Makeup Revolution I ♡ Makeup Lip Lava's - the £2.99 Too Faced Melted Dupes

I have another exciting Makeup Revolution launch for you today.. a range of five Lip Lava Intense Liquid Lipsticks. Makeup Revolution describe their Lip Lavas as being smooth and comfortable to wear with a long lasting formula with Vitamin E. When the Lip Lavas first arrived, I noticed that the packaging was very similar to the Too Faced Melted Liquid Lipsticks so I was excited at the prospect that the products themselves might also be similar. 

The Lip Lava Liquid Lipsticks* are packaged within squeezy plastic tubes, that are coloured to reflect the shade of lipstick inside. Each tube has an angled, sponge tip applicator that the lipstick seeps through to apply to the lips just like the Too Faced Melted Lipsticks and they're just £2.99 each whilst the Melted Lipsticks are £19 each. I have four different Too Faced Melted Lipsticks so I feel like I'm able to make a proper comparison between both formulas to see if these are actually a dupe..

The five shades are; Unleash, Shockwave, Firestorm, Forgiven and Tremor and each tube contains 12ml of product which is identical to that of the Melted Lipsticks. The Lip Lava lipsticks don't have a scent or flavour to them, but the Melted lipsticks have a subtle caramel scent to them. The sponge tip of the Lip Lava's apply the lipstick evenly, and smoothly and you can get a really precise application by using the edges of the tip just like you can with the Melted Lipsticks. The pigmentation and colour intensity of the Lip Lava's are incredible, and seriously on par with Too Faced.. with opacity in just one swipe.

Unleash is a super bright orangey coral, that can look a little neon in some lights and leaves an orange stain on the lips once the lipstick has worn away.

Shockwave is an incredible blue-toned purple which again is very bright, and bold.

Firestorm is a blue-toned red which is a little different in formula to the other four shades in that it's a little more watery and less opaque, but it's still amazingly pigmented and stains the lips for hours.

Forgiven is a dark brown nude which is a little too brown for my liking, but it's ideal for using to tame other shades a little like Shockwave or Unleash.

Tremor is a pretty, yellow-toned medium pink and my personal favourite from the range.

When the Lip Lavas are first applied to the lips, the finish is very glossy although over time the glossiness does reduce slightly but it stays relatively glossy whereas the Too Faced Melted Lipsticks dry down to a matte finish which is probably the only difference between the two products. I would love for Makeup Revolution to release a matte range of these four shades similar to what they did with their The One Blush Sticks. 

If you've been wanting to try the Too Faced Melted Liquid Lipsticks but you've been put off by the £19 price tag, you seriously need to try the Makeup Revolution Lip Lavas as they're almost identical apart from the difference in finishes. I love the slightly glossy finish, so they're ideal for when my lips are feeling a little dry and I don't want a matte formula exacerbating the problem. I've only had the Lip Lavas in my life for a couple of days but the weartime is impressive for such a glossy formula at around three to four hours before it begins to fade in the centre of the lips. 

I have a couple of dupe swatches for you, so you can see how close the shades are to the Too Faced Melted Lipsticks....

Makeup Revolution Lip Lava in Forgiven and Too Faced Melted Lipstick in Melted Nude; they are very close in terms of formula and shade, except Forgiven is a little more brown toned.

Makeup Revolution Lip Lava in Tremor and Too Faced Melted Lipstick in Melted Peony; a serious, serious dupe, they look identical on the lips. 

Makeup Revolution Lip Lava in Firestorm and Too Faced Melted Lipstick in Melted Berry; they look slightly different but I assure you they're identical on the lips. Like I already mentioned, Firestorm is just a touch more watery in terms of consistency but that's the only difference.

So there we have the brand new Makeup Revolution I ♡ Makeup Lip Lavas. It's safe to say I am totally blown away by them... I can't believe they're only £2.99. I would bet money on Shockwave being a spot-on dupe for the Melted Violet, and Unleash being a spot-on dupe for Melted Coral from swatches online. Everyone likes to throw around the 'dupe' word in the bloggersphere, but these honestly are credible dupes and I cannot recommend them enough - just wow Makeup Revolution.

