*REVIEW* NYX Blush in Natural

Hi!

Quite a while ago I made a purchase from the NYX website (www.nyxcosmetics.co.uk/) and I only just realised that I never actually reviewed this item! If you'd like to see that haul you can view it HERE and as far as I can tell I think I've done reviews for all the other items I purchased. :)

 

This costs £6 from the website and they have 25 shades!

 I chose the shade Natural because having blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin its harder for me to get away with strong blush colours and so I generally tend to stick to a rather muted blush look if at all.

 

 

 

 

The shade is a light baby pink with a slight bit of shimmer in it - it's looking a lot brighter in the photo than in real life!

The packaging is also nice and sturdy and the shape makes it easy when it comes to saving space in your makeup collection. :)

 

 

 

Here's a swatch:

 

 

Obviously I wouldn't apply the blush this heavily! :P

 

Generally I think this is a really pretty colour especially for those with fair skin.
As you can see its very well pigmented but not so pigmented that it makes it difficult to wear...I personally don't like hyper-pigmented blushes as I'd never wear colour on my cheeks that strongly!

 

I usually just tap my brush into this and then tap off the excess and apply it. The colour this way is very buildable and it's hard to over apply.

 

I'm really happy with this blush -especially for the price! I've been reaching for it quite often recently and it gives a lovely flushed appearance to the cheeks.

 

Thanks for reading!
Have you tried the NYX blushes yet?

Libby x

 

*REVIEW* Sleek Vintage Romance Palette

Hi!

 

It's no secret that I adore the Sleek eyeshadow palettes...I actually have 7 of them and I have no intention of stopping there! :)

 

 

I love the packaging that these palettes come in - they're very sturdy and (as their brand name would suggest) sleek. They also stack very easily and take up minimal space.

 

These costs £7.99 and I was recently thrilled (possibly a little more thrilled than is rational) that there is now Sleek in Boots stores as well as Superdrug! :D:D:D

 

 

There are 12 shades in this palette: 6 metallic shades, 2 shimmer, 3 sparkle shades and 1 matte.

 

I have to say straight away that I love the mix of shadows in this palette in terms of shades. I love these deep, sultry shadows that can create a smokey look but because of the pinks/purples they still look glamorous and have some colour.

 

The texture of the metallic is (as usual with Sleek) great; they're buttery, smooth and pigmented. A few other shades are a little dry and need perhaps a touch more work to get them looking true to pan but there isn't a dud shade in here. I can honestly say there is no shade here that doesn't work well for me.

 

I'll break up the shades into groups of four as it makes them a little easier to photograph and swatch!

 

 

 

These are the first four shades.

 

From top:

 

Pretty In Paris:

 Metallic, frosty pale silver colour.

This has good pigmentation and whilst it is too much for me to use as a brow highlight it works really well on the inner corner.

 

Meet in Madrid:

Metallic yellow/orange gold.

 I'm SUCH a sucker for gold colours. Again, great pigmentation. This reminds me of UD's Half Baked apart from it has more orange undertones. I love using golds and this has been used quite a few times already.

 

A Vow In Venice:

Shimmery deep plum colour. I'd say this is a shimmer as opposed to metallic because it isn't as intense, yet it is still pretty and works well for a plum smoky eye. The pigmentation isn't perhaps as amazing as the first two but is still very good.

 

Marry In Monte Carlo:

Dark, frosted burgundy/dark fuscia. This (along with the other frosted shades) has pretty stunning pigmentation. This looks so pretty packed on the lid!

 

Here are the second group of 4!

 

 

 

From top:

 

Court in Cannes:

Medium metallic brown/taupe.

I love these types of shades as theyre great for a traditional simple neutral look. This again has great pigmentation and looks so pretty on the middle of the lid.

 

 

Lust In LA:

This is more cool toned that Court In Cannes but with the same metallic/frosty finish and same great pigmentation. I sometimes can see very subtle hints of olive in this shade but that could be my imagination playing tricks on me.

 

 

Honeymoon In Hollywood:

This is a rich berry shade with some silver sparkle. I was impressed because despite the slightly drier finish I found that the pigmentation was great.

 

Bliss In Barcelona:

Frosty, metallic medium purple. This seems to show up with almost a blueish reflex sometimes and reminds me of UD's Psychedelic Sister and also a little bit of Blue Bus but this has a far less obvious blue base. In the pan this looks a lot more purple than in the swatch above.

 

Here are the last 4 shades!

