Dolce & Gabbana Classic Cream Lipstick in 115 Delight

Oh hello!

I hope you're enjoying your week...

I've not tried many D&G cosmetics as i've never really been drawn to the packaging (Let's face it, pretty packaging helps!) and there hasn't been anything that's really made me want to rush out and buy it right there and then, so I thought i'd start off slow and try out this Dolce & Gabbana Classic Cream Lipstick in 115 Delight*. Once again, quite a safe colour choice, but I always tend to start off well within my comfort zone when I try a new brand.

It's a nude shade with a hint of coral and is designed to be moisturising whilst delivering really strong pigmentation. I'm becoming a massive fan of creamy lipsticks recently, so I thought this one would be ideal. It comes in a shiny gold case and is fragranced with the iconic D&G dusty rose, which I think is a really lovely touch - there are too many cosmetic brands that have their products smelling like chemicals.

I'm really not a fan of the colour. I'd imagine it would look great on someone with darker skin, but its just too light for me and I hate that I have a faint outline of my lips around it - I know this could be corrected with a lipliner but it's just irritating when this is supposed to be a low-key colour. It definitely has a strong colour pay-off and it's certainly creamy. It's meant to be long-lasting, but I found it's quite average and came off completely after i'd had a drink.

Overall this is an alright lipstick, but definitely not one i'd run out and repurchase for £24 - that's ridiculously steep for a standard lipstick. However, it does come in 46 colours - so if you're a fan of D&G and want something with high pigmentation this could be the one for you. However, I have a feeling this will end up buried at the back of my lipstick drawer. Shame! :(

On a more personal note, i've recently started my new job and moved to Tunbridge Wells with Rob. It's all very new and quite a lot of things are still in boxes, making blogging quite hard. I can't wait to sort things and get back into it again! So this will be the start of me getting back into blogging properly now I can get into a routine again. I'm so excited! 

You can purchase the Dolce & Gabbana Classic Cream Lipstick range for £24 each at your local counter or online here.

Braving Black Lipstick

I love wearing black. It's classic, simple and goes with everything. I base a lot of my outfits around the colour black, but i'm the total opposite when it comes to cosmetics. I think because I have pale skin and blue eyes I immediately go for soft colours like pale pinks and corals, and tend to shy away from brighter colours incase it makes me look even paler. However, I got the chance to try out MAC's Hautecore*, which is a matte black, and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to take the plunge and try something totally out of my comfort zone.

After doing my research, i've now realised that Hautecore isn't available anymore (Although there are a few floating around on Ebay), so i'll post a few alternatives below! 

I actually kind of love this! I don't know why. I tested this out on a day where I didn't want to put on too much make-up, so everything else is quite natural which looks a little odd. Because it's such a dramatic colour I wanted to keep things quite low-key, but i'm now thinking I went a little too low-key and should have at least done my brows (as I like to have them quite dark!) instead of just running Benefit's Gimme Brow through them. As its a matte shade it needed a few coats and you can still see some fleshy tones poking through, so i'd definitely recommend investing in a lip liner of the same shade - as you can tell I didn't have one! 

This has definitely proven to me that black lipstick is actually quite wearable. I always thought it was something that only Kylie Jenner could pull off, but I think if you have pale skin it can look quite cool. I now can't wait to pull this out on a night out, or even brave it as a day look perhaps? Maybe not. Either way i'm quite proud that i'm now reaching for darker colours and embracing my inner goth! Haha. What do you think of black lipstick? Do you have a favourite that I should be trying out? Let me know! 

Alternative Matte Black Lip Colours
Barry M Lip Paint in 37
Lime Crime Black Velvet
Illamasqua Lipstick in Pristine

Too Faced Cat Eyes Palette

Winged liner has always been an enemy of mine. I know most girls say that, but I am at times genuinely afraid of it. I think i'm always hesitant to blog about looks that require winged liner because when it comes to being a beauty blogger, you're judged a lot on your ability to apply make-up instead of how you review the products. That's totally fine, but I started this blog because I enjoyed writing about beauty, not to show off my make-up artistry skills. Long story short, i'm a bit crap at applying make-up. I'm getting better, but don't expect any mind-blowing too soon, but i'm certainly working on it!

That aside, this Too Faced Cat Eyes palette has been the perfect practice palette for winged liner. It contains nine different colours that can be used to achieve three key looks, all finished off with a feline flick. 

Three of the shadows (Leopard, Jungle Love and Panther) are designed to be wet/dry liners, so they can either be used as a shadow or a soft liner with a dry brush or something a bit more intense and gel-like when the liner brush is wet. I love this idea, as you can control the intensity of the flick this way. Here is my review of the three example looks you can achieve with this palette:

Day

This is my favourite look out of the three, as I believe its the most natural. It's really soft, natural and I love the shimmer of Purr on the brow bone. When I applied Tigers Eye as the liner it didn't really seem to show up, but it seems to look really intense here? Weird. I love how this understated look is achieved with just three colours. Really simple yet equally beautiful.

To achieve this day look, you apply Purr all over the lid, blend Tigers Eye into the crease and using Leopard as a liner.

Classic

I'm not too sure about this one. I can see where I needed to blend a bit more, but i'm just not a bit fan of the recommended crease colour. I really love the double liner though, the intensity of Pussy Cat is just gorgeous, and although Jungle Love looks black in the photo, the pink above it really brings it out. I'd prefer this to be paired with some silver for a twist on a classic smokey eye instead of trying to incorporate a bronzy tone.

I used Meow all the way up to the brow bone, Tigers Eye in the crease, followed by a line of Jungle Love with Pussy Cat lined above it.

Fashion

I only have one picture of this one, as after I took this picture I itched my eye and smudged the entire thing!! I would say this is more of a classic cat eye than a fashion one, with the purple and pink liners used in the Classic look to be a bit more high-fashion.

I achieved this by bringing Kitten all the way up to the lash line, then blending some Panther in the outer V and then using it as a wet liner to create the flick. I finished it off with some Kitty Glitter in the inner corner. The Kitty Glitter used in the tear duct is absolutely gorgeous but so powdery, so I really had to pack it on in order to get a substantial amount of shimmer to show up. However, this is definitely what I would wear for a night out :)

Overall I think this is a really versatile palette. Although these are the looks they recommend, there's a great range of shades so you can really play around. They are also very pigmented, meaning that I can practice my flicks for as long as I want without even making a dent in the shadows. It's quite pricey at £35, but these are good quality shadows that are built to last. Now excuse me while I attempt to perfect my flicks!

Do you have any tips or tricks to achieve perfect winged liner? Let me know below.

You can purchase the Too Faced Cat Eyes Palette for £35 here!