Monday 18 February 2019

Revolution 'Conceal & Define' Foundation, is it Worth the Hype?

Revolution's Conceal & Define Concealer has taken the world by storm this and I am completely in love with it, its my favourite concealer by a landslide! So when I heard they were bringing out a foundation I knew I had to get my hands on it. I featured his in a haul and gave my first impressions back in November so I've been trying this out for about three months now so I thought it was about time I gave you my thoughts.
Cruelty Free Foundation
This foundation is available from Revolution's website, Beauty Bay or Superdrug and costs just £9.00, which I think is a really good price for a foundation.
This was released in 24 shades initially, but Revolution have now added even more shades, they now have a total of 50 shades, its honestly pretty refreshing that a brand have listened to the customers' requests. I also think that 50 shades is really impressive, especially for a drugstore brand. The foundation shades match the concealer, I have the concealer in C1 so I've picked up the foundation in F1. I think that's pretty handy, if you know your shade in one product you'll be able to find it in the other and this runs across all of Revolutions different foundations and concealers. The concealer in C1 is a hair lighter than the foundation, but I imagine this is so you can highlight your undereyes a little with it.
The bottle has a doefoot applicator which I personally really like because I feel like it gives me a lot of control over how much product I put on my face and I can apply the product directly to my face without having to pump it onto the back of my hand or pour it out of a tube. I've never used a foundation with a doefoot applicator before so I had a bit of trouble the first time I used this because I really didn't know how much to apply. I ended up applying too much and I had a really hard time blending it in, the foundation just sat on top of my skin. I've learned from my mistake there, and I begin with a thin layer which usually gives me a medium coverage and you can apply layers of foundation on top with no problem blending so you can really build this product up to give yourself the coverage that you want out of this foundation.
I did have a few teething problems when I first started using this foundation I was finding that the foundation settled in some areas like on my forehead where I have fine lines, between my brows and either side of my nose. It made these areas look dry to a point of looking crepey. This is not something I've really had with other foundations, but I tried to spend a little extra time blending in these areas it doesn't happen anymore. This is just a foundation that requires a little more care when it comes to blending.
This is definitely a more lightweight feeling foundation which I love. The finish is demi-matte, its matte but not so matte it looks dry or flat which is my perfect finish. I find that because its demi-matte and not heavy feeling that it gives you a skin-like look and feel, which again is something I really love! I've had no problems with it clinging to any patches of dry skin. It also drys down and isn't tacky feeling on the skin which means you don't have to use a tonne of powder to set it.
My favourite thing about this foundation has to be the lasting power. I have combination skin and it gets really oily throughout the day, usually when I start getting oily its game over for my foundation and the look of it completely deteriorates. This foundation definitely lets through oil and if I wanted to keep my face looking matte I would need to re-powder my face once or twice throughout the day. But the difference with this foundation is once I get oily this doesn't break down, like at all. I can wear this for a full day and my foundation looks virtually the same as when I put it on. Its an absolute game changer for me which is why I named this foundation I named this as my favourite foundation in my 2018 Favourites and I'm continuing to love this in 2019. Right now if I were to finish up this bottle I would be running out to pick up another.

Have you tried this foundation or any Revolution's foundations, let me know in the comments.




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Monday 11 February 2019

9 in 2019 Project Pan, Intro;-

2019 Project Pan
So I've had a little break for the first month of 2019 just experimenting with my makeup and thinking about what makeup I might like to pan next and I'm now back with my project pan for 2019. I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew so I've decided to pick just nine products that I want to use up by the end of this year, a few of them are rollover products from my last project which you can read here.
Because I'm giving myself a whole year I'm thinking that I may roll in new products when I finish one up, depending on how long it takes for me to finish the products I've included. I'm hoping by the end of this year I can whittle my collection down even further to the products I really love and I can push out a few more non cruelty free items.

Here are the products...

2019 Project Pan
1. Vaseline Lip Therapy Aloe Vera (Not Cruelty Free)
My first item is the first rollover from 9 by New Year's Project, I made pretty good progress with this is in my last project but over this year I want to completely finish this. This is my Vaseline lip balm and I want to finish this for a few reasons. Firstly this isn't cruelty free and I want to make my way towards having a completely cruelty free makeup collection. This also isn't my favourite lip balm, it works well to stop your lips from looking cracked under your lipstick but it doesn't actually provide that much moisture when I really need it and I have loads of lip balms in my collection and I really need to get through them. I've been using this every morning and night so I'm hoping in a few months this will be done.

