Maybelline Instantly Anti Age Eraser.

Hello my lovelies,

Hello Beauties! I hope you've all had a great week and are looking forward to a nice sunny weekend. Recently, I tried Maybelline Fit Me concealer I wasn't completely happy about the Fit Me Concealer (it was a little too dark and oxidised on my skin). So I decided to have a look around.

I'd been hearing a lot about the Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer from some of my favourite bloggers, so I thought I'd give it a go as their 'light' shade looked like a good match for my skin - I know it doesn't look like it on camera, but it really does match my foundation and under eye area perfectly!
The concealer comes in a plastic tube, but instead of the normal doe foot applicator or similar, it has a furry/sponge-like dabber on the end (I had no idea what to call this, clearly haha). 

I'm not sure how hygienic this is, especially if you apply this to blemishes, but apart from that fact, I really like this applicator. It makes applying the concealer under my eyes really easy. It allows you to cover large areas quickly, or to be really precise and dab it onto a blemish without smudging concealer all over your face.
The formula of this concealer was what really won me over though. It's a really lovely, creamy formula which blends into your skin effortlessly and the slight yellow tone in the concealer really helps to brighten my under eye area. I apply this in an upside-down triangular shape under my eye and blend out to create a more highlighted effect, which I find really helps to brighten up my complexion on those early winter mornings. 

I'm also really impressed with the coverage of this concealer. It's not a particularly thick concealer and feels weightless on the skin, so I was expecting minimal coverage, but this concealer easily covers my dark circles (it's not an easy task - trust me!) and any blemishes while remaining pretty undetectable on top of my foundation. 

If you're looking for a new concealer, I really recommend you take a look at this one. It's a great all round concealer which I think would work on all skin types. The shade range isn't huge, which is usually the case for drugstore concealers unfortunately, however for £7.99 I don't have any complaints and this product is fast reaching holy grail level for me. 

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

The Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation £8.99 is possibly the most hyped drugstore foundation, especially for those with dry skin. However the palest shade 100 Ivory isn't remotely Ivory, in fact it's essentially orange, so I've never been able to actually try it for myself.. until now. The Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation and Stay Matte Foundation have a paler shade; 010 Light Porcelain which is actually pale, which is huge news for pale skinned girls like myself. Whilst perusing Superdrug a few weeks ago imagine my delight to see that Rimmel had launched the Light Porcelain shade for their highly coveted Wake Me Up Foundation.. 

It is packaged within a tall, narrow, glass bottle with neon orange lid and pump. The pump is great, and has a lot of control so you can dispense as much or as little as you wish. It claims to to be Rimmel's first foundation that visibly reawakens and illuminates the skin with a radiant glow and a flawless, natural looking finish with an anti-fatigue effect. There are seven shades available, it retails for £8.99 and appears the new Light Porcelain shade is only available in Superdrug stores or on their website currently. It does contain an SPF of 15, so definitely not one to wear if you're planning on taking or being in photo's. 

When I first pumped the foundation onto the back of my hand, my heart sank as it looked equally orange, however once I'd started to blend it in it became completely undetectable on my super pale skin - which never happens. Normally with the palest foundations, I have to do copious blending and I feel that it always looks very obvious that I'm wearing foundation as the colour match is never perfect. Hopefully in the swatch above you can see that it's a fantastic match and my hands are paler than my face so I'm absolutely ecstatic with the shade match. I have the Rimmel Match Perfection foundation in Light Porcelain, which again is a great match for a drugstore foundation, but I really don't like the foundation itself.. it offers little weartime, and I can always feel it on my skin throughout the day and it's only a light-medium coverage foundation. This Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation is actually a medium to full coverage foundation, and offers amazing coverage and I can't feel it sitting heavily on my skin like I do with the Match Perfection Foundation. 

The Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation Light Porcelain is such an amazing, perfect shade match that I was worried that the foundation would disappoint or it wouldn't work with my dry skin. However I can see why it's raved about so much. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you can probably tell by my enthusiasm of this post, but I am besotted by this foundation. It has a nice, subtle, fruity scent and does lean a little pink, but only slightly. 