 

 

 

I took the photos for these swatches sideways as it seemed to work a little better this way.

 

From top/right

 

Romance In Rome:

This does remind me of the last shade but although this looks dark in the pan this is a lot more blue. It looks like a dark purple but this does have a similar blue reflex to the previous shade but it is more prominent.

 

Propose In Prague:

This is the only matte shade in this palette and it is an uncommon shade. It's a warm, orange toned mid brown shade and is quite interesting. I think this shade is useful for blending purposes even if I don't use it on it's own that much. The pigmentation is decent but it can be a little on the chalky side.

 

Forever In Florence:

This is a deep plum/burgundy which has some sparkle in it. The texture is again a little dry but the pigmentation is good. This looks quite a bit brighter and lighter than it is in the pan.

 

Love In London:

This is one of my favourites: it is a matte black but with a lovely sparkle to it. The pigmentation is really good and this is such a useful shade for adding into the crease to darken.

 

 

So there are all the shades! I have to say that I'm really happy with this palette and I'm sure I'll use this palette a lot. You can create quite a variety of looks ranging from golden/taupe looks to deep plums. Something that is interesting is that quite a few of the colours look quite different when swatched compared to how they look in the pan, but all the colours are beautiful.

 

As mentioned earlier, there isn't a bad shade in this palette!

 

Have you tried this palette yet?

Thanks so much for reading!

Libby x

Bourjois Paris 1001 Lashes Mascara

Hi!

 

My review to day is of the Bourjois Paris mascara that I showed recently in a haul.

As far as I can tell from looking online, this retails for about £3 although I don't think I've seen it really in many stores.

 

 

This has a rubber wand which I really like as I prefer them to bristle brushes...I find that they separate my lashes more.

 

 

I did try to take before and after photos for this but I struggled with the lighting...the photos don't look very clear so I thought I'd leave them out!

 

Basically although this does volumise my lashes quite well it does clump easily. The formula is pretty wet and quite sticky which I don't like too much as I prefer drier formulas.

The wand definitely helps with stopping it clumping  ( I don't want to think about how much clumping there would be if the want wasn't so good) but I still find my lashes are quite hard and stiff after applying this.

 

Another thing I've noticed is that the wand feels a little...scratchy? It's hard to describe but when putting it on my lashes the wand is quite spiky and its not too hard to accidently poke yourself in the eye...and it hurts.

Maybe I'm just clumsy! :P

 

I think overall it's a decent mascara and I'll probably use it till it either dries up, or I get bored and find something else I prefer!

 

Thanks for reading!

Libby x

 

 

 

*REVIEW* NYX Single Shadows (Asphalt, Fahrenheit & Eucalyptus)

Hi!

 

Today I thought I'd do a review of the new NYX shadows I got in a recent haul.

 

I got 3 new colours this time but I also have 3 other shadows which you can see HERE in another review if you're interested.

 

I tried to get colours that I don't normally get and ones that I didn't have dupes of already in my collection..hence why this seems to be a slightly random collection of shades!

I'll have swatches at the end of this post.

 

1) Fahrenheit

 

 

This is one of my favourites.

This is a deep shimmery pink colour that would almost be a wine red if it was a little deeper.

This is quite soft and is pigmented but you have to be a bit careful of fallout.

There is a little shimmer but not a huge amount which makes it a good shade to wear in the crease for an everyday look instead of using neutrals.

I think this is very close to MAC's Expensive Pink colour. I don't have that colour myself but I thought of it immediately when I swatched this and I've seen online several people have been comparing it so I think this is a good dupe for that and a lot cheaper!

 

2) Eucalyptus

 

 

This is an unsual colour...It's almost a grey colour but with some shimmer.

I've found this very useful for blending purposes (for example softening black shades) but not so useful on it's own. It's a little too dirty to use as a highlight for me.

Probably the least useful colour I got however the colour payoff is good.

This seems slightly harder in texture.

 

 

3) Asphalt

 

 

 

This is a really interesting colour and my other favourite.

It's coming across more brown on camera but it's almost orange in person with little specs of gold sparkle in it.

This is a really pretty colour for making blue eyes pop and works well worked in with other bronzes and golds.

Again, the colour payoff is great.

 

 

The top is Eucalyptus, the second down is Asphalt and the bottom is Fahrenheit.

 

Generally I'm really happy with these colours! Eucalyptus is the only colour that maybe isn't so useful to have but it would still work out great for a smokey eye.

I'm really happy again with the quality from NYX and all these shadows are only about £4.50 each which is great.

