This might seem a bit weird, well it does to me anyway, but this whole post is dedicated to one single eyeshadow. Yes, just one little eyeshadow. I haven't done this before and I wouldn't normally do this but this eyeshadow is sooooooo good that I felt I had to. It literally is the best eyeshadow I have ever used and it's a Morphe Brushes single eyeshadow in the shade Mysterious ES11.
Morphe Eyeshadow in Mysterious ES11
Morphe have been around for while, I'm not sure how long, but I've known about them for roughly a year so they are quite a new company. They are very well known on YouTube, this was how I heard about them, and it seems like every beauty youtuber uses some kind of Morphe product. It is their eyeshadows and their eyeshadow palettes that seem to get the most attention because of how amazing they are. Now I must admit I wasn't completely convinced and I didn't run out to buy any of their products. Well I don't know why I would run out because you can only buy their products online, (apart from the one shop they have which I think is in California), but you understand what I mean! However as I was browsing makeup on Beauty Bay I noticed they sold Morphe, they'd sold out of the more popular palettes like the 35O palette everyone bangs on about but they did have some single eyeshadows left and they were only £2. Yes £2!!! To be more exact they were £1.95 and I couldn't resist them at that price so I picked up a few.
Morphe Eyeshadows in Burlesque ES74, Mysterious ES11 & Marbleized ES20
I wasn't excited for these eyeshadows, I just didn't think they'd be that good because they were so cheap, therefore I've had them for nearly 2 months and they've just been sat in my drawer. However I finally decided I had to try them out and I used one of them for the first time last week. I actually filmed the look and it's now on my YouTube channel, I'll leave the video below if you wanted to check out the eyeshadow in action.
Now I can honestly say I'm annoyed at myself for not trying these eyeshadows out sooner. Mysterious is my new favourite eyeshadow, it's the most unique colour I have in my collection. It's like a red, orange and a copper all rolled into one eyeshadow and is seriously eyeshadow heaven if you like warm tone colours, plus it looks amazing on blue eyes! The only thing is you need MAC Fix+ to really get the full potential out of this eyeshadow. I first applied it without Fix+ and yes it was quite pigmented but it didn't have that wow factor, however when I applied it with Fix+ I was speechless. I'm not lying when I say this, it is the most pigmented, in your face, BAM kind of colour. It was just as pigmented, if not more, than a MAC loose pigment and this eyeshadow is only £1.95. It lasted all day as well and the colour didn't fade which is exactly what you want from an eyeshadow.
Mysterious ES11
Mysterious ES11 & Mysterious ES11 with Fix+
Burlesque ES74, Mysterious ES11, Mysterious ES11 with Fix+ & Marbleized
I can seriously not find any faults with this eyeshadow and I personally think everyone needs to buy this eyeshadow no matter what your skin tone or eye colour is because it's the kind of colour that will look amazing on everyone. I can only recommend Mysterious as I haven't used the other shades I picked up on my eyes yet, but from swatches I've done I have high hopes. Supposedly the eyeshadows in the palettes are better than the single eyeshadows - although I really don't know how you can get better! So now I need to pick up one of the palettes, I want the 35O because it has similar orange/red tone eyeshadows.
Morphe products are available from the Morphe Brushes website or if you live in the UK they are available from Beauty Bay.
Last week I completely finished my Glamglow Supermud mask and I was so upset for a number of reasons. Firstly, the last time I used the mask there wasn't enough left to cover my whole face so I could only do my problem areas. I know, first world problems right? However the main reason I was upset was because this mask is so expensive, but I knew the time would finally come when I would have to repurchase this mask.
This mask is amazing, there is no denying that it is worth the money in my opinion. I do really feel like it clears my pores, which is what it's supposed to do, but it's also great for clearing up the texture on my skin which is essentially just blocked pores. Another thing I use the mask for is a spot treatment, I only tend to do this if the spot is really bad because using this mask too often can dry out your skin. However the most amazing thing of all is that you can actually see the mask working! It goes on a dark charcoal grey - obviously- and drys to a light grey. As it's drying tiny little dark grey dots start appearing and they're the spots where the mask is pulling out all of the trapped dirt and oil. Trust me this is the most satisfying mask you'll ever use!
It retails for around £45 but the price can vary between £40-£50. When the mask arrived I was shocked about how small the tub was - I was like - 'why the hell have I payed £45 for something that's only going to last a maximum of a month!'. However I purchased the mask around August time so it's lasted me a good six months, this was me only using it once a week for a full face mask and the odd spot treatment. So it definitely lasts a good amount of time and a lot longer than I was expecting! I've put the tub next to a MAC lipstick so you can see just how small the tub is!