2019 Project Pan
2. Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation - Shade 1 Fair
Next up is my Charlotte Tilbury foundation. I like this one a bit, but its not my favourite despite it being the most expensive foundation in my collection. I just want to whittle down my foundation collection to the ones I love most so I want to try and finish this. Although the bottle looks pretty much full I have used around a third of this bottle so I think if I use it every day I could finish this in around two or three months.

2019 Project Pan
3. Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish - Shade 1 Fair
I also want to finish my Charlotte Tilbury powder. The more I use this, the less I like it despite the price of this I find it can look cakey. I don't use a lot of powder because I hate the look of it, so it normally takes me a really long time to use up a powder but I've managed to use up a lot of this quite quickly. I think I could probably use this up in a couple of months and then I can look for a powder I might like more.

2019 Project Pan
4. Collection Contour Kit (Not Cruelty Free)
This is another product that I've rolled on from my Finish 9 by New Year's project, you may notice that I've managed to finish up the highlighter shade in the last month, but I really really want to finish up the bronzer too! I've been trying to use this up for the last two years and I'm still not done. I'm really pale and I don't wear a lot of bronzer so I find it really difficult, but I'm hoping at least by the end of the year I can finally finish this.

2019 Project Pan
5. Avon Blusher (Not Cruelty Free)
While trying to write my 2018 Favourites post I realised that I really don't have that many cruelty free blusher options and I really need to push out some of my non cruelty free blushes to make way for some new ones. This blush is the only one I've ever hit pan on and it took me a really long time. I want to focus on using only this one for a while so I can hopefully finish it this year.

2019 Project Pan
2019 Project Pan
6. Revolution Velvet Matte Palette - Shade Haze
My lovely boyfriend picked me up a Revolution gift set for Christmas and this is one of the palettes that came with it. I'm not in any rush to finish this up, but I want to hit pan on the shade 'Haze'. I've been using this shade to set my eyeshadow primer everyday and I already have a bit of a dip in the shade. I also tend to find that if I'm using a palette to set my primer I tend to find that I use the other shades too. My aim is just to hit pan on this shade so that I can ensure I'm showing some love to this palette.

2019 Project Pan
7. Essence Lip Liner in Wish Me A Rose
Yet another rollover item is this lip liner. I made barely any progress with this one in my last progress but this lip liner goes really well with a lot of shades of lipstick and its really good. I know this will take a while but I'm hoping by the end of the year I can actually finish it.

2019 Project Pan
8. Revlon Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake (Not Cruelty Free)
My last rollover product is my lip butter. I do like this lipstick but its not cruelty free and I prefer darker shades, but I really don't have much left of this anymore. I want to give my final push to finish this, and I think I could realistically get this done in the next couple of months.

2019 Project Pan
9. Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss - Shade Nudestar (Not Cruelty Free)
My last product is this lip gloss, my favourite lipgloss ever. I don't use lipgloss that often and I've had this open a while so I want to finish it up, especially as I've picked up another gloss that I want to start using. I can't see through the packaging very easily, but I think there's less that a quarter left. I want to start using this more regularly so I can finish it up.

Are you doing any projects this year?


