My Spring Reds

To know me is to know that I love me some red lipstick. I also like switching things up for the warmer months, though, and recently made the discovery that orange toned reds do suit me, much to my surprise! I've always stuck to more neutral or blue base reds, the classic reds, if you will. However, after trying a more orange red, I found I really liked how it looked against my skin, and these are three of my favourites.

L-R - Wet n Wild Megalast Matte Lip Cover: Purty Persimmon - Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet: Hot Pepper - Revlon Matte Balm: Striking.

It's no mere coincidence that these shades are all matte - although how matte they are does vary! - Matte lips are my absolute favourite. I rarely wear anything different, and red mattes are a must for me. The shades of these three products are very similar, but the finishes are ever so slightly different, and I'd wear all of them at different times. 

Excuse my less than perfect lips, but this is probably my overall favourite out of the three. It's got the perfect matte-but-balmy texture which is impeccably comfortable on the lips. The scent is minty, which is rather nice and refreshing on the lips and the colour itself is gorgeous. It's got just the right amount of orange in it to make it more spring-summerlike, but not so much as to look like you've slapped yourself in the face with a satsuma.

The colour of this lipstick is beautiful. It's slightly brighter than either of the other two, and the texture is ever so slightly less matte, making it more prone to transfer. Although I do love this one, I wear it less often because of this tendency to transfer. I think this is the most summery of the three colours, though, and I hope to wear it lots more when the weather heats up properly. This is the cheapest of the three lipsticks, although the least widely available in the UK.

As you can see, this is the most matte of the three lipsticks, and has a colour very similar to that of the Revlon Matte Balm. Despite being incredibly matte, this lipstick isn't uncomfortable in the slightest. This is more new to me, but I think it's the one I'll be getting the most use out of due to its not really being prone to transferring at all. I'd recommend any of these three to anyone wanting to try a pretty summery red, they're all lovely!

Have you tried any of these lipsticks? What summery red shades would you recommend?

Get To Know Me: Beauty Blogger Edition.

There'll be some more specific posts going up next week, pertaining to actual makeup items, but I thought for a nice, relaxed Sunday post it might be nice to do something to help anyone who might stumble across the blog get to know me a little bit better. With that in mind, I set out in search of a tag that would help me do just that - although, obviously I've not been tagged, there's nothing to stop anyone just taking the questions from wherever you find them (Emily's blog, Beauty Broadcast) and answering away. 

1. Is your hair naturally curly or straight?

My hair is naturally somewhere in between, a little bit wavy. It is predominantly straight though, and a bit flat. Something I'm never quite satisfied with!

2. Do you dye it yourself or go to a salon?

I dye it myself - I've never had my hair coloured at the hairdressers, and only had it cut there once or twice! My mum usually cuts my hair for me, and I do the colouring :)

3. Do you wear the same style everyday, or do you change it?

I usually just have it up in a ponytail or a bun for work, sometimes I'll straighten it if I have a bit of extra time, but I don't really curl it unless I'm doing something a bit more special. I guess I am a bit samey with regards to styling my hair, I'll have to find new things to do with it!

4. Do you do your own mani/pedi or go to a salon?

Again, never had my nails done in a salon either. I had acrylics done once by my mum when I was still at school and couldn't get on with them so I just painted them myself. I got an at-home gel system a few weeks back though that I've been playing with. I'll be looking into getting some better quality polishes to use with it on pay day too :)

5. How often do you change your nail polish?

It used to be everyday when I was using regular polish, it chips so quickly on me! But it's less often when I'm using the gels, will be even less often when I figure out how to do it properly :D

6. Do you polish your toes in the winter, or just in the summer?

To be honest, I never paint my toenails. I never have my feet out so I don't really see the point. I might do it this summer, though, see if it makes a difference to how I feel about my feet, haha.

7. How long does it take for you to put on makeup?

Much like anyone else I imagine, it entirely depends on what I'm doing and how much time I have. If I have half an hour, I'll take half an hour, but if I only have ten minutes, I can get did what needs to be done in those ten minutes. So yeah, it all depends I guess!