This mask was featured in my beauty favourites of 2015 postand I said I couldn't live without this mask, although I'm not sure whether I have enough knowledge of charcoal masks to say this. This is only the second charcoal mask I've tried, the other being the Origins one which is supposed to be extremely similar to the Glamglow mask, but I can't comment on that because it has been such a long time since I've used it. My point being, how can I say that the Glamglow mask is my holy grail mask when I've barely explored the mask world.
I'm determined to find a mask that is more affordable than the Glamglow but has the same results. So while I do think that the Glamglow mask is worth every penny I don't really have anything to compare it to. My plan is to explore and experiment with more charcoal/pore clearing masks to see what else is out there, and you never know I might even find something better!
The last video on my YouTube channel was a first impression of the L'Oreal infallible 24H Matte foundation. But as the title of that video suggests it was only my first impression of the product and opinions can change or you find a better way to use the product etc, so I wanted to do a first impression update.
If you want to hear my original thoughts on this foundation or see how this foundation works with and without a primer, watch the video below. Watch in HD :)
I don't normally like drugstore foundations because I can never find the right shade or one that works for my oily skin. I have really fair skin so I always have to get one of the lightest shades, if not the lightest one, and they always have an extremely pink undertone. This is fine if you have pink undertones, but I don't. It really does annoy me that if you have fair skin it is assumed that you have pink undertones. Pink undertone foundations look ashy on me and just make me look ill, whereas a yellow undertone foundation makes my skin look fresh and awake, and the most important thing - it matches my skin tone.
The L'Oreal Infallible foundation works amazingly with my oily skin - the first drugstore foundation I have found that actually controls the oiliness in my skin, but the shade that is closest to my skin tone is very pink. So it doesn't really match my skin tone. This is so annoying because this foundation ticks the oily skin box and if there were just yellow undertone shades available it would tick the perfect shade box as well!
The packaging is a squeezy tube so it's really easy to get the product out.
But I can make it work. In the video I applied two coats of this foundation to see how well it built up, but the more I put on the pinker the foundation looked. So I've figured out less is definitely more with this foundation. Also in the video I applied the foundation with a flat kabuki brush but when applied with a beauty blender, or the Real Techniques sponge in my case, your skin literally looks airbrushed! Applying it with a sponge also helps to sheer out the foundation, helping it not look too pink and as this foundation can be prone to look cakey, applying it with a damp sponge will also reduce the risk of cake face!
As you can see it has quite a thick formula.
Since doing the first impressions video my love for this foundation has only grown and it has become one of my current favourite foundations despite the fact the foundation is far too pink for me. Even though I have an issue with the shade it's still the best drugstore foundation I have ever used. If there were a yellow tone shade for my skin tone I really think this would become one of my all time holy grail foundations! I know there are yellow undertone shades available in American so I'm going to try and get my hands on one!!
As you can see this shade is too pink for my skin tone, ignore the other marks on my hand - I was doing lipstick swatches early and some wouldn't come completely off!
I would highly recommend this foundation for anyone with oily skin because it is amazing! I still think it would work for normal skin, with a more hydrating primer, because it does does dry completely matte and does cling to any dry patches. So you've probably already guessed, but if you have dry skin you're going to absolutely hate this foundation! Steer clear of this foundation if you have dry skin - there are so many other drugstore foundations on the market that would be better suited to your skin type.
I absolutely hate cleaning makeup brushes! I always avoid it which ends up with me not washing my brushes for ages, normally the longest I push it is two weeks. That may seem like a long time to some and not so long to others, but it's a long time for me considering I use my makeup brushes at least 5 days a week. Nothing good comes out of not cleaning your makeup brushes, bacteria can form which can end up giving you spots and it can also affect makeup application. For instant eye makeup, brushes will have remains of previous eyeshadows and this will affect the colour of the new eyeshadow you are using, everything will just start to look muddy and I've also found that I can never do a good winged eyeliner with a dirty brush. Cleaning your brushes isn't really something you should avoid, because the process is unavoidable I think it's best for me to make it as easy as possible so I'll be more willing to do it.
