Rimmel London Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipsticks - Review and Swatches

Hey girls! Today I am going to be showing you my collection of Rimmel Kate Moss lasting finish lipsticks, three of which are from their matte collection and one from their regular line. I have had them for quite a while so I have tested them well enough to pen down my thoughts on them.

I have recently discovered that Rimmel is not a cruelty free brand since they started selling in China and animal testing is required there by the law. I personally never recommend such brands even though they are very popular among girls here like Revlon, CoverGirl, L’Oreal, Maybelline, NYC, Almay and Bourjois too unfortunately I just found out. However, this is just my personal opinion and what you buy is your choice.

Product Claims

Kate Moss Lasting Finish Matte Lipsticks

Be Iconic - Make the Ordinary Extraordinary Sumptuously Rich Matte Colour with a sublime comfort. Ruby Powder enriched formula. Intense velvet colour all day!

Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipsticks

The 1st Lipstick collection created by Kate Moss High intensity colour for up to 8 hours. Formula infused with Black Diamonds, reflects light like never before. Captures all the flair, edge and timelessness of Kate’s unique look.

What Do I Think?

Packaging is quite important to me because I always keep lipsticks in my purse for touch-ups. The plastic does not feel cheap and the cap clicks in place securely. The slanted top with the logo on top makes it easier to spot for me. In my opinion a good lipstick should be pigmented, less prone to transferring, long lasting and comfortable to wear. Rimmel Kate Moss lasting finish lipsticks get an A grade in all these departments.

The matte ones (107, 110 and 111) remain intact on my lips even after 7-8 hours in all kinds of weather. If I have an oily meal only then does the product fade from the very center of my bottom lip. The regular shade is 05 and is predictably easier to budge after a meal but its lasting power is still pretty decent around 5-6 hours although it does transfer a bit more than the mattes. The formula of all the shades glides on easily and does not bleed which is essential to me. I don’t feel the need to use a lip liner underneath and they all go perfectly opaque in one swipe. The face swatches are the most accurate I feel.

Shade 05

This is what I would call the “good girl pink”. You know the one we grab every time we want people to think we are mature and sensible for example, in front of professionals, in-laws and "4pm guests". It has a nice amount of warmth to it so it won’t wash you want unless you fall in the chocolate or ebony category. It has a cream finish with a gentle shine.

Shade 107

This is a deep matte Marsala which is quite red but I feel this is more appropriate for evening looks although I have worn it during the day. It is universally flattering but not for the faint of heart.

Shade 110

This is an intense in-your-face coral with more orange than pink. It is very bright and spring-y. It looks beautiful on cool tones and even neutral skin tone but I am not sure how it would appear on warm toned ladies. It is best to swatch such colours before you buy them.

Shade 111 - Kiss of Life

This is the only shade with a proper name and I have been drooling over its online swatches for years. Kiss of Life is a stunning neutral red so coupled with its matte finish, it is a dream come true.

There are not that many shades in the matte range but there are a lot of choices in the regular collection to suit a wide range of skin tones. I know most women think a lipstick should not cost more than PKR 100 but I prefer not to have lead in my lipsticks so I think these offer a good bargain given the quality.

Price

PKR 799 for 4.0g

Availability

You may buy this from your local Rimmel kiosk in all major cities

Pros

Great pigmentation

Lasts quite well

Creamy formula

Sturdy packaging

Affordable

Easily available

Cons

Test on animals when required by law as they sell in China as well.

My Rating

4/5

Have you got any of the shades from the Rimmel Kate Moss collection?

Love,

Sadaf

Disclaimer: This is a personal blog edited by its owners and the opinions expressed here belong solely to its owner's. For questions and queries please email at thepoutpainter@gmail.com

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11 Things You Did Not Know About Us

Bia of The Beauty Finds tagged us to complete this post where you get a chance to have a sneak peek inside our minds and lives. It’s always fun doing such posts and we hope you guys enjoy them reading as much as we did answering.