8. What do you do first, face or eyes?

I do it a bit awkwardly - Primer, foundation and concealer, then eyes, then powder and coloured face products, then brows and lips. I don't know why I do it in that order but I've got myself into a habit that I can't break now! 

9. Do you collect makeup or just buy what you need when you need it?

Awkward question, that. I don't buy things I don't think I'll use, but not everything I buy I necessarily need (I bought a set of  Make Up Revolution lipsticks the other day that included a yellow and a blue, can't say I really needed those, can I?) but...yeah. I know I technically have "too much" makeup, but I wouldn't call it a collection because it all gets used.

10. How often do you wear false eyelashes?

I don't, really. I have some, but I only really use them to play with and never to go out with. I find them quite uncomfortable and awkward to apply if I'm honest.

11. Do you do a full face of makeup everyday?

Erm, most days I do. Not everyday though, and it varies as to how much I'll actually use :)

12. Do you wear makeup when home alone or with family?

I do, yes! I enjoy playing with makeup, trying out silly things and I genuinely enjoy the process of putting it on, so I'll wear it whenever I feel like it. There are some days where I just can't be bothered though, and those days I'll not put anything at all on.

13. Will you go out without makeup on?

Absolutely. I don't do it very often, because as I said, I do enjoy putting makeup on, but I'm not afraid of leaving the house without it. I usually put at least mascara on though, just out of habit I guess.

14. How many high end products do you have?

Zero. Absolutely none! Unless you count a sample of The Porefessional I got in a Birchbox? I haven't actively bought any though... yet. :P

15. Do you plan your OOTD every night or just pick it out as you get dressed?

I have a general idea of what I'm going to wear on work days, but on weekends I just wear whatever, really. 

16. How often do you change your handbag?

I only really have black ones, so I just change it as and when I have more or less stuff I need to fit in a bag. Hardly ever, really. 

17. What time do you wake up and go to sleep?

I'm usually asleep ridiculously early, I have no idea why but I'll lay down and just fall straight asleep! I get up around 6.30, not too bad :)

18. How often or when do you work out?

Not very often at all, unfortunately. Such a lack of motivation!

19. Left handed or right handed?

Left handed, though I'm capable or writing with my right hand and I do most things other than writing with my right :)

20. How tall are you?

Around 5'4", average, not short! haha.

21. Do you speak any foreign languages?

I don't :( I keep meaning to start learning German, but not getting around to doing it. 

22. How many pets do you have?

In the house, we have 2 snakes, 3 cats and a puppy. Personally, I have one cat. Her name is Amie :)

23. How often are you on Blogger?

Most days. I read blogs through Bloglovin' though, so I'm on there more often.

24. Do you read comments posted on blogs?

I do! I'm quite nosey and enjoy seeing what other people have to say about things. 

25. Do you keep a list of products you'd like to try as you see other posts?

Not really. I have some things that I'm interested in trying stored away in my mind, though. I've kind of exhausted high street things that I actually want to try though, so it's psyching myself up to part with high-end prices to try things I'm especially interested in now! 

26. How did you come up with your blog name?

From the phrase "the world is your oyster" and my love of blusher :)

27. What kind of camera do you use for your photographs?

Sometimes my mums, I don't know what it is exactly but it's a Fuji something or other! Sometimes just my iPhone, depending on the light that I've got available :)

28. How often do you clean your house?

What an odd question! I still live at home with my family, so I just clean my room fairly regularly and help out with other bits as and when they're needed.

29. What's your favourite colour?

Generally, purple. I love me some purple!

30. Do you swear?

Unfortunately, I do. I try not to, but it doesn't work.

31. What are you doing with the rest of your day?

Writing up a few more posts for next week, watching a film with my mama and doing some washing. What a glamorous Saturday night! 

That's a fair bit of information there! Congratulations if you made it this far though haha. Answer some of these questions in the comments so I can get to know you too? :)

The Alternative Everyday Makeup

I went out for my 21st birthday last Saturday and took all the makeup I usually use on a daily basis with me. I've worked late a fair few days this week so didn't want to bother her so late in the evening to pick it up. Cue the alternative everyday makeup.

