Dior Rouge Serum 640 - Soft Pink

I've had this Rouge Serum for a while (in fact, since the Rouge Serums were known as Serums de Rouge!) and whilst I don't wear it very often I thought I'd review it as I don't see the Serum de Rouge line getting a lot of love online and actually I think its a pretty good formula, especially containing as it does an SPF 20. It's a very soft formula and feels lovely to apply; once on the lips it feels quite moisturising. 

640 ('Soft pink') is a medium to light pink shade (on me it errs on the paler side).

I'm not sure this shade is the perfect match for me - when I'm pale it washes me out somewhat and I feel it clashes a bit with my yellow-toned skin. However I'm quite liking it at the moment having picked up a bit of colour (despite the factor 50!) on a recent holiday.

I also had this in a hot pink shade but I seem to have lost it, however I'm keen to try the peachier shades in the line as I think they'll work better with my skin and I do really like the formula. I'm not one for thicker feeling lipsticks that require care (or a lipbrush!) to apply; the fact that I can generously apply this without really needing a mirror really appeals. I'm not that fussed about the packaging - it's a bit fussy and dated, though the clicky pen is quite cool. 

Serum de Rouge costs £26.

More Becca goodies...

I couldn't resist when Becca had another discount offer a few weeks ago - it is probably up there in my top three make up brands (along with Nars and one other that is more interchangeable!), so I took the opportunity to add a few more products to my collection. Here's what I bought... I hope to add some more detailed reviews of the individual products soon.

Luminous Skin Colour - Nude
I had wanted to try this legendary tinted moisturiser for a while. Having no idea what colour to go for I plumped for Nude which seemed like the safest option. It's... interesting. I'll review it in detail when I've used it a few more times - still getting to grips with it at the moment. What I would say is that it is incredibly sheer so not great coverage but it does give good glow. I'm just not sure yet whether it's too glowy for my combination (read 'shiny'!) skin and also whether this shade is quite right for me.

Eye Tint - Pewter
I read a few good reviews of this online and having two other Eye Tints (Vicuna and Baroque) which I love, I thought I'd give this darker, more dramatic looking shade a go. I have to admit that the first time I applied it I made a complete hash of it - it definitely requires a more careful application than the lighter shades. So I need to practice with this a bit more before I make up my mind on it.It is lovely swatched though.

Sheer Tint Lip Colour - Leticia
I am an absolute sucker for corals and peach so this 2010 addition to Becca's (fairly limited) lipstick range was a no brainer. I have to say it does not disappoint - I am in love with this lipstick. More pics soon!

Beach Tint - Guava
Another coral colour calling my name. At first swatch this seems slightly more liquidy than the other Beach Tints I own (Grapefruit and Fig) but the colour is everything I hoped it would be. It's a very soft shade and I think it could work well on fairer skins. It's the perfect compliment to Leticia lipstick.

Nail Colour - Pasa Doble
This blackish-plum polish was a bit of an impulse buy - I'd never tried a Becca nail colour before and I like the idea of darker shades in summer - plus I love anything Spanish. A quick swatch with two coats is below. Very dramatic!

Butter Lip Balm Spf 25
Another impulse buy - I was intrigued to see what a lip balm with a high spf would be like as usually when I go on holiday I buy one of the specialist lip products that protect your lips by leaving a thick white coat on them! This is lovely - it makes the lips look soft and plumped and somehow manages to have the spf without being white and opaque. A couple of reservations; I like vanilla but I find the vanilla scent of this a bit strong. And the consistency is such (it is indeed quite buttery) that I can image it melting quite easily in warmer weather... time will tell.

And lastly, a couple of brushes.

Small Polishing Make up Brush #56

I saw this being used on one of the Zuneta videos to buff cream blusher under the cheekbones, and was interested to try this method of application, as normally I apply cream blusher on the apples or on the cheekbones and (lightly) around the temples. I was surprised that the bristles were a lot less stiff than I thought they'd be so actually I found application of cream blush with this quite difficult. Again, I just need to practice a bit with this and would be interested to hear from anyone else who has this and how they use it. Although its recommended for buffing cream blush to the apples of the cheeks, at the minute I am preferring to pat on my cream blush with the Becca Cream Blush / Bronzer Brush (truly a great brush!).

Eye Colour Blender Brush #35
This was a gift with purchase. I haven't tried it yet and will be interested to see how it compares with my only other eyeshadow blending brush the MAC 217.

So there we have it. Some lovely products to try out over the next few weeks and having done a quick face of the day with the Guava Beach Tint and Leticia Sheer Tint Lip Colour this morning I am loving them already. Will report on my other purchases in due course! Next on my Becca hit list is the Opal Shimmering Skin Perfector - I have and love the Pearl shade but think I need something warmer for the summer months.

Nars satin lipstick - Niagara

I am so in love with Nars  lipsticks at the moment. Barbarella and Dolce Vita (both sheer lipsticks) are possibly two of my favourite lipsticks of all time (must review them soon) but a few weeks ago I purchased my first of Nars' 'satin' lipsticks, Niagara, a beautiful coral pink.

