Review | MUA 3 in 1 Contour Pens

Hey Guys! Here is my review on the MUA 3 in 1 Contour Pens!

   Shades left to right - Dark Brown, Sea Blue, Black

 

Shade - Sea Blue

 

Shade - Black

 

Shade - Dark Brown

 

Cost - £1.50 e

Shades - 8

Places to Buy - MUA Online

 

Packaging: The packaging on these liners are your typical, plastic automatic pencil style. The twisting mechanism is very sturdy and works very well. The overall feel of the casing doesn't feel cheap at all, even though it is very standard plastic. The writing on the packaging is in silver and I believe it is just printed on, however I have had these liners for a while now and they writing has not rubbed off in any way. The lid clicks onto the tube, this is handy as it means that you know the lid isn't going to pop off the top of the liner, making the liner go all over the rest of your makeup/breaking apart. The 'nib' end of the casing goes inward at the tip to allow the flat shape of the pencil to stay flat and so it can move freely through when twisting to reveal the product. I have had no problems with that casing breaking/cracking/being hard to manage. It looks very sleek and the slim design makes it easy to hold and it fits perfectly in your storage/makeup bag.

 

Texture: The texture of these liners is very soft, silky and creamy. They glide on the eye with no problems, I really like the formula. However, if you have extremely oily eye lids, you may find that you can't use these on the upper lash line without setting them/smudging them out for a smokey look - I don't have extremely oily lids, but they are oily and I have had some problems with them running down my face, however this isn't the case all the time when I use them as a liner on my lash line, it only happens on certain occasions. They are also really great for use on the water line as well, the formula allows them to glide on there without loosing pigmentation and being hard against your eye. The formula and the texture of these liners also mean that the pigmentation is very fluent and you wont find that the colour skips when applying and you will get quite full colour when you use them.

 

When Do I Apply These?: Like all eyeliners, you apply these while you are doing your eye makeup as the name would suggest. If you are applying eyeshadow, you would use these after you have completed that application so you don't loose the colour of the liner/change it. Eyeliners can also be used alone on the eye so, again, you would just use these as you are applying your eye makeup as a whole.

 

I've Applied Too Much!: When you apply too much liner, there isn't a lot you can do and the fixing of it can tend to be quite tricky. I would suggest just using a Q-tip with some eye makeup remover in it and cleaning up the line until you are happy with it, but doing this means that you run the risk of having to touch up the entirety of your makeup as it will get rid of the makeup around/on your eyes. The other option is to simply, make it work! If you've made the line a lot thicker than what you originally wanted it to be, the only real option is that you make the other side just as thick and keep it how it is.

 

Would I Recommend These?: Yes, I would recommend these eyeliners. I think that for the price they are amazing quality, the shade range is mediocre but they have a variety of different colour types so its not that bad. Like I said, if you do have really oily lids, a primer will be needed to control that oil and you may have to set the liners/smudge them for a more smokey look to your liner. The angled shape of the liners makes application even easier and it fits perfectly to the shape of your eye.

 

Hope This Helps!

xox

 

 

                                

Review | ELF Brightening Eye Color

Hey Guys! So, today I have a review of the ELF Brightening Eye Color (eyeshadow quads).

 

                                             

Shade - Drama

 

Shade - Brownstone

 

Shade - Day 2 Night

 

 

Shade - Luxe

 

Shade - Ethereal

Price - £1.50 e

Shades - 14

Places To Buy - ELF UK, ELF USA

 

 

Packaging: The packaging on these eyeshadow quads are extremely standard as far as drugstore palettes are concerned - Plastic. They are made of plastic, the bottom half is a white plastic whereas the top lid part of the palette is clear. The fact the lid is clear is extremely handy so you don't have to memorise names of you quads or open every single one until you find the one you are looking for - the clear plastic allows you to be able to see the colours that are in there, which is perfect if you have a large collection of these shadows. The writing on the front is a silver colour, however don't expect it to stay written on there as it does rub off - I assume it is just sprayed on there. The palettes do feel very cheaply made and packaged but for £1.50/$1, what more can you expect? I don't mind the slightly cheap feel of the compact as the shadows inside are, in my opinion, fantastic. There is a tiny mirror at the bottom of the inside of the compact where the shadows are, when you buy the palette brand new, a sponge tip comes supplied in there. However, I do believe the mirror is massively useless. It is far too small to be able to see what you are doing and gets really messy from the shadows anyway. The triangular shape of the shadows can cause a few problems as you may not be able to get your brush in the single shade and may get a few other shades on the brush, something to think about when buying these - you may need to invest in a smaller/slimmer shadow brush if you don't already possess one as if not you may find yourself being stuck/using your fingers to apply the shades.

