Handbag lipsticks!

Gemma recently talked of the gorgeous Ambre Rose as a ‘Handbag Lipstick’.

I love the term ‘Handbag Lipstick’. I think I have used the term ‘Go to’ before but that sounds so boring and functional in comparison to ‘Handbag Lipstick’.

Handbag lipsticks are those lipsticks that you keep in your bag everyday, the ones that you know you can just slap straight on to your lips, sans mirror, and they deliver a perfected finish without you giving a thought.

So this got me thinking what are my handbag lipsticks?
Please be warned, this post is picture heavy and some of them are not good but it should give you an idea of shades to google etc!

Ambre Rose, Patisserie, Hue, Beehive and Skinny Dip!

Ambre Rose from Maybelline

Firstly, I agree with Gemma. Anybody who has read my earlier Ambre Rose post will know that this is a lippie that I turn to. It is not particularly exciting but it always does the job and complements just about any look. It is also cheap and long lasting. With this in my bag, there is no reason why my lips should not look polished!

Patisserie from MAC

For some reason in reality, this reminds me a little of Ambre Rose and I tend to carry one or the other. I have to say that Patisserie is not a lipstick that I find myself daydreaming about or jumping out of bed to wear. I don’t find the colour of the stick or the swatch that inspiring but it does flatter the lips and add something once applied to the lips. I was surprised when Tanya Burr tweeted about this as a failsafe bridal lipstick. However, when I see pictures of looks using Patisserie, the lips always look lovely so I hope mine do too when I use it. It may not be my favourite MAC mate but there is no denying that Patisserie never really lets me down. There are never any tell tale lippie lines or patches. It almost looks so natural and maybe that is what disappoints me slightly but nevertheless, Patisserie does make the perfect handbag lipstick!

Hue from MAC

I love Hue. I have used her tirelessly. She gives a very pretty finish to the lips which I find particularly noticeable on camera. Unlike the pinky pinks, this peachy pink is less noticeable if you smudge or go over your lipline. It just seems to merge in to my natural lips seamlessly no matter how slap dash my application. I can’t resent paying MAC prices when I end up with a lippie as lush (and useful) as Hue, my very first MAC lippie and my original handbag lipstick!

Beehive from the No 17 MirrorShine line

This is currently my most worn lipstick. It has been endorsed by Holly and Laura and many others. It has been so well hyped and I’m pleased to say it more then lives up to all the raves. It is easy to apply and the colour is one I love, very similar to Hue although these pictures don’t really show this. Beehive is pinker then Hue but not as pink as my camera suggests and I certainly can not go wrong with Beehive. I have never noticed a blotched lipline(and I get a lot of those) with this gem. However, I have certainly noticed the mirror shine. This lippie finishes with the most flattering, subtle gloss and also as if it couldn’t get any better, Beehive also feels very soft and soothing when applied. This has been especially appreciated recently as my current skincare woes mean my skin and lips have become a little dried out and sensitive. This particular handbag lipstick was retailed below £5 in Boots and it is certainly worth every single penny!

Skinny Dip from Benefit

I have used this shade for years. It was my first ‘grown up’ lipstick. It is my perfect nude and for me, it can not be duped (let me know if you know one). It is a pinky nude, very pretty and feminine. I would say it doesn’t give me a lipstick finish but a pretty bare lip finish. My lips seem to be quite pigmented and so this works for me especially with my pale skintone which instantly looks softer after a swipe with Skinny Dip. It might not work so well for you but you never know, i it matches your colouring then I bet you will love this beauty. I suggest you all take two minutes to pop along to a Benefit counter just to check out my perfect nude, it may be the handbag lipstick you are looking for.

My handbag lipsticks all seem to be more nude then bright. I guess that is no surprise since handbag lipstick can be applied with no care and instantly deliver a polished look. You could hardly slap St Germain on and expect it to merge seemlessly in to your lips. However (and this is where you and I may differ) nor can I slap the notorious nude nudes such as Gosh Darling or Barry M 101 on my lips without chalky, tacky tell tell lines.

For me personally, it seems a handbag lipstick it needs to be a slightly muted pink or peach. Nothing brighter, nothing lighter.

