Tag Archives: cruelty free

Colourpop Chasing Rainbows Palette – Swatches and Thoughts

What’s that? Another Colourpop palette added to my collection? I’m not even gonna pretend this was an accident..

I asked my mum for Chasing Rainbows for Christmas, perfectly timed with a 48 hour free international shipping offer, and although that meant I had to wait until New Years to get it, I’ve never found Colourpop products to not be worth the wait.

So this is the fourth Colourpop palette that I have reviewed on here, and if you look back over all the previous ones, you would quite easily come to the conclusion that I have a thing for bright eyeshadows, and that is 100% true, which is why this particular palette jumped out at me – well, that and the super cute packaging..

As the name of the palette also suggests, the range of colours covers a good amount of the colour spectrum, with some staple browns and golds to round it out, and as the swatches below show, the pigmentation is of a classic amazing Colourpop standard.

Left to right: Realness, Feeling It, So Meta, Blurred Lines, Wiggles

Left to right: Not Playing, Keep Cool, Manifest It, Wish List, Woke

Top to bottom: Lucid, Bring It, On One, Eclipse, Prism

I really like the versatility of Colourpop palettes; it makes life so much easier when I’m travelling if I can take just one palette but am able to produce a whole bunch of different looks from it, and this is no exception. Special mention goes to the shade Lucid, which on first look didn’t look like my cup of tea, but when I swatched it I discovered its blue-ish duo-tone effect which is really beautiful.

I feel like I’m often spouting the same spiel when it comes to Colourpop, but the fact is in my eyes there’s not a whole lot they can do wrong.

PS I’m super interested in trying out their No Filter Foundation, so if anyone has ever tried it or reviewed it, please let me know in the comments below!

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Colourpop x Disney Designer: My Buys and Swatches

I think this has possibly been the best collaboration to come out of 2018, if not the best beauty collaboration I’ve ever seen. Two of my favourite brands, Disney and Colourpop coming together to release a whole collection of beautiful makeup? Yes please.

I was poised and ready the minute the collection dropped, and even being there as the clock struck midnight (metaphorically, it was actually 6pm but hey it would’ve been midnight somewhere), I still missed out on a couple of items that I wanted – the two highlighters from the collection, which sold out instantly – but I was still so happy to know that I was getting my hands on what I knew would be amazing products. Better still, Colourpop have now updated their site to include tax when shipping to the UK, so no more hideous customs charges, yippee! I was also pleasantly surprised at how quickly I got my dispatch email and how soon these beauties got to me, and the struggle of waiting until I had photographed them before I could have a play was real guys.

So out of the collection, I bought the It’s A Princess Thing pressed powder shadow palette, three of the Supershock shadows, shades Heigh-Ho, So This Is Love and Be Our Guest, and the Ariel Creme Lux Lipstick, and I did a little squee when I unboxed every single one of them.

For starters, the packaging is GORGEOUS. The collection features around just six of the Disney princesses, Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine and Tiana, and they all feature on the front of the eyeshadow palette, plus their autographs are plastered over most of the packaging. I love the gold and black and the low-key extravagance of it all.

Now I have a couple of Colourpop palettes and Supershock shadows already, so the product I was most intrigued by was the Creme Lux Lipstick, as I’ve not tried a Colourpop lippie before. I chose Ariel as it looked like a shade that I would get plenty of use out of, being more of a nude shade, and what I love about the Colourpop website is that they don’t just show the product and a swatch on an arm, they actually show the shade on lips, and on a range of different skin tones, so you can actually gauge if it’ll suit before you buy.

Again, I loved the packaging, and while the tube is plastic, it actually feels expensive. As for the product itself, I was SO happy with it. The shade is PERFECT, its soft and smells amazing, and even though I put it onto my already fairly dry lips, even up close it didn’t look dry and I didn’t find it drying over time.

The Supershock shadows also did not disappoint. They came in the same style pot that the regular Supershock shadows do, but in black with a gold castle on the lid. I’ve written a proper review on Supershock shadows before, so I won’t go into the nitty gritties, but they’re beautifully buttery shadows, and the pigmentation blows my mind.. I was actually only going to buy one, but when the highlighters sold out, I needed to top up my order to get free delivery, so I grabbed two more, and I’m really glad that I did.

Top to Bottom: Be Our Guest, So This Is Love, Heigh-Ho

Of course the centrepiece of the collection was the It’s A Princess Thing palette. It looked stunning in the photos that I saw prior to the release, and it was even more stunning in person. This is my third Colourpop shadow palette, so I expected good things, but it wasn’t until I swatched the colours out that I realised just how incredible this palette is.

