Rimmel's new Insta range*: does it live up to the hype?

Rimmel has brought out a wealth of new products lately, and their Insta range is a bigun. Whoever does their PR was onto a winner when they created a massive list of bloggers to send their new bits and pieces out to: it feels like this range has been on everyone's lips for the past few weeks. I've spent a little while now testing everything in the range and I've definitely got some firm favourites that have me a little bowled over.

Rimmel summer gel nail polishes*

2017 has been the year of new beauty discoveries for me. They're things everyone else has already found it seems, but that I've held back from doing for years. First I gave getting my brows threaded a go: FYI it hurts more than waxing at the time, but hurts for less time and lasts for longer. Then, I tried shellac. And I fell in love. I felt feminine and in control and confident. But my nails? They didn't enjoy it so much. After six weeks straight with shellac on (in 2 different shades), my nails were a mess. Brittle, thin, grey. Despite wanting to get shellac done again immediately, I needed to listen to my body and take a break. 

Putting Rimmel's Provocalips* lipstick to the test

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Rimmel's lip ranges. They're affordable, easy to pop on and wipe off and are always on 3 for 2 in Superdrug, or at least it feels that way to me! But Rimmel liquid lipsticks? Well I've simply never tried one. 
I've been a little spoilt with liquid lipsticks, as I didn't get to the game too early, and so the first brand I tried was NYX. They are just fab at bringing out well pigmented, long lasting lip colours. 
Rimmel's Provocalips range* comes with the tagline '16-hour kiss proof lipstick', so a couple of days I decided to put this to the test.

December Favourites + Life Update

December was possibly my favourite month of 2016. It was the most hectic as well. My shifts went up as a restaurant at Christmas basically never sleeps, and I had a massive freelance project to complete. I also attempted blogmas, which didn't go 100% to plan, but saw me blogging more in a month than I ever had done in the past. 
There were a whole load of pros and cons to trying out blogmas, but I think if I tried to do it again in the future, I would prepare for it much more. I was working so much that I had so little time to actually blog that I ended up putting out seriously sub-par posts. And it showed. Despite posting more frequently than I had done in the past my page views were lower than they had been in months. It was pretty demoralising to look back on that on the 1st January to say the least. BUT, it has encouraged me to only put out content that I'm truly happy with, and to go with quality over quantity in my writing. There will be no more posts scraped together in the half hour I have free between shifts on some days, but instead I'll be taking my time with each and every post. 
Aside from the world of blogging, it was so lovely (and a bit scary) to host Christmas in my own home, in a new town for the very first time. It went almost without a hitch, though my sister did have to save the potatoes from being cooked in cake tins because I didn't own enough oven trays. Whoops. I got to see and spend time with so many members of my family, and it was great to see everyone open the gifts I'd bought them. 
In terms of favourites, I've left out anything I got for Christmas because I only had a couple of days to really try them out before the end of December. So, you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for my January favourites this time next month to see any of the presents I was lucky enough to receive. 
I actually used two uh-mazing shower gels that I fell head over heels for this month. The first up was my mini Korres bergamot pear shower gel. This was so good that it actually made it into my 2016 top ten beauty favourites. Wild, I know. I love sweet scents, and this is definitely one, but it's not too overpowering. This is something that I'm now on the hunt to buy in a bigger bottle once my current shower gel runs out. It's so good that it actually tops Snow Fairy in my opinion. Yep, that good
Next up, is something completely different. The bergamot pear was a slightly classy, sophisticated scent. Now, we have Chewits' fruit salad shower gel. Oh yes. Fruit salad chewits were basically the best sweet of my childhood. Okay, maybe they took second place behind cherry drops, but still. This shower gel smells like fruit salad bloody chewits and it is an absolute delight. Again, if you're not into sweet scents then this probably isn't for you. But, if you are, you can pick it up for £1 in Savers, making it a total win-win in terms of scent and price. 
It's been a pretty good month for makeup favourites too. I was lucky enough to be sent some bits and pieces from Rimmel at the beginning of December, and they challenged me to create a party look with them. I really didn't like a few of the items, but I fell in love with two of them. The first was their Magnif'eyes eye shadow palette* in Keep Calm and Stay Gold. The shades in this are fairly similar to those in my Naked 3 palette, but have a couple of gold shades (obvs) and more metallic ones that have been great for pairing with my Naked 3 shades over the festive period. 
As well as festive eye products, I've also been toying around with allllll the festive lip colours, because why not? Rimmel's provocalips lipstick in the shade 'Not Guilty' has been my absolute saviour over Christmas week. With all the eating and drinking I was planning on (and succeeded in) doing, I needed something that could stay put. I've tried out a whole lot of liquid lipsticks in the past few months and this triumphs over them all. It stays put for hours, and I usually end up having to remove at least some of it with makeup remover at the end of even very long days. Plus, you use the lipstick at one end first and then cover it with a gloss from the other end of the product. So you end up with a glossy lip that stays put. I just haven't found this in any other product recently!
My last makeup love for December was Madame LA LA's bronzing ball*. This creamy, shimmery bronzer has worked wonders at helping me contour that Christmas double chin. Seriously though, it's helped me really get back into contouring, as I'd stopped bothering with it for a few months.
The weather has been a little harsh on skin this month. We've had so many super cold days and I've been doing my best to keep my skin hydrated in the face of it. Seascape's soothe body butter is so darned thick that no chapping could get through that. It basically has the consistency of sudocrem - not the nicest thing in the world, but it does smell amazing and keep my skin from getting any winter blues.  
*Although some products in this post were gifted to me for the purpose of a review, all opinions are my own honest ones*
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Rimmel's The Only 1 Matte Lipstick Range*

