Review: Benefit Gold Rush Blush

I am totally a blusher kinda gal. Pinks, corals, oranges - I love them all!

Benefit is one of my favourite brands for blushers. Why you may ask? The cute packaging, dinky (but often handy) little brush, brilliant pigmentation and amazing longevity are all reasons why I adore these boxes of blushes!

Last Spring, Benefit launched GALifornia - a pinky coral colour that is perfect for spring/summer time. This month sees the launch of Gold Rush, a golden, peach blush that doubles as a blusher and a highlighter - I'm all for multi-purpose products and anyone who knows me knows I LOVE shimmery blushers. I don't wear highlighter daily so this works well for me!

Cult Beauty launched the blusher exclusively on their website last week and being the Benefit addict I am, I just had to have it!

Review: Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter

Ah, Charlotte Tilbury. Where do I begin? From the gorgeous, luxurious rose gold packaging, high quality products to her amazing make up artistry and energetic persona - I just love her and her brand!

Every time she launches something new, I just know it's going to be brilliant. This is what I love about her make up line - it is consistently good.

Earlier this month, she launched the Hollywood Flawless Filter - a primer/highlighter hybrid that promises an Instagram-esque filter to the face, blurring pores and fine lines and providing a "mega-watt" glow to the face. Charlotte describes this as a "revolutionary category in make up."

Review: Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Palette

Last month on 14th February, Anastasia Beverly Hills released her much awaited Soft Glam palette.

Anastasia Soare's daughter, who goes by the name Norvina on social media, created the palette for her mother who she says loves her neutral tones - hence the name Soft Glam. The palette has been created to take you from day to night.

The palette consists of 14 shimmery and iridescent gold, bronze and rose pink shades as well as a good selection of neutral matte shades.

Review: Benefit BADgal BANG Mascara

If you're on any kind of social media, you will have heard about this mascara! I don't think I've ever seen so much hype over a mascara!

Benefit had been teasing for a couple of weeks last month that something "out of this world" was going to land on their shelves soon. Obviously, the beauty world went crazy trying to guess what it could be. People were guessing a new highlighter or perhaps an eyeshadow palette. I must admit, with the space theme and the "out of this world" stuff, I was thinking it could be a highlighter/highlighter palette.

Review: Huda Beauty Mauve Obsessions Palette

Back in November, Huda Beauty released four mini palettes, the Obsessions Palettes, each featuring 9 shades.

The palettes were named Warm Obsessions, Smokey Obsessions, Electric Obsessions and Mauve Obsessions. The palettes are said to be the same formula as Huda Beauty's larger two palettes, Textured Shadows Palette - Rose Gold Edition and Desert Dusk Palette.

Warm Obsessions consists of warm browns and golds. Smokey Obsessions is a mix of taupe, silver and golds. Electric Obsessions an eclectic selection of bright, bold shimmers and mattes. Mauve Obsessions is a mix of mauve/pink tones.

The colours are lovely, bar the palest colour which doesn't really fit in. It's quite chalky and the shade isn't flattering but I suppose it could be used as a matte brow highlight.

Review: Anastasia Beverly Hills Prism Palette

I didn't buy in to the hype with the Modern Renaissance palette initially. It looked like a beautiful palette but I wasn't sure if I loved it enough. That was until one of my favourite Youtuber's, Arshia Moorjani, raved so much about it I just had to have it! It's now up there with my favourite palettes (a blog post coming on that soon!) and I am so glad I decided to splash by hard earned cash. I was so excited to see what ABH released next.

I was disappointed with the next release, the Subculture palette, as the colours just weren't "me" and though there were a few pretty shades, there weren't enough for me to justify buying it. Ah well, no biggy! That was until the Prism palette was released! I literally fell in love the first time I saw it on ABH's media. Filled with "prismatic" metallic shimmers in jewel tones, this palette spoke to me. The colours looked so rich and opulent - I knew I needed it. Ok, a bit dramatic. But, seriously, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

My Top 5 Favourite Red Lipsticks

I just love Insta Story polls! I asked if my next blog post should be my favourite red lipsticks or favourite pink lipsticks. Red won by a small margin! Those who voted for pinks - I have more blog posts in the pipeline for my favourite pink and nude lipsticks so stay tuned.

I used to love wearing a red lip on a night out. A winged liner and red lip was always a staple "out out" look for me. Over the years, my make up has changed and I don't often reach for red lipsticks anymore. I don't feel I necessarily need a bright lip to make a statement, however, every time I wear a red lipstick I'm reminded of how glam and polished it makes me feel!

It's actually crazy that as someone who has always had a love for red lipstick, I don't actually own as many as I thought. I am definitely more of a pink girl when it comes to lipstick but sometimes there is nothing quite like a red lipstick for a bold pop of colour.

My red lipsticks range from blood red shades to more orange-toned reds and matte finishes to satin. I prefer my red lipstick to be matte so all but one of these lipsticks are a matte finish (oops!) but I am always open to trying different formulas and shades of red.

So in no particular order, here are my favourite 5 red lipsticks...

What's In My Everyday Make Up Bag?

A while ago I asked by poll on Insta Stories what you would most like my next blog post to be - favourite winter lipsticks or a what's in my make up bag? You can guess which one was a winner!

Life has changed a lot since having a baby, as has my make up routine. Unless hubby is at home to watch munchkin whilst I get ready, I don't have an awful lot of time to spend doing my make up. Actually, I don't tend to wear any make up at all 90% of the time but the 10% of the time that I do, these products are what I reach for.

The make up products I have in my bag at the moment have been my go to products for the past couple of months. I do switch them up every now and then but these are the ones I am loving for my everyday make up lately...

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