Matte Balm

Monthly Favourites - February

I am posting this a little bit early this month and I do hope you will forgive me. I am been very busy working on some really exciting test shoots to expand my portfolio. While these shoots are brilliant experience for me, they have meant that my blog has been a little bit neglected. I will get back on track in the coming weeks and have just invested in a fancy new tripod and light which means I will no longer have to bribe my husband to take pictures of me. So stay tuned for a few more tutorial type posts in the coming weeks. 

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Makeup Forever Foundation Brush #100 - I tend to use Makeup Forever's HD foundation a lot when I am working and I recently invested in one of their brushes. It has a round tip which is different from your usual flat foundation brush. I find the round tip helps to 'push' the foundation in to the skin giving it a more flawless finish.

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Revlon Matte Balm in Striking - I wrote a full review of these (which you can read here). While the matte texture has taken a bit of getting used to, i'm loving this punchy colour at the moment. There is something quite uplifting about applying a vibrant lip colour when the sky is so grey. I can't wait to see which colours they release next.

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Bellápierre Eye-shadow Trio​ - I picked up this eye-shadow set featuring the colours Champagne, Earth and Cocoa at my local TK Maxx for about £15 in November. It also came with 2 brushes and a makeup base. Like anything by Bellápierre, the pigments are strong so you only need to use a tiny bit of product to get an amazing effect. They are really pretty for day time looks and I am now stalking my local TK Maxx to see if they have any more.

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Clinique Moisture Surge Gel Creme - I have been slathering this on every night in Winter and my skin has escaped any major dryness. I love how it feels as if it is creating a barrier on your skin yet at the same time it is very light-weight.  Well played Clinique ... well played indeed.

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Revlon Colour Burst Matte & Laquer Balms

Welcome to Revlon Kissable Balm Stains version 2.0. Regular readers of my blog will already know how much I love the originals. The colours Honey and Crush are my particular favourites. Suffering from constant dry lips, I have never been a huge fan of matte lip products but in the spirit of keeping with the times (and the fact that my lips are now in good shape thanks to my By Terry Baume de Rose), I wanted to give them a try.

The Boots 3 for 2 deal gets me every time ....

The Boots 3 for 2 deal gets me every time ....

I went for the colours Elusive, a soft pink and Striking which is an orange-based red. Of the two, I actually prefer Striking as it works well to give a bit of a kick to my usual Winter uniform of black and grey clothing. Elusive will come into it's own in Spring I think.

Top: Striking,  Bottom: Elusive

Top: Striking,  Bottom: Elusive

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They all have the zingy mint feel that the original balm stains have. It reminds me of Blistex. 

Boots released these with a 3 for 2 deal so I also purchased the Laquer Balm in the colour Demure. I don't need this but it was basically free. Enough said. The colour of the Laquer Balms is very sheer and better suited to the warmer months for me. 

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I don't feel that they have the same staying power of the Kissable Balm Stains which is a shame. If you like drawing your lipstick on using a crayon format, then you will enjoy using these. Priced at only £7.99 here they are a good budget alternative to other products out there but I must say that I do prefer the formula of the Kissable Balm Stains over the Matte and Lacquer versions.