Before I get into the review and demo of the Cinema Secrets brush cleaner I'm just quickly going to tell you how I cleaned my makeup brushes before getting it. I used to use Johnson's baby shampoo (it didn't matter which type because they all worked fine) and I would either wash my brushes under the tap or fill up a bowl of warm water so I could watch TV whilst washing my brushes. This process of washing brushes is quite time consuming but I found using the baby shampoo was the most affordable way of washing them. Then I would just leave them flat on a towel and let them air dry. Most of the smaller brushes would be dry the next day but some of the bigger face brushes could take up to 2-3 days to completely dry. I don't have the biggest brush collection and I use most of my brushes everytime I do my makeup so if I can't use them for 2-3 days whilst they're drying that's a problem. Even though I hated actually washing my makeup brushes because it was so time consuming, it was actually the long drying time that prompted me to look for an alternative.
I'd been hearing a lot of good things about the Cinema Secrets brush cleaner and the main benefit was that it was so quick to use and the brushes were dry in roughly about 10 minutes. This sounded like the exact thing I wanted but a quick google search told me it wasn't available in the UK. This always happens when I really want something! So I just persevered with washing my makeup brushes with baby shampoo. As soon as I found out that I couldn't have this brush cleaner I kept hearing more and more about it and how amazing it was, it was like it was being rubbed in my face that I couldn't have it! So I then went on a mission and was determined to find a way of getting this brush cleaner to me without it being too expensive. I ended up getting it from ebay and it cost me £39 including delivery, which I know is quite expensive for just a brush cleaner, but it is a huge bottle and when I did the maths it actually worked out cheaper than the MAC brush cleanser which I had purchased a few times.
I just want to say that I'm so glad that I took the plunge and spent that amount of money because it is now so quick and easy to wash my brushes! I've included a step-by-step demo of how I use the brush cleaner because it's easier for you to just see what I do rather than me explaining it. You don't need to use a lot of the brush cleaner either and because I don't have loads of brushes this brush cleaner will last me for ages, I'm hoping it will last me a year and I really think it will.
Demo of the Cinema Secrets Brush Cleaner:
This is my set up and is everything I need when I'm cleaning my brushes. I have my dirty brushes, brush cleaner, a towel to place the brushes on once they've been cleaned, kitchen towel and a small bowl/ramekin to put the brush cleaner in. (The glass ramekin is actually from an empty GU pudding).
I pour a small amount of the brush cleaner into the ramekin. I usually have to refill, but I do so in small amounts to avoid any waste as it was so expensive!
I tear a few pieces of kitchen towel off and put them in front of me because this is what I use to wipe clean my brushes. You can use a towel for this instead of kitchen towel but the makeup will stain your towel so keep that in mind. Hopefully this will make more sense in the next couple of pictures.
This is my dirty brush before I use the Cinema Secrets brush cleaner, as you can see it's very dirty. I used this as my example as it was dirtier than the two brushes you can see at the bottom of the image that I had already cleaned.
First you dip your makeup brush into the brush cleaner.
Then rub the makeup brush on the kitchen towel (or towel) in circular and windshield wiper motions. Don't be too rough with this process because you don't want to ruin your brushes.
As you can see the makeup is coming off the makeup brush and being left on the kitchen towel. You may need to repeat the last few steps depending on how dirty your brush is but in my experience it's normally only the larger face brushes where you need to repeat these steps.
As you can see my makeup brush is now perfectly clean and looks brand new! Then all I do is place the brush on the towel to dry which takes about 10 minutes, maybe a tiny bit longer for bigger brushes.
It really is that quick and easy to clean my makeup brushes since I've had the Cinema Secrets brush cleaner. I'm even thinking about doing a brush cleaning video on my YouTube channel just to prove how quick cleaning makeup brushes with this brush cleaner is because obviously you can't tell how quick it was from the pictures.
I would highly recommend this brush cleaner! Also an added bonus is that it smells like vanilla, so then your brushes smell like vanilla which in my books is a good thing! I was worried it would have a strong alcohol like smell.
This brush cleaner is available from Sephora and is $36 for the 32oz size which is the largest available. However Sephora do not ship this product to the UK which is why I purchased mine from ebay and the prices on ebay vary.
I've only done one other full palette review and swatches and that was on the Urban Decay Naked Palette so I thought it was only right that I should do my other favourite palette which is the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette.
This palette is full of neutral colours and has a couple of pops of colour which is why I love this palette because you can make so many different eye looks. You really do get your moneys worth. This palette is full of warm colours which I prefer over cool tones as I think they are more flattering. If you prefer cooler tone eyeshadows check out the other editions in the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette range as they contain more cooler tone eyeshadows.
There are positives and negatives to this palette, which I have listed down below. I have also done a swatch of all of the individual eyeshadows and given a little review on all of them. Remember these are just my opinions and what I like and dislike about the palette won't be the same as what someone else likes and dislikes.
