - Soft Rose (#40) and Rosy Nude (#65).

How adorable is the case! The quilted front makes this packaging a favourite for me across lipsticks.

Left: Soft Rose 

Right: Rosy Nude

The difference is hard to spot here, but Rosy Nude is more brown whereas Soft Rose is pink.

Left: Soft Rose

Right: Rosy Nude

No flash. You can see Soft Rose has more of a pink tone, and again, Rosy Nude appears more brown. These lipsticks are very pigmented! You definitely get bang for your buck here. 

And here is a side-by-side comparison on my lips (both taken with flash). Again, you can see Soft Rose is a warm pink with Rosy Nude being less so and more 'neutral'.

If you've used Revlon Colorburst, you'll know that the formula is deliciously creamy and easily buildable. I can't think of any negatives, except for the fact that they're so good I want to buy lots and make myself poor. 

Conclusion: They're both gorgeous colours, but for the purpose of this quest - Rosy Nude wins as being the more neutral, every day lip colour!