The pigmentation is so unbelievable; photos don’t do justice. The shimmery shadows practically turn into foils on the skin, I’ve never seen powder eyeshadow look so flawless. All of these swatches are one swipe with a finger and the colours are so vivid. The only shade that didn’t do too much for me is Chip, which is the lightest matte shade, but I think that’s only because its not as bold as the others, and I reckon I’ll actually use it quite a lot nonetheless.

Top to Bottom: Chip, Juju, Grumpy, Triton, Abu

Top to Bottom: Prince Charming, Ray, Fair Godmother, One Kiss?, Thingamabob

Top to Bottom: Enchanted Rose, Poison Apple, Magic Carpet, Beast, Midnight Curfew

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve got anything bad to say about this palette; I may go as far as saying that I think the quality is better than that of other Colourpop palettes that I own and love. As well as these swatches going on so well with a finger, the shadows apply beautifully with brushes, they blend perfectly and have good staying power even unprimed.

This collection, like a Disney princess, is flawless.

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W7 Blazin’ Palette Review

So a few weeks ago I mentioned that I’d bought a couple of W7 palettes from TKMaxx, and shared the first one which I thought to be a potential dupe for a Too Faced palette. Today I’m reviewing the second palette, which I think could also be a possible dupe, but this time for Urban Decay’s Naked Heat eyeshadow palette, but as I don’t own that I can’t really do a side by side comparison!

So this is the W7 Blazin’ palette. The RRP is £9.95, but I picked it up from TKMaxx for £4.99, and looking around you can get it from a lot of places for under £5.

As with most of the W7 palettes, it comes in a tin form, and its quite a sizeable one, but I think it looks the part and the outside definitely gives a good indication of what’s to come on the inside. There’s also a double-ended brush included, but one end is a foamy applicator which I personally don’t like so won’t use, but the other end is fine!

The inside, however, is when it really starts to look like its Urban Decay counterpart, and looking at photos of Naked Heat the shades do seem to match up pretty well, but as I said I can’t do an exact comparison! I started off by swatching the shades, and the below swatches are one layer using just my finger.

First off, I really liked the feel of the formula – it was soft and buttery to touch, but when using a brush later on it did have a little bit of crumble to it but I personally like my shadows to be a bit powdery as it means they get picked up well by all brushes. I thought the pigmentation was really good for something that cost less than £5, with the middle shades coming off best I thought – my forearms are super super pale so I always struggle to get whiter shades to show up when I swatch them, but as you can see in the second swatch photo they did hold out ok, and when using them on my eyes I’ve had no problems. I felt like the darker colours could have been a little darker, but it really doesn’t bother me as those are the ones that I know I won’t use so much.

I have had a lot of fun playing around with this palette! There are a lot of looks that you can create, which surprised me considering there’s not much range in terms of colour, and I was also uncertain as I’ve not been much of a reddish shadow kinda girl before, but going into autumn I think this is definitely a palette I will use a lot. The colours build and blend like a dream and there’s a good mix of matte and shimmery shades so you’ve got all bases covered! W7 is also a cruelty free brand, so for £5 I have absolutely no complaints about this palette, and now I don’t need to fork out £30 for the Urban Decay Naked Heat one!

If you do have Naked Heat, let me know how you think these photos/swatches compare, I’d love to know!

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Is This £5 Palette A Too Faced Dupe?

You know, there is nothing worse than being on a spending ban when you really want to play with new makeup, and that’s made even worse when you really want to blog about it.

So while I don’t really have a payday anymore, I did decide to allow myself a little bit of a spend at the end of August, and having seen so many people post about amazing finds on the TKMaxx website, and being in constant search of the bargains, I decided that was where I’d look first. I was actually super impressed to find some great products from some of my favourite high-end brands, but believe it or not, I was actually drawn to some of the cheapest palettes I found, and I decided to forgo the big brands and opted instead for a brand that’s made me a little curious for a while now: W7. I bought three palettes in total, which came to £15, and while I will share them all eventually, today’s post is about just the one of them..

So this is the W7 Cheeky Trio palette, and when I saw it online I did have a little question in my mind as to whether this would turn out to be a potential dupe for what is already one of my favourite face palettes, which is the Too Faced Sweet Peach Glow palette. And well, take a look for yourself..

Sure, there’s an obvious size difference in the two palettes, but first impressions wise, the shades looked pretty damn close to me so I figured I was onto a winner! The packaging is a fairly simple tin, but it does the job and it doesn’t scream of an obvious dupe attempt.

But how does it actually shape up compared to its Too Faced counterpart?