Positives:
1. The palette palette costs £39 and this sounds like a lot but there are 16 eyeshadows in the palette which works out at just under £2.50 per eyeshadow! That's like drugstore prices for a high end product!
2. I go back and forth between this palette and the Urban Decay Naked Palette on which is my all time favourite, the reason this one sometimes wins is because there are more matte shades! Matte shades are so important and palettes never have enough matte shades, but this one has five!
3. It smells like chocolate!! Enough said!
4. It has a couple of colourful eyeshadows making it easy to create so many different eye looks.
5. Because of the pops of colour and matte shades it's a very versatile palette and can create a range of looks, from a natural daytime look to a dramatic evening look.
6. The packaging is so good! It's a metal tin case and closes magnetically making it easy to keep clean and easy to travel with.
Negatives:
1. Some shades can be hard to blend and they don't all have a creamy buttery texture.
2. This next point probably isn't a downside to most people, but it's definitely a downside to me. There is a plastic sleeve that has the eyeshadow names on which sits on top of the eyeshadows, hopefully you'll understand what I mean from the pictures. Because I film YouTube videos I need to know the names of the eyeshadows I'm using so I have to keep this plastic sleeve and it does get annoying having to take it out and put it back after I finished using the palette. I'm not 100% sure but I think they've changed this so if you buy this palette now the eyeshadows names are on the actual palette.
3. There are a couple of eyeshadows that I either find disappointing or I just don't reach for them, but this is always the case when you buy a palette. It's near impossible to make a palette where everyone likes every single shade and uses all of the eyeshadows an equal amount.
Eyeshadows: Glided Ganache - is a warm dark brown with a golden bronze shimmer. In the pan it looks like it has a green undertone but on the eyes and in the swatch it doesn't look green at all, I was kind of disappointed by this because it would have been nice to have a green shade in the palette. This is one of my least used shades in the palette, I'm not really sure why because it is a really beautiful colour but it just doesn't stand out to me. This shade has a more dry rough texture and can have some fall out but does have quite good pigmentation.
White Chocolate - is a pale beige and has a matte finish. The shade is perfect for a base eyeshadow, to set eyeshadow primer or as a more natural and subtle highlight on the brow bone and inner corner. The texture is very smooth and has good pigmentation for such a light matte shade. This eyeshadow is one of the larger eyeshadows and this is such a good thing in my opinion because I use this shade every time I use this palette.
Milk Chocolate - is a warm tone medium brown and has a matte finish. This shade is perfect as a crease or transition colour for any eye look, this shade is incredibly easy to blend out and has a really soft and smooth texture. This is one of my most used shades from the palette.
Black Forest Truffle - this shade is a deep purple/burgundy with a pink shimmer running through it. This shade is basically the same as Glided Ganache in regards to the texture and finish. It has a drier rough texture and is also one of my least used shades. The pigmentation is good but does create quite a bit of fall out.
Triple Fudge - is a very deep dark brown that leans slightly warmer toned and has a matte finish. It has quite good colour pay-off for a dark matte shade and has a soft texture. I mainly use this shade either to darken and add more depth to an eye look or as a softer alternative to eyeliner on the upper lash line.
First Row - Gilded Ganache, White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Black Forest Truffle, Triple Fudge
Salted Caramel - is a light-medium orange brown that is extremely warm toned and has a matte finish. This is hands down my most used colour from the palette, it does look like a boring shade but it looks so much better on the eyes and is great for warming up any eye look. I use this shade mainly as a transition colour and it has a smooth texture and is really easy to blend.
Marzipan - is a warm tone rose gold/champagne colour in a shimmer finish and can look quite metallic when used with Fix+. This is another favourite shade of mine and this eyeshadow is gorgeous all over the lid or as an inner corner highlight. This eyeshadow also has an amazing smooth and buttery texture.
Semi-Sweet - is a warm tone medium-dark brown with a matte finish. As with the other matte shades in the palette it has a nice soft texture and is very easy to blend, it also has quite good pigmentation. This is another one of my most used shades as it's just the perfect shade, especially on my fair skin tone, to darken up the crease on any eye look.
Strawberry Bon Bon - is a cool tone light pastel pink with a matte finish. It has the soft finish of the matte shades but this shade in my opinion is the most disappointing regarding pigmentation. It just doesn't have any pigmentation and doesn't really show up on my skin tone. I think it would show up better on darker skin tones but I think it would still need to be built up quite a lot to get any pigmentation. This is definitely my least used shade in the palette and the only thing I would use it for would be to set my eyeshadow primer as it's more of a translucent powder than a light pink eyeshadow.
