My Favorite Lipstick for Fall: L'Oreal Project Runway Charming Cockatoo's Pout

Hello Everyone,

I have to admit that I'm not much into lipsticks. Sure, I own them, but I rarely use any, instead preferring to use some lipbalm. But I am also a firm believer that one day a lipstick will come your way that will take your breath away. This happened to me a few weeks ago, and the lipstick in question is  L'Oreal Project Runway Charming Cockatoo's Pout.

As anyone who reads my blog regularly knows, I"m an American living in UK, meaning that I have access to some US brands. What it usually means in reality though, is that our store carries some brands from US from their permanent collection, the stock is always low and we rarely get any LE collections. Now, imagine my surprise when I walk in to see a whole display dedicated to L'Oreal's new limited edition collection inspired by Project Runway! Of course I had to get something for myself, and this lipstick caught my eye instantly because lately I've been trying to be more adventurous with my lip color.

(I have to apologize in advance for being a filthy makeup tease, because I realize that this collection might not be available in other countries.)

I am always on lookout for that perfect flapper lip color, because I love flapper style anything, so when I saw the color in the tube I thought it would be perfect. I have to say, it is pretty a little intimidating looking in the tube, but as it turn out it is quite a wearable color.

In reality, it turned out to be more purple looking! Who would have thought?

This is how it applies on the lips, without any pencil or priming. As you can see, it is a gorgeous wine/berry red with some purple tones. In other words, I was in LOVE! For the past few weeks, I wore this color to a wedding, Britain and Ireland Next Top Model Live event, and just any day I felt like it. I think this color is perfect for fall, or for a night out. Here you can see just how wearable it is, and not intimidating at all (ok, maybe still a little): here, here and here.

In fact, one of my friends at the wedding admitted to me (after I've shown her the color in the tube) that she would have probably never bought it on the tube alone, but after seeing it on my lips she was in love too.

The staying power is decent, with lip pencil it lasts me couple of hours, but it doesn't survive eating or Starbucks and I have to reapply. Without eating or drinking, this lipstick lasts much longer on my lips. This is not that big of a deal for me, as long as I actually re-apply! I use a lip blush to apply this lipstick, otherwise it's pretty difficult (for me) to stay inside the lip line, and this lipstick does not forgive any mistakes because they will be visible.

I don't know if this lipstick is still available, couple of days ago I saw it on Ulta's website, but today it is gone. I do believe that it's worth keeping an eye out for, what if some stores still have it?

Would you wear this lipstick if you could get a hold of it?

~ Lyuba

P.S. I found that the best color lip liner to use with this lipstick is Rimmel Lasting Finish 1000 Kisses Stay On lip contouring pencil in 071 Cherry Kiss.

Another FOTD with L'Oreal's Project Runway Charming Cockatoo's Pout

Hello Ladies,

I've been wearing L'Oreal Project Runway Charming Cockatoo's Pout lipstick pretty often lately, and today I have another look for you with it. You can see the first two looks here and here.

I wanted to do something simple with the eyes, so I've used Gosh Long Lasting Eyeliner Pen in Brown with Wet n Wild Mega Liner Liquid Eyeliner in Turquoise as an accent. I've actually did a tutorial on how to get the look, it is pretty easy but makes the eyeliner so much more fun. :)

I am still so in love with this shade of the lipstick. It is gorgeous and so much more wearable than I thought when I first saw it.

I love it so much that I've included it in my 1 Year Blogging Giveaway, so if you like the shade, head over there and enter. :)

Do you have any lipsticks that you just love to wear in the winter?

~ Lyuba

November 2011 Empties

Hello Everyone,

I've had a decent month for empties, although most of these products are not that hard to use up.

1. L'Oreal Absolute Eye and Lip Make- up remover - It does its job, and I will probably buy it again (when there is a sale on it ;P).

2. Simple Radiance Brightening Eye Cream - Simple is my favorite skincare range, and I will always come back to it. I liked this cream, but as I always say I didn't really notice much difference in my skin. Maybe my skin is in good condition, and that's why I don't see any changes (yay for me). I do appreciate that it doesn't have any alcohol and scent free, especially after some other stuff I've tried.

3. Sally Hansen Vita-B Lip Moisturizer - I love this stuff! It moisturizes extremely well, and the packaging is so much cuter than the regular balm. I've bought several others from this line, and I will keep buying it.

4. Boots Tea Tree + Witch Hazel Exfoliating Face Scrub - Can I say I HATED the smell? But my husband liked it, so go figure. I think it's an ok scrub, but I will stay away because I can't stand the smell. To me it's just too nasty.