I am a massive fan of Rimmel lipsticks, let's be honest. If you've been around here for a while you might remember me talking about their Rimmel by Kate 15th anniversary collection, or my love for some of their core nude lip colours. Anyhow, I love how easily their lip colours glide on and the shape of the lipstick itself makes application super easy. But, in recent months I've started to move slightly away from these favourites to more long lasting liquid lipsticks in order to keep my lip colour on for longer without reapplication. 

You can imagine my absolute glee and *pinch myself* moment then when Rimmel were kind enough to send me their whole new matte lipstick line. I was in a state of disbelief all day when these came through my door - I just couldn't believe that they would take the time out to send their new line to me for my little blog. I felt like a truly lucky girl. They've released nine new shades for this line, ranging from a dark berry red all the way to a 'your lips but better' style nude. 

Matte lipsticks are what it's all about in Winter in my opinion. In Summer I tend to go for creamier, paler nude colours. Dark, vampy looks (my favourite at this time of year) need a little bit of a more long-lasting impact in my opinion, as it's so much more obvious when they begin to wear off. 

Last week me and my boyfriend celebrated our four year anniversary together, and this package landed on my doorstep on that very day. So, when we went out for our special evening meal together, I went armed with 'The Matte Factor'*, which is a red hued purple. This one actually reminded me a little bit of MAC's Sin, but without the high price tag. 

My first impression of the lipstick was put down a little bit by its scent. I don't know why they decided to go with something so strong, and it smells a little bit like flowers, or very sugary sweets. However, (thankfully) the smell does wear off once the lipstick has dried. After that, however, I was well and truly impressed. It survived wine, four or five cups of green tea and a good two/three rounds of sushi without showing much wear! I brought the lipstick out with me just in case it was needed for a top-up but I ended up going home with my original layer on. 

I am so so excited about this release from Rimmel - finally we have a good quality matte lipstick for an affordable price (these come in at £6.99, but are on 3 for 2 at Superdrug at the moment). The range of nudes, darks and brights is also pretty impressive, and if there's one thing that I love about lipstick ranges, it's when they have pretty cool names for each shade. From bottom to top on my arm swatch, the shades are as follows: Leader of the Pink*, Call the Shots*, Salute*, Take the Stage*, High Flyer*, Trendsetter*, Look Who's Talking*, Run the Show* and The Matte Factor*. All of these names scream 'I'm a sassy girl in control of her own life' to me, and I love the idea of thinking that I can and will do/be any one of these things when I wear the lipstick. 

Have you tried these yet?

*Although products in this post were sent to me for the purpose of a review, all opinions are as always my own*

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Rimmel by Kate 15th Anniversary Lipsticks