 

Texture: In my personal experience, the texture of these shadows vary from quad to quad. Day 2 Night for example, the shades are very pigmented, buttery smooth, and glide on the lid without looking chalky, crumbling or flaking off your lid. However, if we take Ethereal, this is the opposite end of the scale. These shadows are not as greatly pigmented, they are not buttery smooth, still smooth though. They can flake off my lids and appear crumbly if I don't use a very good and tacky base - I particularly like the ELF Glitter Primer for this as it is very sticky and has no colour so it doesn't change the shade of the shadows. Taking Ethereal as an exception, the texture of the majority of these quads are very smooth, pigmented and glide on the lid without any problems. The finishes range from matte, satin, shimmer and glitter - something you may want to look out for when purchasing your quad as well. The texture of the glitter shades can sometimes be quite chunky based on some previous reviews I have read, however this is not the case for all of them, something you may want to read up on. In my personal experience with these shadows, the only quad I have been ever so slightly disappointed with is the quad in Ethereal, however I still like it and this it would be great for beginners as the shades are very neutral and the fact they are not massively pigmented, means they will be much more forgiving if you mess up slightly during application.

 

When do I apply these?: With eyeshadows it honestly doesn't even matter, however there are a few tips I will give you about when to apply certain shadow types/shades. 1. If you are working with very dark/shadows that tend to have a lot of fall out - make sure you do the eyeshadow step first. This is because it will prevent you from spoiling the rest of your face makeup from fall out/smudges of dark shades, and you will find its easier to work with as you can be quite messy and clean it up after you're done, as you wont run the risk of ruining the rest of you makeup. 2.If you are working with light/neutral shades with not a lot of fallout - Your options are wide open. The timing of application doesn't really matter as you will have very slight chances of ruining your makeup that you have already applied. I personally like to apply my shadows after my base makeup (foundation, concealer, powder). This is because I can then work my blush/bronzer/lips around the way I have done my eye makeup. However, you could also do it vice versa - making your eyes match everything else.

 

I've applied too much!: Don't fret! With eyeshadows the way to tone down a look that went a little heavier than expected is simply to take a fluffy brush and keep blending the shades out. This will diffuse the colour and the more you blend - the lighter and sheerer the shades the appear. Keep blending until you are finally happy with the outcome - blending is important on any shadow look anyway but is also a great fix if you have gone too heavy on a look, not just too harsh.

 

Would I recommend these?: Yes! I would recommend these shadows. However, I don't think that all the shades will please everybody and the shade range may not be the widest for some people - the shades do range from neutral, colourful and dark though so, there should be at least one quad that caters to your needs. For £1.50/$1 I honestly don't think you can go wrong, and if you do get a dud palette, it's not a massive loss like it would be if you ended up not liking a Tom Ford quad for example.

 

Hope This Helps!

xoxoxo

Review | The Body Shop Shimmer Shades - Lilly Cole Collection.

 

Hi! Here is my review on the Lilly Cole Shimmer Shades from The Body Shop. Unfortunately these were Limited Edition so you can not buy these anymore, unless you get lucky in The Body Shop like I did. I got these on sale for £5.00.

 

There is only one shade selection from the Lilly Cole Collection.

Pigmentation - Medium But Buildable.

Price - £16.00

Places To Buy - The Body Shop

 

Packaging - Personally for me, the over all packaging let the product down a bit. I do like the idea that the cubes of shadow are all individual in there own plastic casing. But, it is very cheap packaging. There is nothing special about it, it's just plain, clear plastic. However, like I said, I do like the concept that each shade is individual so you only have to take the colours you need. That idea is very nice and travel friendly. Another thing that lets it down is that it doesn't lock shut, so I can guarantee if this is going on a plane, the shadows will fall out because it doesn't stay shut.