Well formula-wise, W7 doesn’t make any sort of claim on the peach front, so it doesn’t deliver the glorious smell that my TF palette still gives off after over a year of use, and its not quite so smooth and buttery to touch, but its certainly not a crumble-fest either. The pigment is pretty decent, but do the shades match up?

Highlighter – Top – W7, Bottom – Too Faced

Despite looking VERY similar in the pans, as soon as I swatched out the highlighter I could tell they weren’t an exact match. Its kinda hard to tell in photos, but the W7 is a much more silvery-gold, whereas Too Faced does have peachier undertones which gives it a little more depth.

Blush – Top – W7, Bottom – Too Faced

The W7 blush is also much pinker than its Too Faced friend, but the colour is pretty and it builds nicely. It also doesn’t have the slight shimmer than Sweet Peach does, but I don’t think blusher has to be shimmery so I’m cool with it.

Bronzer – Top – W7, Bottom – Too Faced

Again, the bronzers looked super similar in the palettes, but the swatches for these two probably have the most difference out of all of them. Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of the Too Faced bronzer as it doesn’t really suit my skin tone, so I prefer the W7, although it could maybe be considered more of a highlighter than a bronzer as its kinda light..

So is this a good dupe? Well, its under £10 (and under £5 in a lot of places), and its also cruelty free, so it ticks a lot of boxes for me straight off the bat, which is why I bought it in the first place. Given that I already owned and loved Sweet Peach Glow before this, I was maybe a little swayed by that peach scent I love so much. However, as palettes go, I think that the Cheeky Trio is a fab face set, and the slight differences in the shades mean that at least I’ve got an excuse to use them both!

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Cruelty Free Summer Makeup – All Under £10

There’s nothing worse than having your makeup routine completely perfected, only for summer to come around and through humidity, heat and hay-fever your way, and it changes everything.

Not only does summer mess with my skin, but I’m now on a makeup buying ban for a little while, and I’m also no longer buying makeup that isn’t cruelty free, and while you’d think that these bans would limit my options for the summer, I’ve managed to find myself a summer kit that’s not only completely cruelty free, but actually every item is also under £10!

Primer – The Ordinary High Spreadability Fluid Primer – £5.50

This is my all year round primer, but it really holds its own even against the struggles of summer!

Foundation – The Ordinary Serum Foundation – £6

I love both of the foundations from The Ordinary, but tend to use Coverage more in the colder months and switch to Serum from Spring onwards as its a lighter formula but the coverage is still very good!

Blush/bronzer/highlighter – Makeup Revolution – (my set now discontinued)

I’ve had this little palette for a while now, but as the shades are a little darker than what I would normally wear, I save it for summer when I’ve tanned a little bit and can get away with glowing a little more.

Highlighter – Makeup Revolution Baked Matte Lights Highlighter – £3

I love this highlighter as its a great base for building on. I normally start with a good layer of this matte highlight and then go over it with a shinier highlight.

Eyeshadow primer – NYX Proof It! – £6

I swear by this primer, and if you read my blog a lot you’ll have seen this mentioned over and over because it is really that good!

Eyeshadows – Colourpop Supershock Shadows – $5

The only downside of these eyeshadows is having to pay international shipping and customs (I actually bought mine in the US) but I think they’re fab! They blend so nicely and hold up well under summer conditions.

Brows – NYX Tame and Frame Brow Pomade – £6

Ever since I reviewed this recently I’ve been using this pomade. Its such great value for money and such a good product.

Mascara – Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara – £8.50 (for travel sized)

I only bought this in a travel size because I do love my current mascara and I just wanted to try it out, but its a fab little cruelty free mascara.

Setting spray – Urban Decay All Nighter – £10 (for travel sized)

Say hello to your new favourite setting spray and say goodbye to your makeup running. Despite being a travel sized bottle, its still pretty large and will last you through summer no problem!

Here’s to a summer of long lasting makeup!

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NYX Tame and Frame VS Benefit Ka-Brow!

Even when I’ve run out of time/can’t be bothered to do my makeup for the day, my eyebrows are normally a must. I don’t have bad eyebrows, in fact I think I’m pretty lucky that I don’t really have to do much to them at all, but I just feel so much better with everything nicely filled in and looking a whole lot more together.

For the last couple of years, my go-to product has been Benefit’s Ka-Brow (shade 01, if anyone’s interested) and its never really let me down, but I’m trying to make an effort to switch out my remaining non-cruelty-free products for more animal friendly alternatives, and also trying to cut down what I spend on some makeup, and a friend of mine suggested I tried the NYX Tame and Frame pomade, so I’ve been comparing the two.