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Monday 4 February 2019

5 Looks 1 Palette - Morphe 35M 'Boss Mood';-

Ever since I posted my 5 Looks 1 Palette with the Revolution x Emily Noel palette I've been super eager to do another one and when I picked up the Morphe 35M palette I knew I had to do my next post with it. This palette has one of the most unique colour stories of any palette I own and there are so many different looks you can create with this, so I thought I would share my thoughts on this and show you five looks.
Morphe Boss Mood Review
I have to say nothing from Morphe has appealed to me in a long time. When I first got into makeup I really wanted one of their huge palettes, but the more makeup I own the more I want something unique and I think for a long time Morphe has recycled ideas and colour stories. But this is something completely unique in my opinion, especially for a budget friendly brand like Morphe. The unique colour palette makes me think of Halloween and witches, which might be better suited for fall, but honestly its my vibe all year round. I feel like Morphe could of thought of an amazing witchy name for the palette that isn't 'Boss Mood' which I kind of hate, but I suppose that doesn't really matter.
I wanted this when I first saw it, but it took me a while to pick this up. I talked myself out of this for months and months because I felt there were too many neutral shades and shades I could dupe within my collection. But after picking this up I notice there are actually only 6 true brown shades and the others that I thought were brown are actually deeper greens, I do still think that they could have included just two of these as there isn't that much variation between them. And the truth is aside from the greens I probably could have duped a lot of the shades, but there are so many colour combinations I would have never thought of if I hadn't seen them together in this palette and all of the shades have these amazing undertones that means that even the combinations I wasn't sure of blend beautifully together.
The formula of the matte shades isn't the most pigmented, they go on a little sheer and you have to build them up to get the desired intensity, this is a formula I like because it gives you a lot of control over the shadows. The shimmery shades I had a little difficulty working with, which I was surprised about as so many people rave about Morphe shimmers. A couple of the shades like the lightest shade and the shimmery browns are this gorgeous, metallic and almost reflective, super easy to work with and pack a lot of punch. However, some of the other shades are packed full of chunky pieces of glitter, which isn't bad in itself, but I've had a lot of trouble with glitter fall out both when I apply the shades and throughout the day. I picked up a glitter glue (which I reviewed here) which has helped massively with that, but I also think applying the shades with your finger or applying them wet helps too. Once you get the shades on your eye they are beautiful and really impactful it just takes a little bit of work to get there.
There are also a couple of shades I kind of wish were in the palette and I've reached for to pair with the shades, being a yellow which works really well as a transition for the yellow-y greens. A true gold as there is a yellow-y gold, but I think you could create even more looks with a gold shade. I also think you would benefit from a lighter matte purple to use as a transition in purple looks, I created a look with the purples in this palette and used a paler purple for my New Year's Eve makeup. I also would like another shade to highlight my inner corners as I feel there's only one in this palette and I got a little bored of it. I would take out two of the matte browns and the darker shades for these colours if I could.
Overall though, I'm glad that Morphe had 20% off for Black Friday so I finally picked this up (I hauled everything I picked up here). I feel like this palette has really helped me to experiment with different colour combinations like the ones below...

Morphe Boss Mood 5 Looks 1 Palette
When I first got into makeup all I wore was browns and I feel like I've branched out a lot since then, I still wear browns, but I rarely get excited about them. However, I was super excited to use the shade 'Hawt Stuff' which is a medium shimmery brown. Its warm to the point that its almost bronze, super sparkly and goes on really opaque. It swatched so beautifully and I knew it would make a really effortless smokey eye. I began this look with 'Play it Cool', which is a matte, warm brown and I blended this through my crease. I then took 'Talk Dirty' which is a matte, dark, warm brown and I used this to darken my outer corner. I then used 'Hawt Stuff' all over the lid and along my lower lash line. I finished it off by using 'Light of The Party' the shimmery champagne on my inner corner.
As I went more neutral on the eyes I paired the look with a metallic deep red lip.

Morphe Boss Mood 5 Looks 1 Palette
My next look is a red and purple combo. I definitely wouldn't have thought to use these colours together if it weren't for this palette, but its a look I've been obsessed with and I've worn quite a few times! Its definitely not a subtle look, but I absolutely love it.
First I went in with the shade 'Sweet Beets' which is a deep pink shade, I used a fluffy brush and used this as a transition. I blended this pretty high, just below my browbone. Next I took 'Grape Expectations' the deep, shimmery purple shade. I took this and applied it to my outer corner and blended it through the crease. I then took the shade 'Color Persona' which is a pink-toned shimmery red shade. I applied this on the inner part of my lid. Finally I used 'Daredevil' a shimmery grape shade and I used this to blend the darker purple into the red. I also used 'Grape Expectations' on the outer part of my lower lash line and blended it into 'Colour Persona'.
I topped the look off with a pink highlighter in my inner corner and applied liquid eyeliner. I paired it with pretty subtle lip and face makeup.


Morphe Boss Mood 5 Looks 1 Palette
The main thing that drew me to this palette was definitely the greens because they're completely different from any I own. They all have this kind of pukey/snot undertone, which sounds gross, but I still really love them. For this look I basically used as many of these shades as I could. I began this look with the shade 'Stroke of Luck' this is a very yellow-toned light green matte, I blended this throughout my crease. Next I took the shade 'Express Yo Self' which is darker yellow-green shade, I blended this into my outer corner. For the first shimmer shade I took 'Stand Out' which is a shimmery dark khaki shade and I used this on the outer part of my lid. I then took 'Popstar' which is a real yellow gold, I used this on the inner third of my lid. Then I used 'Bold Moves' a light sparkly green and I applied this to the centre of my lid and blended it into the other two shades. On my lower lash line I used 'Stroke of Luck' and 'Express Yo Self' on the outer part and 'Popstar' on the inner part. I finished it off with 'Light of The Party' the shimmery champagne on my inner corner.
I thought this look was great without liner so I just used mascara and paired it with a browney-nude lip. 