 

Texture - The texture on these are very hard and they are pigmented but not as pigmented as I expected for the regular price. I do think these are hugely over priced and you really are paying for the name over quality. Where I do think these are nice if you just want something nice, light and easy to apply, then these are probably for you. But for me, after trying so many cheaper things, I personally don't think these are worth the money and bought them to try and because they were on sale so I thought it was the perfect opportunity. With them being quite solid, I'm guessing that because of the way they are packaged, they have to be quite solid.

 

I've Applied Too Much! - Just take a blending brush and keep going oer it, this will almost dilute the colour and make it less harsh on your eyes, making a more soft, blended look. If it's the darker colours that you have over done it on, then sometimes just taking the lightest shade and running it over that colour will help meaning you won't have to spend as much time blending out the colour.

 

When Do I Apply These? - Eyeshadows are something hat you can apply whenever you want as they won't get messed with the other products as you probably won't be laying foundation and concealer over it, meaning it will still be there on your eyes. Applying these before your face makeup also helps a lot as if you get any fall out, you won't have to take away any foundation, powder or concealer, so you can just wipe it away at the end and then start your foundation routine. You could also apply them after your face makeup if you prefer, I tend to do this if I know that the eyeshadows won't have much fall down, if you are conscious about this, take a shadow shield under your eye and it will catch any fall out. Or, if you don't have them, you can just hold a tissue/cotton pad under your eye and it will do exactly the same thing.

 

Would I Recommend These? - I wouldn't to everyone. If you are just starting out with make-up and you want something that is easily blended, quite pigmented, and something where it's all there in one place, then I think these are perfect for you. However, if you, like me, have been using make-up for years and know good eyeshadow from bad, or you're a make-up artist, I think there are much better products out there, some cheaper, some the same price, but there are definitely better things out there.

 

Hope This Helps!

xox

Review | ELF Studio Concealer

 

Here is my review on the ELF Studio Concealer.

 

My colour is 'Ivory' - The Lightest Shade.

Price - £3.75

Shades - 4

Coverage - Medium

Places To Buy - ELF Online.

 

Packaging - The packaging on this product is very nice, professional and sleek looking. It has a very slim design meaning it is very travel friendly as it won't take any extra room up in your make-up bag. You don't get much product in the stick though, the amount of product shown is just a bit less than what I got before using it, that could be a down side but for what I use it for, I don't need a lot of product, and there might be more product in the lower part of the casing. It is a simple twist up, type package, pretty standard and what you get for most concealers like this now.

 

 

 Texture - The texture of this concealer stick is creamier than others, some more inexpensive concealer sticks can tend to be quite dry as they don't put a lot of moisturising aspects in the product, it's not the case for this one. I find that this has a medium coverage. I mainly use this for colour correcting under my eyes as the colour is quite orangey, and orange means a salmon colour and that cancels out the darkness under my eyes. The colour range isn't great at only 4 shades and they don't go very pale or very dark, you have to be a light-medium skin tone to be able to use these concealers.

 

 

When Do I Apply This? - If you were using this as a regular concealer I would suggest using this after foundation, as if you would put it on before, the concealer would move and you wouldn't get a lot of coverage out of it. However, because I use this as a corrector, I put this under foundation and use a tiny amount. This won't get rid of the coverage because of the purpose I'm using it for. But, like I said, use this after foundation if the shade matches you so you're using it as a regular concealer.

 

 

I've Applied Too Much! - Don't fret! Make sure you keep blending out, so it doesn't look cakey. Or, you can, again, use a fixing/moisturising mist so it doesn't look too heavy. Also, you can take a tissue and pat over the area where you applied too much, it will absorb the excess product, making sure it doesn't look heavy, cakey and it will look more natural on your skin.

 

Would I Recommend This? - I think I would, however, like I said, I would only recommend it to people who have light-medium skin tones, because otherwise, there won't be a shade for you. These are good quality for the money and think that, depending on your skin tone, you will find that it conceals nicely. For reference, I'm fair skin toned.

 

Hope This Helps!

xox

Review | MUA Brow Kit

Here's my review on the MUA Brow Kit!

Price: £3.50

Shades: 1 Shade Fits All

Pigmentation - High Pigmentation, Easily Dimmed Down.