We all know how much I love a good Rimmel lippy. And if you don't, have a peek at this post to find out. They're creamy, totally affordable, and last a few hours of me chatting and sipping before rubbing off. Despite not being the most long lasting lipsticks in the beauty world, they're something that I put my trust in and come back to time and time again.
So, when I saw this dreamy rose gold packaging for the new 6 shade 15th anniversary collection I knew I had to give it a go. Seriously though, have you ever seen a prettier lipstick packaging? The new range is split into two halves really - three reds and three nudes. I obviously wanted to give one of each a go, and these two proved irresistible.
First up I tried it in the shade Muse Red, which honestly? Now sits in pride of place as my second favourite red I own, overtaking MAC's Russian Red. Madness I know. It seems to me to be such a classic, statement red, and has a slightly blue undertone, rather than orange or pink. This has been something that I keep rattling around in my bag to replenish during meals and evenings out. 
Then we have Boho Nude. Even the name is dreamy. This is a slightly taupe-y beige based nude that has revolutionized my daily makeup routine. I don't know about you, but I feel a little bit nude myself if I go into work without a quick smear of lipstick. This has been such a nice, subtle one to pop on just before I head to work, without all the faff that putting on a matte or liquid lipstick involves.
Have you picked up any from the range?
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Rimmel by Kate Nudes

Summer 2016 so far for me has been all about embracing the nudes. I definitely feel as though darker colours are much more an Autumn style for me, but this is the first time I've ever really considered the power of the nude lippy. I've always thought that nudes were, well, more than a little pointless, because obvious you may as well leave your lips bare if you're not going bold, right?! All I can say now is that I've definitely learnt the error of my ways. Nudes are my one true love and they make for the perfect addition to my daily work makeup.
Way back in March I told you guys all about my newfound love for Rimmel by Kate's lipstick range, and promised an update as soon as I expanded my collection. Rewind to almost the end of July now, and it's safe to say that life really did get more than a little in the way. But, I am back to talk about my love for two staple nudes in the collection: shade 03 and shade 08.
Having looked at shade 03 online I am so glad I always make sure to check any potential lipstick purchases out in person (when I can of course). Shade 03 is the first one I've pictured above, and as you can see there's a subtle orange tint to it, which is what makes me really love it. However, any images I've found online show it as being a totally pale pink colour, which it really isn't! 
Shade 08, which is a much more pinky nude with a hint of brown, used to be my all-time favourite. It's so easy to gloss on and it gives my lips a hint of colour without being too in-your-face. But, shade 03 may have just overtaken it with it's cool orange undertone.
All in all, I am more than a little in love with these lipsticks - they offer a subtle wash of colour and come in at an afforable price. My one bug bear would be that they really aren't that long-lasting, so you do need to reapply if you're going out all day.
Have you tried any of the Rimmel by Kate range? What are your favourite nudes?
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Rimmel's Vinyl Lipgloss & A Much Overdue Thank You

Rimmel Vinyl Gloss 190 Pin Up

Rimmel Vinyl Gloss 130 Take A Chance

These were kindly modelled for me by my sister over the holidays. As you guys have probably noticed, she's responsible for the majority of the photography for this blog (if it's good, it's safe to assume she's taken the picture!). She's my little sister of two years and my best friend, so I thought she finally deserved some recognition for all her help that she's given me over the last six months with this blog.

Anyway, on to the product. Rimmel's Vinyl Glosses are now in my firm favourites. They're not too sticky, and keep on for a reasonable amount of time. Take A Chance is definitely y favourite out of the two - a lot subtler and it still gives a nice sheen to your lips.

Any comments/questions always welcome!

Love and Light

Steph 

Review of Rimmel's Wonder'full with Argan Oil Mascara

Instead of doing a straight up review for this, I decided to compare it to my previous mascara, Rimmel's Scandal Eyes. In the pictures above I have the Scandal Eyes mascara on my left eye and the Argan Oil one on my right. Excuse my eyebrows in these - they were having a bit of an off week!

As you can see from the pictures, the Scandal Eye mascara is a lot clumpier than the latter. This makes it harder to see the effect of the Argan Oil mascara - it does give greater length, This is always a win for me as (ever avoiding using fake eyelashes) I'm always hunting for something to deceive people as to the length of my uber short eyelashes. 

We've all heard companies promoting argan oil recently as this new super-product that does wonders for your hair, skin and god knows what else. When I picked this  mascara up my first instinct was "really?! They're trying to market argan oil eyelash products?!". However I want to take that back now. This mascara, kindly given to me by my sister, doesn't dry my eyelashes out as much as other ones have in the past. It makes it relatively easier to get off, which keeps my eyelashes intact when using makeup remover. 

Any comments/questions are always welcome :)

Photographs as always are the property of Sophie Hartley

Love

Steph 

FOTD : Revlon ColorStay

Foundation: The Body Shop (04)

Eyeliner: Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner + brush

Secondary eyeliner: Barry M black kohl pencil

Lipstick: Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Suede in Trendsetter

Mascara: Rimmel Scandal Eyes

Eyeshadow: Revlon ColorStay quad in Adventurous