Candied Violet - is a muted cool tone purple with pink shimmer running through it. This shade is very similar to Glided Ganache and Black Forest Truffle as it has a more rough dry texture and this shade is also quite difficult to work with and is difficult to blend. This is another one of my least used shades. The pigmentation is sheer at first but can be built up to be semi opaque.
Amaretto - is a warm tone brown that has a very red undertone and to me it's looks a bit duo chrome. It has a soft and buttery texture with good colour pay off and is very easy to blend. I love wearing this shade all over the lid with Milk Chocolate and Semi-Sweet blended into the crease for a brown smokey eye but with a twist as it has a lot of red in the eyeshadow.
Hazelnut - is a golden bronze brown with a soft metallic/frost finish. This shade has very good colour pay off and has a soft and buttery texture. I love using this shade in the same way as Amaretto however this is just more of a golden bronze smokey eye.
Creme Brulee - is a dark gold with a metallic/frost finish that becomes even more intense with Fix+. It has really good pigmentation with a soft and buttery finish. This is an amazing shade all over the lid and if you love gold eyeshadow you will definitely love this one!
Haute Chocolate - is a warm tone dark golden brown and in my opinion this shade has the best pigmentation and texture from this palette. The pigmentation is amazing! With one swipe it is completely opaque with a very frosty finish. This shade is also the softest to touch and is such a buttery shade and is so easy to blend. Even though this isn't my most used shade it's definitely my favourite!
Cherry Cordial - is a warm tone plum brown, this is a matte finish but it does have little pieces of glitter through it but once on the eyes you can barely see the glitter so I use this eyeshadow as if it was a matte eyeshadow. It has a soft texture and quite good colour pay off but is not as easy to blend as the other matte shades in the palette.
Champagne Truffle - is a cool tone champagne pink with a metallic/frosty finish. It has amazing pigmentation and has an extremely buttery texture and is so soft to touch. I like using this shade as an inner corner highlight because it's so frosty. This is the other eyeshadow that comes in a larger pan.
I absolutely love this palette and like I said it's definitely in my top two eyeshadow palettes, if not my favourite palette. There are obviously negatives to this palette but there are always negatives to every palette. But in my opinion the positives completely outweigh the negatives and I would recommend this palette to everyone because I really think it should be a staple in everyone's collection and come on, the palette smells like chocolate!
I have linked a couple of makeup tutorials so you can see this palette in action! :)
This palette costs £39 and is available from Debenhams.
Last week on my YouTube channel I did an empties video. My empties collection included two EOS lip balms which I attempted to give a short review on, however I had so much to say on these lip balms I decided to cut them out of my empties video and dedicate a whole blog post to them!
I think these lip balms are a love them or hate them kind of product. I personally love them but I can also understand why people hate them.
First lets talk about the packaging. How cute is the packaging?!?! I think this is one aspect that everyone loves. I mean okay, they're not small enough to put them in your pocket discreetly, you'd have a really awkward bump in your pocket, but does anyone really put lip balm in their pocket? I like that the packaging is slightly bigger than your regular lip balm because it makes it so easy to find in your bag and because of the shape I don't get confused and pull a lipstick out of my bag thinking it's a lip balm and vice versa.
EOS lips balms are more expensive than regular lip balms, £5.95 each, but you do get a lot more. EOS lip balms contain 7g of product and regular lip balms contain around 4-5g. I know it doesn't seem like a lot more, but trust me it is. They also last for such a long time, I started using EOS lip balms multiple times a day over a year ago and I've only completely used up two! I always found that regular stick lip balms went down so quickly for me and the longevity of the EOS lip balms completely justifies the price.
They also have a wide variety of scents and the colour of the packaging matches the scent. I don't own all of the scents but I do own most of them and they're amazing! There will definitely be a scent that you like, I don't think I could choose just one favourite but at the moment I love Vanilla Mint, which smells exactly as the name suggests. The mint in this one is less intense than the Sweet Mint one which has that tingling plumping sensation. I also love Honeysuckle Honeydew, this one smells just like honeydew melon which I find quite unique as most melon smell/flavour products are watermelon so this makes a nice change! All of the scents have a nice delicate scent with is not too overpowering, apart from Sweet Mint which you can smell before you even open the lip balm! It is quite intense but if you like a strong sweet mint smell you'll love it!
