The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?

Last week, I accepted a challenge from the gorgeous and genuinely lovely Caroline Barnes, makeup artist and UK Creative Director for Max Factor. The challenge was to wear 7 lipsticks in 7 days. Sounds easy enough you might think but these were 7 shades as chosen by Caroline from the new Max Factor Colour Elixir lipstick line. When I choose lipsticks they usually fall into one of three categories; fleshy pink, rosy pink or red. One look at the selection Caroline had chosen told me this wasn't going to be an easy week!

From left moving anti-clockwise: Angel Pink, English Rose, Pink Brandy, Bewitching Coral, Burnt Caramel, Ruby Tuesday and Mulberry

Personally speaking, this week has been very stressful. It's not often that I talk about my home life but those of you that follow me on Twitter are probably aware that one of my children has some special needs. Unlike a lot of people that look forward to the end of the school holidays, I have been quietly dreading it. Last year was the first year of school and I really hadn't been prepared for how hard it would be. It can be a struggle at times as we attempt to fit our little square peg into a round hole.

You will probably wonder where I am going with all this about personal stuff alongside lipstick, but stick with me, I am going somewhere here I promise! I think people wear makeup for a variety of reasons. It's not simply just to feel pretty. Most of the time I wear makeup to look fit for public viewing and disguise my many broken nights. Increasingly, I have relied on it to give me a confidence boost. I think some makeup can make you can feel like you could take on the world or in my case, face another call in to see the teachers. An amazing red lip like Ruby Tuesday for example....

Ruby Tuesday

Some colours have the ability to make you feel demure and business like (a trip to the Headmasters, maybe?).

Pink Brandy

Some colours can make you feel feminine and in my case, more than just a Mummy.

Bewitching Coral

And some can make you feel rather vampy.

Mulberry

Of course, the wrong colour can make you feel uncomfortable and magnify an awkward mood.

English Rose

Some can make you feel like a teenager again.................quite literally (hello, it's the 90's calling).

Burnt Caramel

And some..............well some will just make you giggle. In private you understand. I wasn't actually brave enough to wear this out of the house!

Angel Pink

For me, the power and transformative ability of cosmetics is a joy. I don't see my love of makeup as vacuous nor do I see myself as a vain person. It was interesting to see how the seven different lipstick colours altered my mood and could make me feel more confident or want to shrink into the background. It's always nice to venture out of your comfort zone every now and again. I actually surprised myself by liking both Pinky Brandy and Bewitching Coral very much. Though I'm not quite ready to give up my 20+ my lips better variation just yet.

I promise to post more swatches of the colours in the next couple of days but for now, I wondered, how does makeup make you feel? Do you have a favourite killer lipstick? Are there any colours that give you THE FEAR?


Disclosure: The lipsticks were received without cost, next time I'm going to need a stunt double for the pinks!