Danielle's Beauty Blog

I was rotating my lip balms and glosses the other day and it dawned on me how many different variants of the Pillowtalk product I have so I thought I would do a quick post with some swatches and a comparison! By far my favourite shade, generally speaking, Pillowtalk is a natural, “my lips but better” pinky nude shade.

First up, and the one I’ve had in my collection the longest (though this is, I think, my third pencil) is the Lip Cheat lip liner RRP £17. This is so smooth, it never drags my lips but it doesn’t bleed either despite being nicely creamy. It makes my lips look even and full and it goes with literally every other lip product I own. I personally like wearing this with the K.I.S.S.I.N.G lipstick in Bitch Perfect which I find leans too peachy on me on its own! It’s got great lasting power and to me is an essential in my makeup bag! I just checked and I got my first one in 2016 so this has been a 5 year love affair now! Oh and it used to be £16 back then!

After falling in love with the lip cheat so much I then purchased the Matte Revolution lipstick RRP £25. I am not a huge matte lip wearer but this formula is second to none! Creamy like the pencil and not drying in the slightest thank god. It also wears off evenly and like the rest of the line, is a beautiful pinky nude that just looks like a better shade of my lips! The packaging is beautiful and instantly recognisable too! 

The lip balm lover in me then took over and I picked up the Superstar Lips RRP £25 – I believe this was originally released as a limited edition shade but then came back to the permanent line which I was happy about as I instantly knew I would love it! It’s described as a part balm/lipstick/lipglow and it is also the longest lasting on my lips, most hydrating and basically just my favourite! It can feel a bit stiff to apply but I think this is what makes it so hydrating. It gives the perfect tint to my lips and keeps them from drying out even through my multiple morning teas at work! I also love the skinny packaging – so luxurious! Read more about it here!

Sticking with the lip balm theme, the Hyaluronic Happikiss RRP £25 is a part balm part gloss and another hit of hydration! This one is more glossy than the superstar lips and not quite as long lasting on the lips. It makes them look juicy and full but feels a little on the sticky side and I hate the packaging. The burgundy looks chic but overall it feels cheap and you can’t screw the bullet down again if you accidentally screw to much of it up which is frustrating. I would have liked to have seen the pricing of this one be a bit lower too!

Finally, I have the Lip Lustre RRP £19 – a classic gloss! I got this free with a Cult Beauty GWP and to be honest it wasn’t really on my radar as I do prefer the bullet balm/glosses. This gives a creamy, opaque colour to the lips but I do find the middle of my lips tend to go a little streaky with this. It makes them look plumper and it keeps them hydrated though I would say to more around the 3 hour mark rather than 6 hours like it claims! 

swatches l-r: Lip Cheat, Matte Revolution, Superstar Lips, Hyaluronic Happikiss, Lip Lustre all in shade Pillowtalk

The Pillowtalk range has also been expanded into medium and intense shade versions for some of the lip products (mine here are the originals) as well as blush, mascara and eyeshadow palettes. There are A LOT of variants haha and I do like the look of the blush! Charlotte Tilbury is expensive but I do think the Lip Cheat, Matte Revolution and Superstar Lips in particular are worth it! I would give the Hyaluronic Happikiss and Lip Lustre a miss though. I always try to get any CT bits I’ve been eyeing up when Cult Beauty or Space NK have an offer on as I hate paying full price for anything!

Have you tried any Pillowtalk products? What’s your favourite Charlotte Tilbury product?

All opinions are my own. Affiliate links used.

See my full disclosure here.

Danielle xx

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It’s been a while since I’ve done a five things I’m loving post so here is one today for your viewing pleasure! A few items have featured recently so I will link to their full review but I haven’t put down these five products over the last month or two so they deserve some spotlight!

As a huge fan of the afterglow lip balms, the NARS Soft Matte Tinted lip balm in Unrestricted RRP £23 had been on my radar for a while before I finally saw it with 20% off on Boots and included it in my April Spend Report! I was so glad the shade I wanted was still in stock as annoyingly these are limited edition! I’ve linked to the rest of the shades above as Unrestricted is gone now – I am really hoping they bring this back as a permanent line because the formula is amazing! Like the name suggests, it’s matte but it’s so smooth to apply and comfortable to wear just like the afterglow balms. It applies the most perfect pink nude to my lips and just looks so chic with it being matte! It lasts a decent amount of time on the lips, isn’t drying in the slightest and the packaging is gorgeous! I am in love with this formula – you need to try it! 

Sticking with the lip theme, the Fenty Beauty Sheer Shiny Lipstick in Retro Rose RRP £19 is another one that’s been gracing my lips nonstop the last month! I’m working from home now and this and the NARS are just so handy to have on hand to make sure my lips have a bit of a tint before copious zoom calls. Neither of them require a mirror either! This one is obviously a lot shinier but I do have a type –  it’s another dusty pink /my lips but better shade! It’s so moisturising but also buildable if you want a bit more tint and it lasts a good amount of time on my lips too and I love the outer casing! If you are looking for a new lipstick/balm hybrid look no further than these two! Full review here!

