Baby Lips - Hydrate, Cherry Me, Cherry Velvet

I am fully aware that Baby Lips are by no means a new trend and I have been building my collection for a while. Sadly this little lot did include the green 'Mint Fresh' one (lost to the wilds of handbag clutter probably) which while I'm here I would definitely recommend as it has just the right level of mint so it is more reminiscent of mint choc chic ice cream than overpowering gum. 

These three here are the classic blue 'Hydrate', which I use everyday for a basic balm, the tinted 'Cherry Me' which is a subtle red and more like a lipstick than balm, and this 'Cherry Velvet' which doesn't share the same packaging as the others and to be honest I have no idea where it came from.

The Hydrate has a great plumping look too and although does not have a particular colour associated with it, leaves a pale base which is fractionally whiter than the lip shade. This is really moisturising and needs to be topped up every few hours, but I am finding this really necessary for winter and the dry chapped lips situation.

Cherry Me isn't too strong a colour, though a faded red I would say, that looks like a lipstick but much less matte and precise. The only thing about the tinted Baby Lips is that if your lips are exceptionally dry, the colour will obviously not flatter the chapped bits and flaky is not where you want to be! 

The Cherry Velvet I would not say is anything particularly special and although it has the Baby Lips name to it, strikes me as a much more standard balm and isn't as moisturising and glossy as the others. Maybe I'm just living up to my stereotype though and finding fault because it's packaging isn't as pretty...

Even if you just have one, a winter essential. That is if you can't get your hands on an EOS of course.

Empties - Essentials

I've been collecting my empty products recently to put into one big post and here it is! A lot of these I use on a daily basis, particularly the skin care but I've been impressed with how long these have lasted, particularly the Lush moisturiser! The powder isn't finished yet but as it's my third replacement I've gotten bored of it and moved on. Although there is two cleansers, the one I've been using most recently is the Vichy one which has been particularly good for make up removal.

This collection of empties is :
Rapid Action Deep Pore Treatment Toner - Clearasil
Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser - Liz Earle
Normaderm Cleansing Gel - Vichy
Wake Me Up Foundation - Rimmel
Skindrink Facial Moisturiser - Lush
The Righteous Body Butter - Soap and Glory
Stay Matte Pressed Powder - Rimmel
Cat Eyes Collosal Mascara - Maybelline
Mastertouch Concealer - Maxfactor

Halloween Skeleton Outfit

Shooting this post was brilliant; the Halloween spirit is in the air! I'm going as a skeleton girl in this dress from Amazon which I'm much more keen on now I've adapted it, but when I ordered it as a strapless dress I'd assumed it would have some ribbing inside or at the very least some structure to keep it up but I just got some material with those tacky transparent plastic straps. I sewed on some thin black straps to hold it up and then decided to wear it with my black, furry Topshop coat and spiked heels from New Look.
The makeup ended up with a more catty look with the flicked eyes but I love the intensity of the look and a lot of black eye shadow, kohl and liquid liner was used as well as grey shadow and white eyeliner with my usual skin base but much darker eyebrows to define the face even more.

Makeup :
SKIN : Wake Me Up Foundation - Rimmel / Wake Me Up Concealer - Rimmel / Dream Terra Sun Bronzer - Maybelline / Expert Foundation Brush - Real Techniques / Stippling Brush - Real Techniques / Kabuki Brush
EYES : Grey and Black Eyeshadow - Colourbox / Pump Up Booster 24hr Eyeliner - Miss Sporty / Liquid Liner - Barry M / Bold Black Kohl Eyeliner - Barry M / White Eyeliner Pencil - Natural Collection / Cat Eyes Mascara - Maybelline
EYEBROWS : Black Eyeshadow - Colourbox / Eyebrow Brush - Bobbi Brown

Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express Cat Eyes Mascara | Review

   My recent purchase of Maybelline's Colossal Volum' Express Cat Eyes Mascara turned out to be a success. Whenever I'm buying new makeup I always take packaging into consideration because when browsing I always try things that catch my eye off the shelves and having something flashy in your make up bag is always great! Having tried out a friend's original Volum' Express and being suitably impressed I thought a new take of essentially the same product could only being better.
   I am very happy with it, it gives so much volume and really opens up the eyes without having to use liner for an everyday look. With heavier eye makeup it still lives up to its name, bringing out the very edge lashes. However, it is slightly flaky, with a few black specks coming off in the first couple of hours after application. This mascara is best with no more than two or three coats as it starts to clump, binding multiple lashes together and looking too heavy.