Rimmel Apocalips | Review & Swatches

Hi Ladies! For the past couple of weeks the beauty world has gone mad for Rimmels latest lip offereing 'Apocalips'. They have been featured all over blog land and lots of beauty bloggers rushed out to buy them when they were released last Wednesday. I was one of these people too and immediately ordered some on the Boots website as soon as they were released. (Is that sad?) They retail at £5.99 each which I think is quite a bargain anyway but even better, Boots are currently offering 3 for 2 across Rimmel products so I managed to get 3 for £12.00 - what a bargain!

If you don't know what they are or this is the first time you are reading about them, they are a classed as a 'lip lacquer'. Now I'm not sure what the technical meaning of this is but they way I'd describe them is a creamy lipstick applied in the style of a gloss. I've never tried anyting like this before but I hear they are a dupe for the YSL glossy stains and I must admitt I struggled to only pick three as quite frankly I want them ALL. The three I decided on are Celestial, Apocaliptic and Big Bang. As I'm sure you all know by now, I adore bright lips so Apocaliptic (a bright fuschia) and Big Bang (a bright red) were clearly going to be at the top of my 'must purchase' list. However, I also wanted to try a more natural shade that I could wear to work so thats where Celestial comes into the picture, a gorgeous rose pink.

So, now we've established what they are and the shades I picked, I'll tell you my thoughts. Firstly, I love the name Apocalips. I mean who doesn't love a play on words and a good name like this certainly draws my attention towards a product. Secondly, the packaging is lovely. I love the crystal-like lid and the fact you can see each colour through the end of the tube. I also really like the doe-foot applicator as its so easy to use and I managed to get very precise application without the need for lip liner.

As for the product itself, on first impressions, I am blown away. I know that probably sounds completely dramatic but these are seriously the most amazing lip product I have tried in a long time. Not only do they apply like a dream but the creamy formula and pigmentation is second to none. When I first applied them to my lips I couldn't believe how much colour pay off one swipe achieved. In the photos I've included above, I only used one coat and managed to achieve completely opaque coverage. They are also smooth and glossy when first applied which feels lovely on the lips. However, I wouldn't say they are moisturising as such so thats one thing to consider if you prefer more moisturising lip products.

Another thing I was seriously impressed by is the staying power. I wore 'Apocaliptic' for a day out yesterday and it stayed on for hours. Admittedly the glossy effect does wear off after a little while but that didn't bother me too much and even when it did start to fade off, my lips were still stained underneath with a bright pop of colour.

Overall I absolutely adore these and if you follow me on Instagram (kayleighjcouture), I'm sure you have seen me gushing about how amazing these are. If you're looking for some affordable yet high quality lip products, these are for you. I'm already looking forward to wearing one of these shades on an upcoming night out this weekend. I already know it will look amazing!

Have you tried Apocalips? Do you love them as much as I do? I think I'm going to have to buy the whole collection!

Lots of Love,

Review | Stila in the Light Palette

Hi Guys! I hope you are all well. I was meant to write this post last night but I had potentially the most unlucky night of my LIFE! I thought I'd tell you what happened as it makes for quite an amusing little story looking back.

So, last night I finished work at 5.00pm as normal and waited for my taxi that I'd booked half an hour in advance for 5.05pm. Now the reason I'd ordered a taxi is because I was due to have my first counselling session last night (for my anxiety if you didn't already know) at 5.30pm and was in a mad rush. Well, it got to 5.15 and there was still no sign of my taxi, great, I was going to be late. When it eventually turned up at 5.20, we got stuck in the most horrendous traffic and in the end my taxi driver said 'your going to have to get out here or you'll be late'. Fair enough he was trying to help me out but we were in the middle of a MAIN road - not cool. So after dodging several cars getting across the road, I'd made it to my appointment just in the nick of time. However, after telling them my name at reception they kindly informed me I'd been double booked and couldn't be seen until 7.30pm. Baring in mind it was 5.30, was I really going to hang around for two hours? No. I was so angry but also quite amused as it was only the night before they had called me to say 'we need to change your appointment from 6.30 till 5.30 as we've double booked you'. Okay so you double booked me twice in the space of 24 hours? Its safe to say I won't be going back there again.

