Category: Reviews

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Holy Grail | Nars Laguna Bronzing Powder

As a beauty addict, it’s not a very common occurrence to find a product that I cannot live without and I would buy again and again. There’s usually a voice in the back of my head telling me that there’s something better, but when it comes to bronzers, I am completely content. I have found one of the perfect formula and colour, and its also a cult product…


The Nars Bronzing Powder in Laguna is an absolutely gorgeous bronzer. It is more on the orange-terracotta side where bronzers are concerned, but it isn’t dramatically orange or dark that is unwearable. In the pan, it looks a little shimmery, but that really doesn’t translate when applied to the skin. I personally use this bronzing up the skin as opposed to contouring – I sweep this over the high points of my face such as the cheeks, temples and the perimeters of the face. 

A problem that I have found with some more affordable bronzers is that they don’t last throughout the day and become really patchy on my skin. This is what sets this apart from the other bronzers I’ve tried – the formulation is just perfect. The longevity is on point and it is one of my favourite products in my entire collection. 


Would you splurge on a bronzer? I think I’ve figured that when it comes to powder face products, higher end is just the way to go. 

–RachelElizabeth
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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
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Max Factor Facefinity All Day Primer | Review























I never thought I’d see the day that I’d be talking about another face primer other than my beloved Hourglass Mineral Veil (my ramblings about it here). But sadly, the time came that I almost finished my fourth (yes, fourth) bottle of the ridiculously expensive gorgeousness and I just wished I didn’t have to fork out another £50. Hence I decided to give myself a new challenge: find a cheaper primer that works decently for daytime. Note that I didn’t have high expectations for any primer I was about to try, so you can imagine my shock when the first one I tried was excellent…

The Max Factor Facefinity All Day Primer is a primer aimed at improving the longevity of your foundation. This is the factor that I loved so much about the Hourglass offering, so I was keen to try this one out. What made this particular primer stand out when I was playing with them in store was its texture. Although it is mattifying, it doesn’t feel like those silicone-based primers that can feel almost like your face is squeaky clean. It feels like a light lotion that sinks into the skin quickly and leads a slightly powdery finish but nothing too overbearing. 

In terms of longevity, it really performs. I love wearing dewy foundations, but as my skin is normal and leans slightly more towards the oily side, this can be problematic. Using this primer doesn’t affect the glowy nature of the product you put on top, it just makes it really stick to the skin and last all day. I’ve been using it for a good few months now and it hasn’t made me break out at all.

All in all this is a definite winner for me, and my go-to primer for daytime. It still doesn’t quite top the Hourglass in terms of longevity but its definitely up there. And £11 vs. £50? That’s a no-brainer. 

–RachelElizabeth
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Nars Indian Summer Eyeshadow Duo | Review


 It’s a sad fact that in every beauty addict’s drawers that some products are going to get neglected. For me that was my Nars Eyeshadow Duos. I think its due to the packaging – the black opaque products seem to disappear amongst the more eye-catching ones I own, and I tend to forget what colours I even own. Recently, I decided to ‘shop my stash’ and amongst my Nars eyeshadows, there was one that I really wished I hadn’t forgotten about…




Indian Summer contains a light green-toned champagne shade, and a mustard shade. The mustard is definitely what I love about this palette. I have been loving using it in my crease, as it adds an interesting twist on a neutral look. Surprisingly it doesn’t show up too obnoxiously yellow, but it just adds an extra hint of warmth to a look. The other shade is also stunning – it is very metallic and pigmented. It is also a bit of a twist on a classic. It acts very much like a shimmery nude lid colour, but the hint of green adds a little bit more interest and quirkiness to it. 

So this may be an expensive product, but I would definitely say its worth it. There is something quite special and unique about the two colours, and that is what you wish for in higher end products. Would you spend this much on an eyeshadow duo? 

–RachelElizabeth
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Indeed Labs Hydraluron | Review






















It’s always a little difficult when reviewing skincare. It’s an extremely subjective topic – we have to keep in mind that everybody’s skin is different. For reference, my skin is normal, but I am relatively prone to breaking out. Now that we’re coming into the colder months it is getting a little more dry, but nothing too outrageous. When looking for moisturisers, I look for something that will pack a punch of hydration but leave my skin overly greasy or break me out. So naturally, when I heard about this new launch from Indeed Labs I was incredibly curious. A few months later and an empty tub, I can finally give you a comprehensive review…


The Indeed Labs Hydraluron Moisture Jelly retails for £24.99 from Boots. If you’ve been living under a rock and you haven’t heard of the brand’s Hydraluron serum, which I included in my skincare routine here, this is the brand’s first moisturiser counterpart. The key thing about both of these products is the inclusion of hyaluronic acid – an ingredient that is super hydrating. What was most interesting to me about this product is the texture. As the name suggests it feels like a jelly – if anything on first impressions you would think that this wouldn’t be very hydrating at all. But that’s the beauty of it. It feels incredibly lightweight and cooling on the skin and doesn’t leave a greasy residue on the skin. Despite that texture, it feels incredibly hydrating – my skin feels incredibly smooth and plump after I use this. 