Places To Buy: Superdrug, MUA Online

 

Packaging: The packaging on this, again, is a standard black plastic, however this feels a lot sturdier. It keeps shut by a magnet at the end of the case, which is a good and bad thing, good because then it is easier to shut, more convenient and it less likely to get stuck, but a bad thing because it makes it easier to open, which means if it's in a bag with other things, then the brow powders could rub against something in your bag and break. It looks very professional, coming with a big mirror on the lid which is very helpful when travelling as you don't need to bring separate mirrors, because you have some in our make-up items. It comes with a pair of tweezers and a double ended brush, which is very helpful and travel friendly. The writing on top of the case is, again, a metallic silver spray on, which has some wear and tear on it. (Scratches through the letters)

 

Texture: The texture of these brow powders are very silky, smooth, they are highly pigmented and have a smooth colour with no patches. However, because they are so pigmented, you do need to use a light hand when applying them to your eyebrows so they look still pretty natural and not too drawn on. You don't need too much of the product to get enough colour to fill in your brows, if these shades are not right for you, because they are so smooth, silky and blendable, it allows you to mix between to shades. The 'Highlighter' shade, for me, is too dark to use as a highlighter, I use it for days when I only want a tiny bit of definition on my brows, I am fair-light skin toned for reference. The Fixing Gel is very effective, I found that it does hold my brows in place very well and is a nice consistency., my friend uses the gel everyday and ran out of it pretty quickly but you could tell she used more than necessary as her brows looked wet. That's not natural!

 

Ways To Apply: The most common way of applying brow powder is with an Angled Brush, Mine is from Smashbox, I did it between the 2 powders to get my perfect shade, starting in the middle of my brow nearer the start, I just follow my natural brow shape, maybe elongating a little bit. You can also use something like a Pointed Eyeliner Brush, Nick from Pixiwoo uses this brush, to create a more natural look as you can create little lines and flicks to look like natural hairs from your brows, making the illusion that you just have naturally full brows.

 

I've Applied Far Too Much Product!: Don't Fret! Take a regular Spoolie Brush, mine is from ELF, and just comb through your brows, this will blend out the colour, taking away some of the pigmentation. Also, taking a clean Tea Towel or Wash Cloth, put your finger inside, then wipe over your brows, this will remove quite a bit of product so you might have to re-apply a bit more powder after.

 

When Do I Apply These?: You can apply your brow powder at any time during your make-up routine, this is probably one of the most versatile things you can do. Personally, for me, I apply my brow powder after my foundation and concealer, before my concealer is blended so it can set a bit and sink in while doing my brows (it boosts the coverage). This also means the brow powder will less likely turn out orange because you can make sure no face make-up gets on your brows and if foundation does, then you can wipe it off with a Wash Cloth before hand.

 

Would I Recommend These?: Yes definitely! I think for the price and how versatile it is from the multiple shades and the fact that it has everything you need for your brows, then I think it's worth the money! I know people who have never tried this before, I used this on them and they thought it was a £10 product.

 

Hope This Helps!

xox

Review | ELF Baked Eyeshadows (Studio)

Here is my review on the ELF Baked Eyeshadows!

Left to right: Burnt Plum, Pixie

Price:£3.75

Shades:6
Pigmentation: Medium-High Pigmentation, Buildable.

Places to buy: ELF Online

 

 

Packaging: The packaging on these shadows, again, are pretty standard and kind of cheapy feeling because of the plastic. However, saying this, the black, back part of the packaging has a nice kind of rubbery, velvet feeling (very similar to the NARS packaging) which to me is a nice chance and makes it feel a lot less cheap and flimsy. I have had these since Christmas and they have not broken, or even scratched in any way. The writing on the top of the clear, plastic covering is very much like the MUA Blush Perfection in the sense that it is a spray. However, the writing on these had not rubbed/come off in anyway, it has held up very well. Now, my only complaint about the packaging is that when I received mine, the sticker on the back only consisted of a number and not a name. This is a bad thing as it means that you will either have to remember the name, or make your own sticker with the name on it and stick it on the back of the casing. 