As soon as it's been blended in, it leaves my skin looking so radiant and glowy thanks to the radiance pearls within the foundation. I was worried it would look a little 'glittery' but thankfully it doesn't at all, it looks so natural and really helps to give life to my dull complexion. It does cling to dry patches slightly, but not enough to put me off using the foundation.. I just ensure I apply a silicone based primer over my dry patches before applying it. 

I am just so happy to have found an affordable foundation which actually matches my skintone without having to add a white foundation to lighten it, for the very first time. If you have pale skin, I urge you to try this new Light Porcelain shade of the Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation. 

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

Hello my lovelies,

If I were to give out awards to the posts that were sitting in my drafts the longest time, this one would surely get one. When I first got the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent I wanted to test it thoroughly before reviewing it, as usual. And then it fell to the back burner. And it's not that I haven't been using it. This is actually my go-to powder for school so I use it several times a week. It's just so basic and unexciting that I kept putting off talking about it, haha. 

At one point it seemed like everyone was talking about this powder and I think it's largely thanks to Tanya Burr. In terms of setting powders, this is probably my favorite one from the drugstore. There are other setting powders I like better which is probably why this feels so unexciting. It's moderately soft in texture and feels very much like talc (which is what it is, pretty much, as that is its main ingredient). It swatches chalky but that doesn't translate into the face. It starts losing points on because of its wear time. It keeps me shine free for about 3-4 hours (in moderate temperatures). A long wearing powder does the job for 5-8 hours. Still, it does what it's supposed to and is quite affordable. I have to mention the packaging (just like most reviewers) because it is horrid. The lid is so flimsy and does not screw on properly (because it only has one "lockable ridge") so the lid comes of very easily. Beware! 

I would repurchase it as it's a good everyday powder at a great price. Perfect for when you don't want to use "the good stuff" for everyday errands or going to class.

Mac Lipstick Creme Cup Review

Hello my lovelies, 

Now this is a really late review, but I thought I would do it now as the hype over this lipstick has died down a bit. A while ago, actually over a year ago, I went shopping and ventured into my local Debenhams  store and went to the Mac counter where I picked up a lipstick, I had swatched pretty much every shade that I liked and decided I wanted to get a nice pinky nude, as I didn't have one in my collection yet. The shade I ended up liking the most was the highly raved about Crème Cup, I was hesitant to get this at first as I don't particularly like to go for the shades everyone talks about, I like to be different. But no matter how much I tried I just couldn't stop myself from lusting over this shade. 

Crème Cup is a Creamsheen finish, which means it is glossy, highly pigmented and long lasting, Creamsheens are very well known to be incredibly creamy, flattering and quite a thick lipstick. 

Crème Cup is definitely no exception to the Creamsheen reputation, I love the formula, it really is gorgeous and doesn't dry out your lips at all. The colour pay off is beautiful, a gorgeous blue pink, nude, perfect for an every day look for a pop of colour or the lip, or paired with a nice smoky eye for an evening look. It really is an all-rounder of a shade. The lasting power of this lipstick is pretty impressive too and will last on me a good 8-10 hours with no touch ups. 

I really do feel this shade is a must for Spring/Summer and will suit most skin tones as it's not too light so won't wash out even the most pale of skin tones. I really can't express enough how much I love this shade and I am so glad I picked it up, I definitely can see what the fuss all about!

Have you tried Crème Cup yet? What are your thoughts on it? I'd love to know! I will definitely be getting a lot of wear from this shade! 

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Hello my lovelies,

I jumped on the Naked palette rather late I got the original Naked palette a few years back, now the original Naked is a neutral girls dream palette. It comes with 12 shades.. shimmery neutrals right through to everything you need for that perfect smokey eye. The colours come encased in a velvet, oblong palette with a good sized mirror and a double ended make up brush. I personally love the brush that comes with these palettes and always use them.  

(L-R Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck. Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal)

I haven't stopped using this since I bought it, mainly Virgin all across the lid, Sidecar or Smog in the crease and Toasted or Hustle in the corners. I am yet to use Creep or Gunmetal, they're gorgeous shades but I'm not very good with a dark, smokey eye and tend to look like a stripper. The shadows are so creamy, and super blendable. I'm having a major love in with Urban Decay at the moment and wonder why it's taken me so long to really look into the brand. Next up the Naked 2 then from there I might build up the Naked collection.

