Boots SEVENTEEN Mega Matte Lipsticks. How Mega? How Matte? How Do They Compare to Liquid Lipstick Mattes? Let's Find Out.

Unless you live under a rock, or never wear makeup like I didn't until two years ago, you'll know matte lips are the big, huge, massive trend that brands are still scrambling to catch up with. Almost all the concessions now have a matte lip range, and Boots SEVENTEEN have joined the ranks this Autumn with 12 shades to try. 

The  SEVENTEEN 13 hour wear Mega Matte Lip caught me by surprised when the three shades I chose arrived for review. The trend has been for brands to make their matte lips in a liquid lipstick format, not a physical lip STICK. So usually your matte lip comes in a tube similar to a lip gloss. It goes on slightly shimmery and wet, but dries out to a completely matte colour on your lips. 

But the SEVENTEEN Mega Matte Lip range comes in lipstick format, and not even a pointy one, a flat, screw up product. The PR kit also included a lip brush, so I assume this is how they think the matte lip goes on best. However I put my makeup on in the leisure centre every day after I swim, so I tested them as I would use them, just in their stick format. 

A usual liquid lip (ColourPop Bumble) & a 17 Mega Matte Lipstick

Now I must say I really wasn't happy with this at first. I like to give beauty products a good two week trial before I write about them, otherwise I can't tell what I really thing about them. So at first I hated the stick format, and found it tricky to apply with the flat edge. However as time has gone on I've got the hang of it.  

Here is how the SEVENTEEN nude 'Looking Buff' compares to ColourPop 'Bumble'. Liquid lip Bumble on left looking at the pic, 17 Looking Buff on the right.

ColourPop liquid lip Bumble : 17 Looking Buff

The liquid lip Bumble is more highly pigmented, but it bleeds out and can be messier to apply. 17 Matte Lip is more pinkish in base, less drying to the lip itself, and has a sweet taste. You can see it has a more natural look to it. I find it easier not to 'mess up', and can do without a lip liner to keep it in place. It's also £4.49, a good £15 cheaper than the genuine ColourPop liquid lip. Incidentally ColourPop's lab make the Kylie Jenner formula from the same recipe- so if you buy ColourPop you are getting the cheaper version of Kylie Kits.

Boots SEVENTEEN Looking Buff £4.49

So the other colours. I use a purple tone liquid lip often that I bought on AliExpress, just a generic Asian brand, it was 69p or something crazy. So I asked to try the 'I Lilac It A Lot' shade of the SEVENTEEN Mega Matte Lip to compare it.

I was really disappointed in this shade. You can see below that's two coats and it's more like a light tint. I expect matte lips to be pigmented, opaque and mean business, and this colour just didn't do that for me. If you like your lip subtle you might like it, coupled with the fact none of the shades feel heavy to wear on your lips, but not for me. 

'Mega Matte Lip I Lilac It a Lot'- which I don't. 

Finally, my favourite liquid lip is a Lime Crime dupe I bought on eBay, a fiery orange red called 'SuedeBerry'. So the corresponding SEVENTEEN shade is 'Lava You A Lot', again £4.49.

17 Lava You a Lot

And this one I do Lava a Lot! Pigment is good, non-drying on the lip, fun colour, good staying power. It's gone into my after-pool makeup kit along with the nude colour. 

So over all? I didn't like how they were applied at first, but they grew on me and now I love them. Some shades are better than others in quality it seems- maybe get your hands on the testers in store before picking a colour to buy.  

They can be as good as liquid format lips, and the price is definitely a huge bonus. 

One thing is for sure, the matte lip trend is going nowhere fast, so maybe this traditional lipstick format is the introduction to the trend you've been waiting for. 

Keep up with my beauty buys and bargains on my Snapchat story, username Rudedoodle. 

Animal Sheet Masks from The Creme Shop- Walk Around Your House in a Real Life Snapchat Filter! (& 15% Off Until Monday With This Code)

TK Maxx in Bangor, and I'm guessing everywhere else too, has just taken shipment of dozens of different sheet masks in their beauty department.​

Sheet masks are face masks comprised of a cloth loaded with product that you can optionally chill in the fridge and apply directly to your face. You leave it on for the time directed, or if you wish until it dries out. Technically if you feel comfortable enough you can even sleep in sheet masks for a rejuvenating, moisturing overnight treatment.​

I prefer them to face masks you need to wash off, because I hate rinsing my face and water going up my arms.​

So TK Maxx is a great place to go to try your first sheet mask, there are dozens to choose from and they are packs of three or five for £4.99 which is a very decent price. 