Anyway, as if my night couldn't get any worse, I then had to walk home in the pouring rain only to discover I'd not put my keys in my bag before work in the morning. My boyfriend had locked up as we were leaving and I didn't even think twice about having my keys as we usually walk home together from work and only need one set. However, last night my  boyfriend was out at a seminar after work which meant I couldn't get in to my flat. Great, I was locked out. So there I was stood outside my flat for two hours like a complete lemon bursting for the loo and listening to my next door neighbours cooking their tea - not my idea of fun when I'm tierd, starving and have a full bladder 8)! Thankfully, my friend Sophie came to the rescue and the night ended with a glass of wine, a ham and cheese panini and girly chat. So if you're reading this, thanks Soph ;).

So after that humongous intro (I hope you enjoyed hearing about the trials and tribulations of my life yesterday haha), I will move on to the actual purpose of this post - a review of the ever so lovely Stila 'In the Light' Palette. I have to be honest, I've missed doing product reviews lately. I've done what seems like a lot of posts but none of them have been individual product reviews so I'm excited to get back into the swing of things and share my thoughts on a few gems I've accumulated over the past few weeks, this palette being one of them.

I received it as a Christmas gift from my boyfriends mum and dad after they asked me what I would like. It had been on my wish list for quite some time after reading Zoella's review on it so I was very excited to finally be able to give it a try. To be honest, I usually want most things Zoe raves about as we have very similar taste in beauty products but this one in particular stood out to me as it looked like the most perfectly pigmented and creamy neutral eyeshadow palette. I have to say - it is all of those things and more. As soon as I opened it on Christmas morning I just had to swatch each shade instantly. Not only was I blown away by how buttery soft each of the eyeshadows are but also by the amazing amount of pigmentation each of them provides with the lightest touch. I love how there is a variety of shades and almost every colour you would ever need for a variety of different eye looks. I'm a sucker for a neutral smokey eye and this palette ticks all of those boxes featuring pale champagne, copper, metallic golden brown and deep crease colours. It also has a couple of super smokey shades perfect for a dramatic look if thats what you prefer. Another thing I love about this palette is the cute names. I don't know why but I love products I own to have a name. Is that weird? A few of the nicely named shades featured in this palette include Kitten and Gilded Gold, how lovely?

When it comes to price, it is fairly reasonable. It costs 25.00 and contains 10 eyeshadows. If you split that up per eyeshadow, you can't grumble at £2.50 a pop. It also comes with one of Stila's Smudge Stick waterproof eyeliners in the shade 'Damsel' (a deep brown) which alone retails at £13.00 meaning it even better value for money. I ordered mine from the Feel Unique website here as they offer free worldwide delivery and let's face it, no pesky delivery fees is always a bonus when shopping online.I haven't had chance to wear this palette as much as I'd of liked to yet, purely because I haven't been anywhere nice enough (I might start rocking a smokey eye at work?) but as soon as I have a proper experiment I'll be sure to update you with a tutorial or different looks I've created. However, what I will say for now is the quality is exceptional and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for some everyday eyeshadows in a handy little gold palette. What's not to love?

Have you ever tried this palette or does it look like something you'd like to try?