Sweet Mint, Honeysuckle Honeydew
Out of the ones I own there is only one scent that I didn't like and wouldn't purchase again and that is Pomegranate Raspberry, (I think it's just called Pomegranate now). This one smelt like fake fruit where the others don't and I did think there was quite a strong smell of plastic - which obviously isn't the nicest. So apart from the Pomegranate Raspberry, I love all of the ones I own and would repurchase all of them!
Pomegranate Raspberry
Now onto the formula of the lip balm and it's the formula which divides opinion, you either love it or hate it! It's a hard waxy formula and when applied to the lips it has a smooth creamy feel, it's not sticky or slippery on the lips and your hair doesn't get stuck to it! Now I don't know if this is because it's a hard waxy formula, but EOS lip balms aren't very moisturising. They do obviously give your lips a bit of moisture and it makes them feel more comfortable but it's not going to do anything in terms of repairing your lips. So if you have dry, cracked lips this lip balm is not going to be your best friend. I don't get dry lips very often and that's why I love EOS lip balms, because I don't need a lot of moisture on my lips and my lips don't need repairing. When I do get dry lips, which is normally only when I'm ill, I won't use EOS lip balms. However on an average day EOS lip balms are my favourite to use. So if you get dry lips all of the time then you won't like these, but if you're like me and just want something to put on your lips to make them feel comfortable then I'm sure you'll love EOS lip balms!
I store them in this glass vase, I think it looks really cute and makes them look like sweets!
If you do end up buying EOS lip balms, or you already have them but you ended up not liking the formula and they're just sitting at the back of the drawer and you don't know what to do with them, they're actually really good for priming your lips before lipstick/liquid lipsticks. I think that's because they're not greasy and slippery on the lips, they just provide a good barrier between your lips and whatever product you put on them. It just makes for an easier smoother application of lipstick or liquid lipsticks.
Thank you so much for reading and I hope this review was helpful! :)
If you watch beauty YouTubers regularly then you've probably heard about the phenomenon that is the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm in the beauty community at the moment - and if you don't watch beauty YouTubers regularly then you probably don't have a clue what I'm talking about!
NikkieTutorials, (if you don't know who she is go and watch her on YouTube because she's AMAZING!), was the first to discover that the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm was a good primer and that is because of the ingredients. Glycerin is the second highest ingredient and it is this ingredient that helps makeup to stick to your face, making your makeup last longer which equals a good primer!
So as you can imagine literally everyone has been trying this product out as primer, it has been circling on YouTube for quite a while now and I do feel like the last person ever to try it! However to be honest I think it's taken me so long to try it because I really didn't think it would work for my skin type. I have oily skin and I formed the opinion that this product is better for drier skin. I don't know why I think that because it doesn't say anything about it being for dry skin, only that it's for sensitive skin. Being that it has taken me so long to try it out, I have seen countless videos on this product - the majority did have normal or dry skin but a few did have oily skin, and they ALL liked it! How is that even possible?! I was completely baffled that one product, especially a primer, could work for all skin types. So I had to try it for myself, and as I hadn't seen a lot of people with oily skin review this product, I wasn't fully convinced it would work for my oily skin.
I did do a first impressions for the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm on my YouTube channel so check that out if your interested in how it applied, how it looked and how my makeup lasted throughout the day.
In the video I compare the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm to a regular primer that isn't targeted for oily skin or enlarged pores, which are the skin problems I need to target, and to me they performed pretty much the exact same. Which if you really think about it, it's kind of crazy. The regular primer I used was the Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Fatigue Blur which was £7.99 for 22ml and the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm was £5 for 100ml. It's clear which one is better value for money.
In regards to how the Nivea Men performed with my skin type, it actually did a pretty good job! I don't think I gave it enough credit in the video and it didn't make me too oily. I did have to blot but being an oily girl this is just something I have to deal with and I've never found a product that completely controls my oiliness. Considering that I only had to blot once in my first impressions video, and I think that was after 5 hours of my makeup being on was pretty amazing! The only downside is that it didn't fill in my pores. My pores were quite visible but again it wasn't too bad, it didn't exaggerate my pores, they were just visible when you were very close to my face. So again I was impressed because it's not even a primer let alone a pore filling primer! However since filming this video I've used a pore filling primer where I have enlarged pores and the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm everywhere else and this has been an amazing combination! I also have acne prone skin and I was so worried that it would break me out but it didn't so that gives it another thumbs up in my books!
