Review: Zoeva Voyager Cocoa Blend & Caramel Melange Palette

I'm quite picky when it comes to eyeshadow palettes. I rarely buy matte palettes as I like to have the option of shimmer. One such palette was the Urban Decay Naked Heat Petite palette. Sure, it's super pretty but I already have the Naked Heat palette and I rarely wear an all matte eye so I gave it a miss.

I then came across the new Zoeva Voyager palettes - mini versions of the original Zoeva palettes. I never got round to buying any Zoeva palettes but always had my eye on them, particularly the Cocoa Blend palette. I spotted these cuties on Cult Beauty and immediately fell in love with the warm tones of the Caramel Melange palette. I'm loving warm tones of orange, bronze and gold at the moment so this was definitely going in to my basket! I then saw they had the mini version of the Cocoa Blend palette and since I had had my eye on the original palette, opted for this one too!

Review: Stila Star-Studded Eight - Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick Set

I am going to admit it - I am addicted to liquid lipsticks. I've tried so many different formulas by different brands but funnily enough had not tried any from some of the first liquid lipsticks on the market - Stila's Stay All Day liquid lipsticks! 

These lipsticks were very popular a few of years ago as not many make up companies were producing liquid lipsticks and are still a favourite amongst make up lovers. I am a sucker for lipstick anyway but when it promises to be "long-lasting, full coverage and comfortable" I cannot resist! 

Review: Marc Jacobs Highliner Matte Gel Eye Crayon

Happy New Year, all. A teething/crawling baby meant I have had no time to blog recently plus life kind of just took over but I am back with lots of posts in the pipeline.

I was so excited to receive these eyeliners through the post from Influenster. I cannot remember the last time I purchased an eyeliner so I was looking forward to trying out something new and different. 

Marc Jacobs has just launched these gorgeous "matte-but-not-flat" gel eyeliners in an array of colours. The eyeliners claim to be waterproof and long-wearing which I always look for in an eyeliner.

I was glad to receive two eyeliners from the collection to test out. I was sent the colours (Earth)Quake and Pink Of Me. 

The eyeliners come housed in sleek, glossy, black cardboard packaging. I love the Marc Jacobs packaging as it is minimalist but looks great on my vanity. 

The eyeliners come in the form of a silver, retractable pencil which is easy to use as there is no need to sharpen. The colour of the eyeliner is easily identifiable by the coloured band across the top of the pencil which is always handy when you are in a rush and need to find something quickly!

I'm a huge fan of both brown and nude eyeliners so was really happy to be sent colours that I know I would definitely get a lot of wear out of. 

(Earth)Quake is a gorgeous, dark, rich brown shade that can be used to line the upper and lower lashline but also as an all over base to create a smokey eye. 

Pink Of Me is a nude/light pink which I would use on the lower waterline to create the illusion of bigger eyes and also to hide signs of tiredness (something I know a lot about at the moment!) and look more awake. 

I was so impressed when I swatched these on the back of my hand. (Earth)Quake was as pigmented as I expected it to be being a darker colour but I was surprised with just how pigmented Pink Of Me was for a such a light shade. Both were so creamy and smooth to apply and the colours are beautiful. The formula is definitely waterproof - it took a lot of scrubbing with a make up wipe to wipe these off! This is always a good sign!

I used (Earth)Quake to line my upper and lower lash lines and smudged it out for a soft, smokey eye. The eyeliner lasted all day on both my upper and lower lash lines and I managed to remove it with ease using my Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm and a muslin cloth.

I took a photo but the lighting was so terrible it did not do it justice. I will be sure to upload a photo of me wearing these soon!

Overall, I love these eyeliners and would love to try out more colours from the range which is available at John Lewis. These retail at £20 which is a little steep but worth every penny. I received a free deluxe-sized, black Marc Jacobs Highliner from Sephora for my birthday gift last year and using these has reminded me to dig the black one out of my collection as I've been loving using eyeliner on my lower lash line recently.

Will you be buying these?

* I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Review: Makeup Revolution Liquid Highlighters

I love highlighters but don't own as many as I would like to as I am so fussy about the colour, finish and texture of them. I opt for warm tones as these best complement my skin tone. I'm not a fan of chunky glitter in highlighters and prefer them to be finely milled and to look as natural(!) as possible. I love highlighters that merge with my skin and complement my blusher. Sometimes this isn't an easy feat with powder highlighters and so I've recently started venturing in to liquid highlighters to get a smooth glow.