Lots of Love,

Models Own Hed Kandi Nail Polishes | Balearic Cool & Hedonist

Balearic Cool | Hedonist

Hey Lovely Ladies! Today I wanted to show you these a-maz-ing Models Own nail polishes I got for my birthday. Now I realise I am completely late jumping on the Hed Kandi band wagon as every man and his dog probably has these already. However, they have been on my wish list for quite some time so I am very happy to finally own them. These two polishes are from Models Own 'Hed Kandi' collection which is basically a range of very bright, in your face summer polishes. There are five shades to choose from including Balearic Cool, Hedonist, Beach Party, Disco Heaven and Ibiza Mix. The first three mentioned are a selection of brights and the latter two are glitter polishes. The two I picked for my birthday are Balearic Cool and Hedonist, a neon orange with red undertones and a bright mid-toned blue. I decided on these two after looking at various swatches online as I liked how vibrant they are without being too over the top. I also loved 'Beach Party' but being neon orange (think highlighter pen) it was very 'out there' and I wasn't sure if I could pull it off. Now you might be quite surprised by this but these are my very first Models Own nail polishes. To be honest, before I started blogging I was never very adventurous with my nails and stuck with my basic Barry M polishes. Don't get me wrong, I still love Barry M but I have certainly enjoyed discovering new brands. As I'd never tried any polishes from Models Own previously, I had no idea what to expect from them. However, I was not disappointed. As you can see from the swatches above, the colour payoff from these particular shades is amazing. I was particularly impressed with 'Hedonist' which only needed one coat to get an opaque coverage. Balearic Cool needs a second coat but I can deal with that as I expect most polishes to need two coats anyway. I also loved how easily they applied. I found the brush was just the right size to cover my whole nail in a few strokes and it applied streak free. One thing I did notice is that Hedonist dried to a matte finish whereas Balearic blue was glossy. I didn't mind the matte finish but for swatch purposes I added my Sally Hansen Insta Dri top coat. Both polishes dried super fast which may be down to the Sally Hansen top coat but either way, it worked. I also love the packaging and I feel like the bottles are pretty big meaning a decent amount of product. Now for the best thing about these polishes? The price. These cost a mere £5.00 each which I think is amazing value for money. As I said, you get a good amount of product in the bottle and the quality is second to none. I will certainly be investing in lots more Models Own nail polishes after trying these. I can sense a new beginning of a new obsession, oh no! I got mine from the ASOS website here where you can also get the whole set for £20.00 meaning you get one polish for free. They are also available on the Models Own website here and at Boots here.

I hope you are all well. I am about to my finger and toe nails with Hedonist. Yey! 

Lots of Love,

Battle of the Urban Decay Neutrals | Naked 1 vs Naked 2

Original Naked Palette (Well used as you can see)

Naked Palette 2

Top - Naked 2 | Bottom - Naked 1

Naked 1 Swatches - Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

Naked 2 Swatches - Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout

How Cute?!

Hey Ladies! If you follow me on Twitter here, you will know that my lovely boyfriend recently surprised me with the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette. This had been on my wish list for quite some time after loving the first palette so when a package arrived in the post for me containing this, I couldn't of been happier. My boyfriend attached a little note with the palette saying '1000 blog followers deserves a beauty treat to blog about!! You've done brill!' I thought this was so thoughtful and cute so thank you very much Matt. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know that I recently hit the big 1000 followers milestone and I was over the moon.  My boyfriend knows how much I love blogging and the fact he supports me makes me a very happy girl indeed. Moving on from my soppy thank you, I have decided to do a bit of a comparison review between this palette and the original Naked palette. If you are a makeup fanatic like me (which I guess most of you are) then you may like to have both palettes in your collection. Alternatively, you might not own either of the palettes and would like to see comparison photos before deciding which one you'd prefer.

