Maybelline Color Tattoo Leather Effect Eyeshadow in Creamy Beige | Review and Swatches
Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Bronze Palette | Review and Swatches
Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Eyeshadow Palette | Review and Swatches
Admittedly, one thing I was so excited about when I was heading to New York was the prospect of going to American drugstores. It’s not even an exaggeration that I spent a good few hours of our trip popping in CVS and Duane Reade – especially when the one a few blocks away from our hotel was open 24 hours! I had accumulated quite a wish list thanks to all of the amazing stateside YouTubers that I watch, and this particular eyeshadow palette was especially difficult to source. It was sold out everywhere. When I finally saw one I snatched it up immediately, and boy am I glad I did…
The Wet n Wild Color Icon Palette in Comfort Zone is a neutral and green-toned eyeshadow palette retailing at $4.99(!). I knew it was going to be affordable, but when I saw the price my jaw dropped. Understandably I was a little skeptical about the quality, but the rave reviews it receives are definitely deserved. Firstly, the colour selection is gorgeous. The left hand side of the palette would be a great neutral quad on its own. The ‘browbone’ shade on this half is a stunning highlight shade; the eyelid and crease are really nice shimmery warm shadows which are perfect as lid shades, and the definer is an interesting deep blackened burgundy which could create a really striking smokey eye or could easily be used to line the eyes.
However, I really fell in love with this palette because of the right half. I’m not the biggest colour-wearer, but these are really wearable yet interesting shades, that I can definitely see myself rocking. The browbone shade on this half is actually quite neutral, and this is one I have worn quite a lot all over my lid. The eyelid shade is a green with slight gold undertones, which I find make it far more wearable. The final shades are stunning – the ‘crease’ shade is a deep dark green with gold shimmer running through and the definer (arguably my favourite, and a dupe for Mac Club) is a warm brown with a bright blue duochrome. That shade worn over a black base is such a stunning smokey eye without being too garish and colourful.
The formula of these are really quite amazing, regardless of the price. They are smooth, buttery and incredibly pigmented – I think the swatches really do show how great the quality is. There are some downfalls but nothing that would make me discourage anyone from buying this palette. The first is the packaging; it is obviously not luxurious or robust. It feels as if it could break very easily, but at this price-point you can’t really expect much more than that. It also is lacking in matte shades but these are easily supplemented with other palettes and eyeshadows that you may already own (check out my review of the Makeup Revolution Essential Mattes Palette for an affordable option). Yet as a set of shimmery eyeshadows, you really can’t beat this for the price.
I am thoroughly impressed with this palette, and am actually so shocked at how affordable it really is! If you live in the States, and I envy you strongly, you have to pick this palette up if you haven’t already. Have you ever tried anything from Wet n Wild? Let me know your experiences and faves!
–RachelElizabeth
Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Grand Cru Review and Swatches | Blogmas Day #7
You may remember, that I have already tried one of these. I have the shade Hot Pepper and I am in love – read my full review here. I had been meaning to pick up another shade for a while now, and on a trip to Boots, I was browsing the Bourjois stand and I decided to pick up one that really caught my eye. It’s safe to say that this was definitely disappointing.
The Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick in Grand Cru in the packaging looks like the most stunning deep red, which is one of my favourite types of shade to wear. So you can imagine my disappointment when applying this, to be left with quite a streaky, sheer finish. Hot Pepper was bright, opaque and looked so smooth on the lips, but unfortunately this was the complete opposite. It clung to dry patches and just generally looked quite bad. However, I did find when I used light layers of it and worked it into the lips it could be a nice stain on the lips, and in the picture below, I had applied several layers to even get that finish. Whilst I can still wear it in that way, I don’t think I will find myself reaching for this over any other dark reds I have, as it wasn’t the dark matte red I was hoping for.
It’s not nice giving a bad review of a product, but sometimes it just has to be done. What has upset me the most about this is that I love another shade in the range, and have heard so many people praise the rest of it. There are still some shades that I have my eye on, and I won’t (and neither should you) be put off by one dud shade. Have you tried any from this line?
–RachelElizabeth
Makeup Revolution Essential Mattes Palette | Review and Swatches
Makeup Revolution is the brand on everybody’s lips right now. Not only are they affordable, but they are getting rave reviews left, right and centre. Being incredibly late on the bandwagon, I thought it was about time that I picked up something from the brand, and as their eyeshadow palettes are probably their most popular (or at least most reviewed), I thought it was only right to start with one.