I've been using powder products for the most part of late, but my substitutes have, oddly, all been cream based. It's not that I'm lacking powder products to replace my usuals with (I'm definitely not!) but I seem to have been gravitating towards the creams - particularly for my colours. The Bourjois Bronzing Primer has been my bronzer of choice for the last week - it looks horrifically orange in the pot, and on the skin for  that matter, but give it a little blend and you have yourself a nice bronzey hue that wasn't there before.
For blush, I've been sporting the Make Up Revolution cream blush in Peach Cream. Rose Cream has been my usual since I got it a few weeks ago, but Peach Cream is a nice change. It definitely seems more spring-like to me, and the texture is just as pleasing as that of Rose Cream. I'd recommend them if you've not tried them already :)
My highlight has been the Along Came Betty Starlight Shine stick - I think this product has been discontinued as I got it on clearance from Tesco for £1.50, which is a shame because this may well be the nicest highlighter I've ever tried. It gives a pretty bronze sheen on the skin, not looking too shimmery and unnatural looking, but giving enough of an effect to make your face look alive.
My base changes pretty much daily depending on how my skin has been feeling, but for the last week I've been using the Maybelline Super Stay Better Skin foundation religiously. I'm not quite sure why it didn't come with me for my birthday evening, but I'm glad it didn't if I'm honest!
For eyeshadows, I've been going for the Sleek Au Naturel palette of late, but since that's away elsewhere, I've made use of my Oh So Special palette significantly more. I really do love this palette, and I'm not too sure why I stopped using it so often. I've hit pan on one of the shades, though, and am having serious trouble finding a replacement for it! (I don't want to buy the whole palette again for one shade, that's senseless, right?) but yeah, Oh So Special is rather lovely. My lashes have been lengthened and oomphed up by the 17 Superlash mascara of late, and brows taken care of by the MUA Power Brow in Fair.

Obviously, there are other products I'm using to fill in the gaps left by others that I've left at my friends house, but they're not interesting enough to mention, really. Saying that, though, I think I've found a whole other "everyday routine" in my replacement bits. They're certainly a nice change, anyway :)

Have you ever left everything you usually use where you can't get it? What things did you use to replace them?

A Quick Hello.

As you can likely see from this being the first post, Oyster and Blush is but half formed and not quite ready to go, but I wanted to get my introduction post up as soon as possible, and I'll crack on with the rest of it tomorrow when I'm slightly more awake! To begin with, I'll introduce myself (although I'll be adding an "about me" page at some point to offer something more stationary). My name is Charlotte, I'm 21 and from the South East of England. Oyster and Blush will predominantly be a beauty blog, with some lifestyle and hobby posts thrown in.

I've blogged before, most recently over on Make Up Natters, a blog I made around a year ago to have a place to rant about my obsession with all things makeup related. Since then, though, I've found I've outgrown Make Up Natters a little - I kind of pigeon-holed myself with the name of the blog, I haven't been happy with the content I'd been posting for quite a long time and felt that the time had long passed where I could make MUN something I was truly proud of, although I only arrived at that conclusion today after thinking about it for a long time. I'm hoping that Oyster and Blush can be what Make Up Natters never quite managed for me, something I can be proud to show off to family and friends, and a place that people who stumble over here looking for something will want to stay and be a part of.

So, what can you expect from Oyster and Blush in terms of content?
As I said, this will predominantly be a beauty blog, as that's one of my most prominent interests and passions, however I'd like to post some lifestyle features once in a while, and during the month of November when NaNoWriMo hits, I'll likely be posting things to do with my writing also - but since I find I don't have a whole lot of time to do much writing these days, it is probably only going to be November I'll be posting about that.
I've tried blogging without a schedule, and I've tried every-day blogging, neither of which are really for me. So, the sort of schedule I'm going to be going for with this is Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday posts. This week will likely be a bit shaky, what with still having to set everything up (I also want to find a dedicated photography spot so I can set it up nicely and ensure my picture quality is consistent, that might take a while!), but I'm hoping from next week each of those days will have a post up and that post will be something worth reading. I'm not going to have a set theme for each of the days, it'll just be an as it comes sort of thing!

So, that's myself and Oyster and Blush introduced. I will put together a proper "about me" page and set up my social networking links and all that malarkey, probably tomorrow morning, but I have work in the morning and these eyes need to shut!