A Little Piece of Lipstick History...

I just thought I would share this little gem I have with you all!

This is my Great Grandma's red lipstick that I now amazingly have in my possession!

The case is some kind of metal and at the top is a gorgeous little jewelled flower! The lipstick comes up by sliding a little lever up and down instead of the modern twist motion!

The actual lipstick itself is the most beautiful red and I can just imagine my Great Grandma wearing it in around 1930s!

I don't know the exact history of this lippy as there's no one to ask who would know now! But I thought I'd show you all as I just think it's so beautiful!

Can you imagine if they made lipsticks like this now?!

Benefit FINE ONE ONE Launch

I was invited by the lovely Benebabes to the launch of Benefit's new cheek product Fine One One in Leeds Debenhams! The night was full of amazing demonstrations from the Benebabes and champagne and sweeties (I know, win - win!)

First of all the name it's self is amazing! Like all Benefit products it has a catchy clever name and the name is true to the product it really is a life saver and can rescue you from any beauty emergency!

It's in the form of a roll on stick (a bit like a deodorant) it's in beautiful rose gold packaging and is a super handy size- fits perfectly in your makeup bag!
Now the technical bit - what it does! The stick consists of three shades, a pinky highlighter (pink champagne), a pink blush (sheer watermelon) and a coral (soft coral). For a flush of perfect colour you just sweep the stick across the cheek bone with the highlight colour at the top and then blend! You can apply as many layers as you want for your perfect pretty pop of colour! Mixed with High Beam and Coralista blush you get a perfect glowy look! Or use with Sunbeam and Hooler bronzer for a beautiful bronzed glow!
The 'Tip of the Day' in my eyes was the trick to get definition AND colour on the cheeks just by using one product - Fine One One! By applying the stick (highlighter at the top) to the apple of the cheek, turning the stick 360 degrees and then up to the temple in a zig zag shape instantly creates definition and a perfect amount of colour! Don't ask me how Benefit HQ worked out how that worked but it does work! Amazing!!
You can use the pink champagne end of the stick to highlight under the brow bone and cupids bow too! Or use your finger to apply each colour individually to build the exact colour you desire! It also gives a pretty beautiful flush of colour when applied to the lips! It is just SO versatile and this is why I LOVE it!!
Seriously you must go to a Benefit counter near you to try it for yourselves!! Let me know if you liked it as much as I did!!

P.S. Check out my Instagram for instant beauty pics! @fionabarbs!

Ombré Lips

So today I bought four new lippies and a lip liner! All drug store brands; Collection 2000, Miss Sporty, No17 and Rimmel and I must say I'm impressed at the quality and pigmentation of them all!
I've wanted to try the ombré lip trend ever since I first saw it in the pages of my Elle mag so these are the results.
I started with a red lip liner to line my lips, then continued to blot bright pink inside, then a paler pink in the middle! I love how bright it looks!
In contrast I tried a black and white theme, I lined the lips with a black lipstick and then blotted a pale pink/almost white shade in the center of the lips. In future I'd definitely line the lips first with a black pencil as I've soon realised a lip liner adds a bold intensity to the shape of the lips!