Hey guys,
I hope you're doing fantastic. I'm here with a little haul and mini-review of the products. I say little but to me this was quite a lot to buy all at once. Everyone gets carried sometimes.
Drugstore - Superdrug
I started by picking up a couple of favourites. The first one that I picked up is the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent. This is my holy grail setting powder. I have gone through countless pans of this over the last few years. It keeps my face matte for hours without making it cake-y looking.
Next, I picked up my favourite foundation, the L'Oreal Infallible 24H-Matte in 010 Porcelain. Another holy grail product. It's matte, high coverage (can sheer it out though), non-cakey and it wears super well. My favourite thing about is that when my face does get more oily throughout the day this foundation somehow manages to make it look glowy and radiant rather than like a greasy, slimy mess.
Then I picked up the Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation in 100 Ivory. A lot of people rave about this product.
When I bought it I thought that the shade would be too dark for me and I would have to wait until I catch a bit of sun to try it out. This is despite Ivory being the lightest shade in the range. However, it turned out it matched me really well.
I've tested it out a couple of times now and I'm still not a hundred percent sure how I feel about it. It has a pleasant scent, it's quite thick and has really nice coverage. However, so far I feel that it is a little bit too luminous for my liking. This is not a product that is advertised to be luminous so I was surprised that even after setting my face there was still a sheen to my skin. Maybe this product would someone would someone with normal or combination skin better (my skin is on the oily side).
I'll give it a few more tries but so far I like it but I don't love it.
I also picked up the Lasting Perfection Concealer from Collection in the shade Fair. This is another super popular products which is clearly indicated by the fact that it is constantly sold out. I think that it is worth the hype. I have owned it in the past and now that I've tried it again I remembered why I loved it. It's high coverage and creamy and it doesn't feel dry or heavy under my eyes and it doesn't crease either. Plus it's a really great base for eyeshadow. Another added bonus that I found is that this is actually lighter than my skin tone. People who are not ghost pale will most likely not understand my happiness and surprise. Normally, I'm lucky if a concealer matches my foundation but highlighting my face is out of the question. This product allows me to do that so I'm super happy.
I then picked up a product that I've heard nothing about. This was the Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Eyeliner in Black. So far I like it. It's black and matte and easy enough to apply as it has a pretty precise applicator. It also dries quickly and wears well throughout the day.
Taking a little bit of a break from makeup, I picked up some brushes. These are the Makeup Revolution Ultra Sculpt and Blend Collection brushes. The set includes 3 rose gold synthetic brushes and a beauty sponge. The brushes look beautiful and are very soft. I'm really impressed with their quality. The sponge is very "bendy" and "squashy". The largest brush is recommended to be used for contour and blending, the medium brush is meant for highlight and the smallest brush is meant for eyeshadow blending.
The two larger brushes are very dense and unless you're contouring a small area e.g. the nose with a powder they are not the easiest to work with. This doesn't mean that they're bad. I feel that if they are to be used for contouring they would work really well with cream products. I plan on trying out the largest brush as a foundation brush and the middle one as a concealer blender or to apply highlighter with.
The smallest brush blends really nicely and it's fantastic for applying highlighter.
The product that I am least sure about is the makeup sponge. This is the first makeup sponge that I have used therefore I can't compare it to any other like products ( but I plan on doing it the future). First of all, I feel that using it is a bit of a hassle. Having to dampen it, squeeze it well, use it and then wash it is a lot more effort compared to using a foundation brush. I also feel that it absorbs a lot of product and sheers out the foundation that its blending out. I'm not too happy about that because it means that I have to use more product to get the coverage that I want and more time applying it.
However, it's not all bad. The sponge blends out foundation super quickly, much faster than a brush, doesn't leave any streaks and is good for getting to hard to reach places because of its pointy end. Also, the fact that it sheers out foundation is not necessarily bad because it allows the foundation to be more versatile e.g for a day look I can apply the foundation with the sponge for a more natural look and for nighttime with a brush to achieve a flawless look.
Overall I feel that this is a really good set of brushes especially considering its price.
The two larger brushes are very dense and unless you're contouring a small area e.g. the nose with a powder they are not the easiest to work with. This doesn't mean that they're bad. I feel that if they are to be used for contouring they would work really well with cream products. I plan on trying out the largest brush as a foundation brush and the middle one as a concealer blender or to apply highlighter with.
The smallest brush blends really nicely and it's fantastic for applying highlighter.