The reason I’ve always used Ka-Brow is because its really convenient. It has a brush built right into the packaging, meaning that I can throw it in my bag, or take it in my hand luggage when I travel, and never have to worry about whether or not I’ve remembered a brush. I’ve also always used it because its never failed me. The formula is more cream than gel, so its not at all sticky feeling and applies smoothly and its buildable – my one annoyance is that sometimes if I apply it too heavy at first, it doesn’t blend out particularly well, and often by the time I’m coming to the bottom of the product, it starts to dry out and get a little bitty.

I knew that my NYX shade would be Blonde as I have a NYX pencil in that shade, so I didn’t have to worry too much about knowing which one would match for me, although its possibly slightly lighter than its Benefit counterpart, not that it bothers me. As with many other NYX products, the packaging it pretty simple but its nice and does the job – I particularly like the fact that its a frosted glass effect rather than being clear. The formula is more gel-like than Ka-Brow, but is also soft and creamy and not at all sticky. It glides on like a dream and builds up nicely, blending better than Ka-Brow – because its a bit lighter in shade I do have to build it up a little more, but its not like its hard work!

Obviously there’s no brush built into this little jar, but the product holds all day with no problem at all, so its not like I need to be reapplying throughout the day, and its the same with Ka-Brow – all day brows, no fuss. The big difference between the two, however, is of course the price tag: for a Benefit product you’ll be paying Benefit prices of £18-20, compared to NYX’s £6 a pot. For that price, plus the bonus of being cruelty free, Tame and Frame is getting my vote on this one!

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A Little Lush Easter Haul

I feel like its been a while since I’ve done a Lush haul post, because believe it or not, despite buying a good number of products from the Christmas collection, I never actually blogged about them, even though I think it was the best Lush Christmas to date! But enough about Christmas (psst! 287 days..).

I don’t know if I’ve ever actually bought anything from a Lush Easter collection before – I normally grab a few Valentines Day bits, but seem to miss Easter entirely, so when I went into the Trafford Centre store over the weekend and saw the multicoloured goodness of this year’s offerings, I knew I had to get a couple of things to try, and having had a good Etsy payout earlier in the week, I felt the spend was justified.

So I picked up four things for myself on this occasion, but I think they’re all so stinkin’ cute and I cannot wait to try them out!

My first buy felt like a bit of a two for one deal, and this adorable little chick actually splits into two separate halfs. I noticed in store that they had these Free Rangers in a few different colours, and I don’t know if there’s actually any difference between them, but I liked this little orange chappy so he was the one who came home!

My next choice was the Cream Egg bubbleroon because just LOOK AT IT!! Its like Lush went inside my head and picked out the best colour scheme and turned it into a cute little sandwich of a bubble bar and it smells AMAZING. I imagine I’ll stock up on a few of these before the collection leaves stores because its so pretty and I think I’ll be sad to use this up!

Which Came First? This bathbomb is actually pretty huge, and a dreamy pastel design.

This final buy was a total impulse purchase – I’d gone to pick up my usual shampoo bar (Seanik), but as soon as I saw this little fluffy tail and ears on a yellow shampoo bar all sensible-ness went out the window and whether or not this bar turns out to be any good for my hair or not I don’t really care – its so cute!

I can’t wait to give all these goodies a try in the coming weeks! Have you used any of these before?

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Supershock with Colourpop

When it comes to the Colourpop hype, I think the products I’ve seen raved about the most is their Supershock eyeshadows, cue me adding them to my recent order.. I also came across the Supershock highlighter collection while in Sephora, and I think I’m in beauty blogger’s paradise.

As with most of Colourpop’s range, the packaging is fairly simple, which I have absolutely no gripes with as it just highlights the beauty of the product itself. The shadows are pressed with a gorgeous scale-like pattern, which I really hoped would hold out a little bit through use but as you can see below, I had no such like.

Top to bottom: Going Rogue, Flipper, One by One, Itty Bitty

While you can buy the eyeshadows individually, I chose a set of four called Phase Me Out, which saved me $2. The shades are a mix of finishes, with Itty Bitty being a matte/satin finish, Flipper is metallic and Going Rogue and One by One are described as pearlized, which is just a tad less sparkly than metallic. All of the shades compliment each other perfectly, and I chose them because I thought they were all right up my street in terms of what I would wear every day.

The formula is really creamy and super blendable, and in terms of pigment, just look at the swatches! The creaminess also means that there’s practically no fall-out and the shadows stay in place really well, even on unprimed skin, however the one thing that I did find slightly annoying was that because the formula is so creamy, I had to apply a lot of pressure to the product to actually get a good amount on the brush. This was fine for blending, because I prefer to start light and build if needed, it just meant that when trying to cover a larger area I kept having to go back for more.

