Ready for a few quick hitters? Maybelline have launched yet another line of lippies – Color Sensational Bold Matte (price TBA). These are going to go down a treat when winter kicks in as bold matte lips, to me, are a serious winter staple. Each non-scented, unflavoured honey and jojoba oil-infused shade feels fabulously lightweight on your lips and doesn’t dry them out in the least.

There’s another shade that isn’t pictured up top (M) as it arrived a tad ‘special’, having melted and then reset in a weird shape. Still, I could include it in the swatch.

Keen for some ‘on face-ness’? You’ll see Barbie Car is a lot more subtle on and almost leans towards the watermelon side of life. Rooikop (not pictured) looked awesome too as it’s the most blue-toned of the reds but I didn’t feature the snap as I looked crap in my pic. These are the kind of selfish calls you can make when you’re your own editor. Ha!

Anyhoo, the only real downer here is that the staying power isn’t amazing, but if that’s your deal breaker know then take a look at Maybelline SuperStay 14HR lipstick. They’re incredible! Moving on… I popped into an Arden launch the other day to learn about their new foundation but first I want to tell you about their new Beautiful Colour Natural Eye Brow Pencils (R175). Available in four colours, they’re pretty awesome.

I like that the tip is pretty tiny so you can apply it in lots of small quick strokes and then ‘blend it out’ by swiping over it with the bottle brush-style brush.

For the record, the formula contains vitamins C and E but something like that isn’t a ‘buying decider’ for me, if that makes sense. I just want a brow pencil that does it’s job, looks natural and stays put and this baby ticks all the boxes. Last but not least let’s chat about Beauty Blender micro mini sponges (R290, 27Pinkx.co.za). They’re a quarter of the size of the original and make it super easy to apply product under your eyes as well as pernickety areas like the side of your nose. Also, the material of the sponge ensures the vast majority of your product stays on the surface of the sponge as opposed to being sucked into it so there’s less wastage and more product-on-face to work with.

I’ve been using mine to put concealer under my eyes and it works like a bomb. You can use it wet (this causes the product to double in size and creates a softer application effect) or dry and I’ve been doing the latter. I simply swirl it around my concealer (Catrice Camouflage Cream – the shizzle’s nizzle) and use a swift dab and roll motion to blitz dark circles and blend, blend, blend. If you’re a fan of the big daddy or have been looking for a fab concealer applicator you’re sooo going to want this. Love, love Leigh