The product that I am least sure about is the makeup sponge. This is the first makeup sponge that I have used therefore I can't compare it to any other like products ( but I plan on doing it the future). First of all, I feel that using it is a bit of a hassle. Having to dampen it, squeeze it well, use it and then wash it is a lot more effort compared to using a foundation brush. I also feel that it absorbs a lot of product and sheers out the foundation that its blending out. I'm not too happy about that because it means that I have to use more product to get the coverage that I want and more time applying it.
However, it's not all bad. The sponge blends out foundation super quickly, much faster than a brush, doesn't leave any streaks and is good for getting to hard to reach places because of its pointy end. Also, the fact that it sheers out foundation is not necessarily bad because it allows the foundation to be more versatile e.g for a day look I can apply the foundation with the sponge for a more natural look and for nighttime with a brush to achieve a flawless look.
Overall I feel that this is a really good set of brushes especially considering its price.
I also got a single brush from Makeup Revolution. This was Ultra Pointed Crease Eye Makeup Brush. Like the other brushes it's rose gold and super soft. I absolutely love it. It applies eyeshadow precisely and blends it well. Nothing bad to say.
I also got two palettes by the same brand. The first one was the Ultra Contour Palette. It comes with a pale pink-y shade, a yellow setting shade, a subtle pink highlighter, two warmer bronze shades (one lighter , one darker) and one cool toned brown contour shade, as well as two highlighters : one white and one that's a gold-y warm tone.
The contour shades are pigmented and blend really well. I feel that the "banana" shade might not be light enough to brighten my under-eye area however it is nice for setting it. The paler shade is however good for illuminating the skin and the subtle highlighter looks lovely on the skin.
The white highlighter is also great. Although it's cool toned it has a little bit of a warmer tone to it (notice the gold marble effect on it) which makes it more flattering on the skin.
However, I feel that the warmer highlighter is a bit of a fail. It doesn't show up on my skin at all which is surprising considering how pale I am.
Overall this is a great contour palette and I really like it.
The last Makeup Revolution product that I bought was the Ultra Brow Palette in Medium to Dark. The palette includes 4 brow shades, 2 waxes, one concealer (meant for defining around the brows), one highlighter and some tiny tools.
The 4 shadows are very, very soft almost creamy and waxy. They apply super nicely. The highlighter is also lovely. It provides a subtle sheen and isn't glittery or overwhelming. I haven't tested out the waxes because I don't like how they look on my brows. they are more suited for people who need to tame their brows and I'm trying to do the opposite i.e. make them look bushy especially at the front.
I don't think this palette is a must have. It's good but it's big and most likley you'll use a couple of the shadows up completely and the others will remain almost untouched. I also don't like the fact that there's a concealer in this palette. Not because there's something wrong with it but because the fallout from the powder products travels into it making it messy and useless for creating a sharp defined brow.
High-end - Debenhams
I also picked up three high-end beauty bits.
The first one is my favourite mascara, the Too Faced Better Than Sex. I hate that I love this product. It gives me incredible length and volume and a false lash effect. It is perfect. But I hate the price tag. My previous favourite mascara, the NYC Big Bold, was discontinued from Superdrug which makes me super sad because it cost £3. The Better Than Sex is better but it costs £19 which is so much for a mascara considering you should change yours every 3-4 months ( I use it up in that period anyway). Nonetheless, I recommend it for anyone who likes super long and thick lashes and to anyone who's not after the natural, subtle look.
I then picked up another product from Too Faced. This was the Semi-Sweet Chocolate Palette. I got it on a bit of a whim. I was originally planning on getting the dupe from Makeup Revolution, the Salted Caramel Palette.
However, when I saw the original in Debenhams and then touched it and smelled it, I couldn't resist. First of all, this palette is beautiful. The packaging is gorgeous, the shades are stunning and the smell is amazing ( it does actually smell like chocolate).
The palette includes 6 matte shades and 9 shimmery ones. Most of them are warm neutrals but there is a couple of cooler shades and a pop of blue as well.
The shadows are incredibly soft, butttery and creamy. They almost feel like cream shadows but they are indeed normal pressed ones. They blend beautifully and effortlessly. They also have little to no fall out. The darker, shimmery shades have a little bit but it's not a huge amount.
I definitively recommend this palette.
The final thing that I picked up is the Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray. This is a cult product, everyone seems to love it. And I can see why. It takes the powderiness of the look away and just locks everything in place. Yesterday, I had to walk home in the rain and somehow my makeup didn't get ruined despite not having a hoodie or an umbrella. So far, I'm impressed.
That's it for my haul guys. I'll be posting a tutorial using these products soon. I hope you enjoyed and that you check some of these products out. I'll see you next time.
Mollie
xxx
