Melita Beauty Night Out

Round about this time of year, Melita Health & Beauty organize a Beauty Night Out for us bloggers and every year, I look forward to attending and try not to miss it. Why? First off, it's a great event to meet other bloggers who I don't see at other events; secondly, it's a one-stop shop for all things health and beauty; and thirdly, the staff are super sweet and always so generous with us but I'll get to that in a second.

Having recently changed their logo, Melita Health & Beauty also chose to do things a little differently this time - we had the opportunity to win 3 prizes on the night, 2 of which came courtesy of Uriage and their new AGE Protect Anti-Aging range, the main event sponsor; while the final prize was €200 worth of Stefania d'Alessandro makeup in a beautiful Alaïa case. This all took place last Thursday night 

First let me show you a little bit of what's new and then I'll get into all the fun details!

Ok, so for the first prize of the night, my name was drawn! I won the AGE Protect Night Cream and AGE Protect Serum from Uriage, so now my AGE Protect regime is complete!

Those of us who made a purchase on the night were eligible to be in with a chance to win the big prize which was drawn just before we left. I bought the big sized Glov which is amazing for travelling as I don't need to pack a lot of makeup removers with me. Lo and behold, my name was drawn again! Needless to say, I was ecstatic at this! Here all the good things that were in the case and the very generous goodie bag handed to us at the end of the night!

The moment they announced my name for the big prize draw :)

I will be giving away some of the stuff in an upcoming giveaway soon so be sure to keep following me on Facebook and Instagram not to miss out on anything. I had a really fun night chatting away to fellow bloggers and makeup lovers and I love how our small community gets so well with each other and I love meeting the new ones too :) Oh and we got to do this over countless beautiful makeup and perfume displays and good food too! Thank you so much Melita Health & Beauty for having us, I'll surely enjoy the products!

Photos of us bloggers courtesy of Melita Health & Beauty

Top Red Lipstick Picks

I do love a red lip and I have always believed that red lipstick gives you a confidence boost - as long as you're wearing the right shade of course! If I have an important meeting or a big night out, more often than not, you will see me sporting a red lip for sure.

Of course, being a lipstick junkie and a beauty blogger, translates to being constantly on the hunt for more lipsticks to home. At this precise moment in time, I own 22 red lipsticks. There was a time not too far away when I owned way more but I had to clear out my stash for lack of space mainly.

Without further ado, here are my top pricier red lipsticks, their drugstore dupes and matching lip liners ;)

You probably already guessed the first one up...it's MAC Ruby Woo. The cult favourite matte pillar box red needs no introduction as it suits a variety of skin tones. A dupe for it would be Catrice Matt Lip Artist 6hr in 050 Fashion Reditorial. It provides the same matte finish and the colour is pretty close. To seal the deal with these two, Make Up Store Lip Liner in Burlesque has a matte finish and is an exact match.

Next is one that I've had in my stash for a few years now and it is still one of my most used lipsticks. My parents had gotten me the Givenchy Rouge Interdit 20 Illicit Raspberry one Christmas, making it the first high-end lipstick in my collection. A less costly alternative is Max Factor Marilyn Lipstick, 4 Marilyn Cabernet. The perfect matching lipliner for this pair is Essence Lipliner 08 Red Blush.

Next is another MAC matte lipstick - D For Danger. This is one of the darkest reds I own and I love how such reds look paired with a classic smokey eye. The dupe? No other than Flormar Extreme Matte Lipstick 07 Haute Burgundy while for lipliner, I would recommend Flormar Waterproof Liner in No. 205.

I cannot not mention the Christian Louboutin Lipstick in Rouge Louboutin. Of course the price of this one may not be what everyone is willing to spend on a lipstick but I'm going to justify it by saying it is one of the most beautiful pieces in my collection and that the colour lasts throughout the whole time I wear it. A very affordable dupe come from Italian makeup brand KIKO - Glossy Dream Sheer Lipstick 206. Of course you will need to build up the colour to achieve the intensity of the Louboutin lipstick but they are a pretty close match. To achieve the look with a little less effort, applying Catrice Long Lasting Lip Pencil Waterproof 130 Prince Cherry all over the lips underneath the KIKO lipstick will definitely help!