Question: If you have an option to wear a certain makeup product/brand PERMANENTLY on your face (without any side effects, of course), what would that be?

Sadaf: It would be a soft face sculpting kit because I think it enhances the natural shape of your bone structure really well without making you look like a fake.

Fizzah: Highlighter that would be for sure! Let me brag a little about myself here. I have somewhat-prominent cheekbones, of course nothing sort of Benedict Cumberbatch’s (Hi Sherlock fans a.k.a Cumberbitches! :-D Yes I am burning in the same agony of wait), but just a little highlight and I get that “sexy” high cheekbone effect which I absolutely love and it wouldn’t hurt me to flaunt it forever. :-D

Question: Which local or international celebrity carries 'your' fashion & beauty style?

Sadaf: I can’t think of any famous celebrity but Keiko Lynn is a blogger I really admire. She loves bright colours and neutrals equally like me. I totally dig her style which revolves around simplicity, cuteness and often, kitties! :D

Fizzah: I am a HUGE fan of neutral eye shadows and I “think” these are the only colours I can do really well with and since Carli Bybel is another beauty blogger/Youtuber who is in love with neutrals as much as I am, I’d pick her.

Question: Share one trait/habit/achievement of yours that you are immensely proud of?

Sadaf: I am really proud of how I let go of my prejudices and judgmental attitude, instilled from birth thanks to our society. Embracing other people’s ideas has actually helped me be a lot less critical of myself. It has brought me a lot of peace and happiness.

Fizzah: *Goes into the self-admiration mode again* I am an all-rounder. Whatever I have decided to do in life, be it Masters in Chemistry, research in Organic Chemistry, a little bit of cooking (without any prior experience), trying my hand on sketching and other artistic work, makeup application or blogging, I think I have done well if not best, considering I am untrained professionally. I am my own competition. As for the trait, I don’t know why but I just cannot think negative of someone. I feel there is always a good reason behind someone’s behavior or choices they make and it would be highly unfair not to give them a second chance, AND I cannot say “no” to my friends when they ask for help. Bragged too much I guess, let’s go to the next question, shall we? :-D

Question: If you could get a chance to meet some historical or family figure in a dream, what would you say/do?

Sadaf: It would have to be my paternal grandfather, who passed away five years before my parents got married. He was an amazing man as confirmed by everyone from the guy with the breakfast deli, who served us a meal for free, to the heads of leading universities. Everywhere I go with my family, we are given so much respect just because we share his blood. I would ask him how he gained such loyalty and reverence.

Fizzah: Difficult to say, but that would be my maternal grandfather. He died when my mother was a teenager. I have heard a lot about him and his patience and love not only with people but his pets as well. I would just like to see how he was in real life.

Question: If you could eliminate a certain beauty habit or trend from the world, what would that be?

Sadaf: There are actually two, which I believe are destroying the diversity and natural beauty Nature gifted us. Firstly the strong contouring because all we can see is brown and white so the person disappears. Secondly, over drawn lips! There is a difference between balancing out your lips and completely changing their shape. That shape was not meant for you so now you look like a cosmetic surgery gone bad. These two things make everyone look the same and will be the death of beauty I feel.

Fizzah: I second Sadaf here. Every now and then I go through my Instagram feed all I see is plastic-y faces with similar contour and overdrawn lips. To be honest, I just un-followed a very famous beauty celebrity’s accounts on Instagram for similar reasons (I wouldn’t name her :-D) On the contrary, I love Wayne Goss for encouraging his followers to embrace their gifted beauty.

Question: What beauty product never worked for you, yet everybody else raves about it?

Sadaf: Garnier BB crème is just not for me. When you cannot find your shade, there is no point to a base. Also, it was hard to blend. I could only use it as a concealer sometimes because it was lighter and stayed put.   

Fizzah: Again I would second Sadaf, people have been raving a lot about Garnier BB cream as well as the Pond’s one. I didn’t like either of them.

