Lipstick Queen Trio Review

If you follow me on Instagram (@curlykira) you will already know that I have been away for a considerable chunk of the summer. I will talk all about my time away in another post but today I wanted to focus on something beauty-related. So I have a review instead of products from a brand I have wanted to try out for quite a while now: Lipstick Queen. When I saw that British Airways's in-flight Duty-Free was offering a trio of their lipsticks at a discounted price I decided to buy it and give it a go. The three lipstick shades were: Medieval, Jungle Queen and Hello Sailor.

Left to right: Medieval, Jungle Queen, Hello Sailor

To show the difference, this is me with bare lips...

Medieval

According to the Lipstick Queen website, this shade was inspired by how women in Medieval times would use lemons to bring out a blood-red stain on their lips since lipstick was considered a sin. As such, this lipstick is very sheer. It only gives a tinge of colour in the lip. I mean, that is arguably the whole point of sheer lipstick but as a fan of opaque and bold colours, this is a bit new to me. The sheerness of this lipstick does, however, make this a suitable red shade for all complexions. It is also a great option for people who prefer natural makeup looks or work in professions where statements of personal identity need to be quite subtle. The sheer formula makes it very comfortable to wear and there isn't such a worry about colour bleeding. This takes most of the risk and fear out of wearing a red lipstick.

Hello Sailor

When I saw the colour in the tube I immediately got excited that this would be an amazing navy colour. It's not. This is another super sheer shade which, despite my initial disappointment, is actually a clever colour that should become popular with a lot of people. Not everyone is a crazy colour fanatic like me so Lipstick Queen definitely made the right choice in creating a shade that looks outrageous but then looks pretty and wearable on the lips. That is a great act of quiet rebellion if you ask me! The colour comes off more as a sheer dark berry stain than a navy blue which makes this a much wearable colour. I still found it very sheer and as such, I don't think it will be a lipstick I reach for often, unfortunately.

Jungle Queen

This is the most opaque colour of the three and has more of a creme finish. It is a bright orange-coral colour which I think would suit most complexions. It is also very comfortable to wear. Although it is a fairly bright shade to wear, I do believe that the cream  formulation does lend itself to being more wearable, especially for summer (which is sadly coming to an end). This would look amazing with a natural makeup look with a winged eyeliner so that Jungle Queen gets all the attention it deserves. It's such a fun, flirty and feisty colour (what more would you expect from a Jungle Queen?).

Overall, I can see the benefits of these lipsticks as they are flattering, subtle and comfortable to wear. I can see these lipsticks being great options for going on dates. The colour enhances the lips in a way that looks natural whilst the sheerness makes it low maintenance so you don't have to worry about it messing up whilst eating or drinking (or kissing!).  These products are amazing quality and their packaging is gorgeous, which is why I now understand the hype around them. They may not suit my personal style, but they will make a good addition to my kit and may be nice to use one in a while to change things up a bit.

Top to bottom: Medieval, Jungle Queen, Hello Sailor

Thanks for reading!

Love love love,

Kira <3 xxx 

Review: Zelens The Balm

Let me start by saying that I am the worst. I have literally run out of ways to say how sorry I am for not posting on this blog regularly. This is my first post since my New Years post at the start of the year. That is just not on I'm afraid, I am very disappointed in myself. All I can say is that this year has been a crazy, extraordinarily tough year for me and maybe one day I'll write a post on why that is, but not today. Today I get straight back into the swing of writing proper content for this blog, starting with a beauty review. 

So here's the back story: I am very picky when it comes to lip balms/treatments. I have extremely dry lips that crack and flake all the time (glamorous, right?) so I don't find that popular lip balms such as Vaseline and Blistex work for me. To make things even more difficult I also have very sensitive lips so other lip balms such as Carmex and Burt's Bees react with my lips and even make them bleed in some cases! So with this in mind you can imagine how important it is for me to find a lip balm I like. I finally found one I could rely on in the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant which saved my lips on numerous occasions. It would even work wonders when my lips were at their worst, transforming them almost completely overnight from dry and scaley to smooth and moisturised. So you can imagine the heartbreak when I lost my beloved lip balm! Unfortunately for me I do not live near anywhere that stocks Elizabeth Arden and my desperate need for something to fix my lips quickly (combined with the curiosity of a beauty blogger) led me to visit my nearest Space.NK.apothecary for a suitable substitute.

