November Glossy Box - The Autumn Box

This months box is all about Autumn beauty. Which is all about warm tones and slightly more dramatic makeup. Autumn beauty is my jam, so I was looking forward to this box.

Our first offering is Royal Apothic's Body Lotion. The full size is worth £14.50, but the box contains the travel size (which is still a good amount).

I haven't yet used this, as I tend to hate how any kind of body lotion feels on my skin. It's supposed to be used post-shower. Hopefully next time I shower I'll remember to try this out as the bitter cold of this time of year really is affecting my skin.

Next is Emite's Diamond Heart Primer. The full size retails at £25.90, but again, this is a travel size. This primer feels quite a bit heavier to apply than my usual Porefessional from Benefit, but once applied it feels fine. It's a little sticky, but this helps with the staying power of products applied on top of this. Overall I like this product, and have been reaching for it instead of Poreffesional.

These are Eylure's Natural Lashes which, of course, are full sized and retail at £5. I love Eylure lashes, so this was a lovely addition to the box. They are a great deal more natural than I typically buy, but that's really nice, as I feel I could wear these everyday without anyone noticing I'm wearing falsies.

This is Revlon's Super Lustrous Lipstick in Black Cherry which sells for £7.99. I was able to choose the shade out of four options, so of course I went for the darkest one. The colour is gorgeous, but I'm not overly enamoured with the formula. I hate lipsticks that are supposed to be hydrating, as I feel they are just slip and sliding around on my lips (it doesn't help that my lips are very dry at the moment). To get a clean finish with this lipstick I have to apply it with a brush, which I sort of resent having to do. I'm still wearing this regularly, though, cos I love the colour.

To finish, we have MUA's Undressed Palette. Which has a lovely selection of neutral tones with some transition-into-night-time shades.

I'm a bit so-so about the formula of MUA eye shadows, especially their mattes. There is only one matte in this palette and its pigmentation is actually quite good. All the other shadows apply nicely as well. Overall, I quite like this palette.

From left to right, top row to bottom row, the shades are: Puff, Rose Ash, Fawn, Gild, Hazel, Lion, Bronze Ore, Burnished Brown, Tawny, Henna, Fuel, Cool Grey.

In this photo I used the Emite Primer as a base, followed by Mac's Studio Fix Powder Foundation, Sleek's contour kit and Revlon's cream blush in Coral Reef. I used Two Faced Shadow Insurance as a primer for my eyes, with Hazel in my crease, Gild and Henna on my lid, Puff in my inner corner and Fuel underneath my lower lashes and on my upper lash line. I'm wearing Loreal's Volume Million Lashes as my mascara along with the Eylure Natural Lashes. On my lips I'm wearing the Revlon Lipstick.

Bring on the December Box, which I hope is suitably festive.

Violet Chachki Inspired Makeup - I'm Still Obsessed With Drag

So, I love a good gay club, and recently loads of Drag Queens from Rupaul's Drag Race have been appearing at my favourite one. A couple of weeks ago, the winner of Season 7, Miss Violet Chachki herself was there. I got to meet her and get a couple photos. It was brief and I was super drunk, but she said my makeup was cool, so it was pretty awesome.

The makeup look I did was inspired by a look she posted on her instagram. Very pin-up and cool as heck. (Also, the nose ring is fake, for the record).

Let's start with the skin. I primed with Benefit's Porefessional, which I still adore, and then I used Mac's Studio Fix Powder Foundation in NW20, which, again, I still adore. I then used Revlon's PhotoReady Cream Blush in Coral Reef on my cheeks and contoured and highlighted with Sleek's Contour Kit.

For my brows, I used Mac's Cork eyeshadow with a small, bristly angled brush for the inner part. I then used a dark brown from Inglot with a tiny, sharp angled brush, for the rest of the brow. Next, I used a cotton bud to crisp up the lines. I finished with No7's Lash and Brow Perfector, to set the brows, and tidied the hairs with a spoolie.

