Dupe Series: MAC Creme Cup Lipstick

I'm very aware that not all people can afford higher end makeup brands, so when we stumbled across a good bargain it's great to share, huh? Everybody loves a bargain! Especially a bargain which is a good high end duplicate.

I've decided to start up a Dupe Series on my blog, where every time I stumble across a great product which is very similar to a higher end brand - I'll do my best to tell you all about it.

First up, is one of my favourite MAC lipsticks, Creme Cup. Being a subtle creamy pink tone, Creme Cup is very wearable for all skin tones. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the makeup brand Elf. After browsing their website, I came across one of their Mineral lipsticks in the shade Runway Pink.  

Left: ELF Lipstick - Runway Pink £3.50
Right: MAC Lipstick - Creme Cup £13.50 

As you can see, the lipsticks are very similar. I do feel that they look more alike when applied to the lips. The only difference I seem to notice is that Creme Cup is a more moisturising finish, where as Runway Pink is more matte, but not at all drying.

For a huge chunk of the price off (a whole £10 less), it's no surprise why I'm loving the Elf range.

What do you think to this dupe? What are your favourite lipstick dupes? Have you ever used Elf mineral lipsticks before?



MAC Shy Girl lipstick

MAC Lipstick - Shy Girl £13.50


It has to be said, that this is my all time favourite lipstick. And also my most repurchased MAC product! I find Shy Girl one of those lipsticks that not only looks great for day wear, but also for evening wear too.

If you aren't an avid MAC lipstick wearer like myself, you may be unaware that the lipsticks come in all different finishes - this being a Cremesheen finish. Leaving the lips locked with moisture without a sloppy finish. I prefer the Cremesheen finishes apposed to the others as they are highly pigmented without drying your lips either.

Shy Girl is what I describe as a peachy nude with warm undertones. I feel that this shade will suit every skin tone ranging from very pale to really dark complexions. I am a fan of nude lips, but not the 'concealer lip' - which is why I enjoy Shy Girl so much as it has a peachy warmth to it without looking at all washed out.

Here is how it looks applied - almost like it's been coated with gloss. I also use a tan lip liner from Topshop just to add a little more depth and fullness to the lips.

What is your all time favourite lipstick? Have any recommendations for me? Do you like Shy Girl? Do you know of any good Shy Girl dupes?

I would love to hear your thoughts..

Blood Bitten Lips

Blazer: River Island  |  Grey Tee: All Saints  |  Jeans: Primark  |  Necklace: Primark

I've been searching for a nice red lipstick for a while now. After being bewildered with choice in Superdrug, I ended up buying three red lipsticks on a whim; Revlon - Revlon Red, MUA - Shade 13 and the one I'm sporting in these photos Me Me Me - Ultimate Red.

I actually fell in love with this colour after seeing Towie's Lydia bright sporting the exact same lipstick. It's really wearable for day or evening wear. I was worried about the colour clashing with my hair, but I actually think it goes quite nicely. Red lipstick is usually renowned for smudging, but I was happy to see that my lovely blood bitten lipstick managed to stay put all night without a touch up!

   

What is your favourite red lipstick?

My Lipstick Collection

After a recent makeup clear out and updated storage organisation, I decided to pop a little post on here of my lipstick collection. I constructed a lipstick collection post a while ago, and since then I've accumulated a few more lipsticks - I think I actually have a few more since this I took these photos, but hey ho, let's get cracking!

I have a wide variety of colours and brands - my all time favourite being MAC. Something I did notice is that I actually don't own any red lipsticks! Shock horror! I have a red lip gloss, but none of the lipstick variety. If you girls would like to recommend to me your favourite red lipstick it would be much appreciated. I've got my eye on the Me Me Me lipstick in Ultimate Red, which I quite like. Also, used by Towie's Lydia.

Anyways, I'm digressing. Here are my lipsticks in all their glory;

Light Pinks

[L-R]:

Bodyshop 55, MUA shade 2, Barry M 100, Elf Runway Pink, MAC Snob and x2 MAC Creme Cup. 

Purples

 [L-R]: 

 BeautyUK shade 3, MUA shade 3, Barry M Palest Lavendar, Revlon Wild Orchid, MAC Up the Amp.

Bright Pinks

[L-R]:

Barry M 140, Barry M 62, MUA shade 5, Topshop Brighton Rock, MAC Impassioned. 

Nudes

[L-R]:

 Barry M 101, MAC Myth, MAC Creme D'nude, MAC Shy Girl, MAC Venemous Villians range.