I bought a blueberry pack last week, but had to return to buy these animal face printed ones this week because LOOK AT THE FACES! 

The brand is  The Creme Shop and if you can't find them in your local TK Maxx, you can buy directly from their site. $4 for one mask, $10 for the pack of three like I bought. 

The site has a hyaluronic acid penguin variety I really want to try. I'll maybe see if another nearby TK Maxx has them, if not I'll order online.  

If you want to order from  The Creme Shop Webstore you can get 15% off until Monday with the code 'LABORDAY'. They also sell brushes and eyelashes, if you want to stock up.

Also picked this little kit up for £3

But do they work and what are they like? I tried the Tiger Collagen mask last night on clean skin with makeup removed. 

Wonderfully the scent reminded me of Floral Gums. The sheet mask feels great on, and a little bonus is that the 'eyes' are on the mask, where usual white masks just have the eye holes. This extra bit of mask means you can push the fabric right up under your lashes so there isn't a circle around each eye missing out on the product.  

Another benefit of the mask being printed with an animal face is that you know which side of the mask goes on the skin. Sometimes with a plain white mask you can't tell which side of the fabric has the most product on it, to place onto the skin. 

I left the mask on 15 mnutes and afterward my skin felt soft and fresh. I was very happy with the result.

So until I can get plastic surgery to look like my favourite Snapchat filter, the deer, I guess  The Creme Shop is the next best thing. Also great idea for little stocking filler presents for Christmas, or for teachers' gifts.

Boots SEVENTEEN Skin Wow Concealer- The Five Star Handbag Essential

It still tickles me that I now venture tentatively into makeup reviewing, when five years ago I didn't wear any. 

In comparison I now daily use primer, foundation, an eyeshadow palette, eyeliner, mascara, brow pencil, concealer, highlighter, bronzer, lipstick, finishing powder and makeup setting spray! I still don't have the skills of women my age who have been wearing makeup since their teenage years, but thanks to YouTube tutorials, I'm getting there. 

My handbag touch-up kit is whatever lip colour I'm wearing that day & concealer. I find even if I wear eyeshadow primer, I still get a little dark smudge under my eye as the day goes on. So I carry a brightening concealer so I can 'paint over' those dark patches & freshen up my makeup. 

I had been carrying & using the Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer which Sera from The Style Guide Blog  had sent me. It was the lightest shade, but still too dark for her, but it was great for my skin tone.

So when the Boots SEVENTEEN Skin Wow concealer arrived to review, it had to live up to my usual concealer product.

I'm a big fan of the gold

I previously tried out the  highlighter & primer in one from the Skin Wow range and loved it, so I was keen to see how the concealer measured up.

The little gold pen operates by clicking the end to release a small amount of product. It took a good few clicks to start the flow, but I would say once you have it started you would need one click per under eye area.

I liked the little brush, it made application easy, but it wasn't suitable for blending as it just kept adding more product. Blending out with my fingers was fine. 

This is the 'fair' version  

The concealer currently comes in fair or medium on the Boots website. I'm not sure if there is a darker shade beyond medium in physical stores. 

There are currently 51 reviews on the Boots site, and it has almost five out of five stars. That's a good indication of how versatile it is on many different skin tones.

Brightening up makeup that was on for 6+ hours

I'm a fan too. You can see below even with a quick application my under eye looks brighter and the crease less defined. It's not total coverage, but I reckon if you wanted that effect you could layer it on.

With Skin Wow concealer : Without

I would definitely recommend the SEVENTEEN Skin Wow concealer, especially to pale ladies like myself who need very fair tones for their base makeup. 

Its also ideal for your contouring or strobing as you can paint it on with exact precision thanks to the snazzy little applicator brush. 

The concealer is currently on offer for £3.99 rather than £4.99, and if you spend £6 on SEVENTEEN products online, you get a free gift.

Watch this space as I will be reviewing the new matte lips from the range very soon. 

Menarys Mega Beauty Event- 20% off Benefit*, Free Clarins Gifts, 25% off Lancôme & 30% off YSL

20% off Benefit with a Bob & Berts' hot drink purchase  

Menarys is a complete beauty lover's dream right now. We called down for some coffee & cake in Bob & Bert's & spied a fantastic offer for one of my favourite beauty brands, Benefit.