Left to right: Wisp, Spoon, Over the Moon

The Supershock highlighters are all sold individually on the Colourpop website, but I picked up this set of three in Sephora – although the set was the same price as buying three individually! The packaging matches the eyeshadows, and the formula is just as soft to touch!

Over the Moon looks white from a distance, but as you can see from the swatch, its packed with purple-ish sparkle, giving it a unique duo-chrome finish which is also frost-like, perfect for Christmas! Spoon – which I think is a stupid name for a highlighter if you ask me – has a golden finish, although also has flecks of silver in it, and Wisp is similar, but has more of a champagne/bronze tone.

Again, I found that with the product being very buttery, it takes a bit of pressure to get anything on the brush, but the product is so vibrant that you really don’t need that much anyway!

The eyeshadows are $5 (£3.70ish) each or $18 for a set of 4, and the highlighters are $8 (£6), and yes if you order from the UK you’ll probably get stung with customs but I still think they’re so reasonably priced that its worth taking that hit – it’ll probably work out cheaper than some brands!

I’m well and truly on the Colourpop wagon, and I’m not at all ashamed!

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Colourpop Yes Please Palette

I cannot tell you how excited I am to finally have my hands on this palette. It was love at first sight.

Its yellow, it contains yellow, do I need to say any more? And yes, its probably one of the most hyped palettes of the last few months, and now I know why.

The majority of the shades are matte, although there are a few metallics in there too, and they all compliment each other so well – I swear you could put any two shades from this palette together and be onto a winner.

As per Colourpop standard, the formulas are soft and blend like a dream, and I cannot flaw the pigmentation of any of the shades. I love the fact that the browns aren’t too dark, but they are buildable if you do want to created a deeper shade, and that actually goes for all of the shades, although I think they all go on well with a single application.

What I love about this palette is that I would never normally buy a palette of these shades; I was drawn in by the packaging and one or two of the colours, but now I’ve actually had a chance to use it I love all of them. Its actually turned me into a warm-tone kinda gal and going into winter I am very excited for this.

Have you jumped on the Colourpop bandwagon yet?

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Colourpop x My Little Pony Palette

Have you ever seen a product and while not being able to come up with an exact reason as to why, just knew you needed it? Yep, that was me with this palette.

I don’t even remember being that into My Little Pony as a kid (this is the point where, when my mother reads this post, she’ll text me to tell me if this isn’t true), but my infatuation with Colourpop has only just begun and you may be pleased to know that there are more swatch and review posts coming over the next few weeks, and I have been having the most fun playing with these products!

Obviously I don’t have to tell you how cute the packaging is, that goes without saying really. I’ve heard a few people complain about a lack of mirrors in the eyeshadow palettes but personally that’s not an issue for me – I’ve cracked so many mirrors by accidentally leaning or stepping on palettes before that I’ve probably earned enough bad luck to last a lifetime, plus I’m not one to do my eye makeup with such a little mirror anyway!

The palette consists of primarily metallic shadows, with a few soft mattes thrown in for good measure. They’re best applied using a soft brush as I found when I tried a stiffer brush the shadows went a bit crumbly, but also didn’t apply as evenly.

I was pleasantly surprised at the lighter shades in the palette and how well they stood out, as I often find pale shades either don’t show up at all or just disappear as soon as a darker shade is blended, but the four lightest shades – Butterscotch, Bluebell, Flutterbye and Snazzle – all really impressed me.

In fact, all of the shades impressed me with their pigmentation and staying ability, with my one let down actually being one of the darkest shades in the palette, the deep teal shade, Princess Sparkle, which looks great in the palette but for me just didn’t fit in with the rest of the shades, and also came out a little too grey for me, rather than the metallic turquoise I had hoped for.

But hey, 1 bad shade in 12 ain’t bad, right? And for $16 I’m not complaining one bit! I’m a big fan of the pinky/peachy shades, and I think I’ll be using those along with the more berry-toned shades a lot over the coming months!

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Colourpop Amber Crystal Collection Review

So I’ve been wanting to jump on the Colourpop bandwagon for a while now, but with so many people talking about getting stung with the customs charges we all know and hate come with international shipping, I’ve held back. Well that was until I walked into Sephora in Disney Springs and discovered that they’re now stocking some Colourpop items.

As they were only stocking a very small selection, they didn’t have any of the palettes I’ve been eyeing up, so I decided to place an online order for those (to be delivered to the hotel), and pick up a few products I hadn’t seen before, and one of those was the Amber Crystal Collection bundle.

