MAC VIVA GLAM RIHANNA LIPSTICK SWATCH AND REVIEW

This has been sitting amongst my Mac lipsticks for a while now, but never thought to use it. Now I've started using it, it's my to go to Christmas red. I never really shy from matte lipsticks, but recently I have been loving sheeny lipsticks, glosses (Who would have thought it?) and metallic finishes. I never thought I'd stray from a matte lipstick, but I have, and I am in love.

Because of its frost finish I wasn't expecting it to last long on the lips, but this Viva Glam Rihanna lipstick has exceeded my expectations. It provides beautiful pigmentation, and because of it's frost finish it keeps my lips looking plump and fresh, with no pigment clinging around my dry areas. It's so easy to apply, and I rarely use a brush to tidy the edges. Because the formula is smooth it doesn't tug around the lips like some matte shades, so it was easy to get a clean line straight from the bullet. It wears so well too. Later in the day it dries down to more of a satin, but it doesn't loose it's colour. I cannot express my love for this lipstick any more! 

As you can see, it's the perfect red for the holidays, and it'll be in a few of my up coming Christmas looks without a doubt. If you stumble across this and debate whether to buy it - I promise you wont regret it! It's no longer available from Mac, but it tends to crop up on the internet every so often.

What's your favourite red lipstick for Christmas?

Thanks for reading!

MAC GOOD LUCK TROLLS - MIDNIGHT TROLL SWATCH AND REVIEW

I hadn't treated myself to a Mac lipstick in a while. Mainly because of my lack of money, and I consider Mac a luxury brand, so it's a real treat for me when I get the chance! When the Mac Good Luck Trolls came out, I had to have something. I played with the idea of having a few different pieces, but I knew I only could afford one thing - so it had to be Midnight Troll, I tend to pop on the odd blue toned lipstick here and there, usually Jeffree Star's Blue Velvet. So I had to add another blue lipstick to my slowly growing collection.

I had been eyeing up Mac's Matte Royal since it came out, but never had the money for it, so I felt like Midnight Troll would be the closet thing to that shade. Hopefully I'll pick it up soon so I can do a comparison of all my blue lipsticks! Matte lipsticks are one of my favourite Mac finishes, so even more reason to pick this up! I popped it on straight from the tube for this review, no lip brush! I'm trying hard to sway away from the lip brush to train myself into a quick application. It was surprisingly easy to apply from the bullet with its bright and bold colour, and I was pleasantly surprised by the pigmentation and the way it applies. Some matte lipsticks can be difficult to work with, but this glided on beautifully. It melted into the lips and left a more semi-matte/satin finish than the usual matte Mac lipsticks, but I'm okay with that. It lasted on the lips well and wore well. It faded in the middle of the lips out, which didn't look strange at all.

Overall, I love this lip! If you're bold enough for a different shade to the norm, this blue is perfect. I think Blue is a 'wearable' crazy colour. If you're wanting to stray from traditional shades and dare to go bold - go blue! There are so many good blue shades out there and this is one of them. Plus the packaging is super adorable, and looks great amongst the other Mac lipstick shades.

You can grab this shade and the rest

of the collection here.

Midnight Troll is £17 on their website.

MY TOP 5 MAC LIPSTICKS

I am a massive Mac lipstick fan, as are the majority of the people on this planet. I'm constantly looking at peoples Mac lipstick posts as I'm always on the hunt for my next favourite. Whenever I go to a counter I'm overwhelmed by the amount of colours and usually go by recommendations from different bloggers - So  I hope this helps in a way! I have over 40 - Yup, I' m surprised too - Mac lipsticks, so chosing my top 5 was hard, but I think I got it down to 5 very different shades.

Heroine, Taupe, Nouvelle Vogue, Lavender Whip and So Chaud

Heroine - P - Matte - This is one of my favourite purples Mac has ever done. The pigmentation is literally out of this world, and I honestly believe this looks great on any skin tone. I rock it with my white complexion, and I've seem deep skin tones kill this shade! The staying power of this is faultless, and I'm so glad Mac made this permanent! This is a staple, and I know many people who have it in their collections. If you're looking for a pop of colour, this is the way forward!

Taupe - P - Matte - This is a new addition to my collection, and I cannot get enough! I'm only just getting into the nude shades, and being pale I find it hard to find a nude that doesn't make me look dead. Again this has amazing pigmentation and staying power, like the majority of their matte finishes. I originally went in to buy Velvet Teddy and came out with this, so if you're a fan of that shade, check this one out!

