Revlon Lip Butters

I know I’m a little bit late to the party; it seems every blogger and their dog have reviewed these little babies out but only recently have I gotten into lip products and buying them just wasn't worth it. I was convinced that lipsticks were drying and flaky, I much preferred sticking to my trusty Carmex lip balm. However whilst in Cambridge shopping the Revlon display in Boots caught my eye. I only wanted one, just so I could test it out to see if the formula was one that I liked. 

(l-r Berry Smoothie, Cotton Candy, Cupcake, Crystal  Lilac)

Cotton Candy was my choice. In the bullet it looks a darker pink with lilac undertones, I don't know what possessed me as this is a completely different colour to what I normally choose but it is just so pretty and I’m sure it makes my teeth look whiter. 

Surprise, surprise I liked the formula so much I went and purchased two more Lip butters and one Colourburst gloss (making the most of Boots' 3 for 2 deals!). 

Berry Smoothie is exactly the colour it sounds like, a deep pinky berry red shade (the colour of the Innocent Strawberry and Banana Smoothie in fact), Cupcake is a lighter almost Barbie Pink (reminds me of the MAC Chatterbox, perhaps slightly darker) and Crystal Lilac Colourburst lipgloss is a neutral pink with a hint of sparkle.  

They are a sheer finish which I like as you’re not fully committed to a strong lip but there’s still a touch of colour. The colour payoff long wearing, I do touch it up frequently though as my lips are insanely dry at this moment so any moisture immediately sinks in and vanishes after an hour or two. I keep my Carmex or Vaseline Aloe Vera handy. The lipgloss isn’t overly sticky although I haven’t given this a proper test run yet, it feels nice on the skin though. They feel so nice and luxurious on the lips and just bring a bit of colour to your face. What can I say? I think I’ve found my new favourite product! The lip butters are £7.99 each and the lipgloss is also £7.99, both available fromBoots and Superdrug.

Oh and a kind of New Year’s Resolution I’ve decided to start running, currently updating my iTunes as I type this in fact. Now, I’m not talking London Marathon preparation but I want to tone up and to be quite honest I really don’t do that much at the moment. My riding has taken a backseat due to exams and the snow so hopefully the CD (101 Running songs – lap 2 if you’re interested) will motivate me to get those legs moving.

A x

Mini Haul

Freezing temperatures and inches of snow, so of course it's the perfect opportunity to venture into my local town to do a bit of shopping. Digging out my car should have been the first clue that it wasn't to be the most successful venture I've had but so far I'm not completely regretting buying anything, yet...

At the moment I've got the Real Techniques Expert Face brush on my wishlist but my local Boots didn't have it in stock. A tad annoying to say the least. I also had several of the No7 vouchers for £3 off make up but nothing grabbed my attention. So off I trundled to the magnificent store that is the Superdrug. At last some enticing products (also liking the new layout of the store)! So on with the products...

 

Up first is Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof  while this hasn't got the little spiky ball that is fab for getting every lash at the end like the Show Off version so far I'm actually liking this mascara. It dries quickly and adds volume although I'm not convinced that it's giving me more length. It's not smudging at all and this means a lot to me, as I can't seem to find one that by the end of the day hasn't ended up giving me panda eyes. I'm not absolutely in love but it's pretty damn good. 

Next up is Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner although I've heard this is a dupe for an Urban Decay 24 hour eyeliner, I don't have the UD one I can't make a comparison. Although I love how easy this slides on and blends it just doesn't stay on my waterline like it has for some people. By lunchtime I have to reapply which is kinda annoying but I'm thinking it will grow on me. But for the most part I think I'll stick with my Maybelline  Studio Master Precise for lining the upper lashline. 

Barry M Blue Moon

And onto the nail polish, I was looking for a pale blue colour from Rimmel but the choices were either too dark or light. However the Barry M section was right there AND they had an offer 2 of their £2.99 polishes for £5 - Bargain. I picked up Blue Moon (called Light Blue online) instantly, it's the perfect light summer sky shade. There was a toss-up between a pale lavender but I decided on Mint Green. Experimenting with Barry M polishes has taught me that you NEED a good base (I like Rimmel Nail Rescue) and a brilliant top coat (Revlon's is pretty good). But above all, you have to paint in multiple thin layers to get a good opaque colour. It takes time and effort but the colour is just so pretty. 