Another huge plus is the packaging. It comes with one of those pumps which you press down and it disperses the perfect amount of product for your face. This is great as it keeps it extremely hygienic as you don’t have to dip your fingers into a tub.

However, I do have one issue, and that is the sheer speed I got through this product. It comes with 30ml of product which is a little on the low side when it comes to moisturiser. I didn’t even use this every morning and night and I was finished in a couple of months… I think this is something I could get over as it isn’t too expensive in the grand scheme of moisturisers, but there’s something about having to buy it so often that puts me off.

Overall, this is a good moisturiser, particularly if you are quite dehydrated but hate thick heavy creams, hence why this is a great pre-makeup product. Have you tried anything from Indeed Labs? They’re currently on fire, and I can’t wait for more releases from them.

–RachelElizabeth
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Face Brushes | My Favourites
























Tools are something that I have never really addressed on the blog, but I am a firm believer in the importance of makeup brushes. Now I’m not talking investing mega bucks – as you will see all the brushes I mention in this post won’t dent your bank balance too badly, and they are definitely worth trying out.






















(Sigma F35, F40, F20)

Let’s begin with Sigma. This is where my love affair for makeup brushes began. When Sigma first launched their brush range and when everyone on YouTube was working for them and raving about how incredible they were (and how they were dupes for Mac brushes) I had to get myself a kit. Several years later, I now own more brushes from Sigma than I’ll ever need and there are 3 face brushes that really stand out to me.

The F25 Tapered Face Brush has become my go-to brush for applying face powder. Because of the way its shaped, it only picks up a small amount of product on the tip of the brush. This makes it impossible to apply too much powder to the skin which could make you look cakey. What it is also great for is a more precise application of powder than a typical big fluffy powder brush, and makes it easier to apply powder in more difficult-to-reach areas such as under the eyes and around the nose. This brush is also incredibly soft and is a dream to apply product with.

Next up is the F40 Large Angled Contour Brush which I love for applying blush. I know that it is called a ‘contour’ brush, but sometimes the beauty in brushes is to use for whatever you think is best. For me, this is the perfect size and shape for my cheek and deposits the right amount of product. I do like to wear quite a lot of blush, so if you prefer a little less punch, I would say to go for some sort of duo fibre brush which will help to sheer out the colour. This brush blends product seamlessly and I just love it. 

The final Sigma brush in the line up in the F35 Tapered Highlighter Brush. I actually do like using this brush for its intended purpose – highlighting. The point is fine enough that it applies the perfect amount of highlighter to the tops of the cheekbones, down the bridge of the nose and any other high points of the face. However, I also love this for the exact opposite – contouring. Again the tapered tip allows for precise application, but it is soft enough to blend out as you apply so you don’t end up with a brown stripe on your cheek.


(Real Techniques Multitask, Blush, Expert Face, Buffing, Setting)

Moving on to the ever popular Real Techniques. Undoubtedly, they are the brush brand of the moment, and its well deserved. They are affordable, great quality and not to mention they are made by some of my favourite YouTubers. Right now, there are five brushes that really stand out for me.

Beginning with one of the newest addition to my arsenal, the Multitask Brush. As the name suggests, this can be used for pretty much anything. I predominantly use it for blush – although I already credited the Contour Brush as great for blush, but if you’re anything like me and like to change up your blush colour, its always nice to have a few to chop and change from.

The Blush Brush is my go to for bronzer (controversial, I know). For me, it’s the perfect size to bronze up the face as it  covers quite a large surface area and makes application foolproof. As with all the Real Techniques brushes, its ridiculously soft which makes it that little bit more satisfying to use.