Nouvelle Vogue - LE - Matte - Although this is limited edition I had to include this. I rarely wear pinks, but this is perfect with a smokey eye! I wear this mostly to work as it's a really lovely natural pink. It's a really pretty rose pink which works so lovely with my skin tone, and looks so delicate. Again it has great pigmentation and longevity. If you're looking for a pretty pink that's wearable, grab this in a future collection.

Lavender Whip - LE - Cremesheen - I rarely go for Cremesheen finishes as I just don't get on with them, but this I make a huge exception! This is so pretty on the lips, and gives a lovely pinky purple colour without it being too much. This is perfect for adding a injection of colour without going for something like Heroine. It does need occasional touch ups during the day, but this is gorgeous for spring and summer.

So Chaud - P - Matte - I love red lips, and I went through a few months of just using reds - Ruby Woo - but wanted to try something different. When my sister got me this for my birthday I couldn't wait - It's a perfect combo of red and orange, and it has that slight orange tint which makes you question if it is red or not! It's ideal for a change of red for the summer season, and I think this is going to be a staple for me!

I did realise that most of these are matte - but I can help that matte is such a good formula! I hope this gives some inspiration, and if you want anything like this for any of the other Mac products let me know and I'll get finding! 

Thanks for reading! 

MAC CINDERELLA COLLECTION - LIPSTICK SWATCH - FREE AS A BUTTERFLY & ROYAL BALL

Ever since hearing about this collection I wanted everything. I was counting down the days before this launched online. Being a poor student though, I was unable to get much - But I was incredibly lucky to be able to try out these beautiful lipsticks. I have Royal Ball and Free as a Butterfly.

The packaging itself is stunning, the blue and pink iridiscent packaging with gold accents is just beautiful, and very princessy! The packing couldn't be any more Cinderella, so I obviously HAD to have these beautiful lipsticks to add to my growing Mac lipstick collection. (That's 34 now. Oops.)

Before we dive into the swatches, I'm not sure if any over pale princess had this problem, but I found the lipsticks hard to tell the difference on my lips - Other than one being slightly more gold, while the other a tad more pink. It's easy to see the colour differences on my arm swatches, as my lips just didn't seem to do a good job of defining the two!

 Top w/ flash, bottom no flash.

Free as a Butterfly

This is Free as a Butterly, the nuder of the two. This is a lustre finish, and has a gorgeous gold shimmer. You don't need much at all on the lips for it to show up! This felt really lovely on the lips and glided on really smooth. I have very dry lips at the moment so it does have a tendancy to fall into the cracks. This had really good wear as when the sheen stated to wear away, there was still a gold wash of colour on the lips.

 Top w/flash, bottom no flash.

Royal Ball

I would describe Royal Ball as a subtle rose gold colour on my lips. I really like this shade. I rarely pick up Lustre finishes as I don't really care for them, but this is perfect on my skin tone to add just a teeny bit of shimmer. I would love to team this up with a heavy smokey eye, just to create a bit of girlish glam with a punky eye! (I can't seem to get away from the grungy eyes right now!) Again, this glides on lovely and I felt it sits a little better over my dry lips than Free as a Butterfly does.

 No flash

Flash

As you can see from the swatches, they're both shimmery and satin like. You can see the colours more on my arm for some reason! I think because my lips are so pink it made the gold tones lipstick appeare a little siilar to the pink one. Free as a Butterfly is more shimmery than Royal Ball which is more pearly. 

Currently out of stock, but in Debenhams on the 17th of March!

Get these for £17.

Hope you enjoyed reading!

Thanks, Hannah xx

CAPTIVE BY MAC - PERFECT AUTUMN SHADE?

I'm aware not many people like sporting that bold deep purple lip that a lot of people attempt and love over Autumn, and I understand the struggle to find the perfect Autumn lipstick that isn't too daring and something you can wear for all occasions. This, I kid you not, is perfect for that. This beautiful dusty, mauvey reddish shade screams Autumn, but in a way that's subtle and casual. Captive from Mac is the perfect shade for all people working their way into that deep, plummy hue.  

