A neutral eye and red lip combo is a tried and tested, tale as old as time, failsafe make-up look. I’m not opposed to doing a colourful eye and lip (my current favourite being a dusty pink eye-shadow with a red lip), but a more neutral eye is a little easier to pull off. Painting by numbers using Seventeen’s Easy on the Eye Palette in ‘Birthday Suit’, it is also super easy to achieve. I started with the primer which is included in the palette, used two shades (7 and 8) from Birthday Suit to get from my step 1 base to step 2 in the below.

A red lip in one shade or another suits everyone, it distracts from all manner of other sins, and can even be used to dress up an otherwise casual outfit. I’m normally more of a matte and opaque gal, especially when it comes to bold lip colours, however I have been enjoying a nude gloss lately so I decided to give a glossy red a go using Seventeen’s All Out Pout palette in ‘Woo Me’.

The palette contains 6 shades, including 4 bold reds in varying tones. I began by outlining my lips to my preferred, symmetrical shape using the precise lip brush that comes with the palette. I filled in the rest of my lips using a combination of the two reds in the middle of the palette (3 and 4) to create the shade that I felt suited me best, blotted, then finally added another layer of lipstick to make the look last.

Both palettes I used here are really affordable (both priced at £7.99 and available at Boots) and Seventeen is a cruelty free brand.

*this article is in collaboration with Boots*

I am a big lipstick fan. I rarely leave the house without it, feel it is essential to complete my fairly ‘done’ style of make-up, and I pride myself on my ability to apply it on public transport with almost surgical precision. In my more adventurous days I would wear any colour of lipstick, from fluorescent pinks to deep purples, even an obnoxiously bright orange. Once, I wore a very dark purple lipstick and an old lady shouted ‘gosh! what a fright!’ at me in the Manchester Arndale toilets. In my old age I have learnt to stick to shades that actually suit me, and that has left me with reds and nudes.

I love yapping on about make-up, but photographing beauty products is my worst nightmare (endless thanks to my mum for helping me with these, lol). Over exposure to SLR quality photographs of my own face aside, I have finally managed to put together a big old list of my favourite nude lip products, none of which are tested on animals.

left to right:

3INA longwear lipstick in ‘503’ – £7.95
Winky Lux matte lip velour in ‘meow’ – £13
Urban Decay vice comfort matte lipstick in ‘backtalk’ – £15
NYX butter lipstick in ‘explosif’ – £5.50
Charlotte Tilbury matte revolution lipstick in ‘miss kensington’ – £23
Sara Hill lipstick in ‘pink truffle’ – £17
Sara Hill lipliner in ‘sugar & spice’
Barry M lip liner in ‘blush’ / ’17’ – £2.99

not swatched:

Barry M clear lip oil in ‘coco loco’ – £4.99
Barry M lip liner in ‘let’s be clear’ – £3.99

Winky Lux matte lip velour in ‘meow’, which costs £13 via ASOS, worn with Barry M ‘let’s be clear’ lip liner. The Winky Lux lipsticks are not super matte, but they are really pigmented and opaque. With some more neutral shades I find that a coloured lipliner is essential but this stands its own ground very well – I just tidy up the edges with the clear liner.

Charlotte Tilbury’s ‘miss kensington’ worn over Barry M lip liner in ‘blush’. ‘Miss Kensington’ is a really lovely pale nude, but it is quite similar to my skintone so I prefer to make it a little bolder by wearing it over a blush coloured lipliner like this.

I recently acquired a few of the new Urban Decay vice lipsticks, including this one in the shade ‘backtalk’ from the ‘comfort matte’ range. I’m very much enamoured by the vice lipsticks, the consistency and staying power is really great, and all the colours are banging. I’m not sure if I can *really* consider this a ‘nude’ as it’s definitely a lilac-toned pink, but it’s lovely nonetheless.

This is Sara Hill lipstick in ‘pink truffle’ with Barry M lip oil in ‘coco loco’ on top. Sara Hill Makeup, by Glasgow born MUA Sara Hill, is one of my favourite independent make-up brands, and this particular lipstick is my favourite ‘like my lips but better’ shade. I’m also a big fan of Barry M’s lip oil, a less sticky (and v moisturising) alternative to gloss. *side note* without the oil this lipstick comes up a little darker / more opaque.

imho, NYX is one of the best, if not the best, ‘budget’ makeup brand at the moment. This is their butter lipstick in ‘explosif’ worn over Barry M lip liner in ‘blush’. The formula is creamy without being too sheer and is the perfect shade of dusky pink.

I was introduced to 3INA via a trip to their relatively new Covent Garden store, where I picked out a few products, including this liquid lipstick in shade ‘503’, a pinky nude. Like most liquid lipsticks it is *very* matte, but I don’t find it drying at all providing I avoid too many reapplications.

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Please let me know how you get on if you try any of these, or if you have any more cruelty free lipstick recommendations!

Shaving: you don’t have to do it, but some of us want to, and if you’re going to do it you want to do a proper job. Previously, I have been a disposable razor fan – I usually go for a 4-blade type thing in whatever colour is on offer in the local supermarket. They do the job, but I have been curious about electric shavers. They’re more expensive, obviously, but are a one-time purchase and so in the long run save you money. So, are they worth it?

I’m now using the Philips SatinShave Prestige wet and dry electric shaver. It’s £70, comes with various accessories for shaving different bits (hehe) including a bikini trimmer head, comb, a skin stretcher cap and a travel cap, and lasts for an hour before it needs recharging. The idea of dry shaving made me a bit nervous, but I have been really pleasantly surprised. You can achieve a really close shave that makes you want to touch your legs incessantly for the following 24 hours and, something I find particularly useful, the ‘dry’ option means that you can easily get the bits that you inevitably missed in the shower. I’ve also found that there is much less irritation involved when using an electric shaver, compared with a disposable.

SO – my verdict? If you shave regularly, I think that an electric shaver is definitely a worthwhile investment. I’m going to continue using this one! Check out other Philips hair removal products here.

my bedding is from La Redoute and nightshirt is from Lindex – this post is in collaboration with Philips, but opinions are all my own!