Joan Collins Timeless Beauty - Divine Lips Lipstick - Amanda*

          "I don't feel dressed without nail lacquer. It's as essential to me as lipstick"

I make no apologies for starting this post, the same way that I started my previous Timeless Beauty post, after all the wonderful Dame Joan Collins certainly knows what she's talking about. My mum doesn't wear very much make up, and rather surprisingly, given my nail polish obsession, she very rarely wears colour on her nails. What she does wear though, is lipstick and lots of it. She always says that she never feels dressed without lipstick and she never leaves the house without having a few lipsticks floating around in the car and in her handbag.

Lipsticks serves so many purposes, choose the right shade and it can bring your face to life, but choose another shade and it can make you feel like you can rule the world. Not only can this stick of oils, waxes and butters change our mood, and our complexion but pick the right one and it will also smooth and soften your lips, and give them a little bit of well deserved TLC.

That combination of glamour and care, is right at the heart of the Joan Collins Timeless Beauty line. Joan is a firm believer that make up should protect the skin and that's something which comes through in all of her make up products, which combine make up with high quality skincare ingredients.

Lipsticks are always a good starting point when it comes to trying out a new brand, and over the last month or so I've been trying out one of Joan Collins Time Beauty Divine Lips Lipsticks. There are 16 shades to choose from and everyone of the them is crammed full of moisturising and hydrating ingredients including hyaluronic acid. These lipsticks have been specifically designed to help smooth the lips and fill in fine lines, and of course they also been designed to help hydrate and protect the lips, so much so in fact that in scientific tests the lipsticks in this range have been shown to significantly improve hydration levels in the lips after 30 days of use.

Like the nail polishes, the lipsticks come boxed in a beautiful, chic matte black and gold box, with a clear product picture on the back. Open the box and your greeted with a beautifully packaged lipstick. The lipsticks in this line come in a beautiful, chic, ridged metal, gold case, with the Joan Collins logo in the centre. Unlike a lot of similarly packaged lipsticks out there, this one is has a real weight to it, it doesn't feel flimsy and you really do feel a little bit special when you pull it out of your bag.

As I said before there are 16 shades to choose from, and in keeping with the glamorous theme I was sent the shade Amanda which is one of several red toned shades in the line.

Nothing screams glamour, sophistication or even power more than a slick of red lipstick. Joan Collins herself is rarely seen in any other colour, but it isn't always the easiest of colours to wear. With red lipstick though it's all about finding the red that suits you, some people suit blue toned reds, some people can wear a more pinkie red, and some people like a warmer red, like Amanda.

It's looking a bit darker in the pictures than it does in real life but Amanda is officially described as a hazel or russet shade, but for me it's a lovely warm, rich red shade, with a soft vanilla scent and taste. You always need to apply red lipstick a bit more carefully then say you would a nude, but this one actually applied really nicely. It was creamy but it wasn't too soft so it didn't bleed or smudge.

As you can see the pigmentation is superb but the colour is quite buildible so you can apply it sparingly or blot it down and wear it as a sheer or apply it straight from the bullet for a full on block colour. A lot of reds that I've tried stain your lips and feel quite drying but this one actually felt really hydrating on the lips, and it wore well, and faded pretty evenly, even on my super dry lips.

I'm going to be honest with you and say that I normally shy away from red lipstick, or for that matter  anything that draws too much attention to my lips. My lips are very uneven and I think that colours like this can draw attention to that but I have actually really enjoyed wearing this lipstick. I did feel a bit more confident wearing it, and I really think that the colour worked perfectly with my skin tone and it brightened up my face. Throw in the beautiful, classy packaging, and the fact that this lipstick didn't dry out my lips, then I think we may have a winner. I'm definitely going to try and be a bit braver when it comes to lipsticks now, but whether you love a classic red lip, a beautiful wine, or maybe a nude pink, there will be a  colour in the Joan Collins Timeless Beauty line to suit you. These aren't the cheapest lipsticks on the market but for me they are well worth the investment. Joan Collins Timeless Beauty Divine Lips Lipsticks retail at £18 for 3.5g of product and are available from the Timeless Beauty website, Urban Retreat, QVC UK and M&S. Are you a fan of a red lip let me know in the comments x

*Sample