Question: What is the cheapest Holy Grail product of yours?

Sadaf: That would be my Essence white kajal pencil which costs only 180 PKR. I use it to highlight my inner corner and brow bone. It also works well as an eye base for lighter colours. The texture is just perfect and I don’t think I will find a replacement this cheap.

Fizzah: The cheapest product I have in my stash that I use in almost every look I do is the Essence Black Kohl pencil.

Question: What beauty habit of your mother/grandmother have been passed on to you?

Sadaf: My mother never skips mascara and neither do I.

Fizzah: Sadly, my mother was never, and is still not, among the women who are into makeup. I have never seen her much drawn towards makeup or anything related. I, however, am a totally different case and would leave a lot of beauty habits for my children :-D

Question: What career or life aspirations from your childhood were so absurd that you laugh on them now?

Sadaf: I wanted to be a teacher. That is the shortest joke ever considering the state of teachers in our country.

Fizzah: Now when this is asked, I realize I never had any career goals in childhood. Oops! :-D Like I said before, I have always been good at everything I have done and this has always left me confused about my career choices. I think I am still going through self-exploration and my newfound love and skill is makeup. :-D

Question: What the best/most favorite act of charity for you?

Sadaf: Greeting people who have been hateful and cruel to you and the ones you love. I just do not have the ability to clamp down my anger and forgive such poor excuses for human beings.

Fizzah: Being available for people I love without asking/expecting something in return.

Question: What is the dark-side of beauty blogging?

Sadaf: I think constant exposure to the unfair judgment and cruel criticism from the public and members of the beauty community wears a person down like nothing else.

Fizzah: People think you get products/favours/publicity without doing much and anybody can do it (what’s so special about it, huh?). Well yes anybody can blog but it really takes hard work, time and dedication to get your work recognized. I think people can try and be a little more appreciative.

That’s all from our side.

We would like to tag Jadirah Sarmad of Jasmine CatchesButterflies, Wajiha Ahmed of TheFashion Files by Wajiha, Anila Ali of Ana Loves and Shinaaya Naya of Intensify Beauty Blog for the post.

Here are questions for you guys from our side:

1. Which mythical/ supernatural creature do you relate to the most and why?

2. What is the one quality in your opinion that makes you strong as a person and a blogger?

3. Which beauty product do you think is the most overrated among beauty bloggers?

4. What has been the biggest challenge in your personal/blogging life and how did you overcome it?

5. Tell us about your worst experience with a brand or PR company?

6. Who is the one person/celebrity in your opinion who is in dire need of a makeover? What would you do their makeover?

7. What is your fondest childhood memory and which is the most embarrassing?

8. What would you say to beauty bloggers and Youtubers who do paid dishonest reviews?

9. Everyone has weak moments. Have you ever thought of giving up blogging? If yes, what was your reason and how did you cope with it?

10. What is the most daring makeup look you have done to date for an event?

11. Which past fashion trend makes you cringe when you look back at old photos?

We look forward to reading your answers.

Love,

Fizzah and Sadaf

Disclaimer: This is a personal blog edited by its owners and the opinions expressed here belong solely to its owner's. For questions and queries please email at thepoutpainter@gmail.com

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BH Sculpt & Blend 10 Piece Brush Set – Review

When I started practicing makeup a few years back I realised how important it is to use good tools. I would go to the market with my mother and search every shop for the makeup brushes similar to the ones I had seen Youtube Gurus use in their tutorials. As a result of my search, I ended up advising shopkeepers to bring better stuff instead of purchasing anything from them. I spotted BH cosmetics Wild Purple Brush Set on Just4girls one day and since it was on sale I decided to give it a shot. They looked pretty good and similar to what I have been looking for. That was the first ever brush set I owned and had a love-hate relationship with it. Although the bigger face brushes were quite good, the rest of them left me frustrated partly because I was still bad at makeup application and partly because the brushes were not behaving like I had expected.