A more recent addition to my makeup bag is the Pixi On-The-Glow blush stick in Juicy* RRP £18 and one I will be honest, I wasn’t expecting to love as much! Cream blush is not my go to by any means, I am a powder/matte lover but I am so impressed with this formula! It can be used on cheeks and lips and it leaves the most healthy glow and tint of colour! I use a Zoeva cream cheek brush and it adds the perfect amount every time without disturbing my base. I can’t get over how long these last either, I am getting a full 12 hours with very minimal fading though bear in mind that right now my skin is not as oily as it normally would be! On the lips it looks beautiful too though not as long lasting as the NARS or Fenty Beauty! I plan to do a few review and swatches of all three colours in the range soon!

Unedited swatches l-r: NARS Unrestricted, Fenty Beauty Retro Rose, Pixi Beauty Juicy

Next up, some skincare picks and I do have a full review of these two here but as I am almost finished them I wanted to shout them out again! The Inkey list Fulvic Acid Brightening Cleanser* RRP £10.99 is currently my go to morning and second cleanse. It very lightly exfoliates and boosts radiance, and leaves my skin feeling smooth and looking more even. It doesn’t leave it feeling dry or tight and it’s a generous 150ml size too! Along with that, the 15% Vitamin C and EGF Serum* RRP £14.99 is one of my most reached for serums at the minute! I just love the non-oily/greasy, lightweight formula that sinks in quickly. Only recently, I found out you are meant to wait 10 minutes before applying other skincare products on top to allow skin cells to respond to the EGF (which supports skin health and elasticity). I use this mostly in the morning where it works perfectly in my routine and under makeup too – I am working on leaving it as long as 10 minutes before continuing my skincare routine! My skin looks brighter, more even and feels plumper! The Vitamin C in this isn’t as potent as some but with this I have found a great formula which I struggle with in Vitamin C serums so the trade-off works for me! 

Have you tried any of these products? Let me know what you thought of them or what you are currently loving!

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me.

All opinions are my own. Affiliate links used.

See my full disclosure here.

Danielle xx

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My beloved lipliners and lipsticks have taken a backseat this year due to obvious reasons but I thought I would show you my favourite tinted lip balms that have taken their place and I’ve got one for every day of the week! In my last job, my mask was on and off quite a bit depending on if I was at my desk or out of my little office and these lip products are tried and tested! They are my favourite for adding some colour to my lips (which have a tendency to go the same colour as my makeup if there is nothing on them) and they give little to no transfer to the inside of my mask but they never transfer over my face! 

First up is the hybrid Fenty Beauty Slip Shine Sheer Shiny lipstick in Retro Rose RRP £19 and this is one I have spoken about before on my blog here! I would say it’s the creamiest of the bunch, a beautiful colour and lasts a fair amount of time on my dry lips too! I then have the Jouer Essential Lip Enhancer Shine Balm in Rose RRP £15 which feels a little more lightweight on my lips compared to the Fenty and isn’t as longlasting but it gives a lovely shine to the lips! 

Quite possibly my favourite of the bunch is the Charlotte Tilbury Superstar Lips in Pillowtalk RRP £25. This one is actually feels quite stiff to apply but it is the longest lasting on my lips of the seven I have here, most hydrating and though its pricey I have definitely gotten my money’s worth! It’s also the most luxurious – look at that packaging! It’s the perfect plumping, my lips but better shade and don’t tell the others but it’s my favourite! The Nude by Nature Sheer Glow Colour Balm in Pink 03 RRP £18 lives in my handbag with whatever clear lip balm I have in rotation as it’s the least hydrating of the ones I have here but it gives a perfect tint and if I feel my lips getting dry I just top up with some clear lip balm!

Moving onto my minis now and the Hourglass Girl Lip Stylo in Influencer RRP £31 is the perfect nude shade while the NARS Afterglow Lip Balm in Dolce Vita RRP £23 is the most lightweight of all the balms I have here, you seriously feel like you have nothing on but the shade is beautiful and the hydration lasts well! Lastly, I’ve got the Pat McGrath Lip Fetish Sheer Lip Balm in Blow Up RRP £33 which is another beautiful nude shade! I’m glad I got the mini on offer though as the full size is so pricey though they seem to do regular discounts on the website! I also dedicated a whole blog post to the mini set I got here! 

Swatches l-r: Fenty, Jouer, CT, Nude by Nature, Hourglass, NARS, Pat McGrath

I’ve included some unedited swatches here too so you can see the shades and formulation as well! If I was ranking from most to least favourite I would say CT, NARS, Fenty, Jouer, Hourglass, Pat then Nude by Nature!

This is my final blog post before Christmas but I’ll be back with my last empties post of the year next Sunday and will be posting regularly on Instagram this week! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas whatever your plans are, I know they may be different than usual and I feel for you if that’s the case! 

Let me know your favourite tinted lip balms down below please! 

Danielle xx

If you want to keep up to date with my posts, don’t forget to follow me on

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