Review: Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm

Revlon is one of my favourite drugstore brands. I am a huge fan of their lips products, especially their lip butters (check out my reivew/swatches here). So when they came out with a new matte range of the balm stains, I was beyond myself because I only own one of the Just Bitten Kissable balm stain in Honey. Other brands soon hopped onto the "chubby lip pencil"band wagon and came out with their own versions. However, not many has a matte range which got me excited about this line. 

There are a total of 10 shades released in the States as well as in Australia however, only 8 shades were released in Singapore and they are Unapologetic, Shameless, Showy, Complex, Sultry, Audacious, Mischievous and Standout. The shades missing from the Asian market are Elusive and Striking. I was lucky to pick up Elusive on my recent trip to Perth. They retail for SG$19.90 (AU$17.95) a pop but if you know me, I always wait for them to go on sale. I currently own 4 of the shades available, namely 230 Complex, 205 Elusive, 225 Sultry and 250 Standout. 

Left to right: Complex, Elusive, Sultry and Standout.

I will begin by saying that these matte balms are really quite something. Although they are matte, they apply super creamy and are well-pigmented. The matte balms do not look like it contains alot of product when you twist it all the way up but it is definitely substantial to last a long time.

Total amount of product when twisted up.

 On to the swatches...

Left to right: Complex, Elusive, Sultry and Standout.

Complex is the only nude shade in the line so I had to get it. It does take a couple of swipes for it to show up on my lips but luckily the colour does not wash me out.

Complex.

I spotted this shade because it was such a gorgeous light nudish pink. Had I came across this shade when I first swatched the matte balms in-store in Singapore, I would not have bought Complex to be honest. Really glad I noticed it in the stand at Priceline. Elusive is definitely my favourite and it is perfect for everyday wear.

Elusive

Sultry is also another lovely berry shade that compliments my skin tone. It's like a rosier version of my actual lip colour which also gives a very natural look despite it being slightly darker. This shade leaves a slight tint when I wipe my lips.

Sultry.

This is also another must-have for me. I mean.. matte red lip colour, who wouldn't love that? Standout actually leaves a stain on my lips but it is quite expected with the darker shades.

Standout.

Apologies for the slight feathering on the lower lips in the last 2 lip swatches. These lip crayons are so pigmented, I had to wipe my lips several times to get the previous colour off before applying the next one hence the faint red outline around my lips.

Overall, I really enjoy the Matte Balms because they apply well and last a fairly long time, about 4-5 hours at least. They do transfer slightly if you blot your lips but they are still visible on me even after eating which is pretty impressive. If you love yourself some matte lips, you'll love this product. Definitely worth checking it out! (:

NOTD: Ulta3 Tropez

I was unfamiliar with rose gold until my sister recommended it to me as a jewellery piece before the whole trend started. Now, make up brands are coming up with lines revolving around this colour. I became quite obsessed with it myself, especially after all the amazing launches featuring rose gold-inspired make up. So I've been on the hunt for my perfect rose gold nail polish and I think I've found it! Keep in mind that the Sally Hansen's Gold Roses isn't available in Singapore and Australia and I still want to get my hands on that polish since everyone can't stop raving about it.

It was pretty accidental that I came across this polish. I can't exactly remember if it was Target or Wizard Warehouse that I found this amazing baby in the midst of all the polishes in a bin for only AU$2! Here's a look at Ulta3's Tropez in the bottle...

Not too bad right? Initially I worried that it wouldn't be the right tone of rose gold (too copperish, if you know what I mean), i'm just particular like that. Copper and rose gold is different in my opinion. Anyway, when i went home I could not wait to paint my nails with it and to my great pleasure, it looks decent enough to pass off as rose gold. I'm not sure exactly why but in certain lightings, it looks more rose gold and other times, it looks just a tad copperish. 

I applied 2 coats of polish on top of Revlon Gel-smooth base coat and finished off with Seche Vite top coat in all the pictures.

In the shade.

In natural light.

Outdoors in natural light.