Those were the top red lipstick picks from my collection. Are there any more red lipstick fans out there? 

Best Of 2012: Lips

Next up in the Best Of 2012 series are lip products. Most of you know that I was in a love-hate relationship with lipsticks and favoured lipgloss more. Well, I am pleased to say that has changed! I am now the proud owner of a beautiful lipstick collection and I can't wait to share my favourites with you! However, I will start with other lip products and save the best for last!

First up are two products that proved to be lip saviours...literally! I forgot to pack a lip balm for my trip to Paris and the first thing on arriving was pop into a pharmacy and I got Bioderma Atoderm Levres. It soothed my lips in an instant and left them feeling smooth and supple. Definitely a repurchase if I can find a Bioderma stockist here. Product number two is E.L.F. Studio Lip Exfoliator, a product I had been waiting for ages to be available on the UK website and I purchased straight away as soon as it was uploaded! I was so glad I bought it and I have been using it every other day to keep my lips smooth and it also improved the staying power of lip products on me.  I will need a replacement soon! I have also been able to try out Essence Kiss Care Love Lip balms* which provide the moisture and care of a regular lip balm with a sheer, pearly tint and I can confirm they work excellently!

My favourite lip liner this year has been Revlon ColorStay Lip Liner in Nude. It matches my lips perfectly and is great for use with any lip colour.  This year I have also discovered lip stains and my favourites have been Liptini Lip Liqueur in 4013 Pink Lady*, and Catrice Liquid Lip Tint in 010 Red My Lips*.

As for lipglosses, my favourites were E.L.F. Studio Glossy Gloss in Berry Blush & Merry Cherry, E.L.F. Studio Glitter Gloss in Sparkling Wine and Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in 020 Wood Of Roses*.

As previously said, I left the best for last! Here are my top lipsticks for 2012! Chanel Rouge Coco in 16 Taffetas Rose, Givenchy Rouge Interdit in 20 Illicit Raspberry*, MAC Lustre Lipstick in Naked Paris, Catrice Ultimate Colour Lipsticks in 030 Ginger & Fred and 190 The Nuder The Better.  All these lipsticks have excellent pigmentation and staying power and I am also very pleased to say that I have found the perfect nude in the latter Catrice lipstick.

Moving on, these lipsticks have sheer to high coverage and although the staying power is not as good as the ones above, they still cut it for my 2012 favourites because of their moisturizing formulas. Here are Catrice Ultimate Lip Glow in One Shade Fits All*, Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in 206 Nude Pink, Kate Moss for Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick (matte) in 107 and Essence Lipsticks in 02 Sparkling Romance, 62 Rockin' Red*.

What were your favourite lip products during the past year?

Part 1: Nails
Part 2: Skin Care

Products marked with * were either gifted to me or sent by the respective companies' PR for review purposes

Make-Up Collection {Part 3 ~ Lip Products}

After quite a long break from my make-up collection posts, here is my lip product collection! I still have some more items on my wishlist that I need to purchase like some Catrice and Essence lipsticks as well as some other products from e.l.f. Cosmetics but for now, here is my current collection.

A word about lip product storage first; I keep my lipsticks either in the first drawer of my make-up cabinet or else, on the top of the cabinet along with other lip products depending on the frequency of use.  As for my high-end lipsticks, I keep them in their original packaging in the first drawer to avoid any disasters... and they never ever leave the house! In summer I like to keep my lipsticks in a container in the refrigerator to prevent them from melting.  