The bundle was $20 (about £16), which I thought was a pretty good price considering it contains 3 products: a setting spray, a liquid highlighter and a lip balm. The packaging seems a little simple from a distance, but when you take a proper look at it its really pretty and suits the products, and it doesn’t feel at all cheap like some packaging can.

One look at the lip balm and you might be thinking ‘um, that looks more like a lipstick to me?’, but don’t be fooled. Yes, it is tinted but only very subtly – so subtle, in fact that I couldn’t take a swatch photo – and gives more shine than it does colour. Its very light and glides on like a treat and the perfect product for a natural look, plus it smells amazing!

The next product in the box is the liquid highlighter, which again I would describe as being very subtle. It gives a peachy-gold, and believe it or not, amber-like shimmer, and while when you shake the bottle the formula seems very runny, it doesn’t come out that way at all. Again, while I did swatch this first, I couldn’t get a good photo as the shade is subtle and mainly gives off shimmer, offering a natural glow and living up to amber’s nickname of ‘liquid sunshine’!

The final product in the bundle is something that is very new to me, a setting spray – believe it or not, this is the first setting spray I have owned, so I can’t really compare it to any others but it does a good job at keeping my face together!

For $20, I personally don’t think you can go wrong with this little kit. Sure, its not packed with pigment like the majority of Colourpop’s products but if you’re not super into colour and prefer a more natural look, this is the perfect bundle for you.

I’ve got more Colourpop reviews coming up in the next few weeks so be sure to keep an eye out!

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New Liquid Highlighers on the Block – Worth the Hype?

You all know by now that I’m a sucker when it comes to a good highlighter, and despite having a collection of them that I love, I’ll never be able to stop buying the next one that catches my eye.

Two of the newest products to have hit the high-street are the Barry M Liquid Chrome highlighter drops, and the Makeup Revolution Liquid Highlighter range, and because I couldn’t decide between the two, I decided to put both to the test! In the interest of fairness, I bought the most similar shades – Moon Potion from Barry M, and Unicorn Elixir from MUR, and here’s how they got on..

From the swatches, you can kinda see that the Barry M formula is a touch smoother, and has a brighter, more pearly finish than its Makeup Revolution rival, which has a more glittery finish. Both shades are a bright white with cooler blue and purple undertones, although Barry M has a total of 5 shades in the collection and Makeup Revolution have 7, so if these don’t take your fancy then there’s bound to be one that does! I personally wouldn’t use these shades on a regular basis as they’re actually a bit too cool for me, but they would be perfect for festivals or a night out,

Despite both being a lot more pigmented than other liquid highlighters that I use, I was a little disappointed when it actually came to using both of these products. While they look great in swatches, for which I used my finger to spread the product, I actually found both quite difficult to blend using brushes, although I think again the Barry M formula came out slightly on top. I wish that the bottles had built in brushes, like others on the market, but instead they had a sort of dropper system which didn’t make application any easier!

The products are actually only 99p apart in price, with BM Liquid Chrome selling at £6.99 and MUR Liquid Highlighter priced at £6, but as you might be able to tell, I personally would lean towards the Barry M ones in future, just because I thought the formula was nicer, and I preferred the packaging too. Shockingly, however, I don’t think I’d be in any rush to buy either of these again, just because they didn’t overly wow me, and I have plenty of highlighters that do already in my stash.

Have you tried either of these before? I’d love to hear what you thought, especially if you’ve tried different shades!

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The Ordinary Haul and Review

The Ordinary, a brand by Deciem, has been taking the beauty world by storm, and having seen some big bloggers talking about these products, I decided it was time to see what the hype was about.

Being the most talked about products, I picked up both the Coverage and Serum foundations, as well as the fluid primer. I would normally never order foundation online without having tested the shades for myself first, but thanks to the very clear shade guide on the website, I pinned it down to two potential shades – 1.1 and 1.2 – and decided to order each foundation in both shades, given that its only £5.90 a bottle. Yes, you heard me.

As well as having the shades based on a number scale, I also loved the fact that each shade was then split into three tones: neutral, yellow and pink. My skin tends to be on the pinkier side, so I got the Serum formula in pink and the Coverage in neutral, and both actually work very well for me.

Coverage Foundation

Right from the offset, Coverage became my favourite of the two foundations. The formula is much thicker, which I personally prefer, and as the name suggests, the coverage is higher than the Serum formula but despite both of these facts the product feels really light on the skin.

