Barry M Genie

I've never really been the biggest fan ever of pink lipsticks on me, because I can never really pull them off. Every pink shade I've tried has never really suited me, so I was so intrigued to try the Genie lipstick from Barry M when I heard that it adapts to each individual person to find a unique shade that suits them. I managed to pick this lipstick up for just £4.99, which I thought was pretty affordable.

The first thing I have to talk about is the packaging. With it's bright green tube, and pink lid this product definitely stands out from the rest of the lipsticks in the Barry M range, and indeed from any other brand.

Second of all, I'll have to talk about the application. I find that this has a very smooth consistency and is able to apply an even coat in just one layer.

Here's a very simple video of me applying it 

and the colour change occurring

This is a lil swatch of the colour once it's applied

Even though the bullet of this lipstick is bright green, it's not green at all when you apply it. The colour of this particular lipstick appears pretty sheer at first, but it darkens within minutes of application. I find it goes a nice dark, but also natural(ish) pink to the lips. This is part of their "lip paint" range, and as well as being an initial lipstick it also adds a stain to the lips. This really helps add to the lasting power of this lipstick.

The only thing I do have to say is that it's not my favourite flavour of lipstick. I don't really think it's been flavoured and I think it just tastes of whatever the combinations of ingredients are. Therefore, it's not a bad lipstick taste and it's definitely bearable, it's just not my favourite flavour of lipsticks in my collection.

Overall I would rate this lipstick an 8/10 and I simply adore the novelty of this item. I'm chuffed to pieces that I've finally managed to find a pink lipstick shade that actually suits me! Have you ever tried a Barry M lipstick before? If so let me know in the comments,

Izzy K xxx

50 Shades Of Blonde

I've been doing my best to post more frequently on this blog, as well as to talk about new topics. So I'll be talking about a topic that I don't normally dive into which is hair. I don't really know what I'm talking about at all when it comes to hair, but I do love admiring pictures of pretty hair and experimenting with my own style.

About 4 or 5 years ago I was actually a blonde! Yep trueeeee story. Since then I've been practically every single colour under the sun, and now I'm kinda missing the lighter Izzy. 

So I've been itching to rejoin the blonde club, the only trouble is I'm not sure to what level of blonde to go to. I've attempted to add a bit of blonde into my hair in a sort of balayage/highlighted style, however my hair hasn't been taking to the bleach. So before I pour the peroxide onto my hair, I've decided to explore the different options of blonde, and to be honest I've fallen in love with all of them.

These are all the blonde looks that I've been loving and I may have to try:

Highlights

I just adore the dimension that highlights add throughout the entire length of the hair!

Ombre

Ombre is absolutely perfect if you want to switch up your look, yet don't want the hassle of touching up your roots!

Balayage 

As you can probably see, balayage is the perfect mix between highlights and ombre, in case you can't decide between the two looks

White Blonde

This might sound really weird, but I find completely, one-toned hair so satisfying to look at, especially when the roots match the rest of the hair. I just find its such a fun, fresh colour

 (if that even makes sense lol)

Silver Blonde

At first when I saw this trend, I must admit I was a bit like "urrrm why are young people dyeing their hair grey?!" But since seeing it in person on a few people I've fallen absolutely in love with this look. I love the kinda wintery look it gives people #icequeen

Lilac Blonde

If I was to bleach my entire head of hair, I'd most definitely have to try a grey/lilac look. I just find it looks classy with a little fun twist!

I gathered all the pictures for this post from Pinterest so obviously they are not my own. I'm wanting to go blonde more than ever now and I'm not even fussed if it doesn't suit me, it just looks like a lot of fun to try! Which of these looks is your favourite? Let me know in the comments,

Izzy K xxx

Izzy K Cruelty Free Standards

You may have already heard me blabber about the fact that I've recently started buying only cruelty free beauty items. I'm a huge animal person, and I could never forgive myself for contributing to anything that promotes animal testing.

However, doing research into whether or not brands are cruelty free can be extremely tiring and sometimes even frustrating. You can get a basic idea of what sort of brands are the main culprits in animal testing. However, when you get down to the nitty-gritty details about what exactly the definition of "cruelty free" is, there is often a conflict of opinion. That's why from now on I'll be doing my own research by emailing companies, and I'll write all my feedback on this blog. 

Some people claim that if a specific brand is cruelty free, but it is owned by another company that sells in China, that brand is still cruelty free. Other people believe that it isn't actually cruelty free. Also, some people claim that if a brand uses ingredients that have previously been tested on animals, the brand is not being cruelty free. Again that is up for debate.

I personally turned cruelty free because I wanted to be part of a movement that makes all cosmetic brands reevaluate their ethical standards. For me it is more important that a current beauty brand feels like they are able to regain their status of being cruelty free, rather than feeling like there is no hope to win the trust of cruelty free customers.

Some brands use ingredients that throughout history have been tested on animals, although they have never contributed to the animal testing themselves. I personally disagree with saying that these brands are not cruelty free. Most ingredients that were around in the cosmetic industry like 50 years ago will have been tested on animals, because back then it was standard procedure to do. I feel like its unfair to dismiss these brands since they're not the ones that have contributed to the animal testing. You can't change the past and the fact that certain ingredients were once tested on animals, but you can change the future ideology of companies. And I feel like immediately calling a brand "not cruelty free" will only discourage brands from aiming to commit to a cruelty free future.

So here are all the things about companies that I consider cruelty free:

• They do not test the ingredients or finished products on animals themselves, or do not send anything for testing. 
• Not selling in China- This is the obvious one because it is required by law that any cosmetics that are sold to customers in China must be tested on animals first. Therefore you can guarantee that selling in China = not cruelty free. On some websites it says "We do not agree with animal testing, unless required to do so by law". This is basically code for "we sell in China where we have to test on animals".
• Not asking other companies to test products for them- Some companies say "we do not test any products on animals ourselves" when in fact they pay another company to do the dirty work for them.
• Their parent company (if they have one) is also cruelty free- If a "cruelty free" company is owned by a bigger company that sells in China, it doesn't make a difference to the bigger company if it's cruelty free. The parent company that's not cruelty free gets money regardless of whether the smaller companies sell in China or not. 
• Their ingredients are not currently being tested on animals in anyway- as I said before, almost every ingredient that was around years and years ago has been tested on animals. The way I see it, if a company does use these ingredients now and they haven't contributed to any animal testing themselves, then they are indeed cruelty free.

So here is what I class as being "cruelty free" and I will be only reviewing and talking about brands that follow these guidelines. I will keep this list updated if my views change. But I'll continue to be cruelty free until every company does their best to ensure that they have a cruelty free status. Thank you very much for reading,

Izzy K xxx