I lacked good brushes for quite some time especially for cream products. BH Sculpt & Blend Set was purchased after a lot of research because I was not sure if I should take a second chance with BH brushes (I had already tried Sigma brushes by then and had decided to purchase their face brushes as well). The set came on sale and I gave it a go.

Product Description

BH Cosmetics 10-piece Sculpt and Blend Brush Set is the ultimate toolkit for foolproof contouring, shading and illuminating your features. The elegant black and gold, dual-fiber collection — specially crafted for applying liquids, creams and powders — includes five face brushes and five  detailing brushes, making it easy to define your jawline, slim your nose, and create killer cheekbones, as well as highlight around eyes, fake fuller lips, and blend for a soft, seamless look.

• Cruelty Free Synthetic Brushes
• High-quality
• Easy to Clean
• High Functionality

What Do I Think?

The brushes set came in a clear plastic zipper bag. Comparing with the previous BH set I owned, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality. They feature matte black handles with gold ferrules which look chic and the dual-fibre heads are thicker than I had anticipated. I have a very sensitive skin which tickles even at the touch of my own hair! Considering that and my experience with some of the brushes from the previous BH Brush Set (I only use the bigger brushes from that set now), this one was a pleasant surprise! The brushes felt amazingly soft against my skin. I own a Sigma F8- Flat Kabuki which is similar in shape to the Flat Kabuki brush from BH Sculpt and Blend Set, I swirled both the brushes on my cheeks with my eyes closed and tried spotting a difference. None. They felt exactly the same!

I have washed these quite a few times now and except for a few splay hair in flat and angled kabuki brushes, I did not observe any shedding or change of shape. The thicker brushes needed two-three washes to get rid of any traces of product that would have gathered and dried inside. I did not face difficulty in application and blending of cream as well as powder products with these brushes except for one thing, the smaller brushes are too small for my liking to blend concealer in the under eye area. Instead, I use those to stipple product, conceal imperfections on the rest of my face; and also for nose and cheek bone contouring and highlighting. If you wish to place powder products on specific areas of your face with the bigger brushes of this set (such as blush application), considering they are compact and thick, I’d suggest you begin with very little product as these tend to pick up more powder product than necessary. This does not happen with cream products though.

I didn’t know it when I purchased this set but all the brushes in BH Sculpt and Blend Set are similar to Sigma Essential Kit 10 Brushes!

(Similar to Sigma F80 - Flat Kabuki)

(Similar to Sigma F82 - Round Kabuki)

(Similar to Sigma F84 - Angled Kabuki)

(Similar to Sigma F88 - Flat Angled Kabuki)

(Similar to Sigma F86 - Tapered Kabuki)

(Similar to Sigma P80 - Precision Flat)

(Similar to Sigma P82 - Precision Round)

(Similar to Sigma P84 - Precision Angled)

(Similar to Sigma P88 - Precision Flat Angled)

(Similar to Sigma P86 - Precision Tapered)

Here, I have compared only Sigma F80 and BH Flat Kabuki since that is only what I had.

Points of difference: Sigma F80 is heavier than BH Flat Kabuki and thicker as well. F80 washes much more easily compared to BH one and has not stained once.

Points of similarity: They feel EXACTLY the same against my skin. I judged both of these critically and wished I may find something to put F80 above BH Flat Kabuki in terms of performance but good news is I couldn’t, both functioned exactly the same.

I cannot say if the rest of BH Sculpt and Blend brushes are dupes for Sigma ones but I can say that they must be very close in performance to Sigma ones. If you are on a budget and cannot afford Sigma, get this set. It's a great steal!

Price

Original Price: $30.00

Sale Price: $20.00

Availability

Online at BH Cosmetics

Pros

No shedding

Easy to wash

Soft bristles

Travel-friendly packaging

Cons

Splaying of hair in smaller brushes after first wash

Few of them got stained

My Rating

3.7/5

Have you tried any brushes from BH Cosmetics? How was your experience?