Overall I highly recommend this product, it just seems to work for every skin type which is crazy! It's also so affordable that there is no harm in trying it out, because if you like it, think how much money you are going to save on primers in the future! However if you have enlarged pores you may not completely fall in love with this product because this is not going to fill them in, although you could just do what I'm doing and use this alongside a pore filling primer as this works really well. But if you think using two primers everyday is too high maintenance, I probably wouldn't recommend the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm for you.
Thank you so much for reading and I hope this was helpful!
I love buying makeup, I do buy a lot of makeup and I'm prepared to spend quite a bit of money on makeup. But what I absolutely love is when I find a product that is amazing and is also incredibly affordable! I mean, who doesn't love finding amazing makeup that's cheap? So this week I'm sharing with you my top five products under £5!
Product - e.l.f Studio Eyebrow Kit
Price - £4.50
Available at - http://www.eyeslipsface.co.uk/studio/eyes/eyebrows/eyebrow_kit
Rating - 9/10
This was my first ever brow product I bought which was only a couple of years ago - I can't believe I never did my brows before then! As this was my first brow product I didn't have anything to compare it to, so I tried out other things, most were more expensive, and I thought these newer products were good and I kind of forgot about the elf brow kit. Then I picked it up again as I was bored of the other products and I haven't used anything else since! I can't even begin to explain how much I love this product and what makes it even better is the price! The only reason why I gave it a 9 is the wax can apply a bit weird and patchy if I've already applied my foundation, so I have to do my brows first when I use this product.
Product - Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer
Price - £4.19
Available at - http://www.boots.com/en/Collection-Lasting-Perfection-Concealer_1693350/
Rating - 10/10
I have been a die hard MAC Pro Longwear concealer girl for a very long time and I never thought I would use anything else under my eyes. Then I picked up this concealer because I thought there is no harm in trying it as it was so cheap. I must say it isn't easy to get this concealer because it's always sold out! The first time I used it I fell in love, it's definitely very comparable to the MAC Pro Longwear concealer but at a fraction of the price. I also love the colour, I have the shade Fair and it's extremely light which is what I love! I have really fair skin so it's hard to find a concealer that also highlights the under eye area but this one does! So if you're really fair and struggle to find a concealer that's the right shade this concealer will be the one for you!
Product - Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder
Price - £3.99
Available at - http://www.boots.com/en/Rimmel-Stay-Matte-Pressed-Powder_1015573/
Rating - 8/10
In my opinion this is the best pressed powder available at the drugstore and is amazing for anyone with oily skin like me. I also don't think it's too drying or chalky so I do think it would be suitable for other skin types. The only reason why I have given this product an 8 is because it doesn't give me any extra coverage. It doesn't claim to give extra coverage as it is only a setting powder, so there isn't anything bad about the product, it's just personal preference. However when I want a lighter coverage this is definitely the setting powder I reach for.
Product - Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lip Liner
Price - £2.99
Available at - http://www.boots.com/en/Rimmel-1000-Kisses-Lipliner_1113541/
Rating - 9/10
I own all but one of these lip liners and they are amazing! I don't know whether they are as good as MAC Lip Pencils and they don't have the widest selection of colours but you can't really complain because they are so cheap! They are very creamy, go on very easily and last a good amount of time. I also think the colour Tiramisu is a dupe for my favourite lip liner which is MAC Lip Pencil in Subculture and that makes me so happy as it's so much cheaper!
Product - Makeup Geek Eyeshadows
Price - £4.95
Available at - http://www.beautybay.com/cosmetics/makeupgeek/eyeshadowpan/
Rating - 10/10
I don't own many of these eyeshadows and I haven't owned them for a very long time either, but in the short time I have had these I've become obsessed and I want to own every single shade! I'm not going to talk too much on these because I did a full review and swatches on these eyeshadows for last weeks post so check that out if you're interested. These eyeshadows are so good I still can't believe the price! I think these eyeshadows are worth triple the price they are and are on par with eyeshadows from brands such as Urban Decay and MAC.
I have recently purchased a few Makeup Geek eyeshadows, (Peach Smoothie, Creme Brulee and Bitten), and I'm here to share my first impression of these eyeshadows with you.
Firstly, if you've ever watched any beauty youtuber then you have most probably heard of Makeup Geek, and no one seems to have a bad word to say about this brand. The eyeshadows are pigmented, afforable, the texture is amazing and they have an extensive colour range. What more could you ask for from eyeshadows? They do sell other makeup products but it's the eyeshadows that get the most attention. So I went to the Makeup Geek website to make an order, whilst getting all excited that soon I would have all of these amazing eyeshadows in my possession, to then be heartbroken when I found out the cost of the shipping and tax on my order. I mean I knew I would have to pay more for shipping as it was coming from America, but this was ridiculous! I can't remember the exact price but it was definitely more than triple what I was spending on the eyeshadows. I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much for shipping and I'm sure we've all experienced ridiculous shipping rates. So I was left disappointed and whenever I would watch a beauty youtuber using Makeup Geek eyeshadows it would make me sad that I wouldn't be able to recreate the look with those exact products.