Captive is a Satin finish with amazing pigmentation. It glides on the lips beautifully and gives a lovely pinch of colour and a soft, creamy finish. It lasts a really long time too. I wore this the day I bought it a few weeks ago to a dance audition as it complimented my skin well, and added colour to my face making me stand out, but it wasn't a bold enough colour for it to look too much for an audition. I luckily got into the dance troop - But it could've been down to this beautiful lippie... Who knows?

Grab this perfect Autumn shade for fall!

Grab this from Mac for £15.50.

What do you think of this pretty hue?

Thanks for reading!

MAC HEROINE MATTE LIPSTICK REVIEW AND SWATCH

This pretty little number has been cropping up for a while, and sprung up Summer last year alongside Ablaze and Silly. I missed Heroine at that point in my life and deeply regretted it. When I saw my friend at university had it, I needed it. So when it popped up again, and now looking as if to be a new addition to Mac's permanent range, I couldn't say no. Hello to my new best friend.

Heroine is a bright violet colour, which fits perfectly with the colour of fall - Orchid. It has a gorgeous texture which glides on the lips - No tugging here! It's easy on those dry, autumn lips, so there's no need to worry about it highlighting those nasty bits. This has intense pigmentation and really gives that pop to the lips. I honestly can't find a bad point to this lipstick as I just know I'm going to wear the heck out of it. It's truly gorgeous, and I can tell will flatter any skin tone as my friend at uni has beautiful black skin and she looks stunning! And I couldn't be any paler - So this is one for all! I recommend if you're looking for a good matt, fall lip colour then check this out at your nearest Mac counter!

Grab it online or in store for £15.50.

What do you think of this gorgeous shade?

Thanks for reading!

MAC MATTE LIPSTICK NOUVELLE VOGUE REVIEW AND SWATCH

When Mac released some new lippies in their famous matte formula, I obviously needed some. I never buy nudes or natural lipsticks, but instead of gravitate towards bright neons or deep darks. On that thought, I thought to pick up a more tamer colour, and Nouvelle Vogue was the one. This is a stunning colour, and I know full well I will make serious use of this pretty pink.

This suits my pale snow white skin beautifully. It also glides on like a dream, a perfect creamy formula that is completely opaque. The shade is a beautiful true rose colour that is perfect for adding that frosty pink colour to the lips. Beautiful!

If you're a pale girl like me, this colour will look gorgeous. I can't wait to wear this for christmas meals! Since it's so creamy, it has no problem hiding my dry bits! 

This is sold out online, but you can grab it in stores!

Grab it for £15.50.

Thanks for reading!

MAC ALLURING AQUATICS LIPSTICKS - MYSTICAL AND GODDESS OF THE SEA REVIEW AND SWATCH

I have to admit, when I saw this collection online I fell in love with the marine inspired packaging. I instantly needed one - or two - of these to add some colour to my mostly black packaging Mac lippies. I picked up Mystical and Goddess of the Sea to try out. The colours available are neutrals, other than Goddess of the Sea which is a gorgeous purple. Unfortunately, when the email was sent out to promote this collection online, the Alluring Aquatics collection had mostly sold out!!

Let's get down to the packaging. Wow. Something really quite unique, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't one of the reasons why I needed these in my life, even though these are my 26th and 27th Mac lipsticks... We all need a selection, right girls?

I love the gorgeous bright blue - with a slight green hint - chrome mirror packaging. This alone was a stand out for me, but then when you have a proper look there are pretty little water droplets on them!! Both of my lipsticks are completely different in the way the droplets are. One of them as loads of teeny little splashes as well as big ones, while the other is prominently big splashes with nearly no small ones at all. So I'd go ahead and say no lipstick is the same. Once you pop up the lid, the twist mechanism is black, compared to the original packaging which is silver. Also what I loved about it is that MAC was written in a deep turquoise which I felt was a lovely touch. 

However, I felt that the packaging itself felt a bit cheap, very similar to the Rihanna collection with the gold packaging. I'm not sure if that's me being picky as it looks stunning, but to me in the hand I wanted something with a good weight as it just felt a bit light and cheap. 

Goddess of the Sea is beautiful, a gorgeous purple with slight purpley blue shimmer which can't be seen once applied. I took this picture in natural sunlight and it appears a really pretty bright purple, but with no light the lipstick looks a dark purple. This is a cremesheen finish, one of my favourite finishes at the moment. It has a gorgeous creamy finish with amazing colour and leaving a lovely soft shine.