I thought I would start my comparison by talking about the packaging. For me, packaging is a huge factor when it comes to makeup. I realise it doesn't effect the actual product but having something pretty to look at when applying it makes it all the more pleasurable. When I first got the original palette last year, I adored the packaging. I loved the huge gold letters, the velvet texture and the sleek, clearly named shadows. The second palette comes in a gold metal tin, again with large letters, clearly named shadows and this time a humongous mirror. I think I prefer the outer appearance of this packaging because it looks very sleek and sturdy but for me, the original palettes inner appearance is more appealing. Although the new palette has a larger mirror, I love the eye-catching gold letters on the inside of the original palette. However, as you can see from the pictures above, my original palette is not looking great. The mirror has cracked, the velvet has gone fluffy and the letters are slowly but surely fading away. Due to the more durable packaging of the second palette, I can't imagine it becoming as tatty looking as the original. I'd also like to mention that the first palette came with a mini Urban Decay primer potion (which I didn't like) and an eyeshadow brush. Some of the original palettes came with a double ended eye pencil which I would have preferred as the brush isn't great. The second palette also came with a brush but this time a double ended version. Again, I'm not a huge fan of the brushes as they are very stiff and hard to work with. The second palette also comes with a mini lip junkie lipgloss which I really like. It is a lovely berry pink shade and makes my lips feel plump and tingly. Overall, I think the second palette slightly beats the first based on the practicality of a hard-wearing case and a larger mirror.

Moving on to the most important part of this comparison, the colour range. Both of these palettes have a selection of 12 gorgeous neutral shades that can be used to create a whole array of eye looks. I have included swatches in the photos above and as you can see, the shades are very similar. However, the only shade that is actually featured in both of the palettes is 'Half Baked'. Half Baked is definitely one of my favourites from the original palette and as you can see I have hit pan on it so I was very happy to see this shade again in the second palette. Apart from that, there is a range of newly named shades. To be honest, I could't really pick a favourite palette in terms of colour range. The only things I prefer about the second palette is the fact it has a matte black and a larger selection of cooler toners than the original palette. If you are looking for a mixture of matte and shimmer shadows, the second palette has four opposed to two in the original. That being said, I do love a good shimmery eyeshadow so the shades provided in the original palette don't offend me in the slightest. 

The original palette cost me £27.00 but after the huge hype and success surrounding it, the pesky people at Urban Decay decided to up the price to £36.00. Then again, who can blame them? In my opinion, £36.00 is still remarkably cheap for 12 high quality, highly pigmented eyeshadows. I have had the original palette for well over a year now and apart from Half Baked, it looks as though it has barely been touched. These eyeshadows will last such a long time and are a staple for so many looks that I think the price is completely justified. If you do a little bit of maths, it works out at £3.00 an eyeshadow which is pretty blooming reasonable.

Overall, I love both of these palettes and know I will get good use from them both but do I think you need both? No. I think these palettes are far too similar to justify buying both but  I 100% recommend trying one of them if you don't have either. Unless your a makeup collector like me, you really won't need both to create a perfect neutral eye. I have been fortunate enough to have the luxury of trying both but in reality, I wouldn't have bought  them both myself after seeing how similar they are. The only difference between these palettes aside from packaging is the original has warm shades and the second palette has cool shades so if you are unsure of which to go for, you can pick the palette most suited to your skin tone. 

I hope this review helped some of you in one way or another and I hope I haven't missed any important information out. If you have anymore questions about either of these palettes, please feel free to ask

Also, if any of you are on Twitter, I'd love to chat with you so send me a tweet!

Lots of Love,

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

Hey Beautifuls! I hope you are all well. I'm finally getting over my jet lag since arriving in Oz so I thought I'd do some blogging. I've been meaning to do this post since before I came to Australia but I just haven't had the time. I got the new Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation around a month ago now and have been loving it ever since. I know its been raved about and you may think its just the hype of a new product but this stuff really is amazing. I went for the shade 'Soft Beige' and it is a great match with my skin. It has even replaced my MAC Studio fix Fluid for everyday wear as I find the colour a lot more natural looking.

Firstly, I have to mention the packaging. I know a few people have said they find the bright orange lid quite tacky but I personally love it. It really brightens up my makeup collection. As well as the lovely packaging, this stuff smells amazing. If any of you use the MAC Studio Fix Fluid like me you will know that it doesn't have the nicest smell which can be off putting when smearing it all over your face.