Oranges

[L-R]:

Barry M 54, Barry M 53, Sleek Peaches & Cream, MAC Vegas Volt, MAC Costa Chic, YSL Peach Faubourg.

PLUS: I've just purchased MAC Hue and MAC Viva Glam Gaga2.

So there we have it, my lipstick collection. My most used have to be MAC Creme Cup and MAC Shy Girl. Those are my all time favourite lipsticks. They're really wearable and seem to go with pretty much everything.

I'd love to see your lipstick collections! In fact, I tag you all to do it and then leave a comment with a link to your post. What are your favourite lipsticks?



Cheeky little MAC Haul

Lipsticks: Viva Glam Gaga 2 & Hue | Eyeshadow: Embark | Blusher: Blushbaby

We all love a cheeky trip to MAC, don't we? After having a MAC Makeover earlier on in the year (which I blogged about), I've been slowly getting my mitts of the products in which the lovely make-up artist used on my face. I purchased the following lovely treasure;

What are your MAC favourites?

The Perfect Peachy Pout

Being a beauty blogger, it's somewhat of a popular addiction when it comes to indulging in the latest lipstick.

There are many lipstick junkies amongst us bloggers - myself included! With a drawer full of nudes, pinks, corals and reds, I have been on the look out for the 'Perfect Peachy Pout' (as I have rightly named the title of this post).

Whilst in Newcastle on a recent Bloggers meet up, us girlies perused around the makeup counters like a pride of Lionesses prowling around their next prey. In bid to stumble across the Peach lipstick I have designed purely in my own mind. Every girl does it, right? Dreams up the perfect shade in their thoughts? Well, I most certainly do.

I finally caught sight of the YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick range, thank you to my lovely friend, Helen, who brought this beauty to my attention;

YSL Rouge Volupte - Peach Faubourg #30


This is the first, and probably only YSL lipstick I will invest in. Purely because of the whopping price of £22. Don't get me wrong - I love the colour and felt this was the reason I could justify spending this amount. I also think treating yourself every now and again is a good thing. But, I do think it is a hefty price for a lipstick alone.

I must say, my first YSL experience has been a very good one. Not only is the packaging and product amazing, and very expensive looking, the lipstick itself is fragranced with a melon scent. Pure delicious!

What do you girls think? Do you enjoy indulging in the more higher end brands? Or do you find them a waste of money? Or like me, do you occasionally like to treat yourself and have a healthy mix of higher and lower end brands?

I'd also love to also hear of any perfect peachy colours you've come across. One of my favourites is also MACs Shy Girl. A really lovely milky coral shade.

Lipstick Haul

I sure do love a good lipstick, or a few. Ahem. Last weekend, I went a little lipstick mad and ended up buying five at once. I couldn't settle on just one. So, I thought I'd show you my purchases. Lovely for the summer!

[L-R]: Barry M 100, Barry M 54, MUA Shade 4, MUA shade 3, Revlon Wild Orchid.

I don't really have much else to say other than.. Ahhhh pretty colours!

Topshop Make-up Haul

OK, so I know I'm a little bit overdue with this post. I'd read so many blogs about Topshop's make-up range, and was very eager to try out a few products from their selection. Being a consistent Topshop customer, I've surprised myself that I haven't picked up any of their makeup sooner.

None the less, over the weekend, I toddled into my local Topshop hoping to try out a few pieces. After inspecting all of the items, I finally settled for the following;

Nail Varnish - Mannequin £5.00
Nail Varnish - Sketch £5.00
Lipstick - Brighton Rock £8.00

'Mannequin' is the beautiful delicate nude shade, perfect with one coat for a french manicure or two coats for a perfect peachy pastel finish. 'Sketch' is a real earthy, grungy dark grey. I love 'Sketch'. It's really classic and just about goes with everything!

I really rate these nail varnishes and would highly recommend them. I'm quite the critic when it comes to nail varnishes - I'm difficult to please. Not only are Topshop's polishes thick and luxurious, but they're also long lasting. Hurray for Topshop!

I also picked up 'Brighton Rock' from the lipstick range. I had my eye on 'Hazard' on their website, but this was much nicer in the flesh. It really reminds me of MAC's Impassioned (another favourite lipstick of mine), so I was really happy to pick this one up at £4.00 cheaper than the MAC one.

Their lipsticks aren't as drying as I was expecting and are long lasting too. I shall hopefully be picking some more up soon!

Has anyone tried out anything else from the Topshop make-up collection? I really want to give the Cream Blushes a try. I've never used a cream blush before though, I've always used powder blushes, so I'm not sure if I'd be any good at applying them. Let me know your musings..