Texture: The texture of these eyeshadows are very soft and silky, not powdery at all. They apply very evenly to the eye, I don't have a problem with drag marks/the shadow going patchy like I do with some baked shadows that I have owned in the past. They are extremely pigmented shades and you don't need to run your brush over them a lot to get a good colour pay off. The shade Burnt Plum is a nice deep, well, plum shade. The shade pixie, is a light pink colour, almost metallic, with blue and purple shimmers, this particular shade looks amazing over the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Pink Gold. They are almost creamy in the texture, I know from past experience with baked eyeshadows, that some can tend to be extremely powdery and fly all over the place and translate better on a full swatch on your finger than with a brush on to your eye. This is not the case with these, they are very nice smooth, silky, creamy, richly pigmented shadows.

 

Ways To Apply: I mainly apply these with a soft bristled brush with the lighter colour and place it all over my lid, then use a slightly stiffer brush and black the Burnt Plum shade on my outer corner and crease (I also use a smudge brush to mirror that on my bottom lash line). Really, the only ways you can apply these shadows are with a brush or with your fingers. With a brush you are going to get a ore precise look and you are going to have more control with where the product goes and where you blend it out. With your fingers you are going to get a more quick, messy look. This doesn't always look terrible, it just depends how you work with it. Don't attempt to apply the colour into the crease with your fingers, stick with all over the lid and the outer corner, so you can still maintain control and a look like you have spent more time on it rather than like you have stamped the eyeshadow colour on your eyes!

 

I've Applied Far Too Much Product!: Don't worry! I'm here to help! Basically, the most obvious way of fixing it is just keep blending out the shadow with a blending brush, until you get it to the right amount of colour that you want. Another way that I have found out, when I have applied a mountain of product (which is quite often!) is to get a Q-Tip (Cotton Bud) and just wipe it over, the bud will remove some of the product, meaning you can either build on top of that if it has taken off too much, or just leave it if it took off the perfect amount and just blend out the edges.

 

When Do I Apply These?: Personally, I apply these after foundation and when I have done my eyebrows, before I have done concealer, powder etc... mainly because, then you don't have to worry too much about fall out. It is easier to fix when it has landed on foundation rather than layers of your face makeup. The reason being is that you can just run your foundation brush under your eyes and remove any fall out, without removing a big patch of your face makeup.

 

Would I Recommend These?: Of course! I love these shadows and for the price that they are, they are an amazing deal. The quality is there, they are by no means like cheap eyeshadows, the packaging is quite sturdy and holds up well. I haven't took these on holiday yet so I don't know how well they hold up on the plane, if they will crack or anything, but if they do, I will update this post with the results and some pictures.

 

 

Hope This Helps!

xox

Elf Elements Custom Eyes- Review.

Hey everyone! So today I have a review on the Elf Custom Eye shadow Refill Pans which are £1.50 each in the UK and $1 in the USA. I have 4  shades:

I added effects as the photo was a bit too dark, the colours aren't quite as metallic and the swatches are without primer.

 

These eye shadows are super pigmented! Although the black one (dusk) has quite a bit of fall out when you apply the shadow onto your finger/brush so be careful of that, but other wise they aren't too bad. They do have a few colourful ones like purples and greens but I went for neutral shades. They apply very beautifully, they don't have a ton of fall out but the shade in dusk has a bit more fall out than the others. They apply evenly and with a primer I can get around 10 hours worth of wear until they fade away off my eyes, but to be honest, I dont need anymore wear out of eyeshadows. They don't cause drag marks on the inner part of your eye, which is a problem I have with a few eyeshadows, so they are amazing. The packaging they come in is just a plastic container which the oan sits in, which is inside a cardboard box so they are very secure. You don't have to remember the names as they have a sticker on the back with the names on aswell as a magnet. However, the dusk eyeshadow that I have came with a clear label on a black magnet with black writing to I can't actually read the label but I just remember them all anyway. The compact to put them in is also £1.50/$1 and they also fit MAC's pan eyeshadows aswell.

 

Hope this helps!

xox



Pure Essentials Eye Cream - review

So, in the bottle of Pure Essential Eye Cream, you get 15ml of product for £2.29 which, is ok i guess. But, it is a bit steep for an eye cream. The texture is very silky but it feels and looks like jelly on your eyelids. Although, it only feels like jelly on your eyelids until it has sank in which doesn't take a long time to do.