The formulation of this foundation really lives up to its 'wake me up' name too. It is a very buildable formula meaning you can decide if you want to wear it light or heavy. I personally love a light coverage as it makes the skin look fresh and radiant. I apply it using my Real Techniques buffer brush and within seconds it gives my skin a dewy flawless finish. If my skin is looking drab in a morning it really does give it an instant boost. I think most girls want to achieve the 'dewy' skin look, including me so I am really happy I have found a product that helps me to achieve it. A lot of people seem to have concerns that the glitter particles in this foundation will make your face look like a disco ball but this isn't the case. As the glitter particles are so fine, they help to create the 'dewy' look and are not noticeably 'glittery' on the skin. I would usually never buy drugstore foundations as I find the formulas poor but this little beauty has proven me wrong. To top it all off, as well as the actual product being great, the price makes it even better. This only costs £8.99 which is less than half the price of my MAC foundation. Bargain. 

Have you tried this foundation? What do you think?

Lots of Love,

Current Obsession - Topshop Lipsticks

Hey Lovelies. Today's post is about a new obsession I'd like to share with you all. Basically, I am an absolute lipstick whore. I can't get enough of them. Is it just me that thinks they look so sleek and sexual in their little tubes? I love experimenting with lip color and I find it's the one face product I can really experiment and go a bit wild with. I especially love my MAC lipsticks as you all know and currently own a fairly large collection of 15. What a joke. Anyway, my lipstick mad self has now entered into a new lippie love affair with Topshop Lipsticks. Oh my goodness, they are amazing. Firstly, I totally adore the cute little tubes with the black and white polka-dot lids. How cute? I also love that they are amazingly pigmented due to their 'satin' finish. Even though they look matte on the lips, they still feel moisturising which is one thing MAC doesn't provide in their matte lipsticks. Brownie points for you Topshop. I have owned two of the Topshop lipsticks for quite some time now in the shades 'Desert' and 'Rio Rio'. As you can see from the above picture, they have both been very well-loved and used excessively. Desert is the perfect nude shade for every day wear and Rio Rio is the most beautiful orangey red shade I have ever come across. It's definitely up there in my top five lipsticks of all time.

Being the greedy little thing that I am, I decided two wasn't enough and I decided to order a couple more. I opted for the shades 'Ohh La La' and 'Innocent'. I liked the look of these two as they are different from anything else I own in my growing lipstick collection. Of course, I already own corals and pinks but these two shades are pretty unique. Innocent is a pink shade but it has a hint of purple when applied to the lips. This may sound odd but it is gorgeous and very unique. I believe it would suit most skin tones and it is a very wearable 'everyday' shade. Ohh La La is a coral lipstick that is unlike any other coral shade I own. It is a gorgeous pastel peach and it has a Satin finish meaning it is matte on the lips. Most corals I own are either glossy, shimmery, bright or very pale. I love how this is the perfect 'in-between' shade and is very versatile. This will look gorgeous in the up-coming summer months. 

So, I currently own four of these lovely lipsticks. However, I know I won't stop at four and will be making another purchase soon. I've got my eye on 'Brighton Rock' and the 'lip stick' in 'Powder Room'. At £8.00 a lipstick, you really can't complain for the quality you receive. I love the fact I am paying high-street prices for high-end quality. I know £8.00 is still pricey compared to some high-street brands but for me, Topshop lipsticks are by far the best I've ever come across on the high-street. Pigmented, moisturising, long-lasting and cheap(ish), what more could a girl want? The only thing I would like to see is a larger range of colours. The website is currently lacking in choice and I can see myself having them all before they get around to releasing more shades. Please feed my addiction Topshop and release some fabulous new shades for the S/S months. Thank you kindly.

L-R - Desert, Ohh La La, Innocent & Rio Rio

All of the above (apart from Desert), can be found on the Topshop website here. Also, what do you guys think of my first proper attempt on Photoshop? My little sister showed me how to edit pictures like this because I'm so clueless. How shocking that a 12 year old knows more about computers than I do. Do you approve? I'd love to hear your feedback.

Have you ever tried the Topshop lipsticks? Do you love them as much as I do?

Lots of Love,

Kayleigh..

xXx.