The 5 Travelling Lipsticks

Yesterday I got back from visiting one of my best friend's who's at uni in Lincoln, I went from Friday through to Wednesday and had the best time everrrr so much so I stayed two days longer than planned, okay three if you include the breakdown I had the night at 11pm when realising my ticket wouldn't allow me to come home on the Sunday. When I was unpacking my makeup bag I decided I'm going to post about the makeup I brought with me but am doing the lipsticks separately. Five lipsticks doesn't seem like much but when you consider I was packing with the thought in mind I was only going to be there from Friday afternoon to Sunday mid-morning...it's excessive.

I wanted to bring a variety of colours to make sure I wouldn't be doing my makeup and think 'dang I wish I brought _____' as well. Starting from the left is Barry M's 52 Shocking Pink, Barry M's 151 Sunset, Rimmel's 107, a lipstick by Louise Gray for Topshop called Mexican Wave and then Mac's Impassioned.

Yes, I brought two Barry M lipsticks with me, big up big up Barry. 52 Shocking Pink is pretty much how I imagine a pink highlighter would be in lipstick form, it is so shockingly (shocking ha) pink and is a shade I would wear every single day if I could. I wore this on our first night out on the Friday but in photos it doesn't really pick up that well.

151 Sunset I brought with me as I wanted a corally colour if I felt like I didn't want to wear a full on orange, I can't remember if I actually wore this shade or not, I feel like I did through out the day though I could have done without it.

I brought Rimmel's 107 with me for if I wanted to wear a dark lip and I ended up wearing this on our last night out although it faded pretty badly throughout the night and I wasn't functioning well enough to reapply it.

Mexican Wave by Louise Gray at Tophshop I bought a few years ago in the New Year sales as it was heavily reduced, I think this line has been discontinued as I can't find it online anymore but a lipstick similar to this shade is Mac's Morange or Topshop's Infrared but this one is more noticeably different. I wore this lipstick on our second night out and prefer it to a standard red going out shade as I feel like red doesn't do much for my face, or at least all of the reds I own don't!

Lastly, surprise surprise I couldn't leave my little Impassioned baby at home, needless to say I wore this travelling to and from Lincoln and it was never a question in my mind that it would accompany me on my travels.

From left to right: Barry M's 52, Barry M's 151, Rimmel's 107, Louise Gray's Mexican Wave and Mac's Impassioned

I think it's quite surprising how easy it was to whittle my hugeeeee lipstick collection down into these five and feel I made pretty good choices. Note how I didn't bring any nudes, I never see the point in me bringing quite toned-down shades as I don't wear them.

What shades would you bring with you if you went away? Any of the ones I talked about above?

#2014BloggerChallenge Mac's Impassioned Dupe

The fourth topic for the #2014BloggerChallenge is on high end vs high street with one of the suggestions being a good dupe you've found and I instantly knew what I was going to post about.

I feel like I harp on so much about Mac's Impassioned but I have good reason as it's my favourite lipstick ever ever everrrrrr and is the most glorious shade known to the human eye. It has an Amplified finish and, honestly, stays on my lips all day with hardly any fading and so is always my go-to when I have a long day. This could be potentially hideous if you have a sick phobia but, once, I put it on in the morning before work, I think it was a 7/8 hour shift, then went out to eat after with some friends, ended up being sick a couple of times after the meal as I wasn't feeling well, looked in the mirror and my lipstick was still intact. I think I reapplied the lipstick once before I went for the meal but I just find it completely mind-blowing that a lip product can last so long when you're constantly talking/eating/drinking. Okay anyway moving on from that.

At £15 Mac lipsticks are pretty pricey, BUT, I have found a lipstick that is incredibly similar, with that being  Beauty UK's Passion and only costing a mere £3.49. Is it a coincidence the names are also pretty much the same?! When swatched I can see there is a difference between the two shades with Impassioned looking more coral in some lights while Passion looking a deeper pink, however, when worn half and half on the lips to compare the shades I wouldn't be able to tell which is which if I wasn't the one who applied it (I don't have a personal lipstick assistant, cry.)  In fact, when I was testing both shades on my lips my mum asked what lipstick I was wearing and there was a psychedelic moment where I revealed I was wearing two. Please note: it was hardly psychedelic...at all.

On the left is Mac and on the right Beauty Uk

In terms of finish I'd say they are pretty much the same as well, not too matte and not too glossy meaning the shades just stay put on your lips nicely with no fear of them slip-sliding around or getting on your teeth with every word spoken. Passion lasts a full day on me in the same way as Impassioned and both have a strong scent, Mac's being vanilla, Beauty Uk's being mint.

From left to right: Mac's Impassioned, Beauty Uk's Passion

These are the swatches after trying to wash them off with soap

Although I would be devastated and cry endless amounts of tears if Mac ever discontinued Impassioned I would be able to slowly piece my life back together with the knowledge that Passion exists. I'd say if you were unsure you would get £15 worth out of Impassioned then to first try out Passion so you get an idea of the colour and how it would look on you before committing to Mac. Wow I am such a killjoy aren't I? I feel like a boring financial adviser.