You put this under your eyes (your lower lashline) and on your eyelids, all the way up to your brow bone. It is supposed to moisturise and reduce signs of ageing. I am not old, i'm still quite young, so I dont have signs of ageing so I don't quite know if that part of the product actually works.

The smell is very, very faint so you can hardly smell anything. You can tell that there is a scent there but it is such a weak scent, that you can't make out what it is, so it's perfect as sometimes the scent of some creams,I find, can tend to sting or irritate your eyes.

The colour is clear, which I found very interesting as I thought it would look like your average, white moisturiser. It is quite thick but when you put it on it feels very fresh and almost like you have splashed cold water onto your eyelids. It is very refreshing and makes your eyelids feel silky smooth, almost like there is no bumps or wrinkles on your eyelids when you run your finger over your eyelid, or where ever you applied the product.

Your eyelids feel amazing after use. The amount you need is very little as, like the OCC lip tars, a little goes a long way, so I would say just as the product starts to come out press it down onto your hand and that will do for 1 eyelid, well it does for mine anyway.

This product is amazing and I really love it. You can use it on a night and on a morning but, I only use it on either the morning or the night, depending on how much time I have on the morning and if I think I don't need it,(which almost never happens!)

Hope this helped!
xoxoxo

ELF Liquid liner (in coffee) - review

HEY! I'm back again, with ANOTHER ELF review, now its on the Liquid Liner in coffee:

The amount you get in the bottle is 5ml for a £1.50 price tag, which is amazing! The brush supplied it awesome as you can get a really thick, medium, or really thin line. The colour pay off is a very pigmented, dark, chocolate brown which is amazing on brown/blue eyes.

I love this product as it doesn't crack on your eyes unlike some liquid liners that I have tried in the past. The formula is very smooth and silky and it just glides onto your eyelids.

Not much more to say as it is a very simple product but...
ITS AN AMAZING PRODUCT!

Hope this helps!
xoxoxo

Pink Tease eye palette - review

Hey! I'm back with a review on the Pink Tease eye palette!

This palette is very metallic so for an everyday look I do not recommend this as the colours are very bright and bold on your eyes. The selection of colours are quite good! You have your beige, gold, brown, silver, black and there is even a couple olive tone eye shadows in there, so that is amazing! I don't know the price as I got this palette for Christmas last year and I cant find the price on the Internet, which means I don't know where you can buy this palette either. If anyone finds it please leave the details in the comments as it would really help!

Anyway, like I said, the colours are extremely metallic so I would either use a tiny bit with a very very light hand! Or, just use it to spice up a look. The whole palette itself is 10.5g but doesn't say how much the individual eye shadows are.

I do like this palette, however because the finish of the eye shadows are so bright, bold and metallic I am limited to what I can use them for.

I would recommend this palette to people who wear bold and out there looks, but not to people who use the natural look.

Hope this helps!!
xoxoxo

ELF Eyelid Primer (in golden) - review

Hey! I'm back with another ELF review! As you guessed from the title it is on the ELF Eyelid Primer (in golden).

                             (sorry about the darkness, I don't have very good lighting)

So, first of all this product is £1.50 as it is from there essential line. You get 5ml in a tube which isn't bad at all!

I really love this primer. It is a great,creamy consistancy, it leaves a flattering shimmer on the eyelid - the only one that doesn't do this is the normal shade in sheer. I have been using this product for a long time now and it does wonders! I put it to the 24hr test and it lasted a good 8-10 hours which is amazing! However, I do find that whilst putting the eyeshadow on, it doesn't stick amazingly, it is only after you have applied your eyeshadow and it has been on for about 5 minutes that it really sticks onto the product and doesn't budge.

For me, it seems to dry after the eyeshadow is on top of it, and it seems to grab the eyeshadow with it. This is an amazing primer! Proberbly not the best out there, but for £1.50 and it is this good, I really reccomend it and will be stocking up on this product myself!

However, i do find that because it is in a tube with a sponge applicator, alot of the product is left on the sides and you cant really get it out unless you swirl the sponge round the sides of the tube.

I hope you found this useful and I hope you will purchase this in the future!!
xoxox