As you can see, it's a really pretty purple, but such a wearable shade. Usually I'll shy away from purples, but recently I've been loving them. It has a hint of red in the colour making it more easier to wear. I love this, and find this lasts ages. It feels lovely too and doesn't highlight my dry lips at all, which I find can be a problem with some of Mac's lippies.

This is Mystical, the most wearable of the two I've picked up. Again, in sunlight it appears brighter, but other wise it looks slightly more browner.

I love this shade, and I've been wearing it all day! Will become my daily shade, I just know it!! It has a creamy texture with a soft natural finish. It really gives me the 'my lips but better' look and compliments my pale skin, rosy cheeks and ginger hair. Perfect for summer. Again, this lasts me ages and doesn't dry out my lips at all.

Overall, I LOVE these and I'm so glad I picked these up,

even with the hefty £16.50 price tag.

Look out for Alluring Aqua in store soon.

Did you pick anything up?

What do you think of the packing?

Thanks for reading!! 

MAC LIPSTICK IN SUSHI KISS FROM THE ALL ABOUT ORANGE COLLECTION

When the All About Orange Limted Edition Collection came out at Mac I was all over it. I've always been a red lippy wearer, but corals are just perfect for the summer sun. I picked up 3 from the collection; Neon Orange, Flamingo and as seen here, Sushi Kiss. I was won over by its muted coral shade and beautiful name. 

This is one of those shades that I believe anyone can pull off. I have glowing snow-white skin and this looks lovely. It's still bright enough to be noticed, but its soft shade of coral keeps it subtle. The fact that this lipstick is a Satin finish means it glides on beautifully with plenty of pigment and a creamy texture with a healthy, glossy finish. I have dry lips currently and luckily for me, it doesn't enhance or show that in the picture below at all. This little shade of sunshine lasts a long time on my lips, but needs occasional top ups after eating, drinking, and the standard stuff that wears lipsticks down. This is a gorgeous shade, and I thank Mac for that! This beautiful shade of peach is perfect for the summer days on the beach and would team with a tan perfectly.

Sold out online, but you can still pick up yours at your nearest counter if in stock, or on other various online sellers, and even Debenhams.

SILLY MAC LIPSTICK FROM THE FASHION SET COLLECTION

I was all over the Fashion Set when it came into Mac stores and my lovely mum treated me to this beauty. I'm a massive fan of mattes so I was so thrilled to see that all lipsticks from the collection were matte just like Ablaze. In the traditional Mac lipstick packaging, Silly is a true bright 'Barbie' pink. This shade of pink is pretty similar to Candy Yum Yum when I swatched in store, another one of my must haves, but slightly more pastely. It's almost a neon pink, but still has a slight subtleness to it, but this is no way for the people who shy away from bright colours - This will certainly add a kick of colour to any collection. I have worn this a lot with a smokey eyed look in the sunny evenings and it's perfect for holidays. Even though matte is my favourite finish from the Mac lipsticks, it's slightly drying and has a habit of clinging to some dry areas on the lips, so a good exfoliate before application wont do harm. 

Currently sold out online, you may be able to pick it up for £14 from your nearest Mac store.

LAVENDER WHIP CREMESHEEN MAC LIPSTICK FROM THE BAKING BEAUTIES COLLECTION

I had been wanting a lavender shade lipstick for ages, but never found the perfect one. I went to Mac to view the Baking Beauties collection which I loved online, and fell in love with this beauty, appropriately named Lavender Whip. I also picked up a Pearlmatte Powder from the collection which I have reviewed.

Lavender Whip is a Cremesheen finish which means the formula is really creamy and slightly glossy. There's also a slight hint of shimmer, but nothing noticeable. This bluey pink purple hue is just stunning. It's really lovely on my lips and isn't drying at all. It doesn't highlight my dry areas on my lips too which is a plus. I love the pastely purple colour it gives my lips which isn't too over powdering, and because of the formula you can add a subtle wash of colour to your lips, or build it for more of an impact. This is my most used colour at the moment and I've worn it for the past few weeks and I just can't get enough. It's the perfect subtle summer colour that still adds a pop of colour to the face. 

You can't get this pretty shade online, but you can still pick it up in store for £14. It's limited edition, so pick it up fast! What do you think of this lavender colour?