Now, the eyes. I primed using Two Faced Shadow Insurance. In the crease I used a red eyeshadow by Inglot in 382 and darkened it with a black eyeshadow, also by Inglot, in 391. I used the same black to draw a thin line under the lower lashes, winging out under the tear duct. On the lid I used a base of Nyx's Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk - which I also used in the inner corner and on the waterline - and set it with a white eyeshadow, again, Inglot, in 373. I then did this giant ass wing, using Bourjois's Liner Pinceau  Liquid Eyeliner, á la Violet Chachki. I finished with L'oreal's Volume Million Lashes for my mascara and a pair of thick, flared out, Eylure lashes.

For lips I used Sleek's Matte Me Lip Cream in Rioja Red, cleaning the lines using No7's Lip Pencil in Fire, and then going back over it with the Lip Cream.

And there we go. I love this look, like a whole lot. And Violet was an absolute darling. For reference, the nose ring is from River Island.

Bonus picture with Violet and me.

My Favourite Lipsticks - And My Perhaps Questionable Taste

I thought I'd do a post documenting my favourite lipsticks of this moment. In general I lean towards Rimmel when it comes to lipstick; they are affordable, there are many colours, the texture is smooth and they are well pigmented. In particular, I love the Kate Moss shades - I have never been disappointed them.

For me, lipstick is all about colour. I'd sacrifice wear-ability and texture for colour any day. Lipstick can transform an everyday look into something striking and special. If I'm late in the morning and can only stretch to a cat eye, a lipstick is my jam. I can sleep in that extra half hour and still look fierce.

Then there are the lipsticks I want to just add a bit of colour to my lips, but not to compete with my eye shadow. These also tend to be my Summer shades, not that seasons really affect what I wear. The weather has been great recently and I've almost exclusively been wearing dark colours. I'm and Autumn girl at heart.

Height order, of course.

 This is Rimmel's Lasting Finnish Lipstick in 128 Starry-Eyed.

 This colour is my night out go to. I usually apply it as a stain, patting it on my lips focussing on the centre and blending it out. It's super sexy like this, wears really well and won't cause trauma if you want a sneaky kiss. However, for day time it's great worn at full pigmentation from the bullet.

 The colour looks darker in person, but is not too dark. It's a perfect colour if you want to branch into burgundies but don't want something that reminds you of your teenage self (we all had goth phases, right?). The texture is super smooth and applies consistently. It is fairly forgiving to dry lips, it's not gonna have the results of a lip balm, though. The wear-ability is just fine, but it won't last through a meal. However, it will survive many glasses of wine (meaning a bottle to oneself).

 Another Rimmel, this is 01 from the Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipsticks.

 This is my perfect red, man. It is a rich, blood red that is the sexiest lipstick I own. If you want a pin up red, this will do you nicely. This lipstick is pure sass for me. Pair this with a cat eye and some false lashes and you are sorted. When I want to bring my A-game, this is the lipstick I pick up.

 The texture is a dreamboat and it lasts a good long while, although if you're eating a burger, tops ups will be necessary. The colour is perfect first swipe. It is also fairly forgiving to a dry lip.

 My final Rimmel lipstick in this post, another Kate Moss one, it is 101.

 This is a lipstick I gravitate towards when I have got a whole lot going on with my eye shadow. It is a matte, but applies easily and smoothly. It's paler than my natural lip colour, so it can give a nice '60s feel to a look. It is not hugely pigmented, this doesn't bother me over much, as my own lips aren't very pigmented. However, if you have naturally red lips, you might want to blank them out with concealer before using this lipstick. This doesn't mean the pigmentation isn't there, it's just a pale colour to begin with.

 Now, this doesn't look so good close up. It settles a little in the cracks of your lips. That means this can't be worn if you have cracked lips. I've tried, then looked in the mirror and instantly changed the lipstick. It's a no go. This lipstick is a matte, so it's not hydrating, but it doesn't dry the lips either, it applies smoothly. Despite its limitations, it looks incredibly good with a dark eye, which is why it has a place in my favourites.

