Top 5 Budget Red Lipsticks under £5

Hi there my pretties!

So, seeing as Valentine’s is today, the internet is practically abuzz with all sorts of V-Day makeup look tutorials! Did you know, that the Chinese have their own Valentine’s Day based on the Lunar Calendar? And tomorrow, for the first time in a long, loooong time, the Chinese and English Valentine’s coincide on the same day! Right, trivia for the day done with… time to get to the topic of the day which is budget red lipstick!!

Back to Valentine’s looks, most of these seem to contain that quintessential red lip. Depending on how you pair it with the rest of your look and whether it’s a warm or cool red lip, it can be sexy, dangerous, classy, inviting… you name it. Honestly you can never have too many red lipsticks and I for one don’t think I’ve found my ultimate, perfect one yet but I have found loads of amazing budget ones in my parsimonious quest for good makeup.

This post is for those of you who want to rock that glam, V-day look without breaking the bank 😉

And even if V-Day is not for you or it’s long past by the time you read this, a red lip that you like should always be an essential part of your makeup bag!

1) MUA Matte Lipstick in Scarlet Siren

Scarlet Siren

You’ve probably read my million and one posts that I’ve already done about the amazing MUA Matte Lipsticks and how they’ve come to my rescue in a makeup emergency one time in Germany but I can’t resist mentioning them once again.

Review – Sleek Face Form

UPDATE: Regarding my short film entry I linked to at the end of this post… it was in the lead for votes but the system has been changed and votes have been reset, it’s no longer in the lead (sadly). If anyone voted for it I’d really appreciate if you’d vote again and at this new page this time. I’d really appreciate it!!

Hi My Pretties!

I’ve a special post for you today but you won’t really be able to see why it’s special till you get to the very end (hehe).

But first of all let me introduce you to the star of today’s post – the Sleek Face Form contour palette!!!

Hello Sleek Face Form!

Okay, right, technically it’s a Contour and Blush Palette but I do feel it’s main strength is it’s affordability/versatility for contouring (let’s face it, no pun intended, if you wanted a good blush there’re loads of other affordable/amazing options available, MUA £1 Powder Blushes and Bourjois Cream Blush to name a few!).

Right, getting on with it, contouring seems to have become more of a trend recently! Well, to be honest I didn’t really get into makeup till the last year or so (thanks in part to the demands of work, which means I need to be an all-in-one dogsbody on little film sets and in theatres) but I swear even before then I didn’t even hear the word ‘contour’ even being breathed. My friends were all into lipstick and eyeliner and mascara, with the more adventurous/bold ones venturing into bronzer…

Surely it’s not just me, these contour palettes are a relatively new thing, right? Right?? Hmm, I suddenly get the feeling I’m horribly wrong…

Regardless, it seems like we’re facing a contour boom in the seasons to come! If you’ve been keeping an eye on the make-up releases due for Spring, quite a few have included little contour kits in their selection, I’ve especially seen lots of versions of 2-in-1 highlighter/shading colours in a compact, whether it’s in cream or powder. Spoilt for choice!

After seeing loads of my favourite bloggers/vloggers putting up contour how-to videos and realising it’s probably a useful skill to have (also, I tend to get excited about new things, do you?) I finally decided I should bite the proverbial bullet and get my own contour palette and the one I’ve been eyeing ever since I saw Sam Chapman demonstrating contouring with it is the Sleek Face Form palette!! I’m so gullible when it comes to product placement but then again I really trust her opinion, if Sam Chapman is using it, it must be good (right?).

Looks so… sleek.

On with the review of Sleek!

Packaging

Right, not to be funny or anything but don’t you find Sleek palettes all so… sleek? Seriously! Something about the matte black case with the glossy black engraved words… nothing stand-out-ish like you’d get with the high-end makeup brands but pretty impressively gorgeous for a drugstore brand I think!! Only thing is I seem to dirty mine so easily, they always look less pristine and shiny in about 2 days since I’ve got my grubby make-up stained paws all over it, anyone else find that happens with them?

Also, I broke my Sleek eyeshadow palette recently, so if you’re rough-handling like me do be a bit more gentle with these babies…