My Top 5 Drugstore Lip Products

Morning beauty seekers!!

I meant to post this last night, but I got kinda distracted downloading fonts and before I knew it 10pm had been and gone and I decided to keep it for this morning instead. Anyhoo, I was rummaging around in my lippy drawer the other day and came to the conclusion that my drugstore lippies could use some more love. After having a bit of a think I decided to pick out my top 5 and do a little swatchy post telling you why I love them. The products are featured in no particular order...

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in 700: Nude Delight is an old school favourite of mine. I actually have 3 of these dotted around in various handbags as I find it a great lipstick to have around in case of emergencies. The formula is super moisturising and it's just the perfect, peachy nude for my medium skintone. It's dark enough not to be concealer-y but light enough to look pretty yet natural. Great for dry lip days. 

Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Peaches and Cream is one of my all time favourite Spring/Summer lip colours. It's perfect for either day or evening and I find it lasts a long time on the lips. I only own this and one other Sleek lipstick (Fuchsia, which I'll admit I don't wear very often at all) but I like the formula. I hear the matte shades are a little drying but this is very comfortable to wear, although not as moisturising as the Rimmel one. 

Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick in No5: Brun Boheme* is the newest of the 5 products in this post. I was introduced to it by the MUAs from Bourjois during London Fashion Week and I utterly ADORE it! It's very different from the usual nude shades I tend to stick to. It's darker for one, but it's a brown toned dusky pink that looks so chic and is very versatile. It's neutral enough to wear with a toned down daytime look, yet dark enough to vamp up at nighttime. I find it to be long wearing and it feels lovely on the lips. 

I didn't go as mental for these lipsticks as a lot of people did. I only picked up 3 shades of the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters but this one ended up being a big favourite for Summer 2012 and I can't wait to bust it out again this year. The lip butter formula is intended to be a hydrid of lip balm and lipstick and offers amazing moisturisation. I don't find it lasts amazingly well, probably because it's more of a balmy product, but it's one of the very few PALE pink lip shades that I find I can wear easily. Certainly the only drugstore one anyway (the others are MAC's Hue and Creme Cup). Massive thumbs up for this product! I also adore their Just Bitten, Kissable Balm Stain in Cherish which is a very similar shade.

This is another recent discovery of mine. Again, Rimmel Apocalips were MASSIVE all over the blog-o-sphere when they were released yet I only managed to pick up a couple of shades. I chose well though. Celestial is an extremely wearable dusky pink which is slightly darker than any other similar shade I have in my collection. I also love the 'lacquer' formulation of the product. It applies like a gloss, but with the opacity and pigmentation of a lipstick! Genius! Super shiny and long lasting too. Extremely quick to apply and you get a glossy pop of colour that really lasts. 

So there are the swatches for all of the above lipsticks. I love how they're all so different. I feel like I can be more experimental with drugstore lip products as they're really affordable (none of the products in this post retail for over £8). You really can pick up some gems!! 

You can pick up all of these products in your local Boots or Superdrug and you won't have to spend a fortune. Perfect shades for the upcoming Spring/Summer season (when the sun finally decides to get it's hat on, that is).

What are your ultimate drugstore lip products?? What shades will you be reaching for for SS13??

Apocalips Now!!

Okaaaaaay so i swore off this particular bandwagon... I never said i wasn't going to buy the products but i declared that i was not going to blog about them (my reading list is currently clogged up to the max with posts about this particular product so i rendered it to be a bit of a redundant exercise). However, i just happened to stumble across the Rimmel: Apocalips Lip Lacquers on Tuesday and, as predicted, bought them and, as i also predicted, i friggin LOVE EM! So when i was unpacking my camera earlier i thought 'Sod it' and started snapping.....

So... Rimmel Apocalips... Unless you've been locked away in a cupboard somewhere for the last month, you'll probably have heard a bit about these badboys rocketing (sorry, this post is gonna be full of bad space puns) around the blog-o-sphere. 

The idea behind these little beauts is to have the pigmentation and coverage of a lipstick whilst having the shine of a lacquer or gloss. It comes in a gloss-like tube with a foam applicator. The formulation is described as being 'creamy and conditioning' and promises to provide a unique combo of pigmentation, shine and comfort. Needless to say my curiosity was sparked as i love trying products which have multiple functions. I didn't go nuts. I only picked up two to be getting on with as i really wasn't sure what to expect. The shades i picked up are as follows....

Luna

Can't help but feel that this shade could have been more appropriately named SOLAR as it's such a sunny orange/peach shade. Luna, to me, suggests the moon which, in turn, makes me think of green haha. Being warm-toned myself this was the first one i gravitated (i'm on a roll here hehe) towards. 

And

Celestial

Celestial is a slightly darkened, blue toned dusky pink which looks different in different lights in my opinion. I had to go right next to the window to do these photos today (seriously, the light in my room is awful at the moment) so it may appear a little paler in some of the photos. Anyway, it's a really wearable shade for day or night and actually looks alright on me. Pinks with blue tones in them often don't. 

Here are the swatches for both...

Well, let me tell you that the pigmentation of these is ASTRONOMICAL!! One sweep of the applicator on the lips produces an opaque finish and you hardly need to build it up which, in turn, makes it great value for money. In terms of ease of use, the applicator does a bang up job. I'm also happy to report that they are in NO way sticky and feel very creamy and smooth on the lips. As for longevity.... The gloss does seem to lessen over time, but the product leaves a stain on the lips which lasts a good 4hrs. It made it all the way back to London from Derbyshire yesterday without me needing to reapply. 

Rimmel Apocalips are £5.99 and available from most Rimmel stockists in 8 cosmic shades ranging from nudes, to pinks, to explosive reds. They are PERMANENT, which means you won't have to rush to get them all as they will be staying around. The one i think i will be purchasing next is Galaxy. I'm a bit upset with myself that i didn't get that one this week but, at the time, it swatched quite dark compared to the others so i left it. But i think i NEED it!! 

Did you run out and buy these?? Which shades are your favourite??