Serum Foundation

Like Coverage, Serum has a very lightweight formula and feels like you’re not wearing anything. As I tend to always stick to thicker formulas, I was a little out of my comfort zone with this one, and because of how quickly it blends into the skin, I was finding myself going over it a few times because I wasn’t always sure if I’d fully covered that area, plus the coverage is fairly light. I was also a little out of my comfort zone as Serum leaves more of a dewy finish, and I like to keep things matte.

Fluid Primer

As someone who isn’t really a fan of primers, this was a game changer. I’m not sure I can sing this product’s praises high enough. If I’m being honest, I added it to my basket so that I had something other than foundation, and so I could tip the basket total to get free delivery, but I am so thankful that I did. The formula is bizarre; its feels kinda gel-like at first but it spreads like a dream and dries within seconds, and once dry its practically weightless.

Part of the reason I’m not much of a primer person, and I’m nervous trying new foundation is that I rarely find anything that can contend with my skin, which can switch from dry as a desert to oily as a 2am kebab within a matter of seconds, and I normally end up regretting wearing foundation by lunchtime, but I did not have a single complaint with this. I tested both foundations both with and without, and both applied so much nicer and lasted the day without any issues when I used the primer.

But seriously guys, I bought 4 foundations and a primer for less than £30, which is what I would normally spend on my regular NARS foundation, plus they’re cruelty free!

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Cruelty Free Beauty Brands That Won’t Break The Bank

When it comes to makeup, we’re all trying to find those products that we not only fall in love with, but can actually afford to buy without taking out a small mortgage or selling a kidney, and in today’s society its also becoming so important to support brands that are setting the best example for others and paving the way towards a cruelty free future for all.

If you’re getting into cruelty free, these are my absolute favourite brands, not just because I love their products, but also because they’re readily available on the high street and with the exception of a few palettes or gift sets, I bet you won’t spend more than £10 on any single item!

NYX Professional Makeup

NYX’s matte lipstick is without a doubt my favourite lipstick formula out of anything else I’ve tried, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen any reviews that aren’t absolutely glowing. The only item I’ve paid more than £10 was my beautiful bright eyeshadow, and for £16 I think that was still an absolute steal!

Barry M

Long gone are the days when Barry M was only known for nail varnish and dazzle dust, and now they are smashing the beauty game out of the park. I’ve always been a fan of their original products, but recent releases like lip kits and highlighting palettes have been taking the beauty blogosphere by storm and did you see my recent post about this Clinique dupe?

Makeup Revolution

This CF brand has been a real game changer, and while some slate them for it, Makeup Revolution has been bringing incredible dupes that are not only cruelty free but super affordable, as well as an amazing selection of palettes and other products. I can pretty much guarantee you won’t spend more than £10 on any single item, and you and your bank balance will be very happy!

Kiko Cosmetics

A more recent discovery of mine, Kiko has an incredible selection of products from beauty to skincare and accessories. My favourite products are their nail varnishes, which come in such an incredible selection of colours, making the nail painting addict in me very happy! The stores aren’t everywhere, but there’s free delivery on all orders over £25 online!

Spectrum Collections

You’ve stocked up on products, now get your hands on the best brushes in my opinion! I fell for the pretty designs but stayed for the great quality, and now all my brushes are Spectrum. They’re handmade, cruelty free and vegan friendly, and they’re now also available in Boots!

If you’ve got any recommendations for other cruelty free brands, please share in the comments below!

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Kiko Cosmetics Sale Haul

So last week I had a day alone in Manchester, so naturally I gravitated towards the Trafford Centre, and after a morning of working away in Starbucks, I treated myself to an afternoon of shopping. I hit pretty much every store that had a sale sign in the window, and one store that caught my eye particularly was Kiko Milano.

Despite being well aware that I own enough makeup as it is, I always love trying new brands, and when that brand is not only having a massive summer sale but is also cruelty free, there was no stopping me, but I did only spend £25!

The first thing that caught my eye stepping into the store was the display of gloriously bright nail varnishes. I’ve always loved having colourful nails, and while I have always sworn by Barry M when it comes to nail products, over recent years they’ve opted to diversify and their original collection of nail paints just aren’t available in as many colours as they used to be. As soon as I saw the wall of Kiko Smart Nail Lacquers I fell in love, but not wanting to go too overboard I just chose two, which are actually two shades very similar to my favourite Barry’s that aren’t available anymore, and they’re only £2 each, so win win!

Nearer to the checkout, they also had a few ‘mini’ nail varnishes at just £1 each so I decided to nab two of those as well!

Next up, I couldn’t help but fall in love with this STUNNING matte finishing powder – its so creamy and blendable, plus its fine and super light! I also grabbed this pretty blush for just £3.80, which is also super light feeling and the shade, Breathtaking Azalea, is perfect for spring/summer looks.