 

Thanks so much for reading!

Libby x

*REVIEW* Bourjois Brush Concealer (Beige Clair)

Hi!

 

 

I have a review today for you of the Bourjois Paris Brush Concealer - mine is in shade Beige Clair.

 

 

It's difficult to find an exact price for this product but online it seems to be going for around £3-4 pounds.

 

I got this recently along with a Bourjois mascara from Tk Maxx and showed it in a recent haul.

 

This is one of those twist up products where it comes out of a brush at one end - the only thing I dislike about these types of products is that you seem to always have to spend ages at the beginning twisting to get anything out.

 

 

Once the product does start coming out it does work well and dispenses the right amount of product for me. The brush is also a good size and not too stiff for the delicate under eye area.

 

On the packaging it says:

"Unifying and illuminating texture.

Expert brush.

Apply over dark circles and eyelids for a radiant look."

 

Being a liquid concealer this is never going to give you full coverage, but I do like using these for touching up or brightening up the under eye area even if I do need something a bit heavier to cover up my bad dark circles.

 

Here's a quick before shot:

 

 

As you can see I have  a lot of darkness/veins around my eyes.

 

After:

 

 

The coverage isn't actually bad for a liquid concealer! It seems fairly thick in texture and I was worried the shade wouldn't match but it works quite well!

 

I have to add something else generally on top to get rid of any remaning darkness but by using this first to generally even out the skin tone it means I don't have to pile on loads of a stronger concealer which makes my under eye area a  lot less cakey by the end of the day.

 

 

I'm generally pretty impressed by this concealer and since I've bought it I think I've used it every day since.

It's no miracle product and seeing as it doesn't do anything special I probably won't buy it again, but that doesn't mean that I don't like it and I will probably use up the rest of it.

 

Have you tried this concealer?

Thanks so much for reading!

Libby x

 

 

*REVIEW* Garnier Pure Active Anti-Blackhead Deep Pore Wash

Hi!

 

I have a review of a face wash today...simply because...well...I have things to say about it.

 

This is the Garnier Skin Naturals Pure Active Anti-Blackhead Deep Pore Wash....that is quite possibly the longest name of any beauty product I currently own!

 

 

I think I'll just list the positives and negatives for this product...

 

Positive:

 

This retails for jus £2.95..making it inexpensive. I don't like to spend loads of money on face wash as it's something I go through quickly so this price works well for me.

 

This isn't overly drying for me. It is still a little bit drying but not enough to cause a problem.

 

The small beads in this wash really feel like their scrubbing my skin and my skin feels clean.

 

Negative:

 

The biggest downside to this for me is the little beads that exfoliate your skin. For some reason no matter how well I rinse this off whenever I apply moisturiser afterwards I can feel that this face wash has left the little beads on my skin. It is just IMPOSSIBLE to rinse off properly; I've spent ages before washing it off and I still find little beads on my skin later on. This is annoying and I don't like the thought of part of any face wash just sitting there and remaining on my skin all day.

 

As far as the "anti-blackhead" claim goes...I haven't noticed any change at all. I don't have many black heads but I do have some on my nose and to be honest I don't think this has done anything at all to help them. As this is the purpose of the product, I feel that it has failed slightly.

 

 

Overall:

 

So overall whilst this isn't the worse face wash I've tried, it certainly isn't the best.

The fact that it leaves little beads on my skin really puts me off and whilst my skin does feel soft and clean it also can be a little harsh for my skin at times. I will use this up until it's done but I don't think I'll be repurchasing it as I can get another face wash that does the same thing AND doesn't leave bits behind.

Have you tried this face wash from Garnier? Did you have a similar problem?
Thanks for reading!

Libby x

 

*REVIEW* HR Loose Eyeshadow (15 Plum Rock)

Hi!

I have  a quick review today of the HR (Helena Rubenstein) Loose Eyeshadow in 15 Plum Rock.

I spotted this at TK Maxx ages ago and when I saw it I just fell in love!

 

 

 

From looking online it seems that this retails for about £5-8....it is quite a small little pot of loose shadow but you don't need a lot of this so even though it is a bit pricey it's still worth it in my opinion...

It is a little tricky to get HR Cosmetics here in the UK...if you live in Europe you might have better luck!

 

Wait until you see the colour....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Sigh*

So pretty.

This is the most gorgeous plum/burgundy/wine colour with plenty of shimmer and when it hits the light just right it is so beautiful!

 

I like to wear this on the eyes with a dark plum coloured liquid liner for a really rich and sultry eye look.

