Makeup Review - Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm

Revlon have recently brought out a new lipstick range called ColorBurst and it looks like this:

I know, it looks like a crayon but it acts like a lipstick. Amazing. The range comes in a Lacquer Balm which has a more moisturised, glossy effect and a Matte Balm which is has an opaque, matte finish. I'm going to review the Revlon Matte Balm in shade 220 Showy which is a blue based hot pink colour. 

As far as drugstore makeup brands go, I find Revlon to be at the top end of the market, I have used their foundations before and was very pleased, so I felt confident going back to them. Also, at only £7.99 this lipstick is pretty reasonably priced. I had been looking for a matte hot pink lip colour for ages so I went on a hunt. After trying loads of different brands and colours I settled on this one simply because I liked the colour best and it was matte.

                          

I tried a LOT of pinks

Application: Firstly I moisturised with a thin layer of lip balm (I used Lucas' PawPaw ointment which is one of my favourite beauty products of all time) and then used a Barry M lip pencil in Fuchsia under the lip colour to map out my lips and make sure the colour would last all day.  Lastly I applied the Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in 220 Showy. I used a lip brush to apply the lipstick just because I personally find it more accurate than using straight from the stick but either method is fine. 

The finished look

Result: The Matte Balm felt like velvet on my lips and went on very smoothly and the finished product looked fantastic. It felt really moisturising whilst still giving a matte effect which is very hard to find and I found that it was very light and not at all sticky to touch. Mine did last a long time but I do think that the lip liner may have had something to do with the lipsticks longevity. All in all I'd definitely recommend it and am looking forward to trying out some of the other colours in this range!

Xx

MomoCreatura

I did a makeup job a while ago for jewellery brand MOMOCREATURA, created by uber-talented jewellery designer Momoko Tamura. We shot the collection in a warehouse studio in Stoke Newington and it was styled by my friend Verity Pemberton who is an amazing stylist and also designs for Urban Outfitters as well as launching her own magazine - MOON.

The collection itself is really cool; each piece represents a small, sculpted animal cast in either gold or silver. It has a sort of fairytale/secret garden vibe about it but with a ‘Brother’s Grimm’ style twist to it, sounds weird and it kind of is but from the shocking to the delicate there are so many different little pieces it’s not hard to find something to love!

The silver and sapphire snake ring

My favourite pieces have got to be the rings, since doing the shoot Momoko gave me one of the snake rings made of oxidised silver with tiny sapphires for eyes and I’m in love with it! Momo makes the rings (and all of her other pieces) by hand, first modelling tiny pieces of wax under a microscope and then making a mould of each design, which is then cast in gold or silver. Knowing how much work has gone in to making the designs makes the detail of each intricate piece even more stunning.

The "spirit of love" rings - head and tail

The snake comes from Momo’s La Cirque Macabre collection, another favourite of mine, from the Secret Garden collection, is the ‘spirit of love’ ring. The ring can be bought in two parts, a head, and a tail, the concept of which is pretty cool in itself and they depict an embodiment of what Momo described as ‘the spirit that comes out of a rose when it dies.’ She didn’t want her collection to be all about beautiful things, and by making this ‘spirit’ with it’s bizarre appearance she seems to be challenging our perceptions of beauty. I really like the story behind the ring and it had a heaviness to it that felt good when you slid it on your finger.

 Chained bears from the 'Nearly Dead' collection

Momoko's jewellery is truly stunning if a little controversial. I’d highly recommend checking it out, all of Momo’s work can be seen at www.momocreatura.com.

Xx

ELLO LA

Here is a post I actually wrote last year about my first ever trip to LA -

So I recently got back from a 2-week trip to Los Angeles to stay with my best friend. Not only was it the first time I’d been to LA but it was also my first ever trip to America (better late than never)! During my trip it became pretty apparent to me that food is a pretty big deal over there. I think in London there’s quite a big drink culture where friends often meet for drinks after work whereas in LA the culture seemed to be more food orientated. 

Over the course of my trip we went for lunch and dinner pretty much every single day and never ate at the same place twice, we had Mexican, Italian, Burgers, Chinese, pizza, diner breakfasts, French, Korean, All-American, ramen, sushi, ribs, BBQ… the list goes on, not to mention all the snack stops and fast food joints we had to check out along the way.

So, to give you an idea of some of the MARVELS I witnessed, I’ve compiled a list of my top 5 food-speriences in LA:  

5. IN-N-OUT Burger

I’m not a huge burger person but these were insanely good. If you go to the west coast make sure you at least try one of these burgers. The buns were so soft and the meat was delicious, they caramelise onions and put them on top of the cheese and everything all just melts together in perfect harmony. I also tried a corn dog, the controversial Chick Fillet and a bunch of other fast food places and this was definitely the tastiest.

4. DONUTS

I wish donuts were more of a big deal in the UK. American people have boxes of donuts in their kitchens, which they eat for BREAKFAST! Yes the Food Research and Actions Centre do state that ‘two thirds of US citizens are overweight or obese’ but whatever, don’t blame it on the donuts.

This particular donut was a CUSTARD FILLED MAPLE GLAZE. Could there be four words more perfect for each other in the English language? No, I don’t think there could. It was gigantic and I enjoyed every second of the 20minutes it took me to devour it.

3. HEUVOS RANCHEROS

Mexican food is the shit. This Mexican breakfast is served in diners all over LA, I tried mine in a diner called Swingers in Santa Monica and it was heavenly. Soft flour tortillas topped with black-eyed peas, fried eggs,  melted cheese, guacamole and fresh salsa. ¡¡Ay Dios Mio!!

2. THE SPRINKLES CUPCAKE ATM

Sprinkles Cupcakes are pretty much The Godfather of cupcakes. They call themselves “the world’s first cupcake bakery” and I’m not here to question them on that, especially after they did us all the kindness of inventing a CUPCAKE ATM! That’s right, you just pick a cupcake from the touch screen (I chose s’mores flavour) swipe your card and down it comes.  They also do ‘doggie cupcakes’ in case your pooch is feeling peckish too, how considerate.

1. SUSHI

I wasn’t expecting to appreciate sushi as much as I did as I’ve never been that into it in the UK but the sushi I ate in LA was out of this world.

I don’t know for sure why it tastes so much better over there but it really, really does.  My favourite was the crab roll; the rice was slightly sticky and perfectly cooked and the crabmeat was warm and had so much flavour to it that was complimented perfectly by the seaweed it was wrapped in. I literally could not fault a single aspect of my meal and just wish it was easier to find good sushi in London too. One of the only great places I've been to over here is Eat Tokyo, highly recommended. 

Hello!

My name is Alice and I have been meaning to start up a blog for SO long and I've finally done it!!

First, a little bit about about me. I work as a freelance makeup artist in London.
I studied History of Art and Architecture at Reading University before training at Greasepaint Makeup School in London in 2010.

I now do makeup and hair jobs in commercial, beauty and editorial fashion, film and TV, bridal and makeup for private clients and I absolutely LOVE what I do so hopefully I can share that with you somehow.

I am a very visual person so my posts on here will mostly be about things that look really lovely to me and I think might be interesting to you too; whether it be makeup reviews or tutorials, shoots I have done, art shows I've enjoyed, places I've travelled to, beautiful things, that kinda thing, I'll be posting it so I hope you enjoy!

Axx

P.s I also have a website www.alicehowlett.com if you want to take a look at any of my makeup work!