Max Factor Vibrant Curve Lipgloss

My oh my am I late writing about this one! Especially as I got it agggges ago when it first came out! I can’t remember exactly when it came out but it was some time last year. A big deal was made about the applicator of this which supposedly makes your lips appear plumper or something, there’s a curved applicator which gives this product it’s name. I was hovering around these for a few weeks waiting for a introductory offer as one was clearly going to appear.

See how bright it looks? This is the shade 04 Me Me Me. I’m not particularly interested in the supposed fuller lips effect as my lips are pretty full anyway but I fell in love with the colour! I thought it’d add a pretty pop of colour on my lips when I’m wearing my usual everyday boring makeup and as I’m a glitter fiend and this looks intensely shimmery I was sold.

Crazy fuller lips creating applicator. I’m not sure how much this worked, if at all. As I said I have full lips already and own one lip plumping product, this doesn’t have the fuzzy stinging feeling usually associated with plumping products I think this relies on the applicator alone. You can see it’s a doe foot, aside from the shape I’m not really sure what else sets it apart. It certainly doesn’t feel much different on the lips when applying.

Phone pic

Camera pic

I took swatch pictures on my phone and camera, my camera tends to wash bright colours out slightly so the top picture is probably best for the colour but the bottom shows the amount of shimmer more.

A little deflated by the pigmentation?

What. The. Hell. It actually adds nothing, that is pretty much my natural lip colour. I was really disappointed with this in comparison to the colour in the tube. The shimmers don’t even appear, I know they are kinda fine but still, nothing! I wear this over lipstick instead of clear gloss as it pretty much does the same thing. The swatch on the Max Factor website shows this as fuchsia with no mention of the shimmer and the same with the Boots website.

The RRP for this is £7.99 according to the Boots website but I paid £5.99 for this I think. Not that I particularly recommend it. If it’s plumping your after, this isn’t the answer. As for pigmentation, same thing. My Barry M glosses have way more pigmentation and they are half the price!

Also Max Factor are owned by Procter & Gamble who as far as I am awaretest on animals according to this and other sites. This is something I have been trying to avoid since just before Christmas so though I will try and use this up I won’t be buying Max Factor products again.

What do you think? Have you tried any of these?

What’s in my makeup bag?

Evening all! How is everything? I hope your week is going well. I’ve had to hand in an assignment this week, now I’ve got to get cracking on dissertation, EEK!!! Totally unprepared as per usual, need to sort my life out when I start working! Anyways onto the makeup bizzles…

I’ve seen this kind of post doing the rounds and thought I’d join in. The makeup shown is what I used while on placement where I put my makeup on in the car once I’d parked up (I’m not mental!) as it was such a horrendously long commute and I had to get there early to get a space. Nowadays while I’m either at uni or work I carry the bare minimum…concealer, powder, tweezers, nail scissors, lipstick and gloss.

This is my makeup bag, it was free with a Lancome GWP at least 4 or 5 years ago! Still it is big enough for all my crap and in pretty good condition. I don’t really care what a makeup bag looks like as long as it stops my stuff from opening or breaking! It’s a bit big but on placement I was carrying a massive bag with my folders and stuff in anyway so I didn’t mind.

Clockwise from Left: MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NW15, MAC Select Moisturecover NW20, Body Shop Tea Tree Blotting Tissues, Topshop Polish in Smoothie, Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in Eastend Snob, Max Factor Masterpiece Max mascara in Black, Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in 02 Rose Ivory, MAC Lipstick in Angel, Urban Decay Brow Box in Brown Sugar, Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation in Blondie, Chapstick Apple SPF15, Barry M Lip Paint in 147 Peachy Pink, Tweezerman tweezers, nail scissors and Tweezerman eyelash curlers, Wet ‘N’ Wild Eyeshadow Mono in Fine Wine, Models Own Powder Blusher in Warm Glow, No7 Beautiful Brows pencil with the colour rubbed off, Benefit Eye Bright and Armani Lip Shimmer in 1.

Phew! So my necessities were the concealers, foundation, eyelash curlers, eyeshadow, brow pencil and blush. That was enough to make me feel confident enough to face the day and if I had time in the mornings I’d add some lipstick and colour in my eyebrows a bit.

No FlashFlash

The pictures are a bit wonky, I moved the top so the swatches would be directly on top of each other for a comparison. As I was working in a hospital the colours had to be very safe, I didn’t notice many people working wore makeup at all, if they did it was just the basics like mascara. I sometimes did feel a little overdone going with eyeshadow, foundation and all but I get red eyelids and redness on my face, especially when I’m tired, so I wouldn’t of felt comfortable without it on. I’d have been worrying about my splotchy nose rather than the patients!

How much do you carry around with you? How much makeup do you wear to work? And have you ever tried any of these products?

Thanks for reading x

Empties

Just a quickie showing some badboys I recently finished, not just hit pan but completely exhausted!
Firstly, Simple Intensive Lip Moisturiser arrived through my door after I signed up as a Simple VIP member, where you are sent samples and Simple information. Although I have used some Simple products before this is the only one that I reached for frequently. It moisturises and softens wonderfully and this lasts for a good few hours meaning I can chuck some on when I get to work and don't usually need to reach for any balm until lunchtime! It applies easily and the packaging is standard Simple, effective but nothing fancy. Thumbs up!
This is another sample, Max Factor Masterpiece High Definition Mascara in Rich Black. I got this in a makeup bag free when I spent £15 or so on Max Factor in Boots. I used this while on my last placement every day and I had no flakes or smudges and it held my curl all day, pretty outstanding when you've spent the day on your feet running around in a sweaty mess (sounds gross but its true). Messy mascara is the last thing you want to worry about. It doesn't add tons of length or volume and looked quite natural on me but that is exactly what I look for in a everyday mascara. A friend recommended Masterpiece Max to me the other day and I'm going to give that one a go in the next few weeks.....
Finally No7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow in 55 Wheatsheaf. I have been using this shade of eyeshadow since I was 14 years old and I borrowed it off my mum. Its great for when I can't be bothered/am in a rush and just want a wash of something that isn't too in your face or garish.
Seriously, it is IMPOSSIBLE to take a good swatch of this! I'll try again with a different camera, I appreciate this is a pitiful effort. It's a pale goldy colour, wears a good 7-8 hours without a primer and even when it does crease it is minimal. Absolute winner! I will repurchase again and again, this must be like my 3rd or 4th one.