Love,

Fizzah

Disclaimer: This is a personal blog edited by its owners and the opinions expressed here belong solely to its owner's. For questions and queries please email at thepoutpainter@gmail.com

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Essence Eyebrow Gel-Colour & Shape - Review, Swatches & Mini Tutorial

Hey girls! Today we are going to be talking about eyebrows because I just had to have this brand new brow product as soon as I spotted it at my local departmental store. The Essence Eyebrow Gel is part of their latest summer collection and I have never tried anything like it before. I am planning to get the ABH Dipbrow pomade so I was expecting this to be something similar as its dupes have started popping up in the market. Read on to find out what this product is actually like.

Product Claims

Colour and shape! Perfectly emphasize and shape your brows without any stickiness with the eyebrow gel. The gel has a pleasant powdery finish and offers long-lasting results. Especially easy to apply with the essence precise eyeliner brush.

What Do I Think?

The packaging is good quality and compact but the tiny glass jar is prone to breakage. On screwing the top off, the gel looked creamy but once applied, it started to dry within seconds. So basically it is a cream-to-powder product but you do not get much time to blend it out. The bright side to this property is that it stays put all day not matter how hot or humid the weather is. I splashed water on my face many times but it never showed any signs of budging. For a brow product, I think this is most important attribute because no one wants to be forced fix their brows repeatedly. The pigmentation was pretty good. I swatched heavily with my brush and then used the same swatch to apply a lighter one next to it. You may apply as lightly or heavily as you wish.

Now, coming to the shade, there is currently just one available in Essence Eyebrow Gel range. Luckily, I happen to be a brunette with dark ash brown tones in my hair so this was close to perfect for me. This is not for ladies with chocolate or warm brown hair as there is nothing warm about it. However, you may use this as a base and top it with a suitable brow powder shade. Since women with black hair are advised to pick a lighter colour for their brows, this would be appropriate. You might assume that this won’t suit you if you have light brown hair but it will. This is because it can be applied as lightly or heavily as you desire. If you have golden brown hair, you may use it lightly as a base and apply your own shade of brow powder on top. Unfortunately, there is nothing for red heads or blondes in this range yet.

Initially, I had some trouble with application as I felt it dried too fast and didn’t give me the result I wanted. Eventually, I figured out how to use it so I have created a mini tutorial to help you out. I found it best to blend it in the direction your hair grows and comb it out. I didn’t find a small slanted eyebrow brush did the job well so now I use my Make up Academy F3 brush. It may seem broad but it has just the right stiffness and density for using this gel. I discovered that although it is excellent for filling in your eyebrows, it cannot be used to line them. Normally, I prefer the natural look only filling them in provides but when I wish to go for a bolder look, I add in a brow pencil for lining.

In my experience, Essence Eyebrow Gel is an excellent brow product for brunettes with a pocket friendly price tag. You will especially love it if you lean more towards naturally filled full eyebrows.

Price

PKR 590 (for 3.0g)

Availability

You may buy this from your local Essence kiosk in all major cities

Pros

Very pigmented

Lasts all day long

Readily blends

Intensity can be controlled

Fills in brows well

Good packaging

Affordable

Easily available

Cons

Not for lining eyebrows

Dries too quickly

Only one shade available yet

My Rating

4/5

Have you tried this eyebrow gel? What do you prefer for shaping your brows?

Love,

Sadaf

Disclaimer: This is a personal blog edited by its owners and the opinions expressed here belong solely to its owner's. For questions and queries please email at thepoutpainter@gmail.com

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DMGM Photo Fix Lip Color – Review and Swatches

By far most of you guys already have an idea about my – actually mine and Sadaf’s – obsession with lipsticks especially liquid lipsticks. I had DMGM Photo Fix Lip Colors on my wishlist ever since I first spotted the swatch of Plum Frost online. For some odd reasons I did not buy it for quite some time until, while on my trip to Khi, I stumbled upon the brand everywhere I went! And finally one day, leaving behind all the self-restraint I had imposed upon myself, I entered Scentsation in Dolmen Mall (leaving my aunt and cousin to shop groceries) and swatched a few Photo Fix Lip Colors from the range and ended up choosing Plum Frost. I bought Exotic Rose a few days back from just4girls.