The Makeup Revolution Essential Mattes Palette contains 12 eyeshadows, all matte finish. It mostly consists of cool-tone neutral shades, but also has a blue and a couple of purples, giving a bit of a spin on a classic. In terms of the quality, and as you will see in the swatches, the darker colours are much richer and pigmented. The lighter shades in the palette are a little on the chalky side, but when blended out and used on the lids they are actually nice shades. I think perhaps they shouldn’t have included as many of these pale shades as they end up looking the same, but the colour selection is actually really nice. On the whole, they all wear well, they blend out nicely and are decent shadows to say the least.
These obviously aren’t the best quality shadows I have ever tried, but they are amongst the best of the budget options available on the market. For the price – these 12 shadow palettes retail at only £4 – these are incredible. This is absolutely perfect for someone who wants to build their makeup collection but doesn’t have the budget for Mac or other coveted high end brands. Its also a great palette to have to use as counterparts to other palettes. Many palettes are full of shimmer and sparkle and although they are far more fun, you often need a matte crease colour or highlight to dial down the look somewhat.
Its hard to criticise a palette that is so affordable, as you are getting a lot for your money here. I think it just depends on what type of spender or makeup-wearer you are, and whether you want lots of affordable products or a few of incredible quality that were more of an investment. I am somewhat in the middle of those – being the beauty addict that I am, I just want it all. Have you tried anything from Makeup Revolution? Leave me your recommendations below!
–RachelElizabeth
Maybelline Color Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencils | Swatches and Review
So last week, you may remember I wrote a rave review about Red Essential from the new Maybelline Color Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil range (in case you missed it, you can read it here). As you may have gathered from that post, I fell head over heels in love with it and I knew I had to pick up more shades to see if the formula was consistently as brilliant. It also helps that Boots are currently offering 3 for 2 on all Maybelline products…
Minimalist is probably my least favourite of the four I own. It is a light neutral pink, but what I’m specifically not too fond of is the slight golden shimmer running throughout. I also found the formula of this one a lot stiffer and dryer than the others and also lacked the intense pigment that all the rest have. I also found that this wore off significantly faster that the rest in the range. I’m not saying that this is a complete dud – I will still wear it for a natural daytime look, but I was hoping for something much more creamy and opaque.
Nude Perfection is another one of those Kylie Jenner 90s lip colours that everyone is obsessed with right now. On me, it is a dark brown-toned nude with a slight hint of pink coming through. This one was extremely creamy and pigmented to apply and has a nice demi-matte finish. It was relatively long lasting, but didn’t hold up through eating quite as well as the brighter shades. I can definitely see this becoming one of my go-to lip shades.
Fuchsia Desire is a hot fuchsia pink with blue undertones. Out of all of the colours that I have picked up, I would say that this is the creamiest and smoothest to apply. It is extremely pigmented, but it also has a slight sheen and is not as matte as Nude Perfection or Red Essential. However, the shine does wear off when worn for long periods of time but the colour definitely sticks around, even through eating and drinking. This is a stunning shade if you’re into your hot pinks or you fancy giving one a go.
Minimalist
Nude Perfection
Fuchsia Desire
So on the whole, apart from Minimalist, this formulation has got my seal of approval. The consistency in the range is a little irritating, but I can overlook that due to some of the amazing shades they have got. This has got me very excited for the Soft Matte lipsticks that every single American blogger and YouTuber seem to be talking about at the moment to be released in the UK. We will probably be waiting a while though… Have you tried any of the colours from this range?
–RachelElizabeth
Maybelline Color Drama Lipstick in Red Essential | Review and Swatches
When I was in Boots the other day (are we surprised?) I was browsing the Maybelline products and spotted something I had never seen before tucked away in the lip section. They was nothing to say they were new and I haven’t heard anything about these anywhere, so the blogger in me was very excited about this unknown potential treasure. When I read on the label Intense Velvet Lip Pencil, I instantly thought these may well be a dupe for the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil, which I love (post on Red Square here). I am having a serious matte lip moment, so I had to try one of these out…
The Maybelline Color Drama Lipstick in Red Essential is a deep, slightly cool-toned red. It sits somewhere in the middle of the classic red lip and a deep vampy shade. I was very surprised at the formulation of this lipstick – despite it being incredibly matte, it was very smooth and creamy to apply and feels similar to the Nars offering. It isn’t terribly lightweight on the lips – it definitely feels like you are wearing lipstick – but I wouldn’t say that it is uncomfortable to wear. Although it isn’t hydrating by any means, it was not particularly drying compared to some other matte formulas. I was blown away by the lasting power of this formula; it wore incredibly throughout the day with no signs of awkward fading in the centre of the lips and even held up well through eating and drinking.