Having explained to the very friendly sales assistant my annoying situation with my high maintenance lips, she helped me decide on the Zelens The Balm lip balm. I had never heard of Zelens before and so I was very curious to try something from their range.

Spot the awkward iPhone reflection...

Firstly, the packaging is gorgeous. The embossed mirrored tin looks very chic and I love how minimalist the design is.

Now onto what's inside the tin, which of course is the most important part. The lip balm is unlike any other lip balm I've tried in that it is not waxy at all but more of a thin cream formula. A problem that I have had with waxy formula such as Vaseline or Lipsyl in the past is that it acts as a barrier on my skin and doesn't let moisture penetrate deep into the tissue, so my lips do not feel like they are benefiting in the long-term. Therefore, when I tried this lip balm I was intrigued by how this would affect my lips. I do definitely prefer the cream formula to the waxy ones, however I think I would prefer a formula that was slightly thicker for the my lips, since they do need very heavy duty care which I do not feel this lip balm is able to give me. For someone with less problematic lips this could be a very good option though since it is fairly moisturising.

One thing I do absolutely adore about this lip balm is the smell. It has an enticingly sweet cocoa butter smell which I cannot get enough of. 

So, how does this lip balm hold up to my beloved Elizabeth Arden? I still prefer the Elizabeth. Although it has a greasier formula and more medicinal smell (that signature Elizabeth Arden scent I've come to think fondly of), it works miracles on my lips that the Zelens just cannot compare to. It takes a lot more time for my lips to heal with the Zelens than it did with the Elizabeth Arden, and honestly I don't think the Zelens has ever managed to match the results I got with the Elizabeth Arden lip protectant. I find this disappointing because I really wanted to like the cream formula of the Zelens. Finally, the price of the Elizabeth Arden makes it the more economical option.

The Zelens lip balm is very expensive. For 10ml of product I had to fork out £35. This is a lot of money and definitely not something that I would consider a necessary buy as there are plenty of  alternatives which are just as good. For me, the price does not justify the meagre results that I experienced using the product but that is not to say that someone with less dry and sensitive lips would not love this product. I would not purchase this product again though, I'm definitely going back to my Elizabeth Arden as soon as I finish the Zelens tin.

I hope you've found this review useful. Let me know if you have tried this product and what you thought about it. Also, let me know if you've tried anything else from this brand which you think I should try.

Kira xxx

My Thoughts On... No7 Stay Perfect Shade and Define (dupes for high end products?!)

Recently I have been on a bit of a cream eyeshadow kick, especially if they come in a handy, travel-friendly stick format. For a while now I have been crushing on both the By Terry Ombre Blackstar shadow sticks and the Laura Mercier Caviar sticks because the formula and colour pay off of those seem incredible. I swatched them in Space NK and seriously fell in love but I wasn't so head-over-heels about the price tags! So when a friend of mine (who is also a make up enthusiast) told me about the No7 range, I decided to check them out to see how they compared and whether these would do as a substitute. 

My Thoughts On... Revlon's Colorstay Moisture Stain

Revlon recently came out with their own take on the glossy lip stain and it has certainly got my attention. The idea of a stain which is also moisturising and glossy does seem like a bit of an oxymoron so I wanted to investigate whether it could be done. 

Book Review: 'The Night Circus' by Erin Morgenstern

I waited way too long to read this book. It lived up to, if not succeeded, all my expectations and delivered such a complete and magical world to me that I almost believed that such a world could exist. Morgenstern creates the most amazing images through her incredible descriptions and I was able to imagine the circus as a whole. The reader becomes as familiar with the circus as if you had actually been present and experienced it all first-hand. The switch between second and third person narrative helps to engage the reader and bring the circus to life.

Kiko's Life in Rio Collection

To celebrate that the 2014 FIFA World Cup is being held in Brazil, Kiko has jumped on the global marketing bandwagon by launching a Brazil-themed limited edition make up collection. The collection is surprisingly large with products includiing lipsticks, liquid eyeliners, nail lacquers, blushers and foundations. The Rio theme is expressed through the bright colours available, especially in terms of nail lacquers, eyeliners and lipsticks.