When you buy a medium hot drink, you will get a voucher for 20% off a Benefit purchase over £20. The voucher lasts until 31st August, and the girls at the counter told me there are new lip kits with lip liner & lipsticks in one hitting stores around the 25th.  

What to buy: any of the new wave of Benefit expert brow products that launched last month. The girls will help you select the right colour & products for splendid brows every time. I have the Goof Proof pencil, and it's my new go-to brow product. 

There are also a selection of Benefit gifts. I love these and have a couple. They have small versions of the post popular products & allow you to try them without having to buy full size, and double up as travel makeup kits. I bought the 'Do the Hoola' kit in Gatwick Airport & highly recommend it. Bangor have it in stock. 

The next fab offer to share with you is the Menarys' Clarins'  gift event. It begins this Thursday and lasts two weeks. When you buy two Clarins products, one being skincare, you will receive a gorgeous beauty bag (not the one shown, the one on the leaflet) and you can choose four free mini-products to take home.

while stocks last

Choose from One Step Cleansing Water, HydraQuench Cream, Extra-firming Night Cream, Gentle Refiner, Beauty Flash Balm (I love it), Eau Dynamisante, Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch and finally Wonder Perfect Mascara. 

Plus, if you buy an extra skin care product on top of that, there's an extra gift for you worth £22. 

What to buy: Clarins Double Serum. It's won a tonne of awards and even out sold Boots' very popular serum last year.

Now this is a biggy. The YSL concession in Menarys' beauty hall has 30% off. That's 30% off EVERYTHING. If you are a YSL beauty addict you'd be worth your while popping down and buying your whole year's worth of products and get a third off it all. Stick it on the credit card (just don't blame me later, I'm such an enabler!) 

What to buy: If you are new to YSL & want to try something, why not go for their super product, Touche Eclat? Hailed as a wonder product when it launched, it's spawned a dozen copycats & an entire range of its own. But it's the original under-eye brightener that still wows, and with 30% off its a great time to try it.

Finally the Lancôme counter has a similar offer with 25% off EVERYTHING. 

What to buy: the new Grandiose Liner. A clever, new product with a swivel tip for easy eye lining. I reckon even I could do a cat eye flick with this magic wand and at 25% off.

Two Days Left to Take Advantage of the Clarins #Feed10 Gift at Menary's

There's only today and tomorrow left to get to your local Menary's store, visit their Clarins concession and pick up their free Feed 10 gift bag.

Buy two Clarins products, one being Skincare, and they'll gift you everything shown in the picture above. Great sized samples to try out and find a new favourite. You're also doing a good deed as for every #Feed10 gifts given out, Clarins will feed ten vulnerable children worldwide. 

Heres a quick look at each of the free products. 

Moisture Rich Body Lotion. Very smooth and easily absorbed, this is pretty much a full size product. 

Hydra-Quench Mask. Creamy, gentle and a pleasant scent. 

Exfoliating Gentle Refiner. I really like the texture. The microbeads make you feel like you're really giving your skin a total freshening up. 

Relax Bath & Shower Concentrate. I'm not a bath person, but I'm going to let my son keep this for his bath times. 

Hand and Nail Cream. Another product I don't use personally, but my Mum loves a good hand moisturiser, so I'll pass this along to her. 

The lovely Jennifer at Bangor Menary's also gave me the current Clinique Bonus offer when we visited last Saturday. Unfortunately that was the last day of that current offer, but they usually always have some sort of offer running, to try your local Menary's to see what offer followed up this one. 

The reason I'm still featuring it is because I was really impressed with the  Clinique Long Last Lipstick in the shade Blushing Nude.

My usual nude lipstick is Naked Beige by Soap & Glory, but this is a very close match and the texture is a real jump up in quality. It's very creamy & feels great on. I think I'll swap over to this for my day to day lip, and buy it again when the sample runs out. 

So visit your local Menary's for the Feed 10 Clarins offer until 4th October, and check out the other beauty concessions for their individual current offers. I would post about Bangor's Fashion Night Out next Thursday, but their PR lady says it's practically sold out already. If you see me and Smix at it, say hi! 

My Night Routine. Potions & Lotions & Oils Galore.

Every year on my birthday in August I swear to myself that this year I'm definitely going to stop going to bed with makeup on, and I will endeavour to moisturise too. 