I am over the moon with this unexpected purchase and I couldn’t recommend this lipstick enough! And I haven’t even mentioned the best part… they are an absolute steal at £4.99. I am without a doubt going to pick up some more shades to test out and review as I am completely blown away. Good job Maybelline.
–RachelElizabeth
No7 Beautiful Skin Melting Gel Cleanser | Review
I realised one day when I was browsing the aisles of Boots (a.k.a my second home) that I hadn’t tried that much budget-friendly skincare. My philosophy has always been to invest in the products I use on my skin so I tend to ignore the more affordable options. Obviously this isn’t practical or feasible for everyone; admittedly I do wince when I fork over the cash for some high-end skincare, so I decided to try and hunt out the hidden gems on the high street…
Of course there is a reason why some products are cheaper than others, and there are some pretty dodgy ingredients lists in the budget skincare department but this doesn’t mean this is applicable to every cheaper option. When I was searching for a cleanser, I came across the No7 Beautiful Skin Melting Gel Cleanser which had a promising list of ingredients. I try to stay away from any butters (Shea and cocoa in particular), mineral oil and fragrance as I know that these have aggravated my skin in the past. The No7 offering is free of those except fragrance, but it is quite far down the list. The texture is quite interesting – you would typically expect a gel cleanser to be quite drying but this feels quite nourishing on the skin. As with all cleansers, I remove my makeup first (Body Shop Cleansing oil post here) and then massage into clean, dry skin. I then rinse a flannel under warm water and remove the cleanser from my face. It leaves the skin feeling clean (but not that stripped and squeaky clean) yet nourished and hydrated.
I have been using it for about a month, and my skin is in pretty good condition right now. My skin hasn’t shown any adverse reactions to this product and it is fitting nicely into my skincare routine as a good simple cleanser. I have normal to oily skin, and although this cleanser is targeted at dry skin it still works perfectly fine for me. For £9.50 I think this is a steal, and I can definitely see myself repurchasing this in the future.
Have you tried any No7 skincare? I am now very intrigued about the rest of the line…
–RachelElizabeth
L’Oreal Color Riche L’Ombre Pure Eyeshadows | Review and Swatches
Unlike many of the latest hyped beauty releases, I actually picked these up before I had heard anybody talk about them. Eyeshadows is one of the areas of beauty that the budget options just generally don’t perform that well. Of course there are exceptions, and the L’Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows are definitely the best I have come across. So when I saw that L’Oreal had released another line of single eyeshadows I was very intrigued, and couldn’t stop myself picking up a few to try out.
The L’Oreal Color Riche L’Ombre Pure Mono Eyeshadows are separated into 5 different categories: Nude, Smoky, Lumiere, Matte and Pop. The Nude and Smoky formulas feel much like a pressed pigment, and are quite similar to the Infallible shadows. They are both incredibly pigmented, buttery and shimmery. The Lumiere seems very similar to the formula of shadows like the limited edition Mac Extra Dimension Eyeshadows or the Estee Lauder Pure Color Gelée Powder Eyeshadows. They are very smooth and feel almost like a cream and are beautifully pigmented. As for the Matte and Pop shadows, I am yet to try them, although when swatching them in store, they seemed a little hit and miss.
Nude 204 Golden Nude is a light shimmery champagne shade, perfect for an all over lid shade or inner corner highlight if you have deeper skin. It has got a bit of glitter in but it’s nothing too chunky or overbearing. Smoky 202 Die For Chocolate is a gorgeous deep warm brown shade with a golden sheen. Warning on this shade – mine has actually crumbled when travelling, and this is because of how soft and buttery the shades are. It is still usable, but it is now irritatingly messy and I thought was worth mentioning. 500 Lumiere Gold Mania is a stunning true gold shade.
Die For Chocolate, Gold Mania, Golden Nude
I would 100% recommend these to any eyeshadow lover, especially as they’re only £5.49 a pop! They are a great budget option, and I have honestly been reaching for these over some of my more expensive shadows. Have you picked up any from the range yet?
–RachelElizabeth