No7 Pop & Glow Cream Blush Stick

Recently, No7 have been bringing out a plethora of great products and ideas, from their fantastic mascaras, to their innovative foundation shade match service, but there's one new release that got my heart pounding that little bit more than all the others.

 

 

The No7 Pop & Glow Cream Blushes (£9.95) are chubby sticks for cheeks, in a handy  wind-up tube. They come in 3 colours: Mango Sorbet - a peachy coral, Rose Blossom - a cool, bright pink, and Classic Rose - a deep pink shade. They don't exactly break the bank, at under £10 each, and with those No7 vouchers flying around, they come in at under £7 -  a bargain if you ask me. 

L-R: Classic Rose, Mango Sorbet

The first one I got was Classic Rose. Although it looks quite daunting in the tube, and admittedly at first swatch too, it blends down into a beautiful deep-rose flush, a perfect transition shade from winter to spring. It is very buildable, and blends like a dream (I use my fingers). The texture is very different to many other cream blushes I own - it applies as a cream, and dries as a powder. I know this isn't unusual (I'm looking at you Topshop Cream Blushes), but they have a lovely velvety feel, and don't look cakey or too powdery.

I also bought Mango Sorbet, as I thought that it would look amazing in the warmer months. As with the other one, it has a lovely velvety texture and is very buildable. It blends into a stunning peachy shade, which is particularly flattering on those with paler skin.

They are very long-lasting and easy to touch up on the go - they're the perfect cream blushes in my books.

L'Oreal Rouge Caresse Lipsticks

The L'Oreal Rouge Caresse lipsticks retail for just £7.99 and have been around for quite a while, however, I have only just purchased my first few.

Much like the much-loved 'Revlon Lip Butters', the L'Oreal Rouge Caresses are light-weight, buttery lipsticks that feel more like a tinted lipbalm. Easy to apply, these bullets of lovelyness are handy for on the go and can be applied without a mirror. They can be applied as a subtle wash of colour, or can be built-up to be more opaque. As they are quite sheer, they are quite glossy and are great for summer. They come in a shade to suit everyone from bright pink, to nude.

The colours I have are '202 Impulsive Fuchsia' and '301 Dating Coral'. I picked these colours as I thought they would make great summer shades (and are colours I don't already have in my collection).

L - 'Dating Coral' (3 swipes, 1 swipe)         R - 'Impulsive Fuchsia' (3 swipes, 1 swipe)

'Dating Coral' is an orangey coral which isn't too bright - I find it really hard to find corals that suit my skin tone and that I am confident enough to wear.

'Impulsive Fuchsia' is a bright blue-toned pink that would flatter many different skin tones.

I really like the packaging as they are very sturdy and the top of the bullet is a metallic version of the colour of lipstick, making it easy to see which shade you are grabbing.

So, as I mentioned before, these can be compared to the 'Revlon Lip Butters' however, I think I prefer L'Oreal's buttery offering. They are not as 'slippy' so stay on longer and in my opinion, feel nicer on the lips.

The one downside of these products are that they sometimes cling to any dry patches on my lips so just make sure they are nice and smooth.

Overall, I would highly recommend the L'Oreal Rouge Caresses and they also have another version of this product - the 'Rouge Caresse Coeur de Perle', as these lipsticks have a pearly centre which gives a pearlescent finish.