Book Review: 'Love and Misadventure' by Lang Leav

This is a post I have wanted to do for a long time but alas, there are not enough hours in the day for me to do all the things I want to. I know it is an excuse I give too often but I honestly didn't realise how hard maintaining a blog whilst studying for a degree would be. But leaving that aside, I shall get straight into what we are all here for (hopefully!), my thoughts on Lang Leav's book.

I will admit it, I first heard about this through the countless posts I encounted on Tumblr (go follow me!) quoting Leav's poems but even before I knew about the hype around this book, I was intrigued by all the snippets of her poems that I had heard. I searched through countless Waterstones stores on multiple occasions and at last I managed to find one copy of this book.

Rimmel Space Dust

Hey Everyone! So today I want to do a quick 'ohmygodIlovethis' type rant over a new product I've recently tried. It's the Rimmel Space Dust nail polish in 'Aurora' which is a love dusty pink with silver glitter running through it. The polish is packed with chunky glitter which I find a lot more rewarding than other nail polishes because it makes a much bigger impression. You will not be able to stop looking at your nails. It gives a texturised finish which I personally like because it makes it even more fascinating on the nails, but if you prefer smooth, glossy finishes then this isn't going to be for you. It is also super opaque. After one coat my nails looked better than how some nail varnishes struggle to look after two and there were no streak marks because of this. It also dries very quickly which is a winner for someone who is as impatient and as fidgety as I am.

The colour is actually slightly more pink in real life and definitely looks a lot more sparkly but you can get an idea of how glittery it is by how textured it looks.

Lush dragon's egg bath bomb

Today has been a very hard day for me. I won't bore you with the details but it's fair to say that I was feeling very down and exhausted by it.

I decided the best way to lift my mood and rejuvenate myself was to have a nice relaxing bath. It was also a good opportunity to take advantage of the fact I actually had a bathtub for once (you really miss them in student digs). 

I chose to use Lush's Dragon Egg which is a large white bath bomb with coloured blobs in it. It smells like lemon sherbet which I love. 

It turns the bathwater a golden colour and smells citrusy, which is so uplifting. And the best part... It's full of gold glitter! 

I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved the glitter. I felt like an angel surrounded by a magical, heavenly aura! I just wanted the gold glitter to follow me everywhere forever. That glitter really helped to make me feel special and a lot better after my horrible day. Another plus was that the glitter was not difficult to clear from the bathtub at all, just a quick rinse with the shower head will do it.

If you love lemon sherbet and glitter as much as I do you have to check this out. They cost £3.35 each.

Rocket Volum' Express by Maybelline

Let's play a game...

I spy with my little eye a new favourite high street/drugstore mascara beginning with R

Rocket Volum' Express by Maybelline 

This mascara really surprised me with how good it is. I have owned it for ages but didn't open it because I had so many other open mascaras which needed to be used up first. It is sensational at adding length and building volume and is one of the better ones I've used at separating the lashes. It is a wet formula so it can take a little bit of playing around with to make your lashes fan out nicely but it is still easy to work with. It even made my rebellious outer lashes fan out the correct way, which is a hard task indeed! I would recommend always starting from the very root of the eyelashes and wiggle the wand through the lashes to avoid clumping.

It costs £7.99 at Boots, which to me is a very good price for lashes this good.

Bubblegum Lip Scrub

This is just a quick little post on a product which I used to own ages ago, that has recently been brought back into my life- Lush's Bubblegum lip scrub.

 

This smells and tastes ah-mazing! If you have a sweet tooth, you will not be able to get enough of this. It smells very sweet and bubblegum-y and frankly it just looks great with it's bright pink hue. The basic idea is to get a bit of this on your finger and rub it on your lips to exfoliate them and the great thing is you can lick off the excess when you're done! Of course, if the idea of that doesn't appeal to you, you can always wipe it off wipe a tissue instead.

 

I personally love this lip scrub. There is a high sugar content so it is very abrasive which I appreciate since my lips are prone to becoming dry and flaky. It also contains Jojoba oil to help moisturise them, although I would recommend using a lipbalm afterwards (I use Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant). It is quite pricey at £5.50 for 25g of the lip scrub but for me it is worth it because lipbalms alone can't get my lips this smooth and soft.

 

Finally, I wanted to mention that bubblegum is not the only flavour they have. There is also 'Mint Julip' and 'Popcorn' in their permanent collection and for Christmas they have also brought out a 'Santa' one which is cola flavoured, so hopefully there is a flavour there for everyone.