Clinique Cheek Pop Blush Pop Powder Blushes

The prettiest makeup launch last year has to be the Clinique Cheek Pop Blush Pops. The Clinique Cheek Pop Blush Pops are powder blushes and are available in four different shades; Ginger Pop, Berry Pop, Plump Pop and Peach Pop with a shade for nearly every skintone. What makes the Cheek Pops so special is that they have a stunning gerbera design embossed into the powder, which I absolutely love especially as the pattern isn't just on the surface, so it should stay in place for quite a long time with frequent use.

Each blush is housed inside a clear plastic compact so you can clearly see the shade of the blush inside, and the compact is nice and sturdy to keep the powder safe inside. The Clinique Cheek Pops are £16.50 each and contain 3.5g of product which I think is pretty great value compared to the likes of Benefit blushes. I have two shades from the range; Ginger Pop and Berry Pop, and both shades have an incredibly silky consistency which feels and blends like a cream blush with the intensity and lasting power of a powder blush.

Ginger Pop* is a dark, almost rusty peach shade which adds a little sparkle to the cheeks which you can see in the swatch above, which sounds scary in theory but it's very subtle and very pretty. I think this particular shade works well as a blush/bronzer hybrid as it helps inject warmth into the cheeks whilst looking natural and effortless. You can choose to wear both shades very sheerly, or you can opt for a more intense pop of colour as they build up beautifully however I'm a more is less kinda girl. 

Berry Pop* is a bright fuschia pink which is a little out of my comfort zone if I'm completely honest.. however when applied with a duo-fiber brush, it doesn't look half as intimidating as it does in the pan. Berry Pop is completely matte unlike Ginger Pop, but it's not remotely chalky or powdery like some matte blushes have a tendency to be. All you need is one swipe of your brush across the pan, and you have intense pigmentation.

The formula of both of these blushes is amazing and I think they're well worth their £16.50 price tag, and I'd even say they're miles better than the likes of NARS blushes yet considerably cheaper. What I love most about these blushes is that they're just so easy to apply, and due to how easy they blend, you really can't go wrong even if you go in a little heavy handed at first. I would love Clinique to release more shades as I'm head over heels for the two that I have, and I will definitely be adding Plum Pop and Peach Pop to my collection very soon especially as Feelunqiue have just started selling Clinique on their website which makes me very happy indeed and I may have already made a couple of Clinique purchases to 'celebrate'...

The Huge Letdown - Herbal Essences Party Refresh Dry Shampoo

Herbal Essences Party Refresh Dry Shampoo £2.99

Over the last few months, there seems to have been an huge influx of new dry shampoos from Aussie, Pantene, Garnier, Herbal Essences and new brand Colab. I'd come to the end of my holy grail Paul Mitchell Express Dry Wash, so I decided I'd try one of the new releases so I opted for one of the new Herbal Essences Dry Shampoo's as they're one of my favourite haircare brands. Herbal Essences have recently launched a range of four dry shampoo's, and I chose the Party Refresh version as it was described as having a 'Lily' fragrance. I'm so fussy when it comes to dry shampoo so it's rare for me to find one that I like and one that is invisible for my very dark hair. I never use dry shampoo to remove grease from my hair, I wash my hair every other day and would rather wash it than laiden it with dry shampoo to disguise the grease. For me, dry shampoo is a godsend at adding texture, and volume into my seriously flat hair. 

I love the packaging of this dry shampoo.. it's so bright, and vibrant and not at all dated in its design unlike Batiste. I'm not sure the scent is remotely lily-like, but nonetheless it's a lovely floral scent that smells more like a perfume than it does a dry shampoo.. I'm sure you could even use it to fragrance your hair. I really like that this dry shampoo is invisible and that once you've massaged it into your roots, it doesn't leave any residue on my fingertips. However, unfortunately that's where the good points end..

Sure the Party Refresh Dry Shampoo ticks the nice scent, and invisibility tickboxes but it makes my already shiny, clean, flat hair and transforms it into a matte flat hair - it completely dulls any shine which then makes my hair look dirty even if it doesn't feel it. It doesn't add any volume or texture to my hair, it just leaves my hair smelling good and looking matte which isn't what I want from a dry shampoo. Maybe this would work better in greasy hair but I very much doubt it, and I really couldn't recommend this dry shampoo sadly.