Lastly, while I’m not normally one for individual eyeshadows, I decided to pick up this little duo-shadow because the colour combination was super pretty and very me. Its not the most pigmented, but the two shades compliment each other wonderfully and its perfect for a subtle look, which is more my style anyway!

Have you tried any Kiko products before? I’d love to hear any recommendations!

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Lush Sparkle Toothy Tabs

Lush Sparkle Toothy Tabs

When I did my huge Lush order a little while back, I finally bought a product that’s intrigued me for a while now, and that’s Toothy Tabs.

I mean, we’re all brought up being taught how important it is to brush our teeth, and even as adults, tv adverts are full of toothpaste and electric toothbrushes, and dentists telling us what’s best for our teeth, so the thought of ditching the Colgate and Oral B, but still cleaning my teeth was a little weird.

I figured if I was gonna try something different, I might as well go all out, so I chose Sparkle, which is lemon, grapefruit and black pepper – no more mint!

So how do they work?

Basically, you take a little tab, and crunch it up between your teeth. It starts to froth, and you start to brush! First impressions: TOTALLY STRANGE. For starters, not having that instant minty taste was really odd, and the pepper flavour took some getting used to, but once I got past that, I really started enjoying the tabs!

Being a dry tablet, you don’t get as much froth as your regular toothpaste, but personally that didn’t bother me as I always find with toothpaste, I’ve spat most of it out within the first minute. The flavour is strange, especially with the pepper, and I like to rinse my mouth with water after I’m done brushing, but it is a fresh taste, and there’s no real aftertaste, so you don’t have to worry about your breakfast tasting weirdly minty.

Despite being a total change from my regular toothpaste, I actually really like the tabs, and I actually think my teeth look cleaner directly after using them, which I don’t get with toothpaste. Other benefits, of course, are that they’re natural and cruelty free, but while I’d love to use them as a complete replacement to my regular toothpaste, my mum pointed out that they do lack in fluoride, which is important to prevent tooth decay, so while I probably use them 2-3 days a week, I’m not giving up normal tooth brushing.

Would you give your toothpaste a break for these natural nibs?

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Cruelty Free Beauty Haul

I’ve been looking forward to writing this post for a while now because I’m really trying make more of an effort to choose cruelty free products because frankly, I love animals, and animal testing is not cool.

Cruelty Free Beauty

First up, being in desperate need of new makeup brushes, and having featured Spectrum brushes in my Beach Wishlist post, there was no question which ones I was going to get! I went for the 10 piece essential set – the dreamy pink handled blue and purple design – and Siren Smoke eye brushes.

Spectrum Brushes

Spectrum Brushes Siren Smoke

Safe to say I’m in love with them; they’re super soft, so easy to clean and work like a dream, not to mention looking prettier than my makeup itself!

NYX makeup

Next up, I finally found the NYX counter in Bournemouth, yay!! I already had a vague idea of what products I wanted to try, so it was a pretty easy shopping trip. If you read my July favourites post, you’ll have seen I featured the matte Euro Trash lipstick which has become my new everyday favourite shade, and it lasts all day without budging, especially when paired with the lip primer, which I got in deep nude. Being a big lipstick person, I figured it would be a good idea to get a primer as I hate having to worry about whether its wearing off during the day.

Finally, I bought the Sculpt and Highlight Brow Contour, in blonde/ivory, and Mineral Matte Finishing Powder. While I prefer doing my eyebrows with a pallette, this little double-ended pencil and highlighter is perfect for on-the-go fixes, and also great for travelling with. I’m still getting used to using loose powder, but it feels really light and does a great job evening out my skin tone and taking away shine.

Winky Lux lipstick

Top to Bottom: Poppy, Corallo, Plush

Top to Bottom: Poppy, Corallo, Plush

Winky Lux lipsticks

Finally, a brand I stumbled across while browsing Asos: Winky Lux, which is an up and coming US brand. I instantly became obsessed with several of their products, namely their lipsticks, and while I probably could have bought every shade available, I settled on three to start off with; Poppy, a bright pinky/red, Corallo, a light nude shade and Plush, a bright yet deep pink. First up, isn’t the packaging so beautiful? The tubes are actually pretty little, but I like that as they’d fit into a pocket quite easily and I love the gold and silver design. As for the lipsticks themselves, they’re super soft and pigmented – those swatches were one stroke! They have a matte finish (my fave) while still feeling rich and moisturising, and have a vanilla-y flavour much like MAC lipsticks do. I’m a happy bunny!

What do you think of my haul? If you have any cruelty free brands to share, drop me a comment!

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