I'll leave you to the pictures now :) Click on a product name for the full review and if you would like me to review a product that is not yet reviewed, then just leave a comment :)

Lipsticks

Mac Milan Mode

e.l.f. Sociable

e.l.f. Mineral Lipsticks in Ripe Rose, Rosy Tan, Natural Nymph & Rich Raspberry

Max Factor Lipstick in 710 Midnight Plum

Deborah Rossetto 24 Ore in 13 Creamy 

Givenchy Rouge Interdit in 20 Illicit Raspberry

Maybelline Water Shine Lipstick in 02 Beige Glace

Chanel Rouge Allure in 66 Confidentielle

Max Factor Lipstick in 804 Hint of Red

e.l.f. Studio Matte Lip Colors in Natural, Coral & Tea Rose

Lip-liners

Estee Lauder Lip Defining Pencil in Spice

Technic Lip-liner pencil in Pink

The Body Shop Lip Pencil in Chestnut

NYX Long Lip Pencil in CLPL20 Plush Red

Revlon ColorStay Automatic Lip Liner in 02 Nude

Farmasi Lip Pencil in 210

e.l.f. Lip Liner and Blending Brush in Wine

Lip Glosses

e.l.f. Studio Glitter Gloss in Ruby Rasberry

essence Stay With Me long lasting lip gloss in I Like Cotton Candy

Napoleon Perdis Protege Lip Gloss

M&S Lip Gloss in Dark Pink

L'Oreal Glam Shine Crystals in Coral Strass

Rimmel Clear Gloss

H&M Lip Gloss in Queen of Peach

Caboodles Lip Tint in Yummy Swirl

e.l.f. Super Glossy Lip Shines in Goddess, Iced Latte, Malt Shake & Mauve Luxe

Nivea Care Gloss & Shine in Natural

Primark Beauty lip gloss

The Body Shop Hi-Shine lip treatment

Eyeko Lip Gloss in Knightsbridge

Barry M Limited Edition Glossy Tube in Bubble Gum Pink

Farmasi Extreme Gloss

Lip Balms and everything else

e.l.f. All Over Color Stick in Pink Lemonade & Persimmon

The Body Shop Born Lippy Lip Balm in Passionberry

Nivea Hydro Care Lip Balm

So that is my current lip product collection ladies! I am planning to do more collection posts such as new additions, nail polish collection, jewellery collection, etc so let me know what you want to see! In the mean time, check out my other two instalments of the make-up collection posts:

Part 1 ~ Storage & Face Products

Part 2 ~ Eye Products

Monthly Favourites: January 2012

And January is out, so that means that it is time for me to show you the products I have been loving most.  The majority are lip products as I have been experimenting with bold and bright lips alike but I also have some other products so let me get started!

My most favourite product, even though I didn't use it a lot so as not to waste it, is without any doubt my Givenchy Rouge Interdit in Illicit Raspberry. I love everything about this lipstick: the packaging (oh so luxurious), the shade, how long it stays, etc...

Next, up are two new purchases from e.l.f. cosmetics, namely Sociable lipstick from their essential range and the Studio Glitter Gloss in Ruby Raspberry.  I have been enjoying wearing both together because the shades complement each other so well and although I am not a fan of the lipstick packaging, I really love the shade as well as the smell of the lipgloss!

The last lip products, I have, I think you have seen them a million times over over but I just can't seem to put them down! They are Max Factor lipstick in Midnight Plum, M&S lipgloss in Dark Pink, Maybelline Water Shine Lipstick in Beige Glace, e.l.f. Studio Matte Lip Color in Natural and Nivea Hydro Care Lip Balm.  I have also rediscovered this Caboodles twist-up lipgloss of which I really like the chocolatey-honey smell!

As far as make-up products and tools go, I have another four new purchases from e.l.f. that I have been liking this month, namely, Studio Translucent Matifying Powder, Contour Brush, Mechanical Eyelash Curler and Cream Eyeliner in Black.

I have also been liking these Joico Shampoo & Conditioner which have greatly improved the moisture levels in my hair without weighing it down.  With regards body products, I have been using this Body Shop Cocoa Butter scrub and this White Peach & Almond Hand Cream from M&S religiously to combat dry skin hand and hands respectively.   I have also been treating my skin to a deep cleanse once a week with this Pond's Cold Cream Cleanser.

So that's it for my monthly favourites ladies! What products were you enjoying during the first month of the year?