I'd come to terms with the fact that there was a big possibility I would never have Makeup Geek products unless I went to America. But then out of nowhere Beauty Bay announced they would be stocking Makeup Geek! I was beyond excited! However I didn't go crazy, I wanted to try out a few of the eyeshadows first. I decided to buy three of the most popular shades that everyone raves about and the colours are definitely a staple in anyone's collection, so I knew I would get a lot of use out of them. I also went for matte finishes only as you can never have too many matte shades and I don't have many in my collection.
Peach Smoothie is described as a light peach beige with a soft matte finish. This shade is perfect as a transition colour, to blend out darker eyeshadows that are being a bit difficult to blend or to just simply warm up any eyeshadow look.
Creme Brulee is described as a medium sand colour with a soft matte finish. This would be a great transition shade on darker skin tones but I like to use the shade in the crease or for a more natural smokey eye. This is also supposed to be a dupe for MAC Soft Brown, which if you're in the UK you can't get.
Bitten is described as a matte deep maroon red. This shade is perfect all over the lid then blended out with Creme Brulee and Peach Smoothie as a maroon smokey eye. But it's also great to darken the outer corner or lower lash line and is a great alternative to using a dark brown or black. This shade does swatch slightly patchy however this shade blends out more easily then any other dark matte shade I have ever used.
Peach Smoothie, Creme Brulee, Bitten
Overall I am so impressed by these eyeshadows and I will definitely be purchasing more. It's really hard to find matte shades that are pigmented, easy to blend and have a soft texture, however these three matte shades tick all of these boxes. If I had to choose one as my favourite it would be Bitten, I have really fair skin so all dark shades end up looking black on my skin tone but Bitten looks the same on my skin tone as it does in the pan which I was so happy about! However the best thing of all is the price! At only £4.95 per eyeshadow they are half the price of MAC and in my opinion they are of the same quality if not better! However one downside is that they are only available in pan form so you will need to purchase a Z Palette to store them in which are also available on Beauty Bay.
I have also filmed a tutorial using all three of these eyeshadows which will be up on my YouTube channel on Thursday.
My last video on my YouTube channel was a Glamorous Black Grape Smokey Eye, (the video will be linked at the end of this post), I used the MAC pressed pigment in Black Grape in the video. I wasn't able to give a thorough review of this product and how I like to use it in the video, which is why I'm dedicating this post to the Black Grape pressed pigment.
The colour of this pigment is quite hard to describe, you really do need to see it in real life because the camera just doesn't do it justice, but it's definitely duo-chrome with a mixture of black, purple and grey all rolled into one and it also has a lot of silver glitter running through it. As there is such a mixture of colours in this pigment you can choose which colour you want to come through the most. In the pictures I use a black eyeshadow as a base which definitely makes the pigment come across as more black, so if you used a purple eyeshadow underneath it would definitely bring out the pigment as more purple - you get the idea!
What I love about this pigment is how easy you can get a very dramatic eye look, and also an eye look that looks like you've spent a lot of time doing and looks like it would be difficult to achieve. All you need to do is place your base eyeshadow, for example black or purple, then apply the pigment over this eyeshadow. In my opinion the best way to apply the pigment is with your fingers, and then blend out the edges with a warm/neutral tone brown and that's it! This is basically the look I did in the tutorial I have linked, except I blended a purple eyeshadow into the crease to bring a bit more of the purple out - but this step is optional.
But amazing as this pigment is, the price is pretty steep for one eyeshadow, it's £16 on the MAC website. I also recommend applying a glitter glue before applying the pigment as the pigment does need something to adhere to. I really like the Too Faced Shadow Insurance Glitter Glue (I demonstrate how I use this in the video) but then this is also an additional cost to the pigment itself. Of course you can apply the pigment without the glitter glue but what the glitter glue will do is prevent fall out and the pigment will last until you decide to take it off. I'm being serious - the pigment doesn't move with the glitter glue underneath! But I do honestly think the pigment is worth this price as you don't use a lot so it will last a really long time and it's always handy to have glitter glue around!
I also think this pigment is perfect for the festive party season and New Year's Eve!