Product Claims

Get set for instant glamour with just a one step sweep of light weight, non–transfer liquid lip color. Provides exceptional coverage with a moisturizing rich matte finish. Longwearing & comfortable on the lips. Won't feather or smudge.

What Do I Think?

They come in a packaging similar to MUA Intense Kisses, a small sturdy high quality plastic tube with a fine doe-foot applicator that picks up right amount of product. The formula of both the colours I got is very creamy, applies really smooth and dries matte within seconds. Both Plum Frost and Exotic Rose have very fine shimmer which is invisible to naked eyes unless you really stare at the swatches; also undetectable once you apply the product on lips. A thin layer of product gives you perfect opaque coverage, that’s how pigmented they are. I tried layering up to see if they get tacky but to my pleasant surprise, they didn’t. Although not over-powering and annoying but there is a scent to these liquid lipsticks, typical of makeup products, which is undetectable when the product is applied.

Now coming to the insane part! The lasting power. These are super long lasting! Apply as a creamy formula and once dried matte they do not feather or budge at all so much so that you will need a good oil-based makeup remover to get the product completely off your lips. Yes, water and soap also don’t work to remove it. I noticed a slight uneven coverage with the shade Exotic Rose, which I presume is due to it being a shade lighter than Plum Frost and I being a person suffering from OCD. Haha! Anyway, you may need to fill in those spaces while applying this shade to achieve the perfectly opaque coverage.

The weather these days is extremely hot and humid, the time of the year when I shy away from wearing any king of makeup because I perspire a lot and DMGM Photo Fix Lip Color stayed affix on my lips for straight 7+ hours and that too with eating and drinking. These really live up to DMGM’s claim of being water-proof and transfer-proof (I put them to test by kissing the back of my hand a few times :D). A makeup product that survives Pakistan’s hot and humid weather and my perspiration is a keepsake and these for sure are. I plan to pick up a few more shades from the range especially Bahama Spice and Fuschia Bite.

I’d suggest girls with warmer and darker complexions to swatch Exotic Rose on themselves before purchasing it just to be on safe side.

Here is a casual snap of a few swatches I took when I bought Plum Frost from Scentsation, Dolmen Mall. I am so sorry I don't remember at all what the fourth swatch was of :(

Swatch Update!

1. Free Kiss: Vibrant Red Orange

2. Apple Candy: Warm neon pink with coral undertones

3. Prom Pink: Dull mauve nude with a hint of brown

4. Bahama Spice: Chocolate brown with red undertones

5. Iced Copper: Metallic pale pink-y copper

6. Crimson Craze: Vibrant neutral red

7. Exotic Rose: A universal blue-toned bright neon pink

8. Just Nude: Pale neon peach

9. Fuschia Bite: Deep berry-toned fuschia

10. Italian Rose: Dull rose-y mauve

11. Fuschia Love: Pure neon shocking pink

12. Doll Pink: Cool-toned pink

13. Plum Frost: A deep maroon-red, perfect marsala

14. Coral Cameo: Vibrant coral pink

Price

PKR 1050

Availability

Enem, Liberty Market, Lahore. Just4girls.pk

Pros

Creamy formula

Quickly dries matte

Transfer-proof

Water-proof

Long Lasting

Great Pigmentation

Cons

Exotic Rose and Coral Cameo give uneven application

My Rating

4.5/5 

(only because I still have not found my “too good to be true” liquid lipstick)

Which liquid lipstick, in your opinion, outdoes DMGM Photo Fix Lip Color?

Love,

Fizzah and Sadaf

Disclaimer: This is a personal blog edited by its owners and the opinions expressed here belong solely to its owner's. For questions and queries please email at thepoutpainter@gmail.com

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