~~MAC Lipstick – Shade: Velvet Teddy~~

~~£16.50~~

With this product and shade at the top of MAC’s ‘most desired’ list on their website, despite being vocally bitter about the £16.50 price tag, I remained quietly optimistic. It’s utterly brilliant.

Being a matte lipstick, it naturally siphons a lot of the moisture from your lips. The beauty of this lipstick however, is that it does wonders for concealing any chapping. Some suggest that applying an initial coat of lip balm can reduce any dryness, although I did find that doing so weakened the coverage.

Beautifully fragranced and highly pigmented, the colour survives the 9-5 and is versatile enough to incorporate into any look. This was by far the best lipstick I’ve used.

Rating: 5/5

~~Natural Collection Lipstick – Shade: Coral Shimmer~~

~~£2.49~~

The colour itself was beautiful, and pretty similar to Velvet Teddy as a shade. However, in terms of coverage, it sits on your lips how a moisturiser sits on your skin: 90% transparent, permanently greasy and a nuisance that will usually rub off within the hour.

In all honesty, I’d struggle to find a single positive about this lipstick, and even as a free sample, I’d be reluctant to take one.

Rating: 0/5

Please reload

Pretty cheap - Lipstick

Whilst we gawk over air-brushed inner-beauty campaigns, a genius spinning on an office chair somewhere has just come up with the next gimmick.

In a market where consumers prioritize brands over innovation, it’s easy to correlate quality with a price tag. Whilst it’s usually true that ‘you get what you pay for’, with the hunt for ‘dupes’ becoming increasingly more popular, there’s even more reason to experiment with new affordable brands.

To work out just how superior these glossy brands really are, I’ll compare two products, one big brand and one budget bargain.

Hypothesis? “The more expensive the make-up, the better you’ll look.”

I think it's pretty clear what conclusion I've drawn from this comparison.

While I'd usually be an advocate for compromising to get the best looks for the lowest prices, this is one of those occasions where you really get what you pay for.

However, this isn't actually that uncommon for lipsticks, and after trying every type I could find for less than £3.00, I can safely say that cheaper alternatives have never been successful.

Ultimately, £16.50 isn't actually that steep, and at this point I'd argue that based on the quality, it's a bargain in itself.

Written by Rebecca