5. Radox Shower Smoothies Spirit Booster - it's pretty hard to get a shower stuff wrong, and this shower smoothie is no exception. It does smell good enough to drink (and the tube has a big warning not to drink it lol), it lathers well and it cleans well. I will buy it again in a heartbeat.

6. elf Complexion Perfection powder - it's very similar to Rimmel's powder, and I liked it. I'm not sure I will bother with buying it again (or ordering anything else from US elf's website), because it takes so LONG to get to me. I'm a patient person, but waiting almost 2 month kills the excitement even in me.

7. Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush - oh Batiste, you are still my love. I don't know how many bottles of this stuff I've used up now, but this is my first one in this huge size. I love it and will buy it again and again!

8. Aussie Take the Heat Shampoo - it's my 2nd bottle of this shampoo, and I love it enough to buy again.

9. Clinique Clarifying Lotion for Combination Oily skin - this crap deserves its own photo (ok, I just forgot to include it , so had to run back and add to photos). I've bought it in a neat little gift set, figuring it's a good way to try some Clinique without spending a lot of money. I had high hopes for it... now I will never buy it again.

This is supposed to be a step 2 in Clinique's famous 3 Step System, which is "comfortable, non-drying exfoliator that helps create clear, glowing skin". I'm not quite sure what it's supposed to exfoliate, but even my skin felt noticeably drier and tighter. I'm convinced that it's main purpose is to completely get rid or ANY kind of oil on skin! I get that it's for combination oily skin, and guess supposed to control oiliness but I'm scared to even imaging how their stuff for an actual oily skin feels like! Also, as all Clinique stuff, this is 100% fragrance free. What they neglect to tell you, is that while it doesn't have any typical smells, it is full of alcohol! To the point that it REEKS of it. The smell of alcohol is overwhelming, and pretty nasty. Just because my skin is a trooper and nothing gets to it, doesn't mean I want to use cleansers full of alcohol on it. After using this, I appreciate Simple stuff just that much more.

10 & 11. No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara in 01 Black & 02 Brown/Black - I actually forgot I've finished these a while back, but they were hiding in one of my storage cups. I like these mascara, but I think for a drugstore they are a little on a pricey side. I will buy again with one of Boots No7 vouchers though.

12. Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner Pen in Navy - oh the memories! This was one of my first felt tip eyeliners, and pretty much what started my love with them. Sadly this one completely dried up, and I found out about it while trying to use it. Although it is not surprising, because I've had it for almost a year. Sadly, Eyeko completely revamped its brand image and products, so I don't think these are available to buy anymore. While I'm sad a little, there are plenty of other felt tip eyeliners to try and I won't miss these much.

13. Tarte Lights, Camera, Splashes Mascara - this was a mini size mascara in one of the Tarte gift sets, and I love it! I just bought a full size version of non-waterproof one.

14. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion - another sample size that came with one of the palettes I have. I have a striking suspicion that there are more primer left, but I can't be bothered with trying to cut the bottle open and depot. Plus, I don't have any appropriate containers, it's going to dry up fast, and I just bought a full size primer. Other than the bottle, this primer is great.

15. Benefit PosieTint - (seriously, I keep forgetting stuff! This is the 4rd time I'm editing this post LOL. Well, this is the last staggler, I promise) this is a 4ml size that came with one of the magazines during summer,  and I quite like the size because it means I can actually get though it! I like the natural rosy flush PosieTint gives me, and you can see it pretty often in my FOTD. I'm glad I got to try it, but I won't be buying the full size because I don't love it THAT much to spend the amount of money it costs.

Have you used any of the stuff I listed?

~ Lyuba

REVIEW: L'Oreal Absolute Eye and Lip Make-up Remover

Hello my Funky Readers,

As you all know, I wear a LOT of eye makeup, and as a result I need an eye makeup remover that works very well to remove everything I pile up on top of my poor eyelids. Also, as a result, I keep trying out all these eye makeup removers, and so today I have yet another one to review: L'Oreal Absolute Eye and Lip Make-up Remover.

What they say: 

L'Oreal Absolute Eye and Lip Make-up Remover has a cooling, refreshing texture to remove the most stubborn traces of long lasting eye and lip cosmetics. The formula effectively removes waterproof mascara and long lasting lipsticks and rinses off instantly to leave skin soft and thoroughly cleansed.

L'Oreal Absolute Eye and Lip Make-up Remover is a concentrated blue astringent designed to purify skin with a comfortable fresh sensation without leaving any sticky residue.