Morphe Boss Mood 5 Looks 1 Palette
I definitely wanted to play with the greens in this palette as much as I could so I created another look using more of the matte shades. I really like this look because I think it really brings out the green in my eyes. I began my look once again with 'Play it Cool' the matte brown as a transition, the makes a lovely neutral transition shade and I have used this with quite a few looks. I then took the shade 'Express Yo'Self' which is a dark matte khaki green and I used this to darken up the outer corner and on my lower lash line. I then took 'Stroke of Luck' all over my lid. To finish off I also took 'Bold Moves' which is the lightest shimmery green and I used this to add a little shimmer to my inner corner.
I deepened up my upper lash line with a brown pencil and paired this look with a glossy, warm brown shade on my lips.

Morphe Boss Mood 5 Looks 1 Palette
My final look is one that I wish I took a better photo of. This pairs some of the orange shades with some of the purples, another pairing I never would have thought of without this palette. I used the more aubergine purples as they had a little more red in them which I thought blended nicely with the oranges. I feel like orange and purple are super halloween-y colours, which is why I think I love them paired together in this look. I used this colour combo a few times, but always on evenings out which meant the bests photos are ones above that are taken very late in the day under my harsh bathroom lights.
For this look I began with the shade 'Fired Up' which is a bright matte orange I used this on the inner part of my crease. I then took 'Power Slayer' which is a deep aubergine matte shade and I took this into the outer part of my crease and blended it into the orange. I then went in with 'Indi-Glow Kween' which is a shimmery aubergine and I blended this onto the outer part of my lid. I then took to the inner and middle part of my lid with 'Bright Eyes' this is a super firey and shimmery orange. I blended the lid shades together with 'Grape Expectations' the bright purple shades. On my lower lash line I used 'Power Slayer' on the outer part and blended it into 'Fired Up' on the inner part. For my last shadow I used 'Light of the Party' as an inner corner highlight.
To complete this look I used a thin line of liquid eyeliner and as this look is pretty bright I paired it with a glossy pale pink shade.

If you want to see any more of my looks (I know I did another look with this palette) I post a lot of #FOTD posts over on my Instagram.


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Morphe 5 Looks 1 Palette Pinterest


Friday 1 February 2019

Monthly Makeup Buys - January 2019;-

I posted my last Monthly Makeup Buys in December, but they were actually all Black Friday buys. I didn't buy a single makeup item throughout December and I've also been pretty good during January. This year I definitely want to try a few more higher end things, so I'm trying to save a bit of money before I splash out. I still thought it would be fun to share my opinions on the few things I have picked up.

Nyx Glitter Glue Mascara Review
I made one order this month, which was from NYX. I feel like I hear a lot of good things about NYX products. I've only tried a couple of lips products, but I really like them. I definitely want to try more from NYX.

NYX Glitter Primer
The thing I really wanted from NYX was their glitter primer. I've been finding that when I use my Colourpop Supershock Shadows and some of the shimmery shades from my Morphe 35M palette I get glitter fall out when I apply the shadows and even more falls down onto my face throughout the day and I was hoping this would help with this. The primer is a paste that has a little shimmer to it that you can blend onto your lid similarly to a primer. I tend to apply it over any crease or transition shades before applying this and it doesn't affect the look of the shades beneath. It leaves your lid tacky so any glittery shades will stick to it with less fall out. When I use this I also have less glitter fall out during the day and it makes shimmery shades more impactful and stand out more. I do still get some glitter fall out throughout the day with really shimmery shades, but it is minimal compared with not using this. This is also not something I'd use every single day because most weekdays I'm looking to simplify my routine, but I have been using this whenever I want my eyeshadow to stand out more or I have more time to perfect my look. I'm really glad I picked this up and I've really been enjoying the effect.

NYX Worth The Hype Mascara
When I ordered the glitter primer I knew that I was getting to the end of the bottle of mascara I was using, so I thought I'd pick up the highest rated mascara that NYX had. I've literally never heard of it, but it has 4.4 out of 5 stars. This is super black and lasts all day. I usually look for something that gives length and volume, this is kind of lacking in the volume department. But it makes my lashes look super long and seperated giving a look of fluttery lashes and I'm surprised by how much I like this. I don't think its my favourite mascara of all time, but I think if I was ordering from NYX again and needed a mascara I might pick it up again.

What are your favourite products from NYX?


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