Lumping the next two into one, my go to foundation brushes are the Expert Face Brush and the Buffing Brush. They are very similar, but the Expert Face is a little denser, meaning you get a little bit more coverage, but the finish is pretty much the same. The main difference is that currently only the Expert Face is available to purchase individually, so that may sway your purchase…

Last but not least the Setting Brush. Again, my favourite use for this brush is not for what its intended for. What I use this for is for blending out concealer, both under my eyes and on the face. What is so great about this brush is that it removes any excess product so you don’t end up with cake face, and it blends it out to an airbrushed finish. It also eliminates the need to touch your face, being much more hygienic. 

Phew… Sorry for the very text heavy post, I clearly have a lot to say when it comes to brushes. And I’m still not done… Check back tomorrow for my favourite eye brushes.

–RachelElizabeth
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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

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Urban Decay Ink For Eyes | Review

Winged liner has always been my go-to look – I would even go as far as to say it’s my signature. For the past two years or so, I’ve been more focused on trying gel eyeliners, but I felt I wanted a change. I have very oily eyes so I struggle with eyeliners smudging, so I’ve been searching for my perfect inky black, waterproof and long-lasting eyeliner and when Urban Decay released a new liquid eyeliner, I knew I had to try it.

The Urban Decay Ink for Eyes is an inky-black felt tip eyeliner. As expected from Urban decay, it is incredibly black and pigmented. The tip is super fine, but as you can see in the picture below, mine is slightly frayed. This hasn’t however effected the precision of application as it hasn’t affected the whole brush but it is a bit of an inconvenience. I find it really easy to create thin and thick lines with this pen, and creating a wing is also really achievable. 


In terms of longevity, it definitely lives up to the claims. It is very waterproof – so much so that it can be difficult to remove. However, using an oil (such as The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil post here) makes it much easier to break down the product and remove. It doesn’t transfer to my brow bone and stays looking perfect all day long.























Urban Decay is one of my favourite brands and it definitely hasn’t disappointed this time. Have you given any of the new eyeliners from the brand a go? My eye is now on the cream liner…

–RachelElizabeth
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theBalm Mary Lou Manizer | Review

There is something special about highlighter – it literally transforms the face. It adds an extra oomph to a makeup look, bringing out the high points of your face and giving you that glow in a more uniform way. If you love a glowy base as much as I do then you might want to listen up…

theBalm Mary Lou Manizer is these days a cult product among the Youtube and blogging worlds. It is a light beige with a golden sheen. The gold tones in this highlighter makes it perfect for those of us with warm skin with yellow undertones. However, I don’t find it to be overwhelmingly warm and I think it would work fine on someone with more pink undertones. This is quite an intense and pigmented highlighter, but can be easily applied with a light hand for more of a glow-from-within look. It looks almost glittery in the pan, but I don’t see that translated on the skin – it is more sheen than glitter. The texture is buttery and smooth to apply, and frankly I am in love. When it comes to application, I tend to focus it on the tops of my cheeks, down the bridge of my nose, cupids bow and under the brow. 
It’s surprisingly difficult to photograph highlighter, but after quite a heavy-handed application, the light bounced off it beautifully. If you’re a highlighter junkie and haven’t tried this one already, you really should. Have you ever tried anything from theBalm?

-RachelElizabeth
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I Changed My Mind…

If you’ve been reading for a while, you may remember that I gave the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light a somewhat mediocre review (read it here). Now I don’t quite know whats changed in the past 7 months, but my opinion on this product has definitely changed a significant amount. Therefore I thought it necessary to bring you volume 2 of this review…

Let’s recap to when I used this product before. My skin was considerably oilier and I had far more imperfections. I thought that this added no coverage and didn’t aid at all to longevity. Forget everything I said. I have finally seen what the hype about this product is. What I have found is that this is at its best when paired with a more dewy foundation – I’ve been pairing it often with Clinique Even Better Makeup. Something about this combination gives me the most glowy and perfect looking skin and I am obsessed (expect a post fully dedicated to that foundation in the near future). It smoothes out the skin and diffuses any imperfections and leaves the skin looking like skin.

What this powder is also wonderful for is to set your under-eye area. Sometimes when using a full coverage powder that you used to set your face makeup under the eye it can cake and settle into fine lines. This powder is so finely milled (excuse the cliche blogger phrase) that it diffuses and perfects what ever product is underneath, and is lightweight enough to be ideal for the delicate eyes.























Now the only downside is that this is a very expensive product. I would say that all you oily-skinned gals should probably steer clear of this one, but if you’re into that glowy look then you might want to save your pennies and give this a try. Have you tried any of the Ambient Lighting Powders? 

-RachelElizabeth
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