· Blue, astringent make up remover for long lasting eye and lip cosmetics
· Cooling, refreshing texture
· Soft, supple and perfectly cleansed skin

How to Use

Dispense L’Oreal De-maq Absolute Eye and Lip Make-up Remover onto a cotton wool pad and gently weep across eyes and lips to remove traces of make up, repeat if necessary.

What I say: 
I actually did not realize that the size of the bottle was 125ml, and kept thinking that it's only 100ml for some reason. For £4.99 you get 125ml of the product, but frequently it is on sale at either Boots or Superdrug. I got mine at Boots when they had some sale a while back, either 2 for £4 (great deal), or 2 for £5 (also good deal). As you can imagine, I got two of them and the bottle in the picture is my 2nd bottle. At the time of this review, both of them got used up and went to the eye makeup remover heaven. 


It works. It works just as well as the Bourjois Express Eye-Makeup Remover, and now had joined the ranks of my favorites. Although, Bourjois one gives a better deal for the same price (you get 200ml of product) and so if I had to pay a full price, I would choose Bourjois. Because I love a good bargain. Thankfully, both of those are on sale quite frequently, so you can pick and choose the better deal like I do ;P 


It is gentle on my eyes, does not sting or irritate them when I open my eyes during the makeup removing process, and I didn't even realize I did it until I got one eye makeup remover that DOES sting! I don't think it's that oily either, but as a general rule I like a little bit of oiliness left on my eyelids, because it makes the skin around my eyes so soft. But if any of you are extra sensitive to oil, try removing your eye makeup first, and only then removing the rest. You will wipe away all the oiliness from around your eyes while removing the rest of your makeup :) 

It removes even waterproof mascara, and has no problem with the tons of eyeshadow that I wear. I have to admit that I don't know how well it removes any of the lip products because I've never tried to do it. But let's be honest, how many times do we actually NEED the lip products removed? Most of the time they are gone on their own and we have to re-apply, re-apply, and re-apply. I treat this as eye makeup remover only, and I would recommend it to anyone as and eye makeup remover.

I will buy it again provided it's on sale ;P .

Have you tried this eye makeup remover?

~ Lyuba

Channeling My Inner Flapper #1

Hello Everyone,

I've decided to start a new series and call it Channeling My Inner Flapper seeing as how I'm always trying to recreate the look.

This time I've used all the matte shades in the Naked Palette, as well as my current favorite L'Oreal Project Runway Charming Cockatoo's Pout lipstick.

I think it turned out much better this time. I've used the darkest shade only on the crease, trying to create that effect I always see on vintage 1920s photographs. I'm still messing with my eyebrows, trying to figure out the best shape. After attending BINTM Live show (and getting suckered into buying some ridiculously expensive brow powder from a company I've never heard of), I started playing around with the brow stencils. I thought this one was ok, but I actually found a better one just yesterday. Let me tell you, trying to stencil my eyebrows while not seeing all that well, is not fun LOL.

And of course, here is a picture of my pout :) It's SAAAAAAXXXYY! :p

Do you have a look you're always trying to re-create? Let me know in the comments! :)

~ Lyuba

P.S. Please don't forget to enter my giveaway!

It's All About the Lips FOTD

Hello Everyone, 


I've been obsessing over this lipstick for the past few weeks now and I don't think I ever obsessed over a lipstick that much! So when I got my haircut yesterday, I just knew that today I had to wear this lipstick! I present to you L'Oreal's LE Project Runway Charming Cockatoo's Pout! (I love the name)

  

It looks pretty scary in the tube, it really does, but the second I saw it, I knew I HAD to have it! Because normally I wouldn't go for shades like this, and I wanted to step out of my comfort zone. Plus, I'm always on the mission to find THAT perfect flapper lipstick. 

I love the way this lipstick looks one me, just that perfect berry shade. I am simply in love :) I also love my haircut, which is essentially similar to the one I usually get, except this time I got enough courage to explain what the heck I REALLY wanted and make sure I got it! The hairdresser called it a statement hairstyle :) 

Now if only I could figure out the damn flapper eye makeup! I *think* I know the theory, but it never looks "just right" when I apply it. Maybe I'm setting the bar too high, since all the photos I saw are black and white and pretty not-clear... and it's not like I could go back in time and see for myself. I wish there were some good instruction books on flapper makeup. 

So what do you think about this lipstick? Yay or nay for you? 


On another note, my blog will be 1 year old tomorrow!! I really can't believe it's been a year already! 


~ Lyuba