Hourglass Girl Stylo - first impressions

Girl Stylo Dreamer

This beauty deseves its own write-up.I actually postponed my plans of posting about decluttering my personal makeup kit because of this. Yesterday I went to get the new Taraj P Henson Viva Glam lipstick from Mac, but they didn't have it in stock so I came back from town with this instead. 

Hourglass is the creme de la creme of makeup brands, whatever they bring out is classy, beautiful and good quality with sleek packaging. Girl Stylo is no exception. They introduced the range back in January, a collection of 20 diverse colours with thoughtful names of characteristics that can describe women which is a tasteful tip of the hat to 'girl power'(Futurist, Idealist, Dreamer, Influencer, Achiever, Peacemaker, Seeker, Explorer, Believer, Creator, Warrior, Protector, Liberator, Leader, Icon, Visionary, Innovator, Lover, Inventor, Activist).

Since no matter how I wanted to I couldn't part with £520 (ouch!) to buy the whole range, I picked one that I will try first and then invest in other colours if I like it, they all look beautiful and wearable. I'm pretty sure I've spent about half an hour to pick just one shade. Seeker and Dreamer were the runners up and I ended up getting the latter since I use more peachy shades in spring and I am a bit of a dreamer anyway ;).

Girl Stylo is a crayon style hydrating lip colour with a pointed nib. The texure is dreamy soft, light, infused with shea butter, jojoba, sunflower seed, mimosa so it's very comfortable to wear. It has a satin finish with great colour pay-off  that goes on smooth and stays on quite nicely.

Girl Stylo is a bit of an an ivestment piece (like the Tom Ford, Chanel or Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks), it's £26.00 so I think if you are a capsule makeup kind of girl, or if you just love to wear a bit of luxury on your lips,  it is worth it. As soon as I started wearing it, I fell in love with it, so Dreamer is definitely going into my everyday makeup bag for the spring and I will get more shades later on.

Wearing Dreamer in natural light

Girl Stylo is formulated without Parabens, Sulphates, Phthalates, and are not tested on animals.

Available in SpaceNK, Libery and Net-a-Porter.

My top 5 lipsticks

I've never really been a lipstick wearer, up until a few years ago when I got comfortable and confident enough with them. I usually stuck to my tinted lip balms, maybe subtle glosses safe in my comfort zone. Since then I've become a bit of a hoarder and revel in the fantastic ranges, colours and formulas coming out, highstreet, high-end alike. I am not ready to pick all-time favourites just yet, but I can certainly say wich shades I pick up most these days. Here is my top 5:

5. Chanel Rouge Allure Luminous Intense Lip Colour - Incandescente #97 

Okay, I have to admit, Lisa Eldridge made me buy this. She used this lipstick for one of my favourite red carpet looks on Keria Knightley and I fell in love with it. 

Chanel has an undisputed dominance when it comes to quality, class and style in makeup, their lipsticks have always been one of the best on the market. Incandescente is a highly pigmented tomato red with beautiful soft texture, subtle glossy finish and good staying power without drying the lips. The colour provides an effortless class to any look and on top of that the packaging, of course, is luxurious.

Incandesente is high end through and through without a doubt. High end obviously comes at a price, it is £26.00 a pop, but it is a good investment if you are a makeup lover and willing to buy into the class that brand Chanel provides.

It is available here.

4. Rimmel The Only Matte Rouge - Salute

Being one of the highstreet's best, Rimmel has come out with impressive new material lately. I loved their anniversary rose gold collection and the contouring palette that is already a staple of my everyday makeup. Recently they've launched a matte range that stole my heart completely... well, maybe apart from the packaging that feels a bit too loud and on the cheap side. 

The rich, creamy, matte formula though IS worth a try. It is non-drying, easy to wear and comes in a good variety of colours. Salute has got to be my favourite of the range, a soft blue-pink that is great for a toned down, natural look. For £6.99 a pop? It's a steal! 

It is available here.


3. Mac Liptensity Lipstick - Smoked Almond

When it comes to nude colours it is sometimes hard to find a sophisticated one that matches your skin tone.  Mac has such an array of shades you will eventually find one that you love, no matter what skin tone you are.  Their Liptensity range is their most recent innovation in texture and it has proved to be a big hit with the public.

The dense creamy formula feels comfortable on the lips, the colour payoff is incredible and it provides a long wear. Smoked Almond is my chosen favourite at the moment. I normally wouldn't go for rose-brown nudes, but this one is somehow perfect. 

It is available here for £17.50.


2. Tom Ford #7 Pink Dusk

Pre-Charlotte Tilbury, there was Tom Ford (actually Tilbury was the creative driving force behind the Tom Ford makeup range). I've been a big fan of their lipsticks for years, not just because I'm a sucker for elegant packaging, but I find the quality exceptional too. They, are soft, creamy, delicious, glide on the lips like a dream and the shades are exquisite. 

Spanish Pink is what I tend to wear the most, it is ideal for everyday wear, but complements a stronger party look too. It is sophisticated, not too flashy, easy and comfortable to wear. There's only one downside for me and it's the price: £39.00. Ouch indeed!

It is available here.


And now for the No. 1 on the list:


1. Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips - Miranda May

There are only a few brands in the world that have become iconic as quickly as Charlotte Tilbury. This is hardly a surpise though. Her products ooze elegance, style with a whiff of Old Hollywood glamour not to talk about the incredible quality and very clever, fun social media campaigns that they do. There is real expertise, love and passion behind every single product they do. All the lipsticks within the brand are beautiful and delicious looking especially the most recent Hot Lips range, the colours of which were inspired by celebrity women Charlotte makes up on a daily basis. They are all gorgeous, sophisticated shades, it is hard to pick a favourite. If you twisted my arm though I would choose Miranda May.

Miranda May (inspired by the one and only Miranda Kerr) is a dreamy, highly pigmented pinky coral shade. It has the Matte Revolution formula, but I would call it more a satin finish. The super-creamy texture makes it really comfortable and wearing it you feel just a bit more special. The Charlotte Tilbury magic IS a thing! 
Just take the statement on the packaging "A cashmere cream texture with a soft-matte finish, enriched with papaya and orchid." - it exactly feels like that! It makes me smile, but no one can describe a product in such a mouthwatering way as Charlotte Tilbury does. Cashmere cream? Yes, please! Soft, matte? Sounds good to me! Papaya and orchid? I'm on board already! Take my money! Am I too easily persuaded? Maybe, but I dare say Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks are the Rolls Roys of lipsticks - they are top of the class and pure perfection! Top marks on the price too, it's £23. What is this compared to the Tom Ford ones, right? Okay, it's not cheap, but worth every single penny! 

It is available here.

What is your top five?