What is your favourite Naked palette? 

Benefit Gimme Brow

Hello my lovelies,

Now after months and months of wearing and trying to find fault in this product I have to admit, there is none. Until I saw this product I never filled in my eyebrows, never felt the need to. Mind you back then I never wore make up much.

I absolutely love the concept of this brow volumising fiber-gel and despite struggling a little with it to begin with. I've really become quite besotted with this product. What's great about Gimme Brow is that you can use it on it's own or on top of pencil. I find it gives my brows a much more three dimensional finish and really accentuates them. 

What I struggled with at first was the amount of product that clings to the little application brush. It tends to kind of apply heavily even with the slightest of hand. I'd end up with large blobs over my brows that were a struggle to tone down and get rid of. Which resulted in it looking like I had used a Sharpie. I think the moral of the story is to ensure the excess on the brush is taken away so you can apply and build the product. 

Using an upward motion I gently apply soft brush strokes to my brows and then use the brush to comb through and set them in place. My brows are left much fuller without a trace of crispiness either. I've even had compliments from my work mates. At the moment I'm trying to get my mum to buy the lighter shade for her eyebrows as she is always saying that hers are too thin and sparse.

Have you used Gimme Brow? What are your views on it?

Benefit They're Real Push Up Eyeliner

Hello my lovelies,

Benefit They’re Real Push Up Liner is billed as the liner for those who find liner impossible! A flexible nib at the end of the tube means that when you apply it, it hugs the lash line making errors less likely. It’s not 100% foolproof because you still need to have some steadiness, but it does take the hard work out of liquid lining, that’s for sure. You turn the end (at the bottom) to make the product come through the tube and it gives an exact amount for each eye.

In fact, you’re going to be seeing quite a few brands employ this soft nib technique for lining – I’ve been wearing this almost non-stop since I got it a few months ago. And, this liner is not going anywhere! Much as I hate to admit to occasional sloppy eye make-up removal, I have woken up rather glamorous on occasion. It does not budge! Despite the shade of black looking a little bit brown in my picture above, it’s anything but – it is the blackest of blacks.

Benefit They’re Real Push Up Liner isn’t without a few flaws. The thick liquid can be a little bit pacy coming out – you really have to get to know the product to realise what is the perfect amount – and it dries to a hard end that you have to remove before re-applying and that seems like rather a waste of product. Next generation flexible nib liners will probably eradicate this problem, but for now, Benefit They’re Real Push Up Liner is definitely worth trying if you haven't tried it already. You can get it at all Benefit counters obviously and it only costs £18. 

Just recently Benefit have announced that their They're Reall Push Up Liners are going to have more colours added to the line. I can not wait to get my hands on one of them, I'm thinking vibrant blue. Let me know if any of you have tried the eyeliner and what your views are on it.

Maybelline Pore Eraser Primer

Hello my lovelies,

I seem a bit awkward writing about a product so long after the release and after almost every other blogger has probably already featured it on their blog. But hey, working full time prevents me from being able to blog so often so lets forgive me and read another ;)

I'm sure we all know the hype that was Baby Lips, which I personally gave in to and loved. After seeing the release of Baby Skin, I decided to stand back and watch other bloggers opinions on the product before I tried for myself. I have a high-street fave primer, my trusty Rimmel Fix & Perfect Primer and wanted to wait until I had finished that product before starting a new one. 

Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser (what a mouthful) is £7.99 which I think is a fair price to pay for a primer. It claims to smooth and give poreless looking skin with it's silicone based formula, duh! 

Baby Skin is a clear in colour, gel-like formula primer. I love the tube, it come out of the tube easily yet not too quickly. Squeezing out a pea sized amount is enough to cover my face and neckline.

It's very silky smooth to apply, gliding over the skin, leaving a silky soft base before apply makeup. It does appear to give the impression of minimised pores by giving a blur effect to the skin. The finish is lovely and matte, it stops the shine from my oily-prone skin for a while but sadly I have a very oily t-zone so I do have to blot in the middle of the day. When applying my concealer and foundation, especially to areas where my pores and lines are deep, I have found that Baby Skin does a really good job at preventing my makeup from slipping throughout the day.