 

I find that as with all loose shadows the best way to wear this is to tap a little bit into the lid and then use a flat stiff brush to pat this on the lid over a sticky base, I'd recommend something like the NYX eye shadow bases or the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils.

These types of pigments or loose shadows don't tend to work so well with just a primer like the Urban Decay one because they really need something to stick to.

 

I don't really have anything bad to say about this...it looks great on the eye, last ages on the lid...there aren't any bad points!

 

 

Have you tried any loose shadows from HR cosmetics?

Thanks so much for reading!

Libby x

*REVIEW* Bourjois Paris Smoky Eyes Eyeshadow Trio

Hi!

 

I have a review today of a makeup product that I've had hanging around for a while - in fact it was one of the first makeup products I bought when I started really getting into makeup a few years ago! :)

 

 

This retails for £7.99 and from looking online it seems that there are loads of different shades that this comes in (around 13) but this one is in 1 Gris Dandy.

 

I mentioned this in my post about how to create a smokey eye which you can read HERE if you're interested.

 

 

 

This comes with 3 shades for a smoky eye and also a little eye shadow applicator which I don't use that often, but it's not actually too bad.

 

There is also a little diagram on the back which demonstrates the best way to apply these shades which is pretty useful and a nice touch.

 

It says:

 

"Silky easy to blend texture, 8 hour wear"

 

Here are some swatches!

 

 

 

These swatches are without any kind of base or primer and I didn't build them up a load but hopefully you can see that the pigmentation is pretty good with these.

 

The lightest shade is a little bit harder in texture and less pigmented and the darkest shade is definitely the best one in my opinion.

 

I can't help but feel that the lightest shade is still a little bit too grey to use as a highlight for me - it just looks a little bit muddy and not close enough to my actual skin tone.

It's still good to use to blend in the other shades, but I prefer using a separate highlight with this that is closer to my skin tone.

 

Also all 3 shades in this are pretty shimmery so the lightest shade may be a little too frosty for some to use as  a highlight shade.

Other than that the shades work really well together and do create a great classic smoky eye.

These shades work great together because they blend to create a gradient, making your eye look sultry and smoked.

 

I have no issues with these fading or creasing but I'd recommend a primer to get the best out of them.

I like the texture of these but they are a little bit on the dusty side sometimes; I've found that the two darker shades have managed to dust off and flake onto the lightest shade, making it even more grey sometimes.

 

I do like the packaging because it doesn't feel cheap and its relatively sturdy, but it is round which may be a problem for some as it makes it difficult to store if you don't have a lot of space for your makeup.

 

 

I definitely like these shadows and I think at some point I might have to try another one of these trios!

Have you tried these shadows from Bourjois yet?

 

Thanks for reading!

Libby x

 

*REVIEW* Maybelline Great Lash Mascara

Hi!

 

My review today is for the Maybelline Great Last Mascara - one that seems to have become the marmite of mascaras as people seem to either love this or hate it!

 

 

My shade is called Blackest Black and this retails for around £4.99.

This also comes in just plain black and also waterproof black and brown.

 

 

 

This mascara has one of those traditional bristle wands with quite big spacing between the bristles.

 

Before:  

 

 

After:

 

 

 

The formula for this is a little too wet for me as a person who prefers drier mascaras as I feel they don't clump up my lashes as much.

 

I feel that this mascara does clump up quite a bit and I think its because there are such wide spaces in the bristles.

There is a decent amount of length that this mascara gives but I feel that instead of volume, this just tends to stick several lashes together and makes them pretty stiff and hard. I generally prefer a mascara that makes my lashes just feel a bit softer.

 

This lasts well on my lashes but I never have a problem with smearing with mascaras anyway.

 

So generally OK length....mediocre separation and clumps instead of volume.

 

I have to say that generally I don't agree with all of the hype surrounding this famous pink and green tube...I don't hate this mascara, I'm just not in love with it. I imagine I'll use it if my current mascara runs out and I need something quickly but I won't be rushing out to repurchase it when it runs out.

 

Oh. I forgot to mention a major downside to this mascara:

Maybelline tests on animals. I'm actually refusing to buy any products from Maybelline anymore so even if I did like this mascara I'd never go out and buy it again because I'd rather buy a product from a company that doesn't smother it's products over rabbits.

It's a personal thing but even if you don't have a problem with Maybelline I still wouldn't say this mascara is that great.

 

What do you make of this mascara?
Thanks for reading!

Libby x