I was excited to try out these new liquid highlighters from Makeup Revolution as they are a great dupe for some of the high-end liquid highlighters but at a fifth of the price! These retail at £6 which is an absolute bargain as you get 18ml of product and a little goes a long way! I bought mine online from Superdrug as I couldn't find them in my local Superdrug store.

 

The packaging looks really high end and I love how the colour of the bottle is the same colour as the highlighter so you can easily find the right colour. 

The highlighter is housed in a glass bottle with a dropper/pipette which not only looks pretty on your vanity but also means you can control how much product you dispense. 

There are 7 shades in total - Starlight (silver), Champagne, Luminous Gold (a bright gold), Lustre Gold (coppery gold), Rose Gold, Bronze Gold and Unicorn Elixir (cool toned blue/purple).

I opted for the shades Champagne and Rose Gold as I thought these would be super-wearable and suit my skin tone.

The highlighter is a thicker consistency than I expected which isn't a bad thing as this makes it easier to work with.

The colours are beautiful and once blended look so pretty on the skin. I hadn't realised Champagne was slightly more cool-toned than I would like - it reminds me of MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft & Gentle.

Rose Gold is stunning and I know it will look great with most of my blushes as they are all warm tones of pink, peach and coral. I will definitely be packing this for my holiday!

The best way to apply these is to pat them in to the skin with the fingers. The warmth of the fingers will mean these will melt in nicely with your base make up for the most natural glow.

I used the Rose Gold shade the other day but completely forgot to take a photo! This is definitely my favourite of the two.

These can be set with a powder highlighter for a more intense look but look equally as pretty on their own. 

You could definitely mix a couple of drops of these in with your foundation for a glowing complexion - I would definitely try this out with the Champagne shade. These could also be used on the eyelid instead of a cream eyeshadow.

I think these are fab for the price and since you only need to use a few drops, would last for ages. These are definitely on par with some of the high end liquid highlighters.

If you're a fan of highlighters - you need to try these beauties!

P x

Review: Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette

I was so happy to hear that Too Faced were not only bringing the Sweet Peach Palette back but also making it part of their permanent collection. I had to have it when Debenhams had 10% off across all make up! The palette retails at £39.00 in Debenhams.

The palette consists of 18 eyeshadows, which, considering the price, is great value for money. The packaging is stunning and like the Chocolate Bar palettes, is made of sturdy metal and has a magnetic closure. I love the pink and peach tones of the packaging. Similar to the chocolate smell of the Chocolate Bar palettes, this palette smells of peaches. The smell wears away once applied but can be a little overpowering when using the palette. I don't mind the smell too much.

I love the colours in this palette. First impressions were that it was more of a summer palette but there is a good selection of gold/bronze colours which would work all year round.

As with most palettes, I found the lighter matte shades to be powdery and more prone to fallout. The darker matte colours are less powdery and definitely apply better. 

I swatched the colours on my arm to show the colour payoff. The lighter matte shades such as White Peach, Peaches 'N Cream and Georgia had to be heavily swatched due to the fact they were more powdery/less pigmented. 

Top to bottom: White Peach, Nectar, Peaches 'N Cream, Luscious, Cobbler, Georgia, Just Peachy, Candied Peach, Caramelized, Bless Her Heart, Bellini, Puree

Top to bottom: Tempting, Peach Pit, Summer Yum, Charmed, I'm Sure, Delectable, Talk Derby To Me

I love that there is a good selection of matte and shimmery shades. My favourite shades are Luscious, Just Peachy, Candied Peach, Bellini and Summer Yum.

The shimmer shades are super pigmented and buttery. I love the selection of matte shades as these work great as transition colours. Of all the shades, I'm not keen on the shade Talk Derby To Me as it is quite chalky and the glitter is too sparse.

Overall, I do wish there were more peachy shades within the palette but I think the colour selection means that this palette works all year round. I personally will be packing this for my holiday this year as it holds all the colours I would need to create so many different looks.

Too Faced - you did good! 💕