Is Maybelline's Baby Skin in your daily routine? If not, do share your favourite primer! I'm all for trying new things!

Seventeen Phwaorr Paint Concealer

Hello my lovelies,

Just like every girl, concealer holds a big place in my makeup bag. It gets me through my bad breakout days and when I'm having a lazy makeup day I'll simply pop a bit of concealer on and I'm ready for the day.

A few bloggers suggested Seventeen's Phwoarr Paint to me after I was on the hunt for a cheaper alternative to my favourite concealer, Benefit's Boi-ing!

At just £5.49 it's an absolute bargain and a fraction of the price of Boi-ing! so I just had to try it; no harm on my bank balance if it didn't meet my expectations.

The packaging itself is definitely a lot better than Boi-img, as it is more sturdy and compact friendly with an attached lid and even a mirror inside, perfect for touch-ups on the go!

Unfortunately, it's only available in two shades, Light and Medium. So those with Dark shine I'm afraid will have to go for a different product. I'm pale which meant I went for the light shade.

Phwoarr Paint in fair has a slight orangey tone which is great for neutralising the blue tones in dark circles. The 'fair' shade could be a little lighter, as I found it didn't really blend that well with the foundation I was wearing. So I ended up with orange patches. 

The texture of Phwoarr Paint is thick and creamy, it really does remind me of Boi-ing! Applying with a warm finger in a dabbing motion and blending it covers very well indeed. My undereye dark circles, which I have as I don't sleep that well, get covered really well. As do any blemishes that I may have (which is nearly everyday). 

 The lasting power of this concealer is very good, I can last a whole shift at work, around 8 hours, without needing to touch up. That's in both the heat of central heating of the house and school as well as in the cold weather. So that's another point given to it.

My only concern with Phwoarr Paint is that it can bring out the dryness in skin, making some areas of my undereye/cheek look a little dry, nothing a little hydrating eye cream and primer can't fix though!

Overall I think Seventeen Phwoarr Paint is an incredible budget undereye concealer for hiding unwanted dark circles. If you don't want to stretch to Benefit's price tag then this is for you!

Have you tried Seventeen Phwoarr Paint? What did you think of it? What's your favourite under-eye concealer?

Soap & Glory Supercat

Hello my lovelies,

Now I purchased this product over a year ago and I literally hang my head in shame for not posting a review sooner. However, saying that at the time loads of blogger had reviews on it at the time. So in a way you could say this is my way of reminding people of how great this product is. So here it is my review of Supercat eyeliner by Soap & Glory.

Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner £6.00 - I have recently tried to make an effort with wearing eyeliner as I really think that it can totally transform a look from zero effort to maximum with a simple cat flick. This has lead me to try out some of my previously neglected eyeliners in a quest to find my favourite. 

The Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner started off strong, the super pointy nib means that I can be super precise and keep my line as neat as possible and build up a strong look very gradually. When I first dug this out it was also "Carbon Black" just as it says on the tin. It has started to dry out now but as I said earlier, it is over a year old so it's not really unexpected. I have a few more in my collection to try out first, but I will definitely be repurchasing this when I've run out. It lasts all day, even if I go to the gym or biking then it stays firmly put. I'm actually super disappointed that it's run out now when I'm really getting into wearing eyeliner as it performs so well. 

So there you go, let me know your view on this product in comments below.

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Hello my lovelies,

I jumped on the Naked palette rather late I got the original Naked palette a few years back, now the original Naked is a neutral girls dream palette. It comes with 12 shades.. shimmery neutrals right through to everything you need for that perfect smokey eye. The colours come encased in a velvet, oblong palette with a good sized mirror and a double ended make up brush. I personally love the brush that comes with these palettes and always use them.  

(L-R Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck. Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal)

I haven't stopped using this since I bought it, mainly Virgin all across the lid, Sidecar or Smog in the crease and Toasted or Hustle in the corners. I am yet to use Creep or Gunmetal, they're gorgeous shades but I'm not very good with a dark, smokey eye and tend to look like a stripper. The shadows are so creamy, and super blendable. I'm having a major love in with Urban Decay at the moment and wonder why it's taken me so long to really look into the brand. Next up the Naked 2 then from there I might build up the Naked collection.

What is your favourite Naked palette?