A x

A little bit about me

Right, well this is nice and awkward isn't it? I thought I'd just talk a little bit about why I wanted to join in with the many beauty related blogs that I seem to spend my time reading instead of studying for my A levels (oops). Anyways I'll start from the beginning...

A few months ago ish I realised that I had a hell of a lot of products that i didn't really use that often and had no real use for. So I started to look online to see what others thought and discovered the world of beauty blogging and I became a tad addicted to watching YouTube videos. Tanya Burr, missglamorazzi and FleurdeForce quickly became firm favourites. Friends started asking me to suggest the odd beauty product that they might like and part of me thought hey, maybe you could do a blog. And being me, I decided the idea was stupid and so forgot about it for several weeks. And then, after much deliberation with my friends I decided hell why not! Y'know YOLO all that (ugh I hate that term). So here we are :) 

A few random questions

Where are you from?

I live in rainy England sadly, I'd love to live somewhere that's sunnier for longer than two days a year

Why did you decide to start a blog?

Just something I'd been thinking about and decided one night that I was going to take the leap. Originally I thought of creating YouTube videos but thinking about it, a blog for me, is a better starting point

What's the background for your blog name?

To prevent any confusion understand I am not actually Russian my name is from Cyprus however my nickname is Russian and has been for quite a while, courtesy of my friends. Anyways it stuck, and because my friends gave me the confidence to create this blog it's my way of saying thanks

What kind of style do you have?

It changes from day to day but mainly I like clean not Calvin Klein minimalistic but pretty neutral outfits. You'll normally find me in jeans and vests during the week and comfy sweats at the weekend 

What's going to happen on here?

Simply my thoughts on products i.e. reviews, maybe some OOTDs/ FOTDs and general random thoughts that go on in my crazy little head, I'm aiming for a post each weekend but it'll change around exam season (joys!) so sorry everyone :/

Do you have any hobbies?

Well, I have a horse and seem to spend most of my time caring for him (I have to have dedicated "yard clothes" that don't matter much if they get dirty). But apart from that I like surfing the internet and watching TV

Do you have any other pets?

Two cats and two chickens and my nutcase of a horse

Favourite TV shows?

I am partial to a bit of The Big Bang Theory and Casualty and of course, who can't resist good old Downton Abbey?!

Favourite drink? 

Hot chocolate with marshmallows and cream..mmm

Anyways that's a little bit about me so thanks for reading if you're still here

Bye guys :)

A

A bit of cleaning

The products

Recently I've had issues with dry patchy skin right between the brows and sort of along the browbone. This was made my foundation (Rimmel Match Perfection) make my face look completely patchy and a tad orange. Although I was using The Body Shops Vitamin E Moisture Cream the dryness just wasn't going away. Even slathering on E45 cream had little effect except from giving me spots grrr. So whilst perusing the facial cleaning aisle in Tesco this little gem caught my eye and well, it's a bloody miracle worker!

The mask

The Products
Clearasil Vitamins & Extracts Wash and Mask bought from Tesco for £4
Clarins Cleansing Milk with Alpine herbs for Normal to Dry Skin was a gift
Clean and Clear Morning Energy Facial Moisturiser bought from Boots £3.99 (although not on Boots website)

Step 1
Cleanse as normal, I used Clarins but it's up to you. Just make sure your face is clear of any make up or dirt residue. I did this bit in the shower as it's so much easier than trying to re enact the adverts where they effortlessly clean their face (Neutrogena I'm talking about you) without throwing water all over the place...

Step 2
Apply the mask. Get a dollop of products on your fingers and just apply to the face as if using a moisturiser. Leave for 3 minutes or so and enjoy the cucumber clean fragrance or catch up on Tanya Burr's Vlogmas like me! Although it doesn't have huge beads that you can feel exfoliating strongly it still leaves a freshness that I know I only get from an exfoliant.

Step 3
Rinse your face and pat dry (try to prolong damage to delicate skin especially under those eyes).  Add moisturiser. It's really that simple.

Although I did this at night I still used my Morning Energy Moisturiser partly because I wanted to feel fresh and awake but also because it was the first one I picked up... Did it a few days ago and the dry flaky stuff has not returned so all is good. I think my skin just needed a little pick me up. Anyways hope this helps you and if not, well I can't please everyone... :)

Oh and happy new year!

What's your facial skincare must have?

A