 This is my other 'complimentary to a heavy eye' lipsticks. It is also my go to Summer colour. If the sun is beating down, this colour is on my lips. It is Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti.

 For a Summer lip colour I want a sheer orange. Period. Orange looks good with my skin when it's slightly more tanned. Now, I bought this because beauty bloggers could not recommend it more, and I completely agree. It applies with ease, utter ease. It is a super low maintenance lipstick, and that is perfect for a sweaty Summer day. It wears off quite nicely, but can do that annoying crusting on the inside of the mouth, which is pretty gross. But because this colour is sheer, you can just rub it away and still have the colour on your lips.

It doesn't apply as evenly as I would like, but the edges can be happily blurred by using a finger to make it look nicer. It is flattering for dry lips and actively hydrates. The staying power is so-so for me, but that's because it is a sheer colour, so I don't pay as much attention to preserving it as I would with a darker colour. But I love it for how low maintenance it is. It is a no fuss lip colour, and a girl needs that sometimes.

 This is a recent purchase for me and my first Mac lipstick. It is called Heroine, not the drug.

 I have very little to say about this except the colour, yo. It is full on bright purple and I adore it. I've been wanting to branch out with my lip colours and this is totally perfect for it. Because it is a striking colour, there is very little doubt about that, but it is also not green or blue, so it's not completely outrageous. This is a go to for me if I want to look super stylish but haven't had the time to do anything interesting with my eyes. I tend to get compliments on it too, which is always rather lovely.

 It's Mac, so it's pricier than I would like, but you do get what you pay for. It's a matte colour, but applies super smoothly and comfortably. The wear is great, but won't be nice on dry lips. Depending on what I'm wearing this colour can be goth-y, but also Summer-y. It's surprisingly versatile and if I'm going out, but not wanting to go on the pull, I wear this shade. It is my fashionista shade.

 Now this lipstick is an iffy one for me, the colour stops my heart from how much I love it, but the formula leaves a whole lot to be desired. It is Depth by Topshop. Also, this packaging, though.

 This is a deep dark purple, it photographed lighter than it is. It is also less red in person. It is a red toned purple, but is definitively a purple. This is another shade that is all about style for me. It is a lipstick that speaks for itself. It is also very gothic. I have fairly warm colouring and couldn't look like a goth even if I tried, which means the lipstick isn't too much for me. This is very much a Winter lipstick for me, despite being incredibly unforgiving on dry lips. It is a very wet lipstick, which means it slips and slides around when applying, meaning getting a consistent coat is a little hard. I promise it looks better in person, though. Flash does nasty things to this lipstick, apparently.

 Up close like this it looks like a hot mess, but looking closely in a mirror does not reveal the imperfections. Again, evil flash. The wear isn't great, but I don't mind reapplying during the day. This lipstick is purely colour for me. I had been looking for a dark wet colour for such a long time and this stumbled and hobbled into my life. It's a pain, but it's fabulous enough for me to look past it. And that's what love is.

 Lastly, this is my number one boo. I've had this lipstick for years and it's still my favourite. It is a matte burgundy called Vamp by Sleek.

 This is a matte, so the wear is great, but it's hella unforgiving on dry lips. It's worth using a lip scrub for though. It takes about two coats to get it to the colour you want and it's very dry, but once it's there, it is there. Again, it photographed lighter than it is in reality, but not by a huge amount. It, like Starry-Eyed, is not so dark as to be too out there, however, the texture makes it less of a viable choice for those not so comfortable wearing lipstick. This is not a colour I would apply on my friends, but it is still my favourite.

 It borders the line between typical lip colours and outlandish ones (Tutti Frutti at one end and Heroine at the other). It is just out there enough to be striking, but not so much as to get funny looks. Which means it is exactly what I want out of a lip colour. This is my Autumn lipstick. As soon as September begins, I crack out this lipstick. Beautiful.