As you can see from the pictures, Tropez looks rather varied in different lighting. It might just be my camera settings too but in person,  I look at it and think "What a lovely rose gold polish!" Because of the metallic finish, it can look streaky if you're not steady with your brush. With the first coat, I casually applied the polish. On the application of the second coat, I made extra care to ensure that I did not have too much polish on the brush and painted my nails evenly to prevent any obvious wavy streaks. The top coat definitely helps to blur out the lines a little. So there you have it, my thoughts on the perfect (in my opinion) rose gold polish. Hope you enjoyed! (:

Collective Haul: Perth Shopping

Recently I went back to Perth, mainly to attend my graduation, but I also did a bit of shopping. There wasn't too much sale going on to my disappointment but I still managed to get my hands on some goodies.

The biggest item is this make up set by Chi Chi which was on crazy discount. Originally retailing for AU$39.95, it was now down to only AU$15 so of course I had to get it. There were 2 different sets available, listed on Myer's website as Glamourous Colour Kit Nudes and Glamourous Colour Kit Fashion. I decided on the Nudes set as I already own the Bases palette which is included in the Fashion set. The alternative set comes with the Bases and Dramatic eyeshadow palette. It seems like the blush, bronzer and lip glosses are different in each set. The Glamourous Kit Nudes comes with 2 eyeshadow palettes (Nudes and Exotic), mosaic blush in Pink Peach, mosaic bronzer in Medium and 2 Viva La Diva lip glosses with no label. 

The Exotic and Dramatic palettes were not in the regular permanent line but I'm not sure if they're just featured in this set. Still, they are lovely palettes. Both have several black/white/grey shades with the Exotic palette comprising of more blue tones and the Dramatic palette with purple shades.

The Nudes palette is deemed an Urban Decay Naked dupe and since I have the original Naked palette, I didn't purchase it. Now that I have it anyway, I'm thinking if I should swatch and do my own comparison post or to do a giveaway on it. Any thoughts or advise?!

Priceline was having a "buy one get one free" offer on Revlon lip products, so naturally I walked over to their stand and browse the range. Having recently bought 2 Matte Balms when they were released in Singapore, I didn't think I would purchase any BUT... I saw a lovely neutral pink shade called Elusive which wasn't available as part of the Singapore release and here we are. None of the other Matte Balms caught my eye so I started swatching the Lacquer Balms and fell in love with Ingenue, a shimmery nudish brown. These babies are normally AU$17.95 each so, total steal..! (:

Revlon Lacquer Balm in Ingenue (nude) and Matte Balm in Elusive (pink).

Chemist Warehouse was having a 40% discount on the new Maybelline lipsticks from their Stripped Nudes collection so they were only AU$9.99 each. I was ecstatic about it after seeing others in the U.S swatch and haul them. There were 6 shades released in Australia and I only fancied 2 of them. 

Left to right: Tantalizing Taupe and Honey Beige.

I chanced upon some L'oreal eyeshadow quads going on sale at some budget store, not too sure if it was at Best & Less or somewhere else. Each quad was going for AU$3.99 so I thought why not. I'm aware they are probably quite old and discontinued but since they are powder products, I'm not too bothered by it. The quad I picked out was Forrest Smokes, a neutral palette with an amazing shimmery deep green shade.

L'oreal Eyshadow quad in Forrest Smokes.

Last but not least, I couldn't miss out on Ulta3 during this trip. Ulta3 is one of my favourite aussie make up brand which is super affordable. As I already own alot of their lipsticks, I thought this time I would pick up a eyeshadow palette instead. They retails for AU$6.95 and are available in 8 shades. I chose Plum Passion which is a purple-ly quad which is something I thought was different yet still wearable for me to add to my collection.

Ulta3 Eyeshadow quad in Plum Passion.

Reality check and I'm now back in Singapore. Although it was just 10 days in Perth, I still loved my short holiday. Definitely going to miss Priceline and all the amazing brands like Covergirl, Ulta3 and Chi Chi that I won't be able to get my hands on here in Singapore. Hope you enjoy my little aussie haul, definitely check back to see upcoming reviews on the products mentioned here. Anyway, comment below about what I should do with the Chi Chi Nudes palette. Cheers!