What are your handbag lipsticks?

X

Hard-earnt love!

Okay so one thing that I have learnt on my mission is that first impressions do not necesarily mean everything especially when it comes to make up.

Some of you may remember that I was not very excited when I first brought All That Glitters yet it is now my go to shadow or BlushBaby yet everyday I find myself sweeping it over my apples.

Pretty much the same can be said for Ambre Rose from Maybelline, the memory of its purchase lost in a fog of MAC this, MAC that and a little bit of Gosh. Yet despite all the fuss I made when I got St Germain; Viva Gaga and Barry M 101, it is Ambre Rose who I most often call on and has earnt it’s special place in my heart.

 

I think Ambre Rose is a pale peachy pink with a hint of shimmer about it. I don’t know why but I think of the 1960’s when I look at the swatch on my hand.

 

I personally think the colour indicator on the bottom of the tube has more of a mauve tinge then the lippie itself.

 

A lot of people compare this lippie to MAC Angel. I get that. Looking at the tube, Ambre Rose does not seem particularly pink. Soft or otherwise.  My instinct is to place this lippie closer (and maybe rate it over) MAC’s Patisserie when it is in a tube. Even painted on the lips, Patisserie and Ambre Rose look quite similar.  They are both pinker then they look in the tube. Indeed in my swatch, Patesserie looks very brown. In the photos above and below, we have Angel, Ambre Rose, Patisserie and then Barry M No 53.

Ambre Rose is quite pale and I’m tempted to say quite sheer. It was very difficult to photograph but I feel in reality, there is a certain peachiness among the pinkness about the gorgeous Ambre Rose. I saw that one Make Up Alley reviewer said that it washed her out. Now I’m very pale but I don’t have a problem when I wear this lippie. However, as I’m now succesfully (three cheers) laying off the fake tan and suchlike maybe I just can’t be any more washed out!!!

This Maybelline ColorSensational lipstick has very few reviews on MUA but the three reviews that are there are not very positive or inspiring. Hmm, I might have to submit a review. This lipstick deserves more love!

Don’t get me wrong, some of the MAC (such as St Germain and even Snob!) and Barry M pinks are very, very special but their place in my heart was already secure the moment I heard about them when I heard the rave in that video or saw the swatch on that blog. I like to think I know my own mind but to be honest, there are very few lippie (or make up products generally) that I have brought because of the said rave and then wondered what all the fuss was about. Instead they all instantly strutted in to my heart. 

However, I think Ambre Rose was one that I brought through a Lollipop26 FOTD. If this was not the case then I certainly dug it out because of one of her mentions and I liked it, thought it was ok and then went back to my Barry M 101 Baby Pink. I only started wearing Ambre Rose really because of work. If it had not been that I wanted a wearable lippie for work then I doubt I would have reached for this beauty very much. However, I reached for Ambre Rose when I wanted to go to work and it worked. In fact, it delivered quite a nice pair of lips. So I wore it again and again and then I started reaching for it to wear when I wasn’t working and now my little Ambre Rose gets a whole lot of use and I have to give something to the Rose.

The accolade that so few of my other make up items have yet to gain.

The accolade, that it worked and then earnt the very special place in my heart. Okay so Ambre Rose is now in my heart as is St Germain and Snob et al, they are all there so you might ask does it really matter how they got there.

Yes, maybe!

Whenever something, even a lippie, is in your heart, you hold it dear and probably can not imagine life or your make up collection without it. However, nearly all of my lippies are in my heart and I’m hoping to carry out on discovering new ones so really, it may not be viable that all of these lippie loves will always be in my collection but surely it makes sense for the ones who earnt my heart to always be there.

Have any products earnt the place in your heart rather then just strutted right on in and claimed it? Share your love and journey here in the comments.

X

 

Happy Sunday!

 So I hope you have all had a lovely little Sunday today. I did!

I went shopping. (Yay)

Actually I spent very little. (Huh?)

I spent very little out of choice (Er, ok, double yay!).

