The NARS Yu Dupe

It's not often that I come across dupes in my stash.  I'm usually quite good when buying make up and stick to buying things that are different to what I have already.  But whilst browsing my collection of pinks, I happened to stumble across a very good dupe for the NARS Satin Lip Pencil in the shade Yu - and you will be pleased to know that it costs just £7.99.

I actually said in my post on the Digital World Lip Pencil Coffret that I didn't own anything similar to Yu.  Turns out that was a big fat (unintentional, might I add) lie as my Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in the shade Lovesick is pretty identical in colour.  The Revlon Balm Stains are one of my favourite lip crayons, and I have pretty much the entire original release.  They're comfortable to wear on the lips, are moisturising, not sticky, buildable in colour and when the balm feeling fades, you are left with a great stain.  I remember being quite shocked at how good the pigmentation was in a balm stain, and Lovesick is no exception.

On the left is Lovesick; the Revlon offering is a bright fuschia pink which, because it applies like a balm, is slightly glossy with a slight sheerness to it.  It's still packing some pigment, but isn't quite as opaque in one swipe as Yu.  That said, I think you can layer up to get a decent colour intensity.  To the right, we have Yu.  Yu is opaque in one swipe, and is also a very bright fuschia pink.  Yu isn't as glossy as Lovesick as it has a satin finish, but I don't find it to be as comfortable to wear as the Revlon alternative.

In the photo above, Lovesick is on the left again and Yu is on the right.  As you can see, they are very similar in colour - Yu just has a touch more opacity which makes for a slightly bolder lip.  But, the photograph below, I'm wearing Lovesick on my top lip and Yu on my bottom - I honestly don't think I can tell the difference wearing it together!

I'm quite into getting my moneys worth, so I think if I ever lost both of these, I'd be buying Lovesick in a heartbeat.  Whilst I love my NARS lip pencil, spending £19.00 on something I could get which is nearly identical for just £7.99 just seems silly.  Especially with how much I love the Revlon Balm Stains!

Have you found any dupes in your stash?

Favourites: January 2015

As promised, I'm starting off the year as I mean to go on and am sharing with you today the bits I've been loving this month!  I haven't done a favourites post since...I think it was July 2013.  I don't tend to buy myself bits too often, so I've always worried that I'd just have the same favourites month in month out, but with my mission to clear through my ridiculous stash of bits, I think I should have something different to share with you every month!

Starting with my ultimate favourite for this month - The Body Shop's Almond Body Butter.  I've had this in my stock for a while now, but had been working my way through other body moisturisers.  I can't even begin to say how much I love this body butter - it's super moisturising, but this one smells incredible.  Even though it's just almond, I feel like it smells a smidge like a cherry bakewell because it's also a bit sweet!  But because of all that...I'm absolutely gutted that this seems to have been discontinued.  I can't see it online, and when I asked The Body Shop they told me to check outlet stores and the sale in April - please let me know if you spot it!

The lip balm that I've loved this month is LUSH's Lip Service.  I got it for Christmas from Liam's parents and spoke about it in my LUSH Christmas Haul - I've never tried a lip balm from LUSH before but I really like it!  It smells a bit orangey, but it's not a tangy citrus scent...more of a sweet orange scent.  It's really helped my lips this month - they were seriously dry when I was poorly with the flu!  Revlon's Matte Balm in Sultry has been my lip shade of choice this month.  I have already spoken about it here, so I won't bang on about it again, but it's definitely one that's worth checking out if you're into the whole 90's lip look.

I have a review of this coming up soon, but don't wait for it - you need the Jouer Long Wear Creme Mousse Eyeshadow in your life.  I have the shade Dusk and I hardly wear anything else.  I bought the Maybelline Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze this month to see what the fuss was on that - it's got nothing on Jouer.  I've already got my eye on the rest of the shades, particularly Galaxy and Twilight!

This month, I also picked up my first Illamasqua Cream Pigment in the shade Delirium.  It was in the sale already, but I got an extra 15% off with my birthday discount code!  It's been my contour of choice since I bought it, and I can't see myself switching to anything else anytime soon - it's really long lasting, and creates a beautiful natural shadow on the face because of the grey undertones.  I've been applying it with the Eco Tools Complexion Blending Brush as it's perfect for contouring.  It's paddle shaped which makes it ideal for slipping under the cheekbones, and because the bristles aren't super dense you can easily blend upwards!

What have been your favourites this month?

The High Street 90's Lip: Revlon Matte Balm in Sultry

I'm pretty positive that 90% of the lip crayons that I own are by Revlon.  I love Revlon, and the shades that they have seriously have got me covered - I lean more towards lipsticks at the moment, but I still can't resist a good lip crayon.  I loved the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, but despite the new Matte and Gloss range which were released over a year ago (can you believe that?!), I have only just branched out by getting my hands on one of their Matte Balms in the shade Sultry.

I was a bit worried that these might not be as good as their original release; the Balm Stains were forever hyped and these new releases kind of got spoken about and nothing more was said - no fuss, no nothing.  But I really, really like the shade I have.  Sultry is a dusky rose shade - it's got the brown under tones with a gorgeous rose tinge.

Even though it is a matte lip, it's definitely easy wearing.  It glides on smoothly, colour pay off it amazing - the shade is definitely there in one swipe, and I don't find it to be drying at all because the Revlon Matte Balms have been made with shea, mango and coconut butter which kind of make these feel very lip balm-esque.  But don't be fooled into thinking that these have a tropical scent - the light peppermint scent that the original Balm Stains have is still there but it does fade quickly.

I've been wearing this a lot recently because it's just the perfect subtle lip - not subtle so that it's a nude, or a your lips but better shade, but the kind of subtle that's just nice.  Everyone bangs on about the Kylie Jenner nude lip, and I think that this is definitely right up that street - it's got the whole 90's grunge vibe going around it and I absolutely love it for day and night wearing.

What's your current go-to lip?