Every year I still ended up going to bed in mascara and tinted moisturiser, which used to be all I wore. This summer when I turned 35, I     had already started my journey towards being a makeup addict, so I've a little routine at last!

Every proper beauty blogger in the land will be screaming, 'noooooooo!' at the photo below. Apparently using any sort of baby wipe type product on your face is a bad idea. I'm a sucker for how easy they are though.

Sera from The Style Guide Blog suggested the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. I use it on a wipe to take off everything except my eye makeup. I can't help but think 'is this just tap water though?' as the Micellar water has no fragrance either. 

Then I use another wipe loaded with Simple Kind to Eyes, Eye Makeup Remover. It does the job and doesn't irritate the skin or my eyes in any way. 

At the weekend of late, my son and I like to have a silly pamper night. We do face masks, soothing eye pads, I even let him put my makeup on me for fun sometimes. Poor child is feeling my lack of daughter to do these things with! 

Tonight I used a peel off mask for once, 'cause they have always been fun in a satisfying peel-y way. The brand is Petal Fresh Botanicals, and this is their Invigorating Aloe & Cucumber mask. The full size product with enough for many, many masks, was only £1.29. 

It dries easily, but follow the instructions about not putting it near your eyes. I had it stuck on the area under my eyes where your bags are, and it hurt like hell trying to peel that section off! 

Also my skin felt strangely dry afterward. You would want to moisturise after peeling it all off.

My regular  night products are No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Serum. A small amount of that, which absorbs easily, then a 'top coat' of the matching line's Intense Night Cream.

I've a couple of samples I'm sometimes using instead at the moment. Puff Off! from Benefit for eye bags, and their Instant Comeback Facial Serum. Those products are okay, but I don't think they'll tear me away from my No7 products I use long term. 

The other little bottle on the right there I HAVE been very impressed by, and I'll be buying the full size product when the sample runs out.

Its the Body Shop Oils of Life Intensely Revitalising Facial Oil. The thought of using a straight oil on your face may seem daunting if you're prone to shine, but somehow it doesn't effect my skin in that way. Yes I've a big shiny face when I apply it, but I haven't found the days after I've slept in it have been any extra shiny or greasy when I've my daily makeup on. 

It comes with a tiny dropper and I use three lots all over my face. It doesn't feel greasy, it definitely feels intense. It will be a great product to use now Autumn is drawing in and the heating plus cold outside plays havoc with your skin. 

So that's my night time routine. I've the intensive oil on in this photo and you can see my skin isn't oily looking at all. I've a feeling a little gold bottle of pure oil from The Body Shop is going to be fairly expensive.... maybe I'll keep it for my Christmas list.

Accidental Goth & The Most Ridiculous Fake Fur Scarf Ever

Revolution at Superdrug: Make Me Tonight Atomic Shade £1

So tonight while doing my makeup I tried my £1 purchase of last week Revolution's Make Me Tonight lipstick from their Atomic range. I seem to accidentally have gone goth.

From my teenage years up I always dressed punk or rockabilly, but never quite goth. I have sort of evolved into just being a normal dresser with the odd crazy accessory or scarf now and again.

One of my oddest accessories, which I don't often wear, but love, is this plush fake fur scarf from H&M. Yes, it has a pretend fox's face on it. 

As you can imagine it can be tricky to find the right occasion to wear a big fluffy toy fox to, but when I saw it in store however many winters ago it was, there was no way in hell that fox wasn't going home with me.

So it's a few seasons old, and only cost £7 I think when it was on sale in H&M, but I've found two on eBay for around £18.50, should you feel inclined to need to own one too. 

http://r.ebay.com/5zaXP1

Don't be put off by the auction photo having Avril Lavigne wearing it, you know you want one too.

He goes very nicely with my big gentleman fox tattoo. Well, you have to match your accssories, don't you?

My fox tattoo by Chris Crooks, White Dragon Tattoo Studio, Belfast

The 100 Colour, £12 Eyeshadow Palette Every Makeup Junkie Needs

I nearly collapsed with excitement when I spied this  100 shade eyeshadow palette from Revolution which is only £12 on both their own site & Superdrug's. I ordered it on Sunday afternoon & it was delivered to my local Superdrug store for pick up today.

It has nudes, mattes, shimmers, neons, the works. All I need to do now I skill up on eyeshadow application, especially with colours.