As many of you know from my storage post, I have a drawer full of products I barely use. I tend to wear very little make up to work, if any so I really do not need to be make up shopping every single week. I’m in love with Snob but earlier this week, I remembered a lipstick I had almost forgotten about. Barry M, 144 and you know what? That was nice but because I brought it at the same time as the 100, it ended up forgotten. Such a beautiful colour lost and buried under new purchase after another after another. How sad!

I may not have been in to make up for long but I take things to an extreme and have gained an awful lot in a very short period of time. I need to cherish and value what I already have. I’m considering a Project 10 pan or something but am too feckless to commit to anything (esp. after seeing the swatches for the Alice In Wonderland palette from Urban Decay from LipGlossiping. They were gorgeous, swoon, swoon!)

Today I went shopping with my Mum. We went in to The Body Shop and I brought nothing. We went in to Space Nk and I brought nothing although I can still hear Rose de Baume calling for me. We went in to Lush and I brought nothing although I did frown at Vanilla In The Mist and went round and round the shop several times looking for a scrub that Muhsine (Bubblegarm) raved about recently and then we went in to MAC and I brought nothing although I picked out Angel and St Germain without even peeking at the names on the bottom and then I kept picking up different little pots of Honeylust.

Amazing! I brought nothing yet all of these beauties were just sitting there on the shelf waiting for me. Bet you’re wondering how I managed it?!

Well, my secret is a little decoy action. I brought for my Mum instead. That way I got to browse and test all of the products. So, the enjoyment of shopping was still there but I wasn’t adding to an already much too much collection. As if that wasn’t enough, the highlight of my plan was that Mum looked gorgeous. She always does but this is gorgeous in a different way and her smile says it all. She likes her look. A lot!

 

I brought her (with my hard earned Boots points) the L’Oreal Visible Lift Foundation (picture sourced from Google/l’oreal-paris.com). I suggested that we buy this mainly because I was so impressed with my L’Oreal True Match weeks ago. I have got used to my Colorstay but still remain underwhelmed plus my Mum is so busy and I know that she has not got time to flaff around. Unless I flaff around, I find ColorStay very messy and hard work. On the other hand, the L’Oreal Lift has a pump which seems to dispense the foundation efficiently. It is in a lovely little portable bottle and the foundation really does seem to airbrush my Mum’s skin. I’m not sure about the lift but she looks more polished and even from a distance her profile particularly the chin area looks more defined. Tomorow I will look at her again very closely as apparently this foundation fights wrinkles the day after wear. So positive first reactions and high expectations for the long term so I’m hoping Mum and I can do a better review of this L’Oreal product (Who knows, maybe she will even pose for a pic. Fingers crossed!) and all it’s promises, maybe around Mother’s Day, when she has worn it for more then a hour. Mum matched the Rose Porcelain shade.

Being the lovely daughter I am, Mum’s treat went beyond foundation. I also let her pick out a MAC lipstick and she picked out, Pink Plaid. I was so surprised how similar our tastes are, it was a lovely smooth pink and I would certainly have been tampted to borrow it but it wasn’t to be. Mum wouldn’t let me spend £12 on a lipstick for her so in Boots, I recommended Barry M. She liked 101 but I said she could have mine if she really wanted it as I prefer Gosh Darling anyway. There was no other Barry M shades that she thought she could wear so I took her over to Maybelline as I know there has been a lot of posts about the Maybelline Color Sensational lippies and straight away, she picked out Sweet Pink and it looks absolutley beautiful on her lips. She did not even have to conceal her natural lip colour. Sweet Pink is very vibrant and there is a slight shimmer but it only adds to the polished look.

Here is a picture from Google (originally from http://www.beautyswatch.com/2009/10/maybelline-color-sensational-lipstick.html).

 

Good choice, Mum. I wish I could guage colours, that so effortlessly suit me, as quickly as Mum managed to.

Hmmm, maybe one day. Anyway, I hope that all of you lovelies have had a Sunday as happy as mine. Happy days!

X

PS The one thing that I did buy for myself today was some Neutrogena Make Up Remover after watching Lollipop26’s You Tube video. My relationship with Clinique is still bumpy to say the least and I want skin like Laura’s (Lollipop26). I will try to review soon!