Hold your colour

Ahhh the good old retreat to Pendulum song titles, memories!  Okay so these are by no means a new product or even a new purchase for me, but I figured after trawling through my ever expanding makeup bag (well bags, plural!) for a pink lipstick last week and discovering I actually owned 5 of the same range, it kinda warranted a post!

The product I refer to of course, is the Boots 17 Lasting Fix Lipstick collection.  Anyone who knows me in person will know how much I rave over their red (Showbiz) in particular, never without it in my bag/pocket/purse.   That and the fact if ever asked for a recommendation of a dark plum/purple shade, I will ALWAYS say 17's 'New Black'!  As just mentioned, right now I have 5 of these lipsticks which is pretty rare for me to own more than one of the same lipstick, let alone in different shades rather than bulk buying a product I love.  There's a few more I have my eye on but trying to limit my spending for the next few months, so I don't end up in the gutter before loan day!

My Current 5- Clockwise from top left;
Showcase, Hot Chilli, Pink Power, Hawaii Pink, New Black.

I'm an absolute sucker for a good quality, brightly coloured lipstick with a creme finish, and at only £4.29 they're almost impossible to pass over! The Boots website claims "17 Lasting Fix Lipstick provides long lasting, non-drying coverage for your lips that lasts up to 4 hours", which is a pretty accurate description if you ask me.  If anything, I'd say the darker shades may even last longer than 4 hours due to the lip stain effect.  I wore the red while out in Leeds for Milly's birthday a few weeks ago and don't think I reapplied at all through the night.   I can't vouch for how perfect it was at the end of the night since I was a little worse for wear, but at least know I woke up with red stained lips still, so that's saying something!  

Better view of the packaging, simple tubles with a metal contrast edge.
 Newer  ones are the black and pink version.

I think these are probably the first 'drug store' type lipstick that claims to be long lasting which I've actually liked.  Usually they either don't live up to their claim (unless you count 20 minutes as long lasting!), or do last, but feel dry and just plain horrible on my lips.  I won't say that you forget you're wearing it, because obviously that's not going to be the case with a thick lipstick like this, but it applies nicely, wears brilliantly, and feels pretty nice on.  No complaints from me!  Well maybe the fact the packaging is black and pink and I DESPISE pink packaging (well most pink things actually) could be a negative, but a tiny one in the main scheme of things.

And who could forget an actual swatch of the products on!  Don't worry I wasn't going to leave without one or two!  Swatched in one swipe, no base...

Daylight swatch on NC15 skin (well a bit lighter), L-R;
Hot Chilli, Showcase, Hawaii Pink, Pink Power, New Black.

Pretty great huh?  My personal favourite is the red shade, Showcase.  I may even go as far as to say I prefer it to MAC reds!

HOT CHILI; Fiery neon coral.  Almost a tad more cool toned than many corals I've seen, bordering more on a red than an orange shade.  Pretty daring either way!

SHOWCASE;  A perfect true red.  The slightest bit blue toned, but a pretty much true red.  LOVE this ridiculous ammounts.

HAWAII PINK;  Almost a neon rose pink.  Not quite barbie pink, think a wearable peachy hot pink.

PINK POWER;  A true fuschia shade.  Similar to MAC's girl about town though creamier and slightly lighter in finish.

NEW BLACK;  A dark blackened purple colour, pretty warm in tone.  Similar to many berry shades popular at the moment. 

And to finish, my mug wearing the red.  Excuse the old photo/crackhead face, but at least the lipstick looks good...

Boots 17 Lasting Fix lipsticks are availible at all Boots stores in the UK for £4.29.  Also availible in their online shop, where there's swatches and many more shades to choose from.  Go wild!

For me, a good scent can be the key to feeling good, and feeling uplifted; smell good, feel good. Although perfumes do tend to sit into the camps of 'daytime' and 'evening' smells, I personally am not a fan of the light, flowery scents suited to daytime wear, and prefer to go with the heavier evening scents regardless of time and place.

Depending on the time of year, I alternate between a few different perfumes. 2 of these are higher end scents, and the last a cheaper one found in high street store 'next' (this being when I've ran out of the others, since I can't afford to buy them myself and generally recieve them at Christmas and Birthdays).

Givency Very Irresistible.

I'll admit, Initially I chose this one purely because Liv Tyler was on the ad campaigns! But as soon as I smelt it I fell in love, this has to be the only one that I keep going back to as a staple fragrance of mine, and the one that my friends will recognise in stores as being 'Kirsten's smell'. A sweet but heady mix of dark florals, berries and an almost woody oriental blend, a perfect scent for daytime and evening use. Technically a nighttime scent but easily wearable during the day.

Ghost Deep Night.

Another evening scent, though this being a heavier and perhaps harder to wear for some. I however don't mind the strength and musk of it (possibly as I've learnt to get used to it more). Various websites describe it as being a "floral, fruity scent with woody undertones". Despite this, I wouldn't say it was particularly a 'fruity' scent, the woody elements are definately apparent, with a sweet musk and heady floral note coming through, almost resembling a blend of ylang ylang and bergamot in essential oils terms. Definately another very 'me' perfume, not one I'd go for as readily as the aforementioned Givenchy number, but a lovely smell all the same.

aka- Sleek Storm palette review.

Now this palette is by no means a new purchase or find (about a year old to be precise), but it still has to be one of my favourites of all time. Beautiful colours, brilliant application, and amazing value. The palette is one of the first 3 of sleek's 'i-Divine' series of palettes, retailing at most Superdrug stores for around £4.50 if I remember correctly, with the other 2 being the 'original' group of colourful shimmers, and the matte 'chaos' collection.

For me, having an odd shade of mushy green/grey eyes, I've found this palette to be the most wearable, with the warm shades acting both as perfect shimmery neutrals, and brilliant shades for a night time smokey eye (my personal favourite being the rich burgundy and bronze shades). The storm pallette contains 12 soft shadows in a mix of matte's and shimmers, the top row being warmer shades, and the bottom being coolers smokey shimmers, a matte dark brown, and a perfect matte black.

Swatches; Taken with flash on lighter than nc15 ghostly skin, no primer or base and single swipes. (note that top row shadows are infact a little more opaque and darker than shown, flash was brighter on that shot, my apologies). Unfortunately no shots of the palette itself.

Top row (minus a matte taupe shade which smashed).

Bottom row.

As you can see, the top row provides beautiful soft shimmery neutrals, and the bottom a more smokey, almost vampy array of colours. A perfect purchase for anyone after a palette that can multitask and won't cost you the earth. Definately one of my best purchases, still going strong after a year, give or take the odd denting or smashed shade (not a reflection of the quality of the product, more my lack of care when throwing it in my bag).