I have to confess that when writing this review I thought Niagara was one of Nars' sheer lipsticks - I actually find the formula quite similar though there probably is more depth of colour with the satin formula. I do find the satin formula to be very light and easy to apply, like the sheers, and also easy to apply, and while neither are hugely longlasting this isn't an issue for me.

Overall, I love this shade and can't wait to start experimenting with a few different looks - I'm thinking it will look great with bronzed skin in summer and also like it with a soft pink cheek as pictured here.

Becca purchases

I almost fell over in excitement when I saw Becca were offering a 20% discount on all products (thanks Vex and the City for the heads up!). So I took the opportunity to snap up a few products that I've had my eye on for a while.

First up, the legendary Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl. When I visited the Becca store in Kensington last year the lovely lady there used this on me (along with Duende Bronzer and a peachy lip and cheek cream) and I fell in love with the amazing glow it delivered - however I wasn't able to buy it as it was out of stock. Since then, literally every time I've been by the Becca counter in Fenwick it's also been unavailable as it has on the usual websites. At last it is mine!



Next up, a Beach Tint in shade Fig. This is pretty identical to the cream cheek colour in Turkish Rose, which I do already own, but the idea of having that lovely shade in a longer lasting beach tint was too tempting.

I did purchase a cream cheek colour too, in the shade Hyacinth, which gets rave reviews. It does look absolutely stunning on first swatch, transforming to a pretty coral pink. I don't have many colours like this in my blush collection and am looking forward to trying this when the weather gets a bit warmer.





I bought a sheer lip colour in the shade Estella, which I'd been curious about for a while. I own one of Becca's lip colours in Gisella which is a caramel nude, and from the description of Estella I was expecting it to be much pinker. It actually swatches quite beige (very similar to Gisella in fact) and I don't see any pink in it so I'm kind of wishing I'd plumped for the new pink 'Valentina' instead.

Finally, a couple of wild cards. I hadn't tried any Becca brushes previously but have been over the last couple of years upgrading my brush collection and as I have quite a few cream blushers I decided to try Becca's cream blush brush, which also gets excellent reviews. I have tried this once with Turkish rose, and am really pleased with the results (also, how pretty are the bristles??). I also bought a concealer brush, yet to try.


So that's my not-so-mini Becca haul. I shall hopefully post some more detailed reviews of these products when I've put them to use.

If you're thinking of making use of the discount be quick - it ends midnight tonight (BBE20 - www.beccacosmetics.com/uk). Have you bought anything from Becca recently? 

Revlon Superlustrous Lipstick - Kiss Me Coral

I am surprised how much I like this lipstick - I purchased it about six months ago and having just returned from holidays and having a bit of colour to my skin, I thought I'd try it out.

Although it is described as coral, I'd say this definitely veers towards orange!

However it's somehow a flattering shade that I think would suit a variety of warmer skin tones, and it makes a change from the usual pinks, berries and nudes I would normally sport.

Excuse the arty photos but they actually showed the colour the best! In fact they're making me want to go on holiday again, or at least waft around in a floaty kaftan wearing lots of jewellery and generally being fabulous.

I think it would look great with nude skin and a strong brow.

The formula is lovely - creamy and moisturising and stays on for ages. I've only worn this round the house so far and don't normally wear bright lipstick, but I might just have to be brave and go public with it this summer!

Revlon Superlustrous Lipsticks retail at a reasonable £7.49 and can often be found on special offer.  Based on Kiss Me Coral, I'd like to try more in the range - I do also have the cult shade Cherries in the Snow but it is even louder than Kiss Me Coral so I'll have to work up to that one I think. Have you tried any of the Superlustrous lipsticks?

Nars Pure Matte lipstick - Bangkok

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Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte - Opera Rose #29

Yesterday I had a bit of a clear out of my make up stash... which predictably involved rediscovering a few little worn gems that had been relegated to the darkest recesses of my make up drawers - enter MAC Brit Wit and Bobbi Brown Velvet Plum cream blushes - and my two YSL Rouge Voluptes in Forbidden Burgundy and Opera Rose - the latter of which I had a little play with and as such am now blogging about.

This is one of those colours that I love in the tube, and like on my face.. but never wear. It is kind of bright - and I'm not really a bright lips kind of girl (why I bought this one out of all the other more wearable colours I will never know - it may have been to do with Temptalia). I love the formula - it feels heavenly when you apply it. But I've never yet got around to wearing this in public - so I'm thinking it might be toodle pip. I'll always have the photos at least (actually having done this post I've decided I like this colour too much too let it go, so I'm going to keep it to look at from time to time - and one day I might just whip it out and surprise everyone).

NB I'm sorry about the imperfect application - since I've started blogging I've realised that I in fact have a very wonky lipline - this I've only noticed since I've started looking at lots of photos of my lipsticked mouth! I can only get lipsticks to apply evenly using a lipliner - and I then feel that gives an inaccurate portrayal of how the lipstick would look applied solo. So you'll just have